Laptop purchase

[StLCardsFan]

We are looking to get our 15 year old daughter a laptop for Christmas. Problem is, I have no idea what is good and what is bad. What are some spec ranges for me to look at? Something like what is basic/serviceable to what is more top of the line. Anything I look at has processor speed, MB of memory, MB of hard drive, video card, etc. listed, but I don't know what all of that means and what is good and bad. I know there will be plenty of deals to be had in the next few weeks, just looking to get the best bang for the buck as we don't really want to go over about $400 for it.

I don't think she will use if for much more than basic internet stuff, YouTube, homework, etc. She does like to play Minecraft and a few other games, but I don't think she would be considered a 'gamer'. I don't anticipate her needing something to play some sort of advanced 1st person shooter type games, but want enough power and memory to handle most things for the foreseeable future.

 

[moosejaa]

ASUS are solid and reasonably priced.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[shanewu]

I agree about ASUS.

Anyway you can combine Christmas and b-day for her and up the budget? I've never been a fan of the budget laptops due to all the compromises (heavier, lower battery life, cheaper and lower resolution screens, slower hard drives, etc) that often make people wish they would have spent a few hundred more bucks.

 

[rtparty]

I'd avoid HP and any off brand names. I know some will disagree but I've never had an HP product last.

Asus and Acer make good stuff in my experience.

A Chromebook would be perfect minus the gaming portion.

Unfortunately, future-proof and budget rarely go together with electronics.

A Microsoft Surface might fit the bill depending on deals to be had.

When it comes to specs, that's Pandora's box. If you find a couple, post the links and we can help decipher it all

 

[mikeg_74]

We are looking to get our 15 year old daughter a laptop for Christmas. Problem is, I have no idea what is good and what is bad. What are some spec ranges for me to look at? Something like what is basic/serviceable to what is more top of the line. Anything I look at has processor speed, MB of memory, MB of hard drive, video card, etc. listed, but I don't know what all of that means and what is good and bad. I know there will be plenty of deals to be had in the next few weeks, just looking to get the best bang for the buck as we don't really want to go over about $400 for it.

I don't think she will use if for much more than basic internet stuff, YouTube, homework, etc. She does like to play Minecraft and a few other games, but I don't think she would be considered a 'gamer'. I don't anticipate her needing something to play some sort of advanced 1st person shooter type games, but want enough power and memory to handle most things for the foreseeable future.

i picked this one up and it's perfect for the house laptop. I ordered more memory since its expandable to 16gb & installed office. Solid machine with plenty of storage for the price.

http://www.staples.com/Dell-Inspiron-i5558-2147BLK-Laptop/product_1738546

 

[Kutros]

My wife stepped on our laptop last night destroying the screen, so I am now in the mode to look for a laptop. The best one that I have found that is pretty close to your price range is this one from the Microsoft Store. This will be $399 on Black Friday, or starting on Wednesday evening at midnight. Pretty solid core i5 with a big hard drive, lots of RAM and a touchscreen. Plus it is a "signature" model which means it doesn't have a lot of the junk on it. This is the one I am planning on getting, assuming it doesn't sell out too quickly.

It doesn't have Office, but that can be an add-on for a little extra.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store...2459594)(jDfRMawUPt8-ijRz71GpVqer3gceZMwYwA)()

 

[Drumdog]

i picked this one up and it's perfect for the house laptop. I ordered more memory since its expandable to 16gb & installed office. Solid machine with plenty of storage for the price.

http://www.staples.com/Dell-Inspiron-i5558-2147BLK-Laptop/product_1738546

This one does look like it might fit your needs and is in your budget.
If you need Office but don't want to spend the money on it, check out OpenOffice.
It is free and does a very good job at most Office formats.
https://www.openoffice.org/

 

[Drumdog]

My wife stepped on our laptop last night destroying the screen, so I am now in the mode to look for a laptop. The best one that I have found that is pretty close to your price range is this one from the Microsoft Store. This will be $399 on Black Friday, or starting on Wednesday evening at midnight. Pretty solid core i5 with a big hard drive, lots of RAM and a touchscreen. Plus it is a "signature" model which means it doesn't have a lot of the junk on it. This is the one I am planning on getting, assuming it doesn't sell out too quickly.

It doesn't have Office, but that can be an add-on for a little extra.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store...2459594)(jDfRMawUPt8-ijRz71GpVqer3gceZMwYwA)()

This one would definitely fit your bill, but it appears not to have a wired network interface, unless I am missing it in the specs.
That would leave you with a wireless connection only, but that may not bother you.
I had the i5 chip in my old laptop and it worked great. I now have a screamer from work with the i7, but it was very spendy....for them.

 

[StLCardsFan]

i picked this one up and it's perfect for the house laptop. I ordered more memory since its expandable to 16gb & installed office. Solid machine with plenty of storage for the price.

http://www.staples.com/Dell-Inspiron-i5558-2147BLK-Laptop/product_1738546

Good tip, looks pretty sharp for out price range.

My wife stepped on our laptop last night destroying the screen, so I am now in the mode to look for a laptop. The best one that I have found that is pretty close to your price range is this one from the Microsoft Store. This will be $399 on Black Friday, or starting on Wednesday evening at midnight. Pretty solid core i5 with a big hard drive, lots of RAM and a touchscreen. Plus it is a "signature" model which means it doesn't have a lot of the junk on it. This is the one I am planning on getting, assuming it doesn't sell out too quickly.

It doesn't have Office, but that can be an add-on for a little extra.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store...2459594)(jDfRMawUPt8-ijRz71GpVqer3gceZMwYwA)()

Definitely be checking out this one at Midnight on Wednesday. That would be a great deal if I can get it.

 

[StLCardsFan]

This one does look like it might fit your needs and is in your budget.
If you need Office but don't want to spend the money on it, check out OpenOffice.
It is free and does a very good job at most Office formats.
https://www.openoffice.org/

I think we have Open Office on another computer at home and it works out pretty well.

This one would definitely fit your bill, but it appears not to have a wired network interface, unless I am missing it in the specs.
That would leave you with a wireless connection only, but that may not bother you.
I had the i5 chip in my old laptop and it worked great. I now have a screamer from work with the i7, but it was very spendy....for them.

Not sure if the wired network would be a deal breaker or not. I can't imagine a scenario where it would be needed, but I guess it might be good to have if wireless fails.

 

[checkered]

you could get a usb ethernet adapter if needed for fairly cheap. Just saying.

Funny how subjective this can be. I've never had luck with Dells, but have with HP, Sony, and Toshiba. I've yet to use an Asus laptop but I use their motherboards in all the PCs I've ever built, so would expect them to be decent.

I think you can bet a better unit for the price than the inspiron personally.