New laptop

That range is quiet lowly specified, particulalry the £329 one, very low on memory and storage.
If your are after HP and Silver coloured then have a look at this much better one for a little bit more, though we are only going on specifications, eg CPU speed, Ram, SSD size, no personal experience of HP though as mentioned others would not be without theirs.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1172999?clickSR=slp:term:laptops:12:24:1

17" screen, under £400 not really an option unless its a really, really old model.
@Sheals 17" HP now selling for around £550 at Currys.

If you do not mind Black instead of silver then this HP 15.6" has good specs for the price.
HP 250 G9 Laptop, Intel Core i3-1215U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 15.6'' Full HD, Intel Integrated, Windows 11 Home

You can get a dinky plug in adapter to turn the C port into a standard USB port if you are short of standard USB ports.


Can recommend either of these little wireless Mice, will work on any pc, just plug and play.

https://groceries.asda.com/product/.../asda-tech-wireless-mouse-black/1000370064207

 

I didn't want or need a bigger screen @ricky101, it just happened to be attached to this particular laptop. My previous one was a 15". A larger screen would make no difference and a monitor out of the question. I use my laptop as a laptop and I'm currently reclining here in my armchair.

 

Another reason for buying this particular machine is because it has black casing/keyboard. Many laptops being produced at the moment are silver and I can't see the letters on the keys properly.

 

Thanks @ricky101 , but I set myself a budget, I'm mostly wanting to stick to it, the first one is close to 400 and the second approaching 500, I really dont want to go that far for something that is really, mostly, an internet browser.
Good tip on those little inserts that convert the usb sockets.

They new one was always going to be down in spec on the one I use now, but then I really dont use its full potential and are never likely to.

TBH my trip to Currys today just muddied the waters for me, and showed me what I cant/ dont want to afford, some really good stuff at big prices.

But at the end of the day, will I use it to anything like its full potential, not really.

Doing a measure of my old one I was surprised it is only a 15.6 screen and they look so much smaller now as the screen doesn't have the one inch surround mine has.

 

@pete if you don't need a great deal of storage space the Asus laptops are worth checking out. I've put the link up again for the one I was considering against the HP I've bought, but I don't know whether the price has gone up since I started my search. They come up a bit cheaper than the HP's. My son always had HP's but is very pleased with the Asus he now has.

Buy ASUS Vivobook 15 M1502IA 15.6" Laptop - AMD Ryzen 5, 256 GB SSD, Blue | Currys

The reason I didn't buy the the Asus is because of the amount of photo's I have (7000 +) and continue to expand on. Both my son and the salesman in Curry's said that in a couple of years I would have had to put many of the photo's on to an external drive to free up space on the laptop. Not viable for me as I need access to them all the time. You say you wouldn't use a laptop to it's full potential, so I think the Asus laptops are well worth checking out.

 

I have lots of photos as well @Sheal but I think its time I moved them to an external hard drive, most of them are already backed up on one anyway and to be honest I dont really use them all that often.
I'm going to stick to my budget, you can just keep moving it all the time, by the time I've bought the other bits I'm going to need it will probably add up to another £100 anyway.

 

A couple of lower spec Asus that might suit, both with a decent sized SSD, one silver one black, t as @Sheal says the black keys are so much easier to see.
Both W11

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1341115?clickPR=plp:8:43

ASUS Vivobook 15 X1500EA 15.6" Laptop

 

Seems to be so many things to take into consideration.
I'll probably just have to take the plunge at some point and to hell with the consequences.

 

Yes it can be a daunting task though if possible its good if you can see the model in Currys as the screen and keyboards can look and feel quiet different. A lot of the very old laptops had quiet glossy screens, now they often have a flatter, non glare appearance.

Currys no longer list than Asus model in Black, but it is in stock at Argos as Silver and at Very in Black, which has twice the Ram of the similar Argos model.
https://www.very.co.uk/asus-vivoboo...ffiliate&utm_term=Hatch_155280&utm_content=na

Though they are low performers by todays standard, the CPU is over 4 times faster than your Packard Bell and with faster storage etc think it will be all you need.
It will be a bit of an uphill job getting the new one sorted to how you want it, but sure you can do it.

Like HP don't think your can go wrong with an equally top brand like Asus, just make sure you protect yourself by paying by Credit Card

 

Thanks @ricky101 ,I've got to say that is "very " interesting.
I might go for that, I just need to see it on my old laptop, using my phone now.

 

Have just been down town and Currys was next door so just had a look it at the laptops.

Though the web site does not show any stock of those Asus they did have one on display.
Its the same model range Vivobook 15 X1500EA but fitted with a bigger Core I3 CPU , but the keyboard and screen probably identical.
You might be able to see it in your local Currys and if you like the look of its screen etc.
Have to admit its looks are not anything special just a typical laptop but if it works for you,great.

 

I'm not bothered too much what it looks like to be honest.
Its got more RAM and SSD than the HP one I was looking at and its cheaper, so sounds like a decent buy.

Pity that it seems to be missing the SD card slot.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-SD...91&hvtargid=pla-564041082624&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

 

Thanks Jocko, now wondering if its W11, cant see it anywhere.

 

Its all about USB connection these days, so those little adapters needed, sure they will work ok on w11.
Brand names always better but generic ones on ebay even cheaper, use them ourselves.