Laptop Purchase Help

[Rifraf]

I'm shopping around for a laptop for someone, but am toying with the idea for one for myself for when I'm away from home.

Now in both cases I'm not looking for a super computer, but just a basic every day laptop that can do minor work stuff, surf the web, watch youtube vids and stuff like that. I also look around all the stores when I'm out as well.

A 500gb HD is about standard and that's fine. A CoreI3 or I5 is fine. I guess an AMD would be just fine too? Not necessarily concerned with that either way. The issue would be integrated graphics vs dedicated vid card. I really want this to be between $300-$500. I know, don't laugh. Like I said just an every day general use laptop. Integrated is probably the only way to go to keep the price low and as long as one can watch vids/surf the web then that would be fine. I'm not too concerned with being able to play games. Certainly nothing high end. Maybe an occasional older game or something?

I also really want Win 7 over 8 and I've seen a few that still have 7 so won't be stuck with settling for something with 8. I'm looking for opinions/suggestions from those of you who have a laptop so I can make a properly informed decision

 

[CABAL]

Integrated cards nowadays I believe are often GeForce 7 series or roughly equivalent. You wouldn't be able to run Skyrim, but Morrowind or Return to Castle Wolfenstein would run pretty well. They both run acceptably on my Vista-era Acer laptop with an Intel integrated card and anything you can get now is much better.

I also really want Win 7 over 8 and I've seen a few that still have 7 so won't be stuck with settling for something with 8.

Even if you get 8 you'll only have to put up with it for a few months before you can upgrade to 10 for free. 8 may also run slightly better on low-end hardware, even if the interface is a disaster.

 

[Katala]

I run windows 7 on my laptop (it cost me 500AU$) and it also has integrated graphics, I also run Skyrim and STO and several other games that can be graphic intense without an issue, I am an AMD person, but I guess intel can be fine, however my son runs the intel version of my laptop and his overheats even when using a cooling pad when playing the higher end games when I don't use a cooling pad at all.

 

[Rifraf]

That's good info, thank you both. May I ask what speed your procs are? From what I've seen in this price range they are mostly under 2.0 Ghz. I assume that would be more than enough?

As for graphics with say Intel I've seen HD4000, 4200, 4400, 5000 and I think 5200. I was thinking 4400 would be a sweet spot? Obviously the more ram I have the better the integrated graphics would perform from what I've found.

 

[CABAL]

I think mine is a 1.2GHz dual core of some sort, probably a Core 2, but I need to replace the power cord so I can't check now. My desktop has a 2.33 Core 2 Duo and it's more than enough for most of what I do.

 

[Katala]

Mine is a 1.9ghz with 4gb ram works well for everything I do which is alot to be honest from gaming to website development and photo editing for my photography

 

[Majestic]

I would really go Win7 if you can. Win 8 is horrid, and 10 is mostly an unknown at this point. The free upgrade is more a publicity stunt I believe as Win8 was hugely unsuccessful. They didn't sell a lot of copies, most that were sold were sold with new PC and Laptops that people bought with the OS already installed.

Personally I don't like the direction Microsoft has taken Windows and Xbox One with having everything online all the time. Storing all your data online requiring he user to having to stayed connected. It's becoming a alarming issue to me as more and more companies are taking this route with OS and games.

You mentioned you wanted the laptop for when you're away from home etc which could mean you're without internet connection at times, due to this I think Win 7 may be the better option for you. It's a pretty stable operation system, especially the ultimate edition. The only advantage I can see with 8 is the upcoming free upgrade to 10, and that is only if 10 turns around and picks up where 7 left off rather than doing the same mistakes as 8 did aka that damn tile interface that is garbage.

 

[CABAL]

I would really go Win7 if you can. Win 8 is horrid, and 10 is mostly an unknown at this point. The free upgrade is more a publicity stunt I believe as Win8 was hugely unsuccessful. They didn't sell a lot of copies, most that were sold were sold with new PC and Laptops that people bought with the OS already installed.

8 was a disaster, no question, but it was mostly the same under the hood with most of the differences being performance improvements and the horrid UI. Having tried the 10 preview, I so far think that it's a huge improvement. More performance optimizations and the desktop UI is actually pretty good. The free upgrade thing is actually their new business model for all new versions of Windows, probably because people would buy one version then not get another for two or three generations, forcing them to roll out updates for versions they no longer sold. I suspect the price of disks will go up significantly, though, and 10 likely won't get new non-critical updates after 11 comes out. DirectX 12 won't support 8.1 or below, either.

If you get 7 you can probably skip 10 without issues, but if you get 8 you should definitely upgrade to 10.

 

[Hellkite]

Okay I did a little shopping around for you

Spoiler: the best that I found for you price range

http://www.overstock.com/Electronic...efccid=4LNR5DRQCJ72KSKB2YQOAA5M4Q&searchidx=0

it a


This HP EliteBook 8540P Notebook PC comes with Intel Core i7- 2.66GHz Processor, 4096MB DDR3 Memory, 320GB Hard Drive, 15.5 in. WXGA Display, Wi-Fi, DVDRW Optical Drive, Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) Operating System and 1 year Distributor Warranty.

