I don't even need an expensive laptop
in Laptops ·
Hey everyone, I noticed things have gone pretty quiet on the forum lately... but I figured I'd try to shake things up anyway.
So, here’s the situation: my four-year-old laptop (HP 635) is basically on its deathbed. The keyboard has been acting up for a while now, and now the hard drive has finally given up the ghost; it still boots into Windows, but there's a mountain of bad sectors and other issues, so it's really just a matter of time before it dies completely. I know, I know, I shouldn't be bringing this up right now—I realize the drive and keyboard can be replaced—but I was thinking if I sell this old thing for whatever scrap value I can get and toss in a little extra, I might actually be able to pick up something new.
It's easy to act like a genius when you've got a massive budget, but my funds are capped at about $833. Ideally, if I could swing it, I'd love something with an i7, or maybe 8GB of RAM, or whatever modern processors are out there, and definitely an SSD from a reliable brand like Asus or Toshiba and such.
But like I said, money isn't the issue—it's the lack of it.
Anyway, how am I supposed to make sense of $2,500? What’s the best move here...
To give you a bit of background on me, I don't play games, so a dedicated graphics card is useless to me. It’s mostly just browsing the web or the occasional download, though I do that less often now since my Sony 808 C running on an Android TV platform handles all my Kodi needs (long live Kodi and streaming!) and YouTube. Occasionally I'll jump online to browse or pay some bills. Come autumn, my daughter will be starting school, so she might use the laptop occasionally for basic schoolwork.
In reality, I don't actually need a high-end machine.
The HP 635 wasn't bad back when I bought it for roughly $833, and it served me pretty well for a long time.
What I want to know is: should I avoid Intel Celeron processors at all costs? Everyone seems to say they're garbage. I'd prefer a Pentium or maybe something from AMD. I'd also like at least 4GB of DDR3, which is what my current junk pile has. I don't need anything fancy, but I would like a webcam. As for storage, I don't need a huge drive, maybe 500GB max.
I'm also looking for something at least 15 inches. If anyone is willing to lend a hand, I'd appreciate it, as my technical knowledge is pretty surface-level at best. Thanks.
These are the ones I'm eyeing. The first one has some extra discounts that would make it a much better deal than the sticker price, and the second one has a promotion for a 5-year warranty, which sounds pretty great.
http://www.walmart.com/multimedia/laptops/
http://www.amazon.com/informatika/laptop-deals
So, here’s the situation: my four-year-old laptop (HP 635) is basically on its deathbed. The keyboard has been acting up for a while now, and now the hard drive has finally given up the ghost; it still boots into Windows, but there's a mountain of bad sectors and other issues, so it's really just a matter of time before it dies completely. I know, I know, I shouldn't be bringing this up right now—I realize the drive and keyboard can be replaced—but I was thinking if I sell this old thing for whatever scrap value I can get and toss in a little extra, I might actually be able to pick up something new.
It's easy to act like a genius when you've got a massive budget, but my funds are capped at about $833. Ideally, if I could swing it, I'd love something with an i7, or maybe 8GB of RAM, or whatever modern processors are out there, and definitely an SSD from a reliable brand like Asus or Toshiba and such.
But like I said, money isn't the issue—it's the lack of it.
Anyway, how am I supposed to make sense of $2,500? What’s the best move here...
To give you a bit of background on me, I don't play games, so a dedicated graphics card is useless to me. It’s mostly just browsing the web or the occasional download, though I do that less often now since my Sony 808 C running on an Android TV platform handles all my Kodi needs (long live Kodi and streaming!) and YouTube. Occasionally I'll jump online to browse or pay some bills. Come autumn, my daughter will be starting school, so she might use the laptop occasionally for basic schoolwork.
In reality, I don't actually need a high-end machine.
The HP 635 wasn't bad back when I bought it for roughly $833, and it served me pretty well for a long time.
What I want to know is: should I avoid Intel Celeron processors at all costs? Everyone seems to say they're garbage. I'd prefer a Pentium or maybe something from AMD. I'd also like at least 4GB of DDR3, which is what my current junk pile has. I don't need anything fancy, but I would like a webcam. As for storage, I don't need a huge drive, maybe 500GB max.
I'm also looking for something at least 15 inches. If anyone is willing to lend a hand, I'd appreciate it, as my technical knowledge is pretty surface-level at best. Thanks.
These are the ones I'm eyeing. The first one has some extra discounts that would make it a much better deal than the sticker price, and the second one has a promotion for a 5-year warranty, which sounds pretty great.
http://www.walmart.com/multimedia/laptops/
http://www.amazon.com/informatika/laptop-deals