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Processor question

R

RJHNY1

Member
I'm looking to get a mid-range laptop, in the $500-$600 range. My strength isn't knowing what's a good hardware specification. Obviously, 8 GB of RAM and 1 TB of hard drive space is the norm these days. I know that for the hard drive, you typically want to get 7200 rpm and you want to do better than 1366/768 for the computer display.

But since there's so many processors out there, I'm having a hard time understanding what's good or junk. Can any of you provide me with some tips so when I'm scouring laptop deals, I know if it's a good deal for the price?

For instance, Groupon has the refurbished HP ENVY dv7-7333cl Quad-Core AMD A10 17.3" Laptop for $430 with free shipping. Features Beats Audio sound and weighs 6.94 lbs.

Specs: http://www.groupon.com/pages/gg-1-hp-envy-dv7-7333cl-notebook-1

To me, everything seems good. But to the trained eye of many here, are these good parts and a good price?

Thank you!
 
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Any mainstream CPU is fine in that case (i.e. not Intel Atom or AMD E-series). Generally speaking a Haswell (4000 series) will get better battery life than an AMD A-series but they also cost more.
 
Do you think it's fast enough that in 2-3 years, it'll still be a good speed? I don't want to buy it and then in a year, it's slow.

Also, do you feel it's a good deal or should I be patient and wait for a better deal?

Thank you.
 
RJHNY1 said:
Do you think it's fast enough that in 2-3 years, it'll still be a good speed? I don't want to buy it and then in a year, it's slow.

Also, do you feel it's a good deal or should I be patient and wait for a better deal?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

The cpu used in your OP is the A10-4600M which is quite fast and should be more than sufficient for normal usage in the medium term timeframe. There is the newer AMD Richland apu which was recently released and should be making its way into mobile products.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6979/2013-amd-elite-performance-apu-platform-mobile-richland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...sors#Sabine_-_.22Llano.22_.282011.2C_32_nm.29
I'm not up to date whether is a good bargain for a laptop in that price range.
 
Blain, I'm not sure what you're saying? You mean to take out that hard drive b/c of the 5400 rpm?

Blain, VirtualLarry...do you guys think this is a good deal or can I do better?
 
I wouldn't buy an HP, much less a refurbished HP.

The Lenovo Outlet is the place to hunt around.
Find what you want then scoot over to Newegg and buy a quality SSD for the laptop.
 
RJHNY1 said:
Do you think it's fast enough that in 2-3 years, it'll still be a good speed? I don't want to buy it and then in a year, it's slow.

Also, do you feel it's a good deal or should I be patient and wait for a better deal?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Computers don't really slow down over time as long as you don't change your workload and keep the OS maintained. In other words, don't install useless toolbars, etc.
 
mfenn said:
Computers don't really slow down over time as long as you don't change your workload and keep the OS maintained. In other words, don't install useless toolbars, etc.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Keeping the OS, as well as drivers up to date is important. I've a few friends that barely update their systems and keep installing "those" toolbars and other web-based apps that sniff your system and quitely run in the background, taking up on resources and slowing down your PC
 
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