Looking for a new laptop - recommended specs?

[99Saturn]

I'm starting to search for a new laptop and I'm pretty out of date with specs and what's reasonable at this point. Laptop won't be used for anything too intensive (ie no gaming) - Windows, Office, normal internet browsing (5 - 10 tabs), music (itunes), some hulu/netflix/etc.

I'd rather not end up with a cheapie model that is slow out of the box or 3 months down the road.

What should I look for/consider regarding processor and memory? Also, what else should I consider with Windows 10 coming soon?

TIA.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Intel Core i5 CPU as bare minimum, and 8 GB RAM. If you still want it to be somewhat peppy a few years from now - Intel Core i7.

Also consider an SSD - it'll feel much snappier.

 

[raytseng]

forget all that.

Assuming you're getting a NEW laptop, specs are becoming less important than the form factor.

So the Size and Weight are the most important thing you need to consider.
What size screen do you want?
Do you want a ultrabook type super slim and very light computer, or a powerhouse gaming brick of a computer with large screen?

Do you want a 2-in 1 that folds over to a tablet
Do you want a touchscreen?
I think though SSD is an important decision point-however you can also check if you can just replace the harddrive with an SSD yourself.

All these are becoming more important Questions than the processor/memory

 

[wallyuwl]

Wait until Windows 10 comes out. You can get a free upgrade if you buy a Windows 8.1 model now, but it is not a clean install it is an upgrade.

I agree with the i5 and 8GB RAM and SSD, especially on the SSD. It makes a huge difference. But computers with SSDs are expensive, you are better off to get whatever laptop you want then add your own SSD. It is easy to do and some Samsung Evo models come with a transfer cable and software to mirror your hard drive contents onto the new SSD prior to installing it. Super easy.

It isn't too much more expensive to get a custom built laptop from Toshiba or HP or Dell with 12 or even 16 GB RAM instead of 8. Avoid Lenovo as many of them have motherboards that can't be upgraded beyond 8 GB RAM. Most computers sold from common retailers, either in-store or online, will have 8 GB RAM. It is suitable for now but in a couple years at the most you'll wish you had more.

 

[Merkava_4]

Just buy a MacBook Pro and you won't have to worry about specs.

 

[tomcat27]

lol! what a seemingly disparate array of responses - and all of them have truth to them:
you do need to decide if you want a traditional laptop, or if you want the portability and flexibility of tablets, hybrids, etc.

certainly if it has a traditional processor, I echo that an i5 is a minimum, and an i7 is more "future proof".

SSD is always a bonus.

If you are open to the Apple landscape, I recommend them highly - although there is certainly a learning curve if you have been working with Windows for awhile. with Apple, expect fewer viruses, malware, etc. (but yes, they still can happen)

 

[OneEyeJack]

Could something like this help?

 

[skyactiv]

Screen resolution is a very important. Don't cheap out and get a 15.6" screen laptop with 1366X768 resolution. 1366X768 is horrible.

 

[Donald]

Try out the keyboard and see if you like it. Some are not that good, others just take getting use to. You can look up the processor in the benchmarks website. SSD will make a big difference. You can also upgrade most laptops to SSD yourself.

Will you use the laptop's display? Some people have a laptop so it can be portable if needed but 98% of the time they just use the "guts" of the laptop and have mouse, external keyboard and display.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Try out the keyboard and see if you like it.

Same goes for the touch pad - I've seen some really bad ones out there.

 

[greenjp]

I can't believe no one has asked the most important question - how much do you want to spend? All the rest depends on that.

After that, the next question is what size/form factor do you want - small (13" and under), smallish (14"), regular (15.6"), or large (17" and up).

With cost and size determined you can really focus your search. Agree with above that an i5 and 8 GB ram will be sufficient for the stated uses.

SSD is great but still very expensive on the price/GB scale, so if you plan to have a lot of photos or videos stored you should consider a regular drive, or if possible a dual drive or hybrid type or maybe a model that has an expansion slot (mSATA, M2 formats I think?) for a second drive.

