Computer Processors--does it really matter what brand?

[Gofirstclass]

I'm getting ready to buy a new laptop and am wondering about what processor to get. There are the Pentium and Celeron from Intel and a bunch of non-Intel processors out there. I'm probably going to end up with a mid-level computer with a 15.6" screen, ~500GB hard drive and 6 Gigs of RAM.

I'm not a gamer, don't stream movies or listen to tons of music. I'm basically an internet surfer, boating website geek, and do email and a few other things on the computer. Does it really matter which processor I get?

Let me add a couple more questions....if you were ordering a new laptop would you order a touch screen model? Also, how about a hybrid hard drive? I can't seem to tell if there's any significant advantage to it so that's a big question.

 

[rondds]

Not to be a contrarian (but I will), I've had 4 laptops, all Windows based (2 XPs, Vista and 7Pro) and have had zero problems. The Vista machine is about 8 years old and still chugging along. My daughter's Macbook Pro crapped out in the first 2 months and had to be re-hard-drived at the Apple store.

The Apple/PC argument will rage on for all of eternity. But to answer GFC's question, I currently own and run 8 desktop PCs btwn home and office, have owned a dozen and a half others since my first Windows '95 machine and have not really noticed a difference in Celeron, AMD or Intel chips. I use them the same way you plan to - and wouldn't get too hung up on the processor.

Bring on some more contrarians!

 

[Scott9000]

You sound like the perfect candidate for a Chromebook if all you do is internet stuff. You could get 2-4 of them for the price of a Macbook

Honestly, I low priced Dell with Win 8.1 is probably your best bet for around $300. I have had countless laptops with intel processors without issue. I currently have a Lenovo with a Intel i7 processor and it's been a great machine.

 

[RollerCoastr]

I feel about my Macbook the way some people feel about their guns.

Hybrid drives are an inexpensive way to decrease boot time, but Win8 boots very quickly anyway. Once running, you won't notice a huge difference in performance.

As for being contrary, I think Windows 8x is a disaster on anything but a tablet. Oh wait, that's not contrary - most people agree!

 

[rondds]

I have avoided Windows 8 on my last 3 PCs and opted for 7 PRO. I didn't avoid Vista but have had no problems with the one machine I have. Also had 2 "Millenium Edition" Gateways that worked great. Just lucky I guess.

 

[mwph]

GFC- A touch screen is cool, but spend 20 minutes on your current machine & visualize how often you would use it. I'll bet the answer is not much. Certainly not enough to justify the cost and the cost of potential problems. As for the processor, its really not a huge issue for the average user. Not a big enough issue to base the decision off of. If you told us that you were building websites, importing & exporting critical data & using the machine to make a living, that might be a different story.

I usually stay out of this debate because I am an extremely strong believer in the fact that 95% of all computer problems are either software or user related. (Scott probably falls into the remaining 5%. This guy just has bad luck with computers). There are software applications out there that just "don't play well with others", different operating systems that don't like each other and tons of outlying issues that all contribute to a computer's "failing". Bottom line is, for the average user, what system you are used to is more important that what hardware you have or even what platform you want to play on.

I have worked on and with both Mac and PC based machines for nearly 30 years. A large part of my working life I fixed, built, supported, upgraded & maintained machines on both platforms. As a former network administrator I've seen my share of issues. The 95% rule always prevails. For the record, I am on a Mac now, at home I have a Dell PC (almost 10 years old), an IBM laptop (probably 8 years old), an I-pad and a Droid tablet. Each have there advantages, each fall short in one area or another.

 

[Summer Fun II]

I'm still running a old Dell Inspiron 1100 & Toshiba A65 laptops. :wow:

The Toshiba is alot better than the Dell. :smt024

This setup is upstairs in the garage = man cave/drinking room. :smt001

 

[JimG]

Intel is the way to go for general use. Gamers tend to like the AMD's. You will find the ARM processors mostly in tablets.

There are several flavors of the Intel processors... most new PC's use the i3, i5, or i7 and its basically a choice of speed vs. price.
Don't put more than 4G of RAM in unless you go with a 64bit operating system... 32bit systems can't utilize any more than 4G.

I don't know anything about the Apple products and don't care to.

 

[kaz911]

Intel or AMD does not matter. But when you buy - buy the latest "Generation" processor - and not the fastest model. The later the generation - the better power save features and the "longer" support for it will last.

Intel current latest generation is called 4xxx series and is then available in i3, i5 and i7. That is the 2nd part of the 4xxx number so a i7 would be a 47xx number. Any of the 4xxx series processors would serve you fine. AMD's latest processors are great too and usually gives you more "bang for the buck" than Intel.

