Help Me Pick a New Laptop

[BDR529]

So I'm trying to get a new smaller (11"-13") laptop for school purposes. I'm not going to be gaming. At the most, browsing the internet while using iTunes and utilizing Microsoft Office. That being said, I still don't want something that's going to be sluggish. I'm trying to spend less than $500, and I like the convertible 2 in 1's. I've found these two deals so far (and annotated my dislikes about them):
Dell Inspiron 13 7000 Series - $450
-6th Gen Intel Core i3-6100U Processor
-4GB DDR3L RAM
-500GB SATA harddrive
-Intel HD graphics card
-"Up to 6 hours" battery life
*Not SSD Hard Drive, shorter battery life

Acer Aspire Switch 11 V - $400
-Intel Core M-5Y10C processor
-4GB LPDDR3 RAM
-128GB SSD harddrive
-Intel HD Graphics card
-"Up to 8 hours" battery life
*Slower processor, not convertible style

If you had to choose between the two, what would your choice be, or do you have any other options? I'm just not sure where to stand between the slower processor vs the standard harddrive. Thanks for any help.

[PackersFan26]

Whatever best suits your pornography downloading better I say.

[BDR529]

Well thanks for that nugget of insight. I really don't know how to tell which processors are better than others, only that I've heard that the core i-series are better than most others. However, I don't think I'm interested in the 13" Dell. I did come across this one though:
Dell Inspiron 11 3000 series - $400 (It's a bit more comparable to the Acer)
-Intel Pentium N3700
-4GB DDR3L RAM
-128GB SSD harddrive
-Intel HD Graphics
-"Up to 11 hours" battery life

So it basically comes down to which processor do you think is better? The Intel Core M-5Y10C or the Intel Pentium N3700. Or are there any inherent design flaws in Acer products? I've had Dells before and have been happy with them. Just looking for any helpful information to help me out. Thanks again!

[Albs]

Chromebook

[stilly]

Chromebook

I used to tell folks what kinds of things they should get, but people do not listen, they want it now and they do not want to wait. So why bother? It seems like people have been asking more and more for guidance in these things.
They do not want quality, they want cheap plastic garbage that can be bought at a big box retail store.

OP: I agree with the above: Chromebook... Everything that Google Chrome can do it can do. So if you like your google chrome- then get the Chromebook...


I on the other hand would never settle for less than a 14.1 screen with an nVidia processor. I would never have a chromebook. I like something that I can customize and buy things for. I bought a used business class notebook 3 years ago and still have it. I would never have found one for the price I got it at in a big box retail store. But I have cheap and discriminating tastes. Sooooo, go for a Chromebook... Most all of your laptops you buy will come with winblows 10 or winblows 8 and since you posted those models here I doubt you would want to bother messing with wiping them out and putting on a nice oem version of windows 7 x64...

So just go with a Chromebook...

[BDR529]

I was looking at Chromebooks, but the 2gb RAM and, usually, only 16 to 32gb hard drive sizes tended to steer me away. I tried researching online and most reviews said to stick with no less than 4gb of RAM and 128 hard drive. Add to that the superior benefits of solid state drives and that's where I started looking. Lastly, as crappy as the latest versions of Windows have been, it's just what I've grown up and grown accustomed to using. so I'm not sure how well I'd adapt to a new OS...
As far as looking for smaller screens, I'm looking for something I can carry with me in a binder I take to school, just something small to keep notes on and do homework between classes. My main laptop is a 17" HP Pavilion, although you're right, I haven't done much customization to any of my computers. That being said, I have been toying around with replacing Windows for a different OS like Ubuntu or Linux, but that's an entirely different discussion and one I wouldn't be well versed in anyway.
All of that being said, one last option that I found very intriguing was a Dell Inspiron 11 3000 series, like the one I mentioned above, except it comes with a Core i3 processor, instead of the Pentium N3700...

[Albs]

I was looking at Chromebooks, but the 2gb RAM and, usually, only 16 to 32gb hard drive sizes tended to steer me away. I tried researching online and most reviews said to stick with no less than 4gb of RAM and 128 hard drive.

You do know you'll be storing everything to the cloud and not your HD right?

Since you said all you'll be doing is browsing the web and office, unless you plan on doing hardcore multitasking 2GB is more than enough, but Chromebook also offers 4GB of Ram as well.

One of them: http://www.amazon.com/Chromebook-13-...rds=chromebook

[BDR529]

Thanks for the information! I'll head down to Best Buy and check out some Chromebooks and see what the interface is like! Definitely can't hurt to save a couple hundred dollars!

[socalgio]

mac

[BDR529]

Personally, Mac's have always been obnoxious to me. I never got down the whole one-button mouse. Also, they're just way out of my price range. Plus, all of the macs are about 3x the price I'm looking to pay, looking to keep it under $500.

[readysetgo]

This deal is dead atm but keeps popping up every few days. So far so good for me, no hiccups, suits my needs which sound about the same as you described.

Lenova Thinkpad Yoga @ woot.com

http://www.woot.com/offers/lenovo-thinkpad-yoga-11-6-touch-ultrabook-11?ref=w_cnt_gw_dly_img

Win10 Pro

Just under $300 after shipping and tax. Just bought two, haven't opened yet but the reviews are positive.

http://amzn.com/B01B16MXLU

Good luck.

[Dingotech]

Yo, BDR529- If you're going to check out Best Buy, ask them about any notebooks that are returns. You can buy a new notebook for $100-150 off of regular price because someone changed their mind.

[sholling]

This exceeds your budget but for what you want to do it looks pretty awesome.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Dell-XPS-13-9350-Signature-Edition-Laptop/productID.326871500

That said I'm using a $230 Lenovo 11e for an ultra portable. Fast it is not but with an SSD it's usable for word processing and web surfing. I bumped mine to 8GB for $25. Again it's not fast so don't plan on video editing but it's acceptable for word processing and web surfing. Note I would not buy it without the SSD.

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/lenovo-thinkpad-11e-20d90020us-11-6-notebook-intel-celeron-n2940-quad/287000102.html

[vliberatore]

IMO, you're overthinking it.

You want a cheap laptop for school. My $400 HP lasted me 3 years and was fine. It wasn't fast, it wasn't pretty, but it did the job.

I just got a MacBook Pro and could not be happier that I made the switch.

[FIREBALL_BRIAN]

negative on mac and you will blow your budget.
Have had great luck with lenovo products

Really been looking into the chrombook and andriod OS.
Op most chromebooks are dirt cheap. Like mid $250 ish and ram is min like 4gb and up.
Storage isnt an issue. Use google drive for what is it like 15gb of free storage and then google photos has unlimited free storage. Google has a pretty sweet and versatile platform.