SOLVED What to consider for a new W10 laptop

[theshield44]

Hi,

theshield44 would like to buy a new Windows 10 laptop for his wife. This would be used for home and work, likely would be taken back and forth. She would use mostly for work programs, (she's a language pathologist for kids with down syndrome, language difficulties, etc.), for drawings and such, might use Word, Excel.

My son might watch a YouTube video or something, but probably wouldn't use for heavy "gaming."

Here's my basic questions. What should I consider for a video card would I need? Should I get a integrated or dedicated graphics card? Is 8GB of RAM enough?
What CPU do I need, an Intel Core I5?

Are there any brands that are better than others? Who should I definitely avoid?

Thanks for the help!

 

[BigFeet]

8 gb is fine for most anything, unless you're going to play AAA games or do video editing. An i5 is plenty. Just make sure it has more than 32 gb of storage. Some budget laptops come with 32 gb of emmc flash storage and no hdd or ssd. It makes doing windows updates near impossible.

 

[Viv Murray]

The most important information is missing. Your budget! I have had an Asus Zenbook UX305 for almost three years, travel with it, use it at work and at home - it is fast as it has an SSD, very light - small screen though, but I do lots of graphics work and the card is excellent. But this was not a budget machine - so if you let everyone know how much you want to spend they can advise you better.

 

[Tim Locke]

I am on a Lenovo mailing list somehow. There have a really nice range of laptops including the Thinkpads as well as many others. If it is for work can she deduct/ depreciate the cost?

If I were buying a new laptop I would look at a Thinkpad with an I5, 32Gb and a 256Gb SSD. I would want a 15" screen but a 14" is cheaper.
I5 plenty fast enough, an SSD means fewer moving parts if it is to be carried around.

I have an Lenovo Ideapad that I bought 2nd hand which must be must be 8 years old now and still works fine...even the original battery.

 

[theshield44]

Hi everyone,

theshield44 most appreciates all the very helpful responses. For my budget, I would want above the "budget laptop" category, but I'd also like to stay under $1,000, if at all possible.

It looks like Lenovo and Asus are favored brands here. Does anyone have thoughts on touch screens, good or bad? Should I avoid?

 

[theshield44]

Oh, two more questions...

1. CPU Cores - Which is best - single core, dual core, or quad core?

2. Integrated or Dedicated graphics card?

 

[BigFeet]

1. A quad core would be preferable, again depending on what you do with it. There aren't really any single cores in more recent generations of cpu's.
2. Also depending on what you're going to do with it. Integrated graphics are fine for most anything except hardcore gaming and video editing and cad stuff.

I would think an i5 from the last few generations would be fine for you.

 

[theshield44]

Terrific advice, everyone.

Many thanks.

theshield44 found an HP laptop he liked and bought this morning!