What's the minimum laptop or all in one for a relatively fast internet browsing machine?

[maniacalpha1-1]

My parents want a new computer, and it's just for internet browsing, but like anyone, they don't want it to be slow to open new windows or to have unnecessary delays for basic use.

They want either a laptop or all in one, and since I always use SSDs in my builds, I have to defer to others for what to do. Every time I've ever used a laptop that had HDD and something like a pentium, it was slow as molasses. So my first thought is, get at minimum an i3, and an SSD. Will that be enough?

For a laptop I saw this and thought it would be good enough, yes?

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo...lid-state-drive-black/5722735.p?skuId=5722735

For AIOs, any recommendations? It seems like you can get a good processor for the $800 range, but they don't seem to have SSDs until like $1200. Are HDD-based AIOs still pretty good as long as you get an i5?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Minimum for me or minimum that a company will try to tell you is "good enough?"

The "good enough" systems are quad-core Atoms with 4GB of RAM and an SSD. Low-end NUCs, things like that.

I am of the elitist mindset that a dual-big-core like a Pentium or i3, 8GB of RAM, and an SSD are the minimum you should set up for anybody you like.

The Lenovo is a solid choice.

w/r/t AIO machines, I'd rather have an i3 with an SSD than an i5 without. But you can basically build your own AIO by mounting a NUC or similar USFF PC on the back of a monitor.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Minimum for me or minimum that a company will try to tell you is "good enough?"

The "good enough" systems are quad-core Atoms with 4GB of RAM and an SSD. Low-end NUCs, things like that.

I am of the elitist mindset that a dual-big-core like a Pentium or i3, 8GB of RAM, and an SSD are the minimum you should set up for anybody you like.

The Lenovo is a solid choice.

w/r/t AIO machines, I'd rather have an i3 with an SSD than an i5 without. But you can basically build your own AIO by mounting a NUC or similar USFF PC on the back of a monitor.

Minimum to ensure that even with "fast" being subjective among different people, that they'll likely not complain about how windows restarts slow, or that opening IE/chrome/firefox or whatever they end up using is sluggish.

With AIOs I wish I could recommend something like this as $800 is in their price range, but at least with going to Best Buy near them the next one up with an SSD is $1100; I don't think they'll go for that. Are AIOs upgradeable at all? I could plop in a $60 Optane accelerator maybe? I think they use recovery partitions instead of recovery disks so changing the HDD out for SSD wouldn't work even if physically possible.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-v...e-black-gold-metallic/6051044.p?skuId=6051044

Now, the mini-PC idea could work too . It doesn't even have to be mounted to the monitor. This might work perfectly:

https://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-ZBOX-E...qid=1521326184&sr=8-12&keywords=mini+pc+zotac

Apart from this one the only mini PCs I can find with SSDs are more expensive than this one and include video cards they don't need.

All in all I think I'll recommend the Lenovo laptop but the mini pc is tempting . Their goal is portability - not portability as in, use it in the car, but portability as in, when they go to the beach for 2 weeks vacation, that they can take it with them for the hotel or bungelow or whatever. A laptop obviously fits that, but so does an AIO, it's just one unit plus the cords and KBM. The mini pc would work for that too; it's a lot more portable than a desktop.

 

[UsandThem]

My personal belief is if you buy a "good enough" PC for today, you will end up replacing sooner tomorrow.

Whatever you end up buying form factor wise, I'd say stay with an i5 (8th gen with 6 cores better) or a Ryzen 1500x - 1600. Also like you said, a SSD is really almost a must nowadays, If the PC doesn't come with one, you can always buy a SSD, clone the drive, and put it in. 8 GB of RAM should be good enough for a while. As far as AIO recommendations, I really am not a fan of them, so I can't really recommend one. As far as laptops go, Lenovo is a good choice, but I prefer Dell laptops, and would take a look at something like this:

https://m.costco.com/Dell-Inspiron-...VIDIA-Graphics---1080p.product.100397512.html

With laptops, always look for the CPUs with 'HQ' in them instead of 'U'. They offer much better performance if they are going to be mostly plugged in.