And Apple vs PC - if you buy quality it does not matter. But there is a learning curve in changing platforms (Windows vs Mac OSX)

But don't drop money on brands like Acer. Software support "dies" quickly and the machines are terrible quality. You want a brand where they keep updating drivers etc. for at least about 1 year after launch and fixes old bugs. Most vendors does NOT do that. But in general HP, Apple, Lenovo Thinkpad, Toshiba and Dell does.

 

[Tonka Boater]

If you are going to go with a Windows machine then I would stick with Windows 7.... Windows 8 is pure junk. I won't go on a soapbox but Mac really is the way to go....a lot of discussions on here already so I won't go on about it.

Here are 4 computers that meet your criteria and are very reasonable in price....all 15.6" and one that is 17". My preference on the PC side is Lenovo.

Hope this helps...


http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Window...ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1400775268&sr=1-5


http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Window...ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1400775268&sr=1-6


http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Computer...ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1400775268&sr=1-7


http://www.amazon.com/Acer-P2020M-N...f=sr_1_17?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1400775268&sr=1-17

 

[trit21]

I am a MAC guy and they are expensive. I buy all my stuff at a used computer outlet here in the Orlando area. Yes, they are a year or two old but work great and come with a warranty. As I type on my 21" IMAC, 3Ghz Intel core duo, 4 G ram, that cost me $350 with 2 year warranty. How can you beat that. But, since I do graphic design for a living, I would never own a PC, just to damn slow.

 

[Bob & Sue]

I went with another HP last Jan it's the Pavilion X2 Intel Quad Core 2ghz with flash HDD it's lightning fast with the flash HDD boots up in about 4 seconds. What I like about it is you have a choice of a real keyboard or a 11.6" tablet 1.3lb tablet 3.2 lb laptop, with good battery life 6-8 hours, Windows 8.1 did get rid of most the bad quirks of 8.0. I really don't care about the touch screen unless you want to clean it daily it's always dirty but it's nice to have the choice.
Just about any of the laptops with a 1 year warranty are about the same if you want their higher quality laptops go with the business built models 3 year warranty like Dell Latitude or whichever brand you like. Computers are like cars everyone likes or dislikes one for their own needs. You can always buy one from Amazon or Costco try it if you don't like it return it there's to many choices out there. I've owned almost every brand out there Dell, HP, Samsung, Acer, Asus, Sony etc they're all about the same quality.
I usually only keep mine 9-12 months before the warranty runs out.

 

[OllieC]

We changed at our office to Mac about 2 years ago. I have been on my MacBook Pro since and will never go back for what we use it for. I do not deal with the 10 minute start ups and lock ups. CTRL-ALT-DELETE keys on my PC's got wore out. My Mac boots up juste as fast as it did 2 years ago....and I have not had to purchase any malware, virus programs to slow things down either.

Yes, there is a learning curve, and they are a little pricey, however it comes with most of the software you will ever need.

You get,
Picture Program
Movie Program
Mac Mail
Mac Contacts
Mac Calendar
iTunes
Safari
FaceTime


My wife has my 3 year old HP and it struggles to start up.

Just my .01342 cents

 

[kaz911]

We changed at our office to Mac about 2 years ago. I have been on my MacBook Pro since and will never go back for what we use it for. I do not deal with the 10 minute start ups and lock ups. CTRL-ALT-DELETE keys on my PC's got wore out. My Mac boots up juste as fast as it did 2 years ago....and I have not had to purchase any malware, virus programs to slow things down either.

Yes, there is a learning curve, and they are a little pricey, however it comes with most of the software you will ever need.

You get,
Picture Program
Movie Program
Mac Mail
Mac Contacts
Mac Calendar
iTunes
Safari
FaceTime


My wife has my 3 year old HP and it struggles to start up.

Just my .01342 cents

Hmmm - if you think you are immune to Virus and malware on Mac you are unfortunately one of the easy marks.

The thing about OSX does not need Virus and malware protection is an old wife's tale. The Virus writers are now targeting Mac owners because they are usually "higher income". The built in protection is pretty good (XProtect) but it is not a 100% shield. If you do not run ANY web browsing on your mac you are safe - and if you do not open attachements on your mail you are safe. But there is a host of OSX viruses and open holes - usually through 3rd party software like Adobe Flash, Java, Acrobat, Shockwave and others.

I run both Mac and PC's and they have ALL got Antivirus/Malware protection. You can follow sites like this: http://www.thesafemac.com/ to keep up with what goes on in the Mac department.