Laptop help (black Friday spinoff)

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seeker

Thu, Nov 23 2023, 1:37 pm

THIS NEEDS TO END NOW! I've been borrowing dh's computer and using my phone a whole lot and I'm determined to finally get a new computer already. But it's too hard to make a decision on something like this that I'm going to be spending a lot of time with, but didn't have a chance to go to a store and feel things out in person.

So please help!

1. My budget has 2 levels:
A. I'm willing to go up to 550 for something that checks all the boxes and gets great reviews.
B. I'm willing to make compromises and not get everything on my wish list, but for that my budget caps at 400.

2. Screen is a priority for me. I spend a lot of time reading and writing on screen and my eyes aren't so young anymore.
Here's the thing though: I've found screens with the same specs but vastly different experiences, so I need both decent specs AND good reviews. I've had regular HD 60hz screens look great and newer "better" screens look washed out and sluggish. So I don't know what's up, I just know that I want sharp visuals. Does not need to be touch screen, I'm indifferent either way.

3. Ideal size is 14". I'll try 15.6 if it'll get me everything else I want at a decent price. I could go a little under 14 too, that's what I had before, but I'd been thinking it could be nice to expand.

4. Need decent processing power but doesn't need to be super high end. i5 should be fine. i7, ryzen 5, and ryzen 7 are also fine. Issue is within these categories I see spec sheets listing the same type with different speeds and then I get confused. Point is I want a nice snappy experience, but I'm not doing any heavy video editing or 3d gaming or anything.

5. Target is 16gb ram. I'm OK with 8 if it's on the lower budget level AND has a slot available for expansion in the future.

6. I'm partial to light weight, fingerprint readers, and SD slots. All of these are things I'm flexible about for the right price and meeting my other conditions, but they're things I notice. In that order.

7. I'm OK with refurbished if it will get me more of my wish list within budget, as long as it's certified and comes with a full warranty.

Very grateful for any advice! I've been stuck on this for what feels like ages and just need to end the process already!

seeker

Sat, Nov 25 2023, 9:16 pm

Bump. I really really stink at shopping.

cbsp

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 10:41 am

I'm not great at shopping but this seems like a nice machine for your specs:

From Best Buy, cyber Monday deal, so I don't know how long it will be at this price:

$469.99 (was $799.99)
Lenovo Ideapad 1 15.6" Laptop - Ryzen 7 5700U with 16GB Memory - AMD Radeon Graphics - 512GB SSD - Cloud Gray
Model:82R400DTUSSKU:6555683

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/l.....55683

B'hatzlacha!

seeker

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 11:01 am

Thanks! I'll have to do some research on that as there are no reviews on that page... and also a past generation processor but AFAIK not very old but I'll look into it

cbsp

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 11:50 am

seeker wrote:

Thanks! I'll have to do some research on that as there are no reviews on that page... and also a past generation processor but AFAIK not very old but I'll look into it

I checked out the reviews of that model that they no longer had in stock (maybe it was a different color?) and it seemed good for your needs. I don't think you're going to a very new processor for that price point...

cbsp

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 12:00 pm

cbsp wrote:

Here's are the reviews I found for a similar model:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/r.....02660

amother

DarkCyan

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 12:03 pm

Im not good at comparing specs, but how is this computer?

https://www.costco.com/hp-17.3......html

Black Friday Deal
HP 17.3" Touchscreen Laptop - AMD Ryzen 5 7530U - Windows 11
12 GB memory
1TB SSD

Features:
AMD Ryzen™ 5 7530U (6-Core) Processor
17.3" Touchscreen Brightview HD+ (1600 x 900) 250-Nits Display
Full-Size Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Webcam with Privacy Shutter
Wi-Fi 6 (2x2/ 160) Gig+ and Bluetooth® 5.3
Microsoft® Windows 11 Home (64-bit)

srbmom

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 12:03 pm

This is a great price for an i7
https://www.dansdeals.com/shop.....inum/

amother

DarkCyan

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 12:08 pm

srbmom wrote:

This is a great price for an i7
https://www.dansdeals.com/shop.....inum/

Its non touch.