 

[killster1]

shrug i3 8100? 7100 even would be fine. i purchased one for my 10 year old he is perfectly fine with it.

 

[Harry_Wild]

Most of the backlog or boot time is with the hard drive. Get a SSD of any sort and you get around 15 seconds boot time and pretty fast web surfing i(f you Wi-Fi is fast enough).

 

[Zodiark1593]

If you don't want to be troubleshooting slowdowns anytime soon, a modern quad core and SSD should provide ample headroom for novice pc users to thrash it without feeling excessive slowdowns. Means they would have to do an impressive amount of damage before it slows down enough to call for help, especially if you spring for an i5.

As to the minimum for myself, I regularly use an Atom with 2GB of RAM, though I'm well aware of it's limits and know how to keep the load light. Knowledgeable users, ironically, can better make do with much lower end hardware than Joe/Jane Average.

 

[IntelUser2000]

http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-pavilion-all-in-one-24-x025xt

That seems to be in the price range, and its preconfigured with 16GB Optane Memory.

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideacentre-i7-6700T-Graphics-F0CD002PUS/dp/B01LYW6E2M/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1521398286&sr=1-8&refinements=p_36:70000-85000

The above is two drives, with one being a 128GB SSD.

Maybe this? But only with 128GB SSD.

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Flagship-Performance-Business-Dual-Core/dp/B0734GNM7C/ref=sr_1_16?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1521398586&sr=1-16&keywords=ssd&refinements=p_36:70000-100000

Few based on the older 4th Gen Core chips.
https://www.amazon.com/Optiplex-Computer-Quad-Core-Bluetooth-Professional/dp/B07889KRZT/ref=sr_1_25?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1521398675&sr=1-25&keywords=ssd&refinements=p_36:70000-100000
https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkCentre-M93z-10AE-Computer/dp/B00GTYW2IE/ref=sr_1_27?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1521398675&sr=1-27&keywords=ssd&refinements=p_36:70000-100000

You could get an Intel NUC like this one with a 28W U CPU which will perform better than the 15W U ones: https://www.amazon.com/NUC7i7BNH-Dual-Core-i7-7567U-Bluetooth-Thunderbolt/dp/B078GWZNK6/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1521398988&sr=1-4&keywords=mini+pc&refinements=p_36:75000-85000&dpID=41lPvXQBVAL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch


The chips with T in them are Desktop chips but at low TDP levels. The chips with U in them are for ultraportable/ultrabooks. The AIOs with U chips are generally more portable. AIOs with T chips may be upgradeable but more bulky.

 

[lakedude]

UsandThem's Costco Dell for $599.99 looks great to me. It already has an SSD and I think you can add a 1TB storage drive for around $50 if needed.

One small issue/correction is that the Costco Dell is "7th" generation but that is not a big issue.

https://ark.intel.com/products/97456/Intel-Core-i5-7300HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_50-GHz

The 1050 GTX is like a free bonus compared to the other systems you were looking at. Heck I might get one of these myself!

How good do you think it would do for VR? Were should I post VR questions so as not to derail this thread?

 

[UsandThem]

UsandThem's Costco Dell for $599.99 looks great to me. It already has an SSD and I think you can add a 1TB storage drive for around $50 if needed.

One small issue/correction is that the Costco Dell is "7th" generation but that is not a big issue.

https://ark.intel.com/products/97456/Intel-Core-i5-7300HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_50-GHz

The 1050 GTX is like a free bonus compared to the other systems you were looking at. Heck I might get one of these myself!

How good do you think it would do for VR? Were should I post VR questions so as not to derail this thread?

I think the minimum current gen for VR is a GTX 1060, and even then the experience might not be great. I think a GTX 1070 and up is where you want to be for a good experience.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Their goal is portability - not portability as in, use it in the car, but portability as in, when they go to the beach for 2 weeks vacation, that they can take it with them for the hotel or bungelow or whatever.