Concur on the higher resolution monitor. 1920x1080 is much more pleasing to work with than 1366x468. Comes at a price though.

Dunno about Lenovo's and limits on memory expansion, but I've been pretty happy with my two low-end Thinkpads. They build to order if you want, publish great maintenance guides, and I've had good luck with discounts and promotions.

jeff

 

[99Saturn]

Lots to think about that I haven't given much thought to before today. Realistically this is going to end up primarily being the g/f's but I have a rough idea to some, obvious we'll have to go try some other aspects out, and I'm sure I can answer some or give some thought's on some.

Cost: I'd love to save some cash but functionality is really more important. I'd like to keep it under $1000 - which seems realistic. I probably would have preferred to keep it between $500 and $700. Just some browsing around seems to put the cost more around $700, not even getting into SSD, just really looking at RAM and the processor, but haven't started looking for any deals yet.

Size: I think size wise that field is pretty open. My laptop for work is a 15"inch I believe, hers is an HP Ultrabook (I think) 14". The 14" around 5lbs is probably good. I doubt a bit smaller (13") would be a problem but would have to do try some out.

No real desire or thought about a 2 in 1 up to now, so wouldn't be going out looking for that, but something to look into I guess.

Don't really have any desire to move to a mac. Nothing against Apple just don't have a burning desire for one.

It'll probably be used as a laptop 30% or 40% of the time. Still have to figure out the at home setup situation.

Hopefully I didn't miss anything. Thanks again for the feedback thus far.

Edit: Just as a point of reference the last "laptop" I bought was an Eee PC circa 2008 to get me through the last ~9 months of school when my laptop screen went out. Prior to thatit was an Inspiron 6000 circa 2005, which is still (sort of) working today with Mint. Granted it's slow, and think the hard drive is on the way out (screen was never fixed and the disk drive went some time ago but it's still kicking).

Thanks again.

 

[VetteElite]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Just buy a MacBook Pro and you won't have to worry about specs.


This

 

[cashmoney]

No question on Macbook Pro with 500gb SSHD recommendation if you have the budget - its the best by a long margin.

If budget is tight you can get a great windows laptop for 1/2 the cost of the MAC. I suggest spending the money to get 500gig SSHD - well worth the expense and super reliable and blazing fast.

I can't think of any reason that a non-extreme user would require more than 8 gig of memory. Instead spend any extra money for the laptop on best screen you can get and a big fast SSHD drive.

 

[occupant]

This is the modern equivalent of my laptop:

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-VN7-791G-76Z8-17-3-Inch-Gaming/dp/B00WJSQREY/ref=sr_1_1?

It has a 17 inch screen, quad core Intel Core i7 processor, plenty of RAM, a huge slow hard drive, good discrete graphics, and a DVD burner. The only difference between it and mine, is mine has GT640 graphics to its 960GTX and i7-2670QM processor to its i7-4720HQ. Oh, and the newer one has a backlit keyboard, better battery life, higher quality display (I have 1600x900, this one is 1920x1080), and costs less. (mine was $950 new I got it refurb from Acer on eBay for $619, this new one is $999 on Amazon, close enough).

The other cool thing about my laptop is it has two 500GB hard drives. Both slow 5400rpm models. But what I intend to do here is swap them BOTH for 240-256GB SSD's which can be had nowadays for $80-90 each. On one drive I have the original Windows 7 install and on the other is Xubuntu 14.04 LTS. I'll clone those to the new drives and save the old ones in external cases for monthly backups.

My current Windows install uses 150GB of the 500GB drive and my Xubuntu install uses 64GB of the 500GB drive. I'll have plenty of room left over and I'll even be able to duplicate a lot of the files I use most between them.

I'm considering partitioning the Xubuntu one and putting Windows 10 on that SSD. Then have three OS's to choose from. That way if I can't play GTA IV or LA Noire or Driver SF in Windows 10, I can uninstall Steam from W10 and go back to using W7 for gaming.