Laptop advice: So, my old laptop has died and I'd like to replace it. I'll admit right here that I'm completely computer illiterate, so any help would be much appreciated. To get...

KindaSpikey Loc: English living in San Diego

So, my old laptop has died and I'd like to replace it. I'll admit right here that I'm completely computer illiterate, so any help would be much appreciated. To get started, I really don't have a lot of cash to spend, (perhaps around $500 ish). I realize that's not much for a top of the line machine, so I'm happy to look at used/refurbished, and I already have a few places in mind for getting one. My problem is that I really don't know what specs I should be looking for, such as speed, type of processor, OS, memory, brand, and anything else I may have missed. I really know next to nothing about this subject, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help, all the best, and hope you have a great day!
Ray.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Believe it or not, you can get a good laptop for that price, assuming you don't want to use it to process feature-length movies. I got a nice Aspire from Amazon in 2020 for $561, including tax.

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/best-laptops-under-500
https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-laptops-under-500
https://www.rtings.com/laptop/reviews/best/by-price/under-500
https://www.digitaltrends.com/dtdeals/best-laptops-under-500/

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=best+%24500+laptops

General computer recommendations -
Memory -
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-much-ram-does-your-pc-need-probably-less-than-you-think/
http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-much-ram-does-your-pc-need/

Processor -
http://gizmodo.com/dont-waste-money-on-intels-top-processor-1791426602
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404674,00.asp
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/intel-core-i5-vs-i7/
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/intel-core-i9-vs-i7-vs-i5-cpu/
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/intel-core-i5-vs-i7/
http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/core-i5-vs-i7
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/210703-intel-core-i5-vs-core-i7-which-processor-should-you-buy

BebuLamar

You have the $500 limit. So look for something with the highest specs for that amount of money. A $500 lap top is going to be at least somewhat underpowered but try to get the most specs for your money like most ram, fastest CPU, most storage space etc..

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

KindaSpikey wrote:

So, my old laptop has died and I'd like to replace... (show quote)

Saw a nice 17" Asus? in Wmart yesterday, $500, could work

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

Fastest processor, largest drive and most memory $500 buys you.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

coolhanduke wrote:

Fastest processor, largest drive and most memory $500 buys you.

CHD means: whatever processor is contains (Intel, AMD, etc), the hard drive - 1TB or larger, memory: 16GB or larger

You can use USB-connected drives to create more storage over 1TB. The memory is for running your editing software. The chip / processor runs on generations and 'speed' as measured in GHz. They also can subdivide and distribute the processing, doing 2 things equally fast at once, or 4 or 8 / 16 / etc.

Take the idea mentioned at Walmart and go online, or drive over, and check the specs. Allow for the cost of purchasing software too. The OS should come installed, but what else, if anything. Do you need MS office? You can get by with free Google Docs. You'll need a virus protection. Is this pre-installed and what is the annual subscription cost? Can you download your current digital editor and re-install on the new equipment?

EDIT: looking online at the Walmart site, it seem your Windows-based options are 8GB with drives maybe 500GB. These would be fine, just undersized for running the top-notch software. If not subscribing to the Adobe software, probably not an issue.

KindaSpikey Loc: English living in San Diego

BebuLamar wrote:

You have the $500 limit. So look for something with the highest specs for that amount of money. A $500 lap top is going to be at least somewhat underpowered but try to get the most specs for your money like most ram, fastest CPU, most storage space etc..

I understand some of that, but what would be the priorities? Like processer for example. i5, i7, etc at the expense of something else? I can't afford the best in every area, which is kinda the point of this thread and question. Which "part" of the computer should I concentrate on?

KindaSpikey Loc: English living in San Diego

CHG_CANON wrote:

CHD means: whatever processor is contains (Intel, ... (show quote)

As usual Paul, your reply is closest to what I'm searching for. Most information, and I can understand most of it! Is there a preference between Intel, and amd? I remember back in the day, I bought a celron machine because it was cheaper than the pentium model, and regretted that decision until it found it's way onto the scrap heap! I'm attempting to avoid those kind of mistakes.
Ray.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

KindaSpikey wrote:

I understand some of that, but what would be the priorities? Like processer for example. i5, i7, etc at the expense of something else? I can't afford the best in every area, which is kinda the point of this thread and question. Which "part" of the computer should I concentrate on?

I would say a minimum of a Core i5 processor or equivalent, 8GB of memory, and a 500GB hard drive or SSD. If this is going to be for email and surfing the web, you don't even need that much. In most cases, when you're looking at a $500 laptop, you won't have much choice of processor or memory. "Here it is. Want to buy it?"

Staples - https://www.staples.com/Laptops-Deals/cat_CL167289/00792
Amazon - https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=laptop&crid=A7U3JKG41RTM&sprefix=laptop%2Caps%2C77&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
Best Buy - https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-12gb-memory-256gb-ssd/6502177.p?skuId=6502177

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

KindaSpikey wrote:

As usual Paul, your reply is closest to what I'm searching for. Most information, and I can understand most of it! Is there a preference between Intel, and amd? I remember back in the day, I bought a celron machine because it was cheaper than the pentium model, and regretted that decision until it found it's way onto the scrap heap! I'm attempting to avoid those kind of mistakes.
Ray.

I don't think you need to worry about AMD today. Most of what Walmart is selling cheapest are Chromebooks. If you just needed a computer, without regard to digital editing, these would be fine. They run Googles OS and they're about half the price model to model the Windows versions. But, they're not very expandable and not good a running other commercial (non Google) software.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

KindaSpikey wrote:

So, my old laptop has died and I'd like to replace... (show quote)

Curious to see how this plays out. But $500 is not much to spend on much of anything these days. I could easily spend that of 7 or 8 rare music LPs or CDs.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

KindaSpikey wrote:

As usual Paul, your reply is closest to what I'm searching for. Most information, and I can understand most of it! Is there a preference between Intel, and amd? I remember back in the day, I bought a celron machine because it was cheaper than the pentium model, and regretted that decision until it found it's way onto the scrap heap! I'm attempting to avoid those kind of mistakes.
Ray.

AMD's Rizen processor has been King of the Hill for quite a while. It is fast and preferred by gamers, among others.

KindaSpikey Loc: English living in San Diego

CHG_CANON wrote:

I don't think you need to worry about AMD today. Most of what Walmart is selling cheapest are Chromebooks. If you just needed a computer, without regard to digital editing, these would be fine. They run Googles OS and they're about half the price model to model the Windows versions. But, they're not very expandable and not good a running other commercial (non Google) software.

I actually have access to LR & PS, so I would like to be able to run those. I also have a 1tb ssd, so that could be a helpful start. But like I said, I don't really know what I'm talking about other than that.

BebuLamar

KindaSpikey wrote:

As usual Paul, your reply is closest to what I'm searching for. Most information, and I can understand most of it! Is there a preference between Intel, and amd? I remember back in the day, I bought a celron machine because it was cheaper than the pentium model, and regretted that decision until it found it's way onto the scrap heap! I'm attempting to avoid those kind of mistakes.
Ray.

But I am not sure you can get what he recommended for $500.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

KindaSpikey wrote:

I actually have access to LR & PS, so I would like to be able to run those. I also have a 1tb ssd, so that could be a helpful start. But like I said, I don't really know what I'm talking about other than that.

Adobe says 8GB is the minimum with 16GB as the recommended minimum. So, more RAM is better, but 8GB is not a showstopper.

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-cc/system-requirements.html