Alright, let's check you out!

[NorthStar]

I'm looking for a laptop, in the $500 +/- range.

Also, am I better to get a new PC instead? ...Or would a laptop do?

Anyway, things I'm looking for:
- Minimum 4GB RAM (8 is better).
- Minimum screen size of 15.5" (up to 17.3")
- Minimum screen resolution: 1280 x 720 (1920 x 1080 is best)
- Hard Drive: Minimum of 500GB (1TB is better)
- CPU: Intel i5 minimum, or AM10 (I'm more inclined towards Intel processing, including the HD Graphics)
- Processing power: Above 1.5 GHz (3.0 is best)
- Optical Drive (CD/DVD desirable)
- HDMI out
- Ethernet + USB ports
- Windows 8 (64-bit is better)
- Speed: Quad-core
- WEB camera integrated
- Wi-Fi of course
- Battery Life: 5 hours (up to 9) * In reality 4 to 6 hours is the average.
- SSD: 32GB or more
- Performance: No bad surprises, no excessive heat, no breakdowns, no very limited battery time, ...just an efficient laptop for around $500.
- Durability and reliability and upgradeable.

Is it ok to buy second-hand? ...Perhaps not because of the warranty? ...Brand new is better.

Brand: Toshiba, Sony (VAIO), Samsung, Lenovo, Dell, ThinkPad, HP Pavilion, Asus, Acer, Gateway, LG, ...?

________________________

I'm not looking for the best, because the best doesn't exist yet, and it never will.
But I'm looking for value, the best for my money, and for me, and me only. BUT! It can also be the right stuff for a lot of other people as well. ...And within my target range, a reasonable use (not into 3D gaming), a tool to learn from the Wide Web World, and smart, and multitasking efficient, and fast eough.

Got any suggestion(s)?

[ohbythebay]

Dell
Laptop
You can get with Win7 or Win 8 - Brand new

Inspiron 15 Laptop Available with Touch Screen Details | Dell

This is a good deal

[NorthStar]

Rob, Windows 7 is older, but is it better than Windows 8 (8.1)?

Most (99%) of today's PCs and laptops run Windows 8.

And thx for the first suggestion so far here; I'll look into it right away.

[NorthStar]

https://store.sony.ca/vaio-fit-15-la...-Ultrabook-Fit

$499.99 (second-hand). ...?

[MikeCh]

2-3 year old business lease returns are usually a good deal:

https://arrowdirect.com/

[Matt715]

Bob, you may want to add to your list of possibilities a touchscreen as it would be a nice option with Windows 8. You should be able to find a few machines in your price range with a touchscreen if you shop carefully.

If I'm reading your list correctly, are you looking for a machine with a SSD and a conventional HD?

[NorthStar]

2-3 year old business lease returns are usually a good deal:

https://arrowdirect.com/

Thx Mike!

Bob, you may want to add to your list of possibilities a touchscreen as it would be a nice option with Windows 8. You should be able to find a few machines in your price range with a touchscreen if you shop carefully.

If I'm reading your list correctly, are you looking for a machine with a SSD and a conventional HD?

Interesting you mentioned that Matt because the thought did cross my mind. I'm going to investigate.
One thing; I still live in the past, and an optical DVD/CD reader and burner is in my mind (music & movies).
...I know, USB sticks and SD cards too exist. ...And turntables too.

- Touchscreen: I don't need.
- SSD: It's nice.
- HD: High Def enough, yes.
- Windows 8.1: yes. ...Or 8 or 7. ...Or even Mac.
- Brand new: Don't have too, but preferably.
- Free: It's possible (there are some nice folks here at the Shark - people upgrade all the time).

* I'm amazed! Today you can get a very nice laptop for $500. ...And yes I know, you can also get one for $3,000 (or a Mac, all in one).
For my personal use, Intel i5 or AMD A10 is good enough. ...8GB RAM, 2.0 GHz Quad-core processor, 15.5" screen (1366 x 768), optical drive (play & record), 750GB hard drive, HDMI out (1080p), etc.

Please, keep suggesting, as there are so many options out there. Right now I'm just starting to learn.

______________

I only had two computers in my life; the first one was free (Windows 98) and it lasted me only two weeks (blue screen of death)! The second one (I still have) is a 1999-2000 IBM ThinkCentre (40GB memory, and 512MG RAM or 0.5GB).
It crashes all the time, and it takes up to thirty minutes to boot! I just don't want to complain, or feel inferior to others.
After all, I lost everything in my life, and have to rise above depression. ...Not so easy to put your mind somewhere else, all the time, and going back to your human sources. ...Like a child inside a hard working adult, ...where real values have to be reevaluated.
You can only understand if you yourself had lost everything you work so hard all your life for, and started a completely new vision.

A laptop is access to more speed and freedom to me. ...In the virtual world, but one still very real in 2014.
...Accommodate to our surroundings.

