Help Pick A Laptop, Narrowed Down to 2 (BF)

[essential]

I've been tasked with getting a BF laptop for a family friend, he plans to give it to his gf as a Christmas present. He didn't give me a budget, he just said he'd like a good machine, but not to go crazy. I wanted to try and keep it $499 or less, but was willing to go a bit higher if needed.

His gf does basic stuff, not games, lots of pictures, just wants a very responsive machine.

I narrowed it down to these two laptops, both can be ordered online as far as I can tell.

Laptop 1:
Dell Inspiron 15z: $399
15.6" (1366 x 768)
Core i5 3337U (3rd Gen Ivy)
HD Graphics 4000
6GB RAM
500GB HDD + 32GB SSD

Pros:
Touchscreen (even though this is unnecessary)
$200 cheaper
From Microsoft Store so it's a clean Windows install, no bloat
Thinner

Cons:
Generation old Core i5 (Dual Core)
Only 6GB RAM (I was hoping for 8GB)
500GB + 32GB SSD (this isn't a negative, but can be tricky when re-installing Windows if necessary, unless it's a hybrid drive, unsure).

Laptop 2:
HP Envy 15t Quad: $599.99
Core™ i7-4700MQ
15.6" (1366 x 768)
Core i7-4700MQ (4th Gen Haswell)
HD Graphics 4600
8GB RAM
1TB HDD

Pros:
Core i7 Haswell (Quad Core)
8GB RAM

Cons:
$200 more
Likely come with bloat, so i'd do a clean Windows 8 install
Not a costco member so I think it's 10% more.

The HP is more obviously more powerful from a specs standpoint I just don't know if it's worth $200 more.

Thanks for any opinions.

 

[Ken g6]

His gf does basic stuff, not games, lots of pictures, just wants a very responsive machine.

That's extremely vague. For all I know from that description, an ASUS Transformer with Android might work. Does she do anything with the pictures besides look at them?

If you want a standard laptop, I'd say to look for an i5-4xxx or i7 without the "Q" - unless photo editing gets involved. And get something with an SSD, or hybrid drive, or install one yourself. If you stick to one of these two, the Dell Inspiron probably isn't a bad choice.

 

[mfenn]

The 15Z should come with the SSD set up as a transparent cache, so your friend's girlfriend will only see one drive.

 

[essential]

That's extremely vague. For all I know from that description, an ASUS Transformer with Android might work. Does she do anything with the pictures besides look at them?

She has a DSLR and works in either PS or Lightroom, not sure, all he said was she works in Adobe with her images.

I'm leaning the Inspiron as well based on the comments, assuming I can get one.

Thanks.

The 15Z should come with the SSD set up as a transparent cache, so your friend's girlfriend will only see one drive.

Yes this is my assumption as well.

 

[Joeydubbs]

Both would likely fit the bill. I got one of those HP laptops from Costco a few months ago and it has worked out real well. In hindsight, it is only really used for web surfing and occasionally uploading family picks etc.. so maybe I didn't need such a powerful proc and such...

I say go dell. Put that $200 bucks into a mutual fund and in 5 years you can buy another laptop


You have an interesting arrangement with your friend, any chance you want to buy my wife's x-mas present for me? I hate shopping...