How does it compare to Costco Laptop that I posted above?

srbmom

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 12:24 pm

Quote:

How does it compare to Costco Laptop that I posted above?

The Costco one is also a great deal.

I personally stay away from touchscreen, it's not helpful for me in what I do for work, and it's another thing to break
I also have had much better experiences with Dell than with HP

But these are just my personal preferences

amother

Ebony

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 1:59 pm

I love HP's especially the touchscreen ones.

Here is one I found that might work for you;

https://www.officedepot.com/a/.....reen/

amother

DarkCyan

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 2:00 pm

srbmom wrote:

Quote:

How does it compare to Costco Laptop that I posted above?

Once I got my first Touchscreen, I cant do without. I also prefer Dell, but Ive been using a HP for 3 years. and Costco offers an amazing warranty.

seeker

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 11:53 pm

amother DarkCyan wrote:

Unless you specifically want 17", consider this one - it has more ram and a better screen, theoretically at least
https://www.costco.com/hp-pavi......html

seeker

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 11:54 pm

amother DarkCyan wrote:

Once I got my first Touchscreen, I cant do without. I also prefer Dell, but Ive been using a HP for 3 years. and Costco offers an amazing warranty.

Can you please share how touchscreen is so life changing? For now I've been considering it a non-factor

seeker

Mon, Nov 27 2023, 12:12 am

srbmom wrote:

This is a great price for an i7
https://www.dansdeals.com/shop.....inum/

I'm a little skeptical about the lack of usb-c. Who does that anymore? I'm concerned that the future may demand USB c before I'm ready to start buying a new computer again. Does anyone know about these things? Because other than that I was literally about to buy this one - it checks all my most important boxes albeit no frills, and reviews specifically call out above average screen, which is a big point for me. But if it's already got obsolete bits then idk.

amother

DarkCyan

Mon, Nov 27 2023, 12:17 am

seeker wrote:

Can you please share how touchscreen is so life changing? For now I've been considering it a non-factor

I cant explain it, until I had my first Touchscreen, I thought there was no advantage. I just love it.

srbmom

Mon, Nov 27 2023, 12:28 am

Quote:

I'm concerned that the future may demand USB c before I'm ready to start buying a new computer again.

I'm not sure how long you plan on keeping your computer, but at this price point I expect about 3 years of heavy use (max 5 years and that'spushing it). I can't imagine that everything will be switched over to usb-c by then without at least being able to use an adapter of some sort.

seeker

Mon, Nov 27 2023, 12:36 am

srbmom wrote:

Quote:

I'm concerned that the future may demand USB c before I'm ready to start buying a new computer again.

Adapter sounds kind of annoying.

I kept my last computer for I think 7 years and would love to do something like that again. At least 5 I hope?

I should probably lower my expectations and go with this dell because it is a very good price, very good processor, and seems to be a good screen. I will try to banish my hankerings for back-lit keyboards (I'm fine, really) and fingerprint reader (such fast login! Especially since I have my screen lock pretty quickly due to kids around.)

The other option was to lower my bar to 8gb instead of 16gb ram, while also lowering my spending accordingly. Because I see a number of deals advertised for nice 8gb machines whose prices are low enough to make me consider it. I just don't get why they would solder in 8gb to nice machines - my ideal would be to buy an 8gb cheap computer and upgrade it later if it gets troublesome. Because I'm not even so convinced I need 16gb, I just keep hearing that it's the wave of the future and 8 is not enough anymore, but I don't think I was noticing that yet on my old computer or dh's current one I've been borrowing...

seeker

Mon, Nov 27 2023, 12:41 am

Meanwhile for the kids I'm thinking of this. Yes it's low end but I don't think the kids need much. Unfortunately I spent all my research on myself so I have no idea how to distinguish between "low end perfect for light elementary school use" and "pure garbage that is unbearably slow"

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p.....024us

I like that it's durable and 14" is a great size. The $150 price tag is excellent too.

seeker

Mon, Nov 27 2023, 12:46 am

seeker wrote:

The processor is amd 3015e. Other cheap laptops I looked at had Intel celeron and I think one pentium. I have no idea how these compare and I'm not even sure anymore where I saw the other potential ones. This is the only one with school-level durability for sure.

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