• Operating system: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i7- 2.66GHz
• Memory: 4096MB DDR3 Memory
• Hard drive: 320GB
• Optical drive: DVDRW Drive
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
• Audio: High Definition (HD) Audio
• Display Screen Size: 15.5 in.
• Display Type: WXGA, LED backlight
• Display Resolutions: 1280 x 800
• Networking: Integrated Gigabit Ethernet
• Slots: 1 Express Card/54,1 Smart Card Reader,CardBus Support
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports, LAN Port, Audio out, Microphone, VGA port, Display port, e SATA,2 USB 3.0 ports, Modem RJ-11, RJ-45, IEEE 1394
• Laptop Battery : 6-cell Lithium ion
• Model: HP 8540P
• Package contents: Laptop and AC Adapter
• Recovery CD: No. Recovery Partition Only
• Wi-Fi: Yes
• Dimensions: 1.3 inches high x 14.7 inches wide x 9.9 inches deep
• Weight: 6.37 pounds

Spoiler: quick specs manual for it

http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/getpdf.aspx/c04141333.pdf?ver=17

 

[Rifraf]

Lots more good info. Thank you everyone. And thank you Hellkite for the link. I can't help but be leery of refurbs though. Has anyone here every bought one? Can someone remind me how to do spoilers?

Spoiler: I think so far I'm leaning towards this for $400:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1N82829380

Brand: HP
General: Operating System Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit
CPU: Intel Core i3-4005U 1.7GHz
Screen: 15.6"
Memory: 4GB DDR3
Storage: 500GB
Optical Drive: DVD Super Multi
Graphics Card; Intel HD Graphics 4400
Video Memory: Shared memory
Communication:Gigabit LAN and WLAN
Dimensions (W x D x H): 15.12" x 10.28" x 0.91"
Weight: 5.07lbs
CPU Type: Intel Core i3
CPU Speed: 4005U (1.7GHz)
Number of Cores: Dual-core Processor
CPU Support: 3MB L3 Cache
Screen Size: 15.6" - 1366 x 768
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit
GPU/VPU: Intel HD Graphics 4400
HDD: 500GB - 7200RPM
Memory: 4GB - DDR3 1600
Memory Spec: 4GB x 1
Memory Slot (Total): 2
Optical Drive Spec: DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL
LAN: 10/100/1000Mbps
WLAN: 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN
Bluetooth 4.0, 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x VGA, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Headphone/microphone combo
Card Reader: Multi-format digital media reader
Webcam: 720p HD webcam

 

[Hellkite]

Your welcome

But that one was refurbish by the factory and has a 1 year Distributor Warranty so it was a practically a new computer with a

Intel Core i7- 2.66GHz "quad core" and a NVIDIA NVS 5100M graphics with 1 GB

I have bought then in the past for use at my local the Red Cross offices and VFW. They are very reliable most were just returned from a cancelled order that they can not sell them as "new" .

I mean it your money but the one I pointed out is a lot more Laptop for the buck that and remember some modern games will not run on a Dual core

_________________________________________________________

Spoiler: How to do spoilers

How to do spoilers

​

 

[CABAL]

I haven't bought a refurbished laptop, but I have gotten refurbished parts from a local store, including my current desktop PSU and my sister's current computer. They've been pretty solid.

 

[Rifraf]

Your welcome

But that one was refurbish by the factory and has a 1 year Distributor Warranty so it was a practically a new computer with a

Intel Core i7- 2.66GHz "quad core" and a NVIDIA NVS 5100M graphics with 1 GB

I have bought then in the past for use at my local the Red Cross offices and VFW. They are very reliable most were just returned from a cancelled order that they can not sell them as "new" .

I mean it your money but the one I pointed out is a lot more Laptop for the buck that and remember some modern games will not run on a Dual core

Well, this is something to consider. From looking around 1 year is the basic warranty on any laptop. It's funny how one's perception works. A used car would only have a limited warranty and is used yet you rarely hesitate to buy a used car.

You're no more out of luck with a refurb vs brand new once you are past the warranty. I'm going to have to consider this heavily then. I wish the HD was 500gb, but not a deal breaker. Thank you again Hellkite.

 

[Hellkite]

Your welcome my friend

Hard drives are easy to up grade my friend

 

[Rifraf]

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm also shopping for a laptop for another person and just want to know for myself as well for future. Is a 5400 rpm HD worth saving some money over vs a 72oo rpm HD? Would one notice much of a performance difference?

 

[Hellkite]

It depends on what your doing like most things

If you using it to game with on a high spec game yes but for every day use not really

 

[Rifraf]

Thanks Hellkite. Good to know. I keep checking the one in the link you posted. Something that isn't clear is that linked laptop says Intel HD Graphic, but the manual you posted shows the dedicated vid card. Guess the one on Overstock wasn't optioned with a dedicated card?

By the by I found an identical laptop you linked on another site, I think Microcenter or Tiger Direct for $399. So I'm still watching it.

 

[Hellkite]

Roger that

Think I was just got done reading the quick specs manual just before I posted that were is list it as having a NVIDIA card

sorry about that

try this one

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9084285&csid=_61

 

[Rifraf]

No prob. I still appreciate it. Still browsing around all the sites I can find to see what is there. I'm trying to find an AMD based laptop, but with what I want in it it's virtually impossible. Still, I persevere.

 

[Hellkite]

That last link Is a AMD

 

[Rifraf]

I did run across that one as an option for one of the laptops. I think I forgot about it. I've looked at so many in the last week my head is swimming

 

[Hellkite]

Know the feeling LOL