ASRock DeskMini? They're a lot like a NUC, except they're bare-bones, and they take standard Desktop Intel Skylake / Kaby Lake CPUs, up to 65W.

They also take one PCI-E M.2 slot for an SSD, as well as 2x SATA 2.5" bays (one not accessable without removing the motherboard from the chassis. So if you're lazy like me, really 1x SATA bay.)

 

[lakedude]

maniacalpha1-1

I would think that you are spot on about an i-3 and SSD being minimum, if you can find such a thing cheap enough. That $599.99 Costo Dell is a bit of overkill but the price is very reasonable for what you are getting.

Newegg has a great search feature that allowed me to quickly find i3 laptops with 250GB SSDs for as low as $480. Bigger SSDs are available but cost more. For the money that Costo Dell with an add on mechanical storage drive for $50 (if needed) is hard to beat. Even if I'm wrong about it having room for an internal you could use an external.

Laptops are impossible to beat for portability not only because of their form factor but also the ability to run on battery which can be handy at times.

A laptop can power a larger external monitor if need be.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100006740 601286796 601296066

Are HDD-based AIOs still pretty good as long as you get an i5?

I suspect you already know the answer. The "speed" of the i5 will not help if you are I/O limited. You will be waiting on the hard drive regardless of how fast the CPU is.

It really depends on your bottleneck which BTW is often your internet connection speed.

SSDs help boot times and general system response time.

For general use I'd rather have an i3 with an SSD over an i5 with a mechanical, but it is easy to imagine specific instances were it would be the other way around.

Also I'd rather have an i3 with a mechanical HD, no dedicated video card and high speed internet over an i7 with an SSD, 1080 GTX and dial up...

 

[VirtualLarry]

For general use I'd rather have an i3 with an SSD over an i5 with a mechanical, but it is easy to imagine specific instances were it would be the other way around.

Also I'd rather have an i3 with a mechanical HD, no dedicated video card and high speed internet over an i7 with an SSD, 1080 GTX and dial up...

True, true.

I try to build my rigs with i3-class CPUs or better (including quad-core AMD APUs), and SSDs, even smaller (120GB minimum for a Windows 10 installation, I've stopped using 60GB or less SSDs, unless they want a CloudReady install, which fits on a 16GB SSD). Discrete GPU optional, in most cases, but if they want HDMI out and 4K capability, they might need one, even a GT630/730. (Don't have too many of those left. I bought a whole bunch of them, half price, for $30-35, when they were fire-saling them at Newegg. Not much good for gaming, but great for 4K desktop usage.)

 

[jkauff]

If all they're doing is surfing the web, why not consider a Chromebook? You could buy one for each of them and still pay less than a laptop with an SSD.

I've got a Win 10 desktop I'm very happy with, but for job interviews I'm often asked to bring a laptop to show my work portfolio. I just paid $199 at Best Buy for an Acer Chromebook 15 that has HDMI out, 16GB of eMMC storage, an SD slot, USB 3.0 ports, Bluetooth, and 802.11ac wifi. Just your basic low-end Celeron chip, but perfect for web access and storing a few PDFs and PowerPoint files to display in meetings.

That's a lot of functionality for two hundred bucks.

 

[lakedude]

If all they're doing is surfing the web, why not consider a Chromebook?

I was just thinking the same thing.

The i3 with SSD as a "minimum" assumes you need Windows and have a healthy budget.

One could buy or build a surfing machine for far less if need be.

Ditching Windows can save money in several ways, if you are willing to ditch Windows.

I doubt you want to go this way but a distro like Puppy Linux is an awesome choice not only because it is free but it is fast as well.

Puppy Linux is tiny and as such is super fast because it fits entirely in RAM. RAM is much faster than most any hard drive.

A Puppy system with a mechanical hard drive generally responds like it has an SSD because the OS is in RAM.

