I'm a Windows 10 / MS office guy, so I'm looking for a new Windows machine that will do word processing, MS office functions, browsing and some streaming media.

Is this a decent deal, or should I hold off?

This particular deal ends tonight.

HP 17-ca0011ds Touchscreen Laptop, AMD Ryzen 3 2300U Processor, 8GB Memory, 1TB Hard Drive - Maroon
Item: 218935 Model: 5HV32UA#ABA
(5)
$449.99

https://www.bjs.com/product/hp.../3000000000001640751

Reasonable deal. I'd skip the hard drive though. While ssd's will cost a little more their performance is light years faster than a hard disk. If you are handy you can replace the hard drive with an ssd yourself for about $100 or find one with an ssd.

quote:

Originally posted by cruiser68:
If you are handy you can replace the hard drive with an ssd yourself for about $100 or find one with an ssd.

Maybe. Not all laptops are user accessible. In addition, even if that laptop is user up-gradable, cracking the back will likely void any warranty that came with it. And in some laptops (like my Lenovo) you can buy and install an M.2 or NvME SSD drive while leaving the spinning HDD in place as a data backup drive.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of HP laptops. I'd opt for a Dell or Lenovo refurb from either companies outlet site.

I've had a lot of cheapie HP laptops and replace them every 3 years. Never an issue with them. That being said, I'd prefer an intel processor and SSD hard drive. I've found that Office Depot tends to have the best deals on laptops. I went with a Lenovo this time around because HP didn't have ones with 1080p screens (about 5 months ago).

Here's a Lenovo 17" with what looks to be the same exact specs HD screen, 1 TB hard drive, 8 gigs ram,FASTER AMD Ryzen 5 processor etc. For $379.99
In the weekly ad on page 8. Sale ends on 9/7

https://officedepot.shoplocal....number=1&mode=single

I second the SSD as being a requirement. I would also suggest getting a laptop with a back-lit keyboard.

JP

SSD for sure. Also, if you are a Costco member, I have found awesome deals for laptops over the years. Worth a look.

Yes, SSDs are faster and more energy efficient. Just remember to backup, because when/if a SSD spontaneously fails, there generally is no possibility of data recovery vs. old school HDs.
In some cases (depending on the hardware capability of the laptop) standard or Hybrid HDs are still viable.

Look on the official Lenovo website for the outlet store. Get one with a better processor and SSD than you need at this time. That will be a little more expensive upfront but you can keep it years longer and not be looking for another in a couple of years.
Better and cheaper in the long run.

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/o.../lenovo-outlet-sale/

You have mail.

I recently got a Lenovo S340 at Costco for $399.

I'm very pleased with it. I didn't want to spend a lot of money for a new laptop. This one does have a SSD, I'm amazed at how quickly it boots up.

I'm happy with it.

The above linked ad for Office Depot is for a Lenovo L340, I suspect the difference might be a case color? Mine is all black.

I think 8 GB of RAM is not enough. I’d step up to 16 GB and an Intel process and definitely an SSD Drive. I’ve had HP laptops for 20 years thru work but they are higher end workstation laptops.

I recently got a Lenovo gaming laptop. So far I’m liking the quality of Lenovo.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
I recently got a Lenovo S340 at Costco for $399.

I'm very pleased with it. I didn't want to spend a lot of money for a new laptop. This one does have a SSD, I'm amazed at how quickly it boots up.

I'm happy with it.

The above linked ad for Office Depot is for a Lenovo L340, I suspect the difference might be a case color? Mine is all black.

I bought a Lenovo IdeaPad Flex at Costco for $399 a couple of months ago and it has been great. Pay w/ your Costco Visa and they extend the warranty another year. Very satisfied.

It really depends on what the OP is going to use it for. If it's just to surf the internet and basic things. 8gb of ram and a standard HD is plenty fast enough.

It will be used largely as a business machine focusing on word, excel, chrome, etc. I think that 8 GB will likely do me fine (my current machine has 6 GB) but extra memory is always nice, and I tend to run computers for 3-5 years if they hold up.

Thank you for all of the suggestions so far. I was mostly concerned about the AMD processor. I know that they can be good, and I had an Athlon processor back in the dark ages that worked well. I just didn't have any current knowledge of AMD quality vs. Intel.

quote:

I just didn't have any current knowledge of AMD quality vs. Intel.

Probably not a heck of a lot of difference for your intended use. I would be more concerned with initial cost, warranty, etc.

Looking at what you're going to do with it, if a Word work-alike with file compatibility would do the job for you, maybe a ChromeBook?

No, some of the stuff I do requires enough graphics processing horsepower to need a real computer, as well as needing to render pretty complex stuff in real time for presentations.

I’m also not a fan of HP consumer computers or printers. I’ve had great luck with Dell products that allow for upgrades I can do. I believe Lenovo was spun off by IBM.

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:
I’m also not a fan of HP consumer computers or printers. I’ve had great luck with Dell products that allow for upgrades I can do. I believe Lenovo was spun off by IBM.

Same here. Always had good luck with IBM ThinkPads which are now Lenovos.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
I was mostly concerned about the AMD processor. I know that they can be good, and I had an Athlon processor back in the dark ages that worked well. I just didn't have any current knowledge of AMD quality vs. Intel.

You need not worry about buying an AMD processor. Those in this thread placing Intel over AMD haven't been watching what's been happening over the last three years as AMD has caught and in some ways surpassed Intel with their new Ryzen CPU's. Intel for too long rested on their dominance in the market, and AMD has now shaken everything up with an excellent product for a great price. My next desktop build will likely include a new Ryzen processor as opposed to an Intel cpu for a number of reasons.