Laptop shopping

[alpha]

Thinking about getting rid of my desktop and moving to a laptop. I'm really not up on specs these days so, what are the current(and best) processors being offered? And what about RAM?

Mostly going to be using for internet, the odd project here and there, streaming video. Maybe goofing off and making beats eventually.

[Sigma]

Intel's 4th generation Haswell processors are the best CPUs around at the moment for laptops. The model numbers, in order from least powerful to most powerful, go like this: -

Celeron = 29XXX
Pentium = 35XXX
Core i3 = 40XXX to 41XXX
Core i5 = 42XXX to 44XXX
Core i7 = 47XXX to 49XXX

They all have on-board GPUs and the GPUs built into the higher end i5 and i7 CPUs are actually pretty good. A Core i5 is a decent mid-range choice. Any current CPU will be OK for web browsing and video streaming, but an i5 gives you a reasonable amount of power if you need to do things that are a bit more taxing on the system.

As for RAM, I would go with at least 4GB. That's plenty of RAM for a Windows or OS X-based system for most things, but if your budget allows you to have 8GB then go for that.

Personally I would not buy a Celeron or Pentium based laptop. They would be OK for basic tasks, but you can pick up an i3 or i5 laptop pretty cheaply these days, so this is how I would look at it: -

Entry level = i3 with 4GB of RAM
Medium = i5 with 4 or 8GB of RAM
Powerful = i7 with 8 or 16GB of RAM

For your needs, the "powerful" option is going to be overkill though.

Also bear in mind that, generally speaking, the more powerful the CPU, the higher the power draw, which means lower battery life. The battery life will also depend on the screen size/resolution and the size of the battery of course.

[alpha]

Dude you're the man. Really appreciate the time you put in to post that. Thanks

[Tired & Broke]

I have a Core i7 myself and that thing is more powerful that my desktop setup. Well worth the money.

ASUS is the brand of the laptop and I love it cause there's not that much company preloaded software on there.

[ThaJim2]

I have a Core i7 myself and that thing is more powerful that my desktop setup. Well worth the money.

ASUS is the brand of the laptop and I love it cause there's not that much company preloaded software on there.

I don't have experience any way but I have seen a lot of complaints about ASUS CS if you do need it with their laptops.

[ChaMerZ]

i have a core i3 with 4gb ram, and it has served me well so far. if you're not planning on launching icbm's or doing hardcore video editing with your rig, then entry level should be more than enough.

[Willie B]

i have a core i3 with 4gb ram, and it has served me well so far. if you're not planning on launching icbm's or doing hardcore video editing with your rig, then entry level should be more than enough.

this.

[BigCat8]

Gonna hijack this and ask what people's experiences are with refurbished laptops. I'm looking at a couple laptops: one refurbished, one new. Similar specs (leaning slightly in favor of the refurb), and $100 difference. Thoughts?

[Dan]

I'd trust a manufacturers refurb over a seller's refurb.

[BigCat8]

Here's what I'm looking at, since I've got credit for a refund at Groupon:

New Dell vs. Refurbished HP

[Sigma]

Of those 2 I would probably go for the HP for the better CPU and graphics. It's a shame that both laptops only have 1,600 x 900 screen resolutions though.