[ohbythebay]

Couple of things

I just wanted to give you the Win 7 Win 8 option (I would go with 8)
Touch screen is not necessary unless you have a tablet - Win 8 works just fine with a mouse..I do it all day long
New is the way to go. with the price of laptops as low as they are, why would you even think used ?
Stick with Dell...Sony, HP and Lenovo have had terrible quality issues the past 3 years
ABOVE THE DELL

Asus - One of the finest PC makers out there BUT their price reflects that

Notebooks & Ultrabooks - Multimedia

[NorthStar]

Ok, Dell is good, and Asus too, right?

Sony (VAIO), HP Pavilion, and Lenovo are no good, right?

About Acer, and Toshiba, and Samsung, and ThinkPad, and Gateway, any more?

...Apple?

[Matt715]

FWIW, I like my Toshiba Satellite that I've had for about 3.5 years now. My last HP fell apart in just under 3 years and it had a recall half way though it's life for a new motherboard.

[Shadowfax]

Don't sweat Win8 or 8.1. Just boot the thing up and immediately install Classic Shell from a free download to a USB drive.

Set it to Classic, Classic 2 column or Win7 and go to town. Re-associate your media files to whatever you like better than the Apps.

If Apps open, ALT+F5 will close it or drag it to the bottom. All Windows keyboard commands work like they always have.

I have an i3 and it boots up in about 30 seconds. Install windows on a SS drive and it's half that.

[Loop4fun]

I'm really an Apple guy, but I purchased this exact Laptop a couple of months ago. I needed it for only two programs, so I wanted something inexpensive, Intel chip, and Windows 7. It really is a good deal! I have forgotten, but it might be $50 cheaper now.

I don't know that you can buy a computer with all the features you are looking for in the $500 range

Dell
Laptop
You can get with Win7 or Win 8 - Brand new

Inspiron 15 Laptop Available with Touch Screen Details | Dell

This is a good deal

[NorthStar]

FWIW, I like my Toshiba Satellite that I've had for about 3.5 years now. My last HP fell apart in just under 3 years and it had a recall half way though it's life for a new motherboard.

Toshiba is good then? ...I thought Lenovo was good too. ...And some Sony VAIO look real cool.

Anyway, I'm concentrating on Dell and Asus @ the present (Toshiba?). ...And I would like to have an internal optical drive (read & burn).

1. Toshiba laptop (15.6" - 8GB RAM - 1TB HDD - HDMI - VGA - Intel i5) = $620 (or less)
2. Dell laptop (15.6" - 8GB RAM - 1TB HDD - Intel i5-4200U Processor - Touchscreen) = $580 (regular is $700)
3. Toshiba laptop (17.3" - 8GB RAM - 750GB HDD - AMD Quad-Core A10-5750M APU ) = $600
4. Asus laptop (17" - 8GB RAM - 1TB HDD - Intel i7-4500U Processor) = $750 (regular is $800)

* Toshiba as good as Dell & Asus?
** Those above are just quick examples (I don't know if an optical drive is present), and I'd like to stay below say $600.
{So, something that costs normally $700-800 but that I can get for roughly $500-600, or less.}

By the way, there are so many out there! And every week some models are on sale; it changes quite frequently.
So it's good for me to know which brands I should stay within (Dell and Asus), plus in my price range ($500+/-), and the few features I'm looking for.
I truly need help on this as I don't have any experience whatsoever; with laptops, with tablets, with ultrabooks, with smartphones, and even with PCs and Macs.

One thing is for sure though; I am through with my 15-year old IBM computer (512MB of RAM and 40GB HDD) that crashes constantly, and takes up to half hour to boot up in the morning!
I paid $300 (second-hand) back in 2009 for it (including the small 15" screen, the now broken keyboard, and the dead mouse, ...plus Windows XP Home installed).

So, for me, going from $300 to $600 should be equivalent of going from a mammoth to a cougar! ...Double the money, and 2014 versus 1999 (power wise).
By the way, my IBM ThinkCentre desktop (I love it for its small size) has only a CD drive (and another slot for some type of old diskette from the 50s era)!

What I'm truly good @ are trees, forests, nature, ... and music and movies of course.
Yeah, I know a thing or two about technical audio aspects; I've been reading about it for the last 40 years, and fixing few audio/video electronics on my own.
But in the world of communication systems (phones, laptops, tablets, PCs, and all that jazz), I'm as good as that seven-year old kid living across the street from you.

[NorthStar]

Don't sweat Win8 or 8.1. Just boot the thing up and immediately install Classic Shell from a free download to a USB drive.

Set it to Classic, Classic 2 column or Win7 and go to town. Re-associate your media files to whatever you like better than the Apps.

If Apps open, ALT+F5 will close it or drag it to the bottom. All Windows keyboard commands work like they always have.

I have an i3 and it boots up in about 30 seconds. Install windows on a SS drive and it's half that.

