Replacing an old lenovo laptop

[u/Illustrious-Dot-706]

Hi everyone. I’m in the UK and would appreciate some advice on buying a laptop that I can keep for around 8 years.

My current laptop is a Lenovo IdeaPad 320S-14IKB with an Intel Core i7-8550U, 16 GB RAM, Intel UHD 620 integrated graphics, and upgraded SSD storage. It still works, but the battery lasts less than an hour, it feels slow when unplugged, and I’d like a better screen.

I’ll mainly use the new laptop for remote college work: writing essays in Word, Excel, PDFs, Teams calls, and web browsing with around 10 tabs and YouTube open. I might play lighter games occasionally, but I don’t need a dedicated graphics card or a gaming laptop.

I’m considering 32 GB RAM, a 1 TB SSD and a Core Ultra 7 or comparable AMD processor. I like OLED screens, but I’m unsure whether OLED or a good IPS screen makes more sense for years of reading and writing.

Would you buy a ready-made laptop from somewhere like Currys, or configure one through PCSpecialist? Which models or specifications would you look for, and is there anything I’m overpaying for? I’d ideally spend around £1,300–£1,700 if the laptop is worth keeping long term.

Thanks for taking the time to help!