I have a 2011 model laptop (i3 2.6GHz) that still works great. I got myself a 1TB hdd, added another 4GB Ram to the 2nd slot (total 8GB DDR3) and cleaned my fan with a vacuum cleaner. It runs Ubuntu 16.04 and Win 10 fine. The 15" screen is also ok for watching my series. I also replaced the battery with a long life one and it goes 7hrs or more on full charge. All my replacements cost way less than the price of a new laptop.
Only complaint is the onboard gfx card. It would be nice to game on it whenever we get load shedding.
