Laptop suggestion?

[Carson Dyle]

My sister is looking for a laptop, but I haven't bought one in years. I can't think of too many requirements... typical Office apps, internet browsing, etc. No need for much file storage.

- Budget $400
- Windows 10 (I guess)
- Intel CPU
- minimum of 4GB ram. Or is more recommended? I haven't run Win 10 yet.
- SSD of ? size. I'm going to guess 32MB is too small for Win 10 and even a minimal set of applications.
- 15(ish) inch screen
- no need for an optical drive

Other considerations? I don't think she's looking for a convertible laptop/tablet, but I'll ask. I'll also have to ask her whether or not she wants/needs a touch screen. How is Windows 10 without one, or is it becoming a necessity?

 

[Carson Dyle]

Wow. No ideas here?

Looking into it a bit, it looks like an SSD isn't likely at that price point. That's a little surprising to me that even a 64GB would be out of the question, but seems like they all have 500GB to 1TB HDDs.

Appears that the best Intel CPU in the $325-450 range is a dual-core i3 of varying speeds. I see a lot of AMD A8 quad-cord systems, as well. Any thoughts on how comparable they are, or relative value? How would the A8 affect battery life?

 

[rchunter]

I just bought one of these for my mom for xmas. Paid about $460 from newegg. Then I noticed they ran out of stock and promptly jacked up the price. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...78&cm_re=asus_i7_5500u-_-34-232-795-_-Product ASUS Laptop F554LA-NH71 Intel Core i7 5500U (2.40 GHz) 8 GB Memory 1 TB HDD Intel HD Graphics 5500 15.6" Windows 10 Home 64-Bit

 

[Raduque]

Slightly overbudget, but I'll recommend you look at the Dell Inspiron 15. I bought a 5558 model (Core i3 4030u, 8gb ram, 1tb hdd) and it's very good for general usage. The model I picked up came with a 1080p touchscreen and was $299 on Thanksgiving (pre-black friday deal at Best Buy).

Buy a 250gb SSD for around $50, clone the drive to the SSD and swap them. Optionally buy a enclosure for the factory HDD and format it for a storage drive. It's blow pretty much any $500 laptop out of the water.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Great idea, but sister is 1200 miles away. As it is, I want to do as little tech support as possible for family living halfway across the country. Just researching and recommending a computer is already enough to generate god knows how many email and text exchanges when she can't figure out how to do something.

Dell appears to be running some deals on laptops right now. Maybe I should call and see if it's possible to get one configured with a 128 or 256 GB SSD.

Why do so many of these things still have DVD drives? That surprises me. Maybe it's only on the 15.6" and larger models, whereby they must figure people aren't overly concerned with weight.

 

[corkyg]

Many of those DVD drives can be replaced by a 2nd data drive or battery.