Brian, I'm sorry, what are you saying exactly; fix my old IBM PC? ...Costs $100 just to add 2GB of RAM (I've been told to get a new toy).
...Or about any laptop?

I'm really an Apple guy, but I purchased this exact Laptop a couple of months ago. I needed it for only two programs, so I wanted something inexpensive, Intel chip, and Windows 7. It really is a good deal! I have forgotten, but it might be $50 cheaper now.

I don't know that you can buy a computer (laptop actually) with all the features you are looking for in the $500 range

I believe it's feasible; with perseverance, and looking @ sales. ...And I'm ready to go over my budget (by roughly $50-100).
So far I already found one for $500, but it's a used Sony VAIO one (with all the features I want + optical CD/DVD drive, but the cover is scratched, and the reviews are not so great, some of them).
Also, Sony stopped making laptops.

Today I found another one (new Dell) on sale for $580 ($700 regular). It has an Intel i5-4200U processor, and 8GB RAM plus 1TB HDD (15.6" touchscreen). I'm not sure that it has an optical drive though.

The other one I found is expensive @ $750 ($800 regular). ...An Asus with Intel Core i7-4500U processor, a 17" screen, 8GB of RAM, and 1TB HDD. It's too thin to have an optical drive (it would need an external one - I've been told you can get one for $30, but can you burn too?). Anyway, too much money for my personal use. ...By roughly $200 or so.

One thing that I do have right now; time.

I visited three professional computer stores (they usually ask too much for their laptops), plus (in Canada) Staples (too much), London Drugs (too much), Future Shop (or Best Buy - not bad deals), Walmart (very quickly by pure curiosity), and The Source (Radio Shack).
* Those bigger stores do price match Amazon.ca (Canada) with a little extra (concerning shipping).

My search is now more precise; and with the help of some of you members here, I am fully confident of an eventual "illumination".
I just need the right path, and I like what Rob and Eric (by PMs) have contributed so far.
* By the way Eric, the public domain is better; because more people can benefit from your expertise.

<<<>>> By the way, my new phone is much more powerful and faster than my old PC! ...And it also costed me less.
Ok, the screen is smaller, but the resolution (pixels) is better. ...And youtube videos don't break up all the time.
Yeah, a laptop should improve things.

[NorthStar]

https://store.sony.ca/vaio-fit-15-la...-Ultrabook-Fit

$499.99 (second-hand). ...?

I just bought it ^ today. Total, with taxes: $561.35 (that's not much, but then it's more than $249).

I know nothing; only that it is not Touch-Screen, that it is not brand new (no box, no manual), I didn't even try it, but now I will, @ home. ...And I got 14 days to change my mind (full refund) or not (if I decide to keep it).

Thing is; how can you be sure you're using some' good if you don't have any experience with anything else?
I just bought my first smartphone ever in my life (a Motorola one for two bills, and my previous one was a flipper for $350 - LG), and this is my first laptop ever, and my present PC ($300) is in the neighborhood of the 2000 era (almost 15 years old, with integrated/rejuvenated Windows XP, and it's 96.666% dead!), and before that I had my first ever PC in my life (for free) with Windows 98 (Intel inside), and it lasted me only two weeks because I ended up with the "Blue Screen of Death"! ...I tried to download Windows 2000, but it just didn't have the guts (the PC) to digest it!

Wish me good luck, or I'll die quickly and slowly both @ the same time.

Life is just fine; it's all about what best we make of it. Watch out! I am now reaching a higher level of learning process. ...No more mouse (no more left and right click, only learning the new 'pad' touch), no more hamster sleeping in his hammock inside my PC, and all that jazz.

The future is totally unknown for sure. Time is just going so fast that we don't even see it fly by.
...And then it'll be too late; death will be our best friend for all the remaining eternity. Not too worry though; others will take over.

[NorthStar]

What do you think? Are you happy as much as I'm uncertain? Do you have what it truly takes to reach the next higher level?
...And if you do, are you doing it? ...Not just buying it, but abusing it positively to the max!

[Matt715]

Looks good to me! Anything is an improvement over what you've got now.

[NorthStar]

Yes Matt indeed, anything, even my smartphone is ten times better than my old PC.

This is so new to me; a pad to navigate, instead of a mouse! ...Not easy @ all. ...And the keyboard is lighted; scary! ...No touchscreen though.

Next: maybe an iPad? ...A tablette with a 10-12" soft-touch screen. ...We'll see, five years from now they'll be cheap; fifty bucks.

Please stay tuned because I will have questions eventually; like what to download for free to improve performance, how to get the newer Windows 8.1, what free anti-virus to get, USB 3.0 and its advantage over 2.0, external components to add for faster efficiency, etc. ...And what is Classic Shell?
This is a totally new world to me, and it didn't come with an instruction manual, so AudioShark has now the responsibility to be my manual to go to.