- Dec 1, 2013
- 1
- 0
- 10,510
I want to first apologize in advance if this question doesn't conform to the forum posting rules. This is my first thread on here, however I've referred to a handful of threads from TH in the past.
I am looking for a laptop (notebook) for my wife. I want to know what a good laptop for her would be. She mainly just uses the internet, Microsoft Office, etc, However she plays The Sims fairly frequently. I am currently looking at HPs that have an AMD A10 processor and a discreet Radeon 8750m graphics card.
I was wondering if you guys have any other recommendations, or things to look out for, or advice in general. She is coming from a Toshiba Satellite L505D, which has an AMD Athlon™ II Dual-Core Processor M300, so ANYTHING nowadays would outperform it. I want to spoil her a bit this go around though.
I have been looking at these two laptops:
1) http
/www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-ENVY/902171?ENVY-15z-j100-Notebook-Smart-Buy
2) http/www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-ENVY/E0M36UA?HP-ENVY-TouchSmart-15-j070us-Notebook-PC-ENERGY-STAR-
Considering those two (and any others you would recommend), I would also like some input on these topics:
1) I have an HP G72 from a couple of years ago, runs GREAT. However I feel like lately HP has been having issues with many models. Are they still reputable long-term?
2) GPUs seem to be the most limiting feature of computers. For a game like The Sims, would a discrete graphics card be absolutely necessary for smooth gameplay? Also, my laptop's i5 integrated graphics (HD3000) are garbage. Are AMDs integrated graphics better than Intels? Are they both pretty bad?
3) My dad has an HP with an i7 processor (I thought he said dual core with hyperthreading, but i7 dual doesn't sound right), and he says it outperforms his desktop with a beastly AMD processor (I don't remember the model of AMD) in terms of pure number crunching. I'm not too worried about just normal programs running, but what about for gaming (The Sims). Is the AMD A10 or the Intel i7 better for gaming (The Sims)?
4) My wife would like to have touchscreen. Would the 2nd laptop (with integrated graphics) be a good compromise to have both a powerful laptop able to play the Sims and also have touchscreen? Or is a dedicated graphics card be more important, and would you strongly recommend the discrete graphics and forego the touchscreen?
1. What is your budget?
$600 - $775ish
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
between 15.6" - 17.3"
3. What screen resolution do you want?
Standard for each screen size
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Doesn't need to be extremely portable, but I do want it to be powerful, so leaning towards desktop replacement.
5. How much battery life do you need?
Doesn't need to be extremely portable, so this isn't very important.
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Mainly The Sims 3.
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Photoshop, video editing programs like Nero, Microsoft Office, SQL programs.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
At least 500GB.
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Not a particular website, as long as its a good deal, and reputable site.
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
4 years or so.
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Don't NEED any, but if it comes with CD/DVD that's fine.
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I have always liked HP, but lately I feel like their products have had issues. I am not ruling them out by any means, just stating my concerns in hope for some of the forum readers' input
13. What country do you live in?
United States
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
N/A
I am looking for a laptop (notebook) for my wife. I want to know what a good laptop for her would be. She mainly just uses the internet, Microsoft Office, etc, However she plays The Sims fairly frequently. I am currently looking at HPs that have an AMD A10 processor and a discreet Radeon 8750m graphics card.
I was wondering if you guys have any other recommendations, or things to look out for, or advice in general. She is coming from a Toshiba Satellite L505D, which has an AMD Athlon™ II Dual-Core Processor M300, so ANYTHING nowadays would outperform it. I want to spoil her a bit this go around though.
I have been looking at these two laptops:
1) http
/www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-ENVY/902171?ENVY-15z-j100-Notebook-Smart-Buy2) http
/www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-ENVY/E0M36UA?HP-ENVY-TouchSmart-15-j070us-Notebook-PC-ENERGY-STAR-Considering those two (and any others you would recommend), I would also like some input on these topics:
1) I have an HP G72 from a couple of years ago, runs GREAT. However I feel like lately HP has been having issues with many models. Are they still reputable long-term?
2) GPUs seem to be the most limiting feature of computers. For a game like The Sims, would a discrete graphics card be absolutely necessary for smooth gameplay? Also, my laptop's i5 integrated graphics (HD3000) are garbage. Are AMDs integrated graphics better than Intels? Are they both pretty bad?
3) My dad has an HP with an i7 processor (I thought he said dual core with hyperthreading, but i7 dual doesn't sound right), and he says it outperforms his desktop with a beastly AMD processor (I don't remember the model of AMD) in terms of pure number crunching. I'm not too worried about just normal programs running, but what about for gaming (The Sims). Is the AMD A10 or the Intel i7 better for gaming (The Sims)?
4) My wife would like to have touchscreen. Would the 2nd laptop (with integrated graphics) be a good compromise to have both a powerful laptop able to play the Sims and also have touchscreen? Or is a dedicated graphics card be more important, and would you strongly recommend the discrete graphics and forego the touchscreen?
1. What is your budget?
$600 - $775ish
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
between 15.6" - 17.3"
3. What screen resolution do you want?
Standard for each screen size
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Doesn't need to be extremely portable, but I do want it to be powerful, so leaning towards desktop replacement.
5. How much battery life do you need?
Doesn't need to be extremely portable, so this isn't very important.
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Mainly The Sims 3.
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Photoshop, video editing programs like Nero, Microsoft Office, SQL programs.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
At least 500GB.
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Not a particular website, as long as its a good deal, and reputable site.
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
4 years or so.
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
Don't NEED any, but if it comes with CD/DVD that's fine.
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I have always liked HP, but lately I feel like their products have had issues. I am not ruling them out by any means, just stating my concerns in hope for some of the forum readers' input
13. What country do you live in?
United States
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
N/A
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