 

[JackMDS]

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Touchscre...&qid=1522695769&sr=8-3&keywords=hp+laptop+ssd

 

[CuriousMike]

My parents want a new computer, and it's just for internet browsing, but like anyone, they don't want it to be slow to open new windows or to have unnecessary delays for basic use.

Rhymes with "Chromebook."

It was the single greatest change I made for my parents a couple years back.

 

[lakedude]

One quick note, the Costo Dell for $599 lacks an optical drive. This is a deal breaker for our purposes. We still need optical drives to play RedBox DVDs. Of course many will not need an optical. If you do need one you can get an external but that can get unwieldy especially if you have other external devices.

One of our friends tried to save money buy getting a cheap laptop or maybe a chromebook and then trying to use it like a regular laptop. There was a huge tangle of cords going to all manner of external devices. It was ridiculous and no money was saved because of the need to purchase said external devices. It was a pitiful machine, so slow. Sorry I don't remember exactly what it was except that it was a mess.

 

[hoorah]

Aside from the basic speed, I would say the most important factor to a basic user (like my parents) being satisfied with their computer is the quality of the screen. There is a huge difference in user experience between a 13" chromebook and a 27" AIO with an IPS screen. If they don't need portability, in my opinion they will be happier overall with a bigger screen.

I don't know much about current gen AIOs, but apple has done well selling them for years so I understand there is an aesthetic appeal to them. My mother (very much not tech savvy) had a Dell 24" AIO that I refurbed from someone that ditched theirs (over a virus) and she really loved it. When it broke, I think she was pretty sad about it. Its about time for her to get an upgrade and I was thinking of doing a 27" monitor with a SFF VESA-mountable box on the back of it as a DIY AIO.

If I do that, I'd probably do an I3 with and SSD and 8GB of ram and call it good.

 

[lakedude]

There is a huge difference in user experience between a 13" chromebook and a 27" AIO with an IPS screen.

Agreed, you can however use a laptop to power an external monitor. It is then up to you weather you take the big screen when you need to go mobile. While the laptop is the most portable by itself a laptop docked to a larger screen would be less so. Still, you make a good point. An AIO is going to offer a cleaner look and be more portable if you intend to take the larger screen when you go mobile.

 

[CuriousMike]

I think you're confusing the $199 Chromebooks with their higher quality, IPS brethren.
Example: Asus C302 or the Samsung Chromebook Plus/Pro.

 

[hoorah]

Agreed, you can however use a laptop to power an external monitor. It is then up to you weather you take the big screen when you need to go mobile. While the laptop is the most portable by itself a laptop docked to a larger screen would be less so. Still, you make a good point. An AIO is going to offer a cleaner look and be more portable if you intend to take the larger screen when you go mobile.

True, you can do this. I do find though that the target audience of AIO just tend to not do things like this. I tried explaining to my mother that if she didn't like the mouse with her new computer, we could find another she liked better - it was like I was speaking chinese. Obviously there is a spectrum of experience, but when I think AIOs and chromebook, I think people that struggle to find the power button. Maybe I'm just cynical.

 

[Hans Gruber]

There are no fast laptops anymore. Intel detuned their CPU's in favor of low power laptops. a Core2Duo or early i5 CPU. 4GB of ram but 8GB is preferred. 1080P display and SSD drive. Wireless AC wifi is good to have.

 

[lakedude]

There are no fast laptops anymore. Intel detuned their CPU's in favor of low power laptops. a Core2Duo or early i5 CPU.

Even if this was true one could still buy a laptop with a desktop CPU and avoid the issue. I'll grab some benchmarks here as time allows but I strongly suspect that the newer mobile CPUs will prove their mettle.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

There are no fast laptops anymore. Intel detuned their CPU's in favor of low power laptops. a Core2Duo or early i5 CPU. 4GB of ram but 8GB is preferred. 1080P display and SSD drive. Wireless AC wifi is good to have.

Stop shopping the Atom-powered bargain bin and get a real machine. A $700-$1k laptop with a modern 45w CPU will blow the doors off of those old dinosaurs.