Originally Posted by NoOne
avoid big-box brands, if you can. the gaming pc's and other web-based suppliers are best way to go. you'll get an winXX operating system and not have to deal with all the junk/bloat-ware that comes on an HP or dell etc..
also, hp is shady as #@%$#. they just got caught deceptively installing spyware on user's computers. you can read about it 'right now'. (one more reason why you never use their drivers, if avoidable or use the option "driver only" install if possible. MS will have default drivers tht work, typically).
$1000 can get you some nice equipment.
must haves at that price-point:
best chip relative to parts below.. when you find 2 "i7's" with slightly different model#s do a simple google to compare. then, google the difference between teh chips and determine if it's an e-peen gimmick or something worth the $$$. also, if the # changes somewhat successively, it could simply be a slightly newer version of the same exact chip archetecture with a couple gimmicks added -- ie get the cheaper one.
think how they renew ip rights on pharmaceuticals... they take a old heart medication, add a antacid to it, and get 15years of price gouging customers. new chips with similar model# are ~equivalent in many cases. e.g. i7-2600 -> i7-2600c or i7-2610 etc.. small jump, successive in some way
SSD -- do not get a mechanical hard drive. if you need terabytes of storage, get a $50-$100 external drive or NAS (network attached storage drive - can be wireless and shows up as a network drive for all on your LAN, including tv's, bluray players etc for streaming media content).
RAM -- more about 'type' than 'quantity' .. once you have enough ram, there is no benefit. ~6-8gb is probably more than enough for most even now. if you do anythign fun like consistently use a ram-disk, get as much as you can afford. NEVER let a few extra gigs of ram sway your from one laptop to another... once you have enough, that IS enough. a salesman will often scare you into wanting more by speaking bout planning for future... bah to that.. how many time in the last 20years have you added ram to a pc? not often, i bet, and with very little return on invenstment if you did. it's not wise to spend $100+ and 2-years into the life of a pc that is now ~$250 on its own. not fiscally smart
if you play any 3d games, or any 3d animation -- ie not movies, tv, but not always "games" either.... get non-integrated vid card. nvidia, amd, whatever. they complement the existing integrated intel graphics. when you load a ootp you can force it to use the 'better' video card.
graphics will be smoother and motion will look better compared to the crappy intel graphics cards. if power-saving is a must, simply temporarily disable the 3d card to get optimum battery life.
if you take my advice on avoiding big-box brands, don't skimp on parts. places like cyberpower pc will offer options.. many more on dekstops, but still take a peak.
e.g.
get teh name-brand vid card option that's mysteriously $5-$10 more, yet the same exact model #. it is almost certainly worth it.
off-brand / similar model products from low-cost leader vendors are .. junk. they put crappy heat sinks in and other sub-standard parts.... there are times and places to be miserly, this is not one.
power-supply is the other part never to go 'cheaper' on even if the watts say higher on the label. probably not an option on laptops?
there won't be a ton of options for laptops in comparison to desktops onthese web-base suppliers. so, don't be afraid to at least check some of those sites out instead of a big-box brand. they often have low, mid and high-end stuff. something for all types and you get more choice at a lower price relative to quality.
if you do go big-box AND online, make sure you check multiple vendors. for example, on egghead you see alot of overpriced odler hardware. definitely check release date (quarter of 201X etc) of the CPU no matter where from and before you purchase.
** not to step on toes, but don't pay $1000 for a laptop with a celeron chip. also a pc from 2014 would be 1/2 to 1/3rd the price today, if not less. i avoided too many specifics on purpose. i don't keep up on the quarterly changes to hardware. i can't tell you a chip form Q3 of 2016 is 'good enough'. i can tell you with certainty to avoid any hardware with a 2+ year old chip and the celeron chip too, since you have $1000 to spend, get a good cpu.
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