Help buying a laptop.

[Dave Lehnert]

I am not too familiar with Video Graphics or processors etc..........
Like an opinion on what you think of this laptop. Local store has it on sale for $529. Good deal????
Not a heavy user, Mostly web, e-mail, paying bills and document storage, Just home type stuff,
I kinda like to buy a computer that will last for some time without being too outdated too soon. I keep a computer for around 7 years.
I already know about windows 8, Looking for opinions on the processor, enough memory, Good/ bad brand parts used etc...

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c04346410&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=7242100

[Moses Yoder]

That is similar specs to mine except you have 8 gig memory instead of my 4 gig. 8 Is probably more than you need, it will just be less likely to freeze up. I like HP products, bought mine from Newegg, and the Pavilion package is nice. I am not familiar with BuyOffice, you may have programs like Excel and Word on there already. I think for what you are getting it is a good price; you could get a good working computer for less but you wouldn't have everything you are getting.

[Jim Becker]

That's a nice unit, Dave, and it should last a long time "technically". As to the memory, 6-8gb is pretty much standard these days and it's good that is included.

[Dave Lehnert]

Thanks for the info.

[Dave Lehnert]

That is similar specs to mine except you have 8 gig memory instead of my 4 gig. 8 Is probably more than you need, it will just be less likely to freeze up. I like HP products, bought mine from Newegg, and the Pavilion package is nice. I am not familiar with BuyOffice, you may have programs like Excel and Word on there already. I think for what you are getting it is a good price; you could get a good working computer for less but you wouldn't have everything you are getting.

Not too sure about "Buy Office" My guess it is just a program to link you to Buy MS Office. A web search returns noting about a program called "Buy Office"

[Jim Becker]

IMHO, MS Office is best these days with the annual subscription for those who want or need it and it's always the current version. That $99 a year covers five computers (Windows and/or Mac), five tablets (Windows, iOS, Android) and also supports certain smartphones. For someone that doesn't need the "real" MS applications for some reason, there are open source equivalents that are downloadable and useable without cost.

[Dave Lehnert]

Jim,

That was my concern at first. I only need a word processor for doing resumes or one page letters. MS office is way overkill for my needs. After searching looks like a few no cost options are available for what I need just as long they are able to open MS Word.

[Curt Harms]

Jim,

That was my concern at first. I only need a word processor for doing resumes or one page letters. MS office is way overkill for my needs. After searching looks like a few no cost options are available for what I need just as long they are able to open MS Word.

There are a few options for office suites as long as you don't need 100% MS file format compatibility. I use LibreOffice, an offshoot of OpenOffice - free to download - and it opens MS Office files quite well. It will also save MS Office files though there's a trick to editing and saving Word files to decrease the liklihood of screwed up formatting. You can also save as a .doc file using LibreOffice rather than .docx which is supposed to work better. I generally use the built-in .pdf printer if the file I'm sending doesn't need to be in editable form.

www.libreoffice.org (http://www.libreoffice.org)

[Greg Portland]

I would not purchase any laptop without a SSD or without a hard drive + SSD caching. It makes a huge performance difference. The harddrive + SSD caching will be cheaper but slower during boot.

Greg

[DOUG ANGEL]

US MICRO has good prices on laptops, you just need to know what your requirements are.