I got a crummy laptop with the AMD A6 chipset.

[shortylickens]

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-ideapad-1-14-laptop-amd-a6-series-4gb-memory-amd-radeon-r4-64gb-emmc-flash-memory-platinum-gray/6359222.p?skuId=6359222

It is so slow that Windows 10 doesn't even work properly with it. Takes forever for anything to load and sometimes just outright freezes. I wish that was a crime.
Am returning it, obviously, and need suggestions for a slim laptop that doesn't stink. I am not partial to any particular brand or chipset, but it needs to be fast. Or at least not so slow that it becomes unusable.
It will be used for light daily tasks, like paying bills from the convenience of my living room, and maybe checking the web when I dont feel like going downstairs to my Beast.
Am willing to spend up to 1000 dollars after taxes and shipping. If it has a screen that's viewable under indirect sunlight that would be a nice bonus. Also if the batter were slightly above average I'd like that as well. It does not need an optical drive or a webcam. I'd be happy if it had more than one USB port, just in case I need it as a temporary main computer.

 

[amd6502]

4gb is not enough and to make things worse windows memory compression kicks in and the A6 often doesn't have the number of free threads to handle that. Then windows with its constant updates must be a nightmare on 64GB emmc. I'd stay away from bottom end, or at least know what you're getting yourself into when getting an emmc laptop.

I wouldn't even trust these emmc laptops to necessarily have a sodimm slot. It's possible it's soldered on, in which case that blows.

 

[UsandThem]

You want something with an Intel i5 (9th or 10th gen), "H" CPUs are more powerful than the "U" models, which use less power. If you go with AMD, go with a laptop with the Ryzen 4000 series CPU. Also don't go with models with less than 8 GB of RAM, or ones without the OS on a SSD. Most of my laptops came with a regular HDD, and to save money I installed the SSD myself. However, many of the laptops I have purchased, are little bit of a pain to open up in order to access the locations to install components. If that's something you don't want to mess with, just order one already upgraded.

I've bought my last 4-5 laptops at Dell Outlet, which saves some money and comes with the same warranty as new.

 

[sandorski]

8gb minmum for Win10. Have a HP Refurb from a 2012 Model with some 2 Core AMDsomething APU(?) that has 4gb and it often turns into a slog fest if starting something New or just has been sitting Idle for awhile. Pretty sure my problems would go away with 8gb, but it's time for a new Laptop anyway, been eyeing various R5 Laptops.

 

[JWade]

yeah, i second delloutlet my latest grab from them was a ryzen 5 3500 for my wife for about $328. i snagged myself an i7-9700, 512gb ssd, 1660 gtx 6gb, only 8gb ram though, for $612.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

If you're just using a basic web focused consumption model, why not get a Chromebook like the ASUS C434? The base m3-8100y CPU model is about $570, it's solidly built, and it's got a nearly 10 hour casual use battery life.

 

[Steltek]

HP ENVY x360 Convertible 15-dr1072ms - i7-10510U - $649.99 via Microsoft eBay store.

It has a touch screen and is convertible to tablet mode if that appeals to you. Memory is only 8GB but should be expandable if needed in the future.

I also definitely suggest you look at the Dell outlet (both home and work - use your name as the business name to order from the work side) as a second look. All the certified refurbished machines I have ever bought there were brand new (other than a green "certified refurbished" sticker on the back). The coupons they frequently offer will at least cover the sales tax in most cases as well.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I know your pain, sort of. I have a Walmart-special Ematic 13.3" 1080P IPS laptop, with an A4-9120e (6W TDP), 4GB DDR-something, soldered on, presumably, and 64GB eMMC. However, it also has a SATA M.2 SSD slot, so I upgraded. With a "real" SATA SSD, it's not quite as bad as the eMMC. It runs Linux Mint 19.x just peachy (yes, I know 20.x is out, haven't tried it). It was a PITA to get Windows 10 onto the SSD, because you need the drivers from the eMMC pre-install, and you can't access the eMMC, you guessed it, without storage drivers specific to that brand of eMMC they used. Anyways, it IS doable.

So, I was using it as a daily-driver. So long as I keep my number of tabs in Firefox reasonable, it wasn't too horrible. Not great though, either.

But, consider it was only $110 for a 1080P IPS screen laptop, plus like $28 for the 128GB SATA M.2 SSD. Still not bad.

I fear what you paid at BestBuy for one of those lower-end eMMC laptops.

I had previously paid $200 at Walmart.com for a Lenovo with a 4250U, I think it was, a 1.8Ghz dual-core modern Celeron CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB M.2 SSD built, in. That runs fairly well, semi-snappy, not boggy like the Excavator (BullDozer) derived A4 and A6 models. (Celeron is two REAL cores, the A4/A6 is just a single-module APU.)

I also picked up, for around $260 @ Walmart, a 14" Slim HP with Ryzen 3200U (2C/4T actual Zen APU), with two SO-DIMM DDR4 slots (upgradable), and a Samsung SATA 128GB M.2 SSD (upgradable). I upgraded the RAM to 2x8GB DDR4-2400 DDR4. It (relative to my other laptops) basically flies. Had some minor issues with the USB-C port, though.

Edit: Should have picked up this HP instead:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-14-laptop-amd-athlon-silver-4gb-memory-128gb-ssd-jet-black/6415804.p?skuId=6415804

(RAM 2xSO-DIMM slots, and SATA SSD M.2 are both upgradable. Unfortunately, it too has the dreaded 768P screen resolution.)

 

[bbhaag]

Here's a couple I have been looking at lately. Ones a Lenovo AMD based laptop with a Ryzen7 and the other is a Asus laptop with a Core i5. The specs look pretty good on both and they are well under budget for you and either one should perform the tasks you need with ease. I do like that the Lenovo has a non soldered memory slot for future upgrades vs the Asus that is soldered.

Anyway here are the links for both.
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Laptop

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-VivoBook-Display-i5-10210U-S533FA-DS51/dp/B0852BTGGH