Is Hp Pavillion 15-p033 laptop a good "futureproof" buy?

logiclxm

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Jun 1, 2007
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Hi,

I am in the market for buying a laptop for general use, mainly Internet browsing and video streaming (Netflix, Youtube).
I realize that I do not need a high end laptop for this purpose, however, I would like to keep it for as long as possible (3-5 years) without an upgrade.
From my knowledge and after doing some checking, I got the general idea that HP makes quite good laptops. I would like to go with ASUS, whose laptops get more favorable reviews, but they don't go on sale much often here in Canada.

In any case, I am thinking about getting the HP Pavilliton 15-p033 laptop.
It is priced at $600 CAD ($550 US) at my local Costco store (regular price).
Is it a good laptop and worth the price? Is it a better idea to go with another brand of laptops like Dell or Lenovo if I want my laptop to be as "future proof" as possible with a budget of $500-$600 ($450-$550 US)?
I do realize that brand names are not as important as CPU speed or ram though..
Also, I would consider a Chromebook such as the HP 14, but I find the incompatibility with Skype to be a deal breaker.

Thanks for any advice.

The specs are as follow:

Processor
Intel® Core™ i5-4210U with Intel HD Graphics 4400 (1.7 GHz, 3 MB cache, 2 cores)
Operating system
Windows 8.1 64
Memory
6 GB 1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM (1 x 2 GB, 1 x 4 GB)
Internal drive
750 GB 5400 rpm SATA
Optical drive
SuperMulti DVD burner
Display
15.6" diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit (1366 x 768)
Ports
2 USB 3.0
1 USB 2.0
1 HDMI
1 RJ-45
1 headphone/microphone combo
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics 4400 (up to 1.75 GB)


http://www8.hp.com/ca/en/products/laptops/product-detail.html?oid=7110875
http://www.costco.ca/HP-Pavilion-15-p033ca%2c-Bilingual-Notebook%2c-i5-4210U%2c-15.6-in.-HD-WLED.product.100121697.html
 
Solution
G
There is technically no such a thing as future proof, however, I do understand that any customer will want their machine to last as long as possible before getting to be a paper weight. If you're looking for a system that can play music and videos at standard quality then anything bought today new will do it just fine, in the case of the hp configuration you mentioned I am pretty sure it will handle videos and web browsing like a boss. Let me explain to you what every detail of your configuration means

Intel® Core™ i5-4210U with Intel HD Graphics 4400 (1.7 GHz, 3 MB cache, 2 cores)
This is a low voltage Dual-Core CPU which will handle videos and browing fine and also bring good battery life to you. The Intel HD Graphics 4400 should be...
G

Guest

Guest
There is technically no such a thing as future proof, however, I do understand that any customer will want their machine to last as long as possible before getting to be a paper weight. If you're looking for a system that can play music and videos at standard quality then anything bought today new will do it just fine, in the case of the hp configuration you mentioned I am pretty sure it will handle videos and web browsing like a boss. Let me explain to you what every detail of your configuration means

Intel® Core™ i5-4210U with Intel HD Graphics 4400 (1.7 GHz, 3 MB cache, 2 cores)
This is a low voltage Dual-Core CPU which will handle videos and browing fine and also bring good battery life to you. The Intel HD Graphics 4400 should be enough for your needs as long as you don't expect gaming.

6 GB 1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM (1 x 2 GB, 1 x 4 GB)
6GB is fine for chrome/firefox/IE or any other major browser + vlc + any music media player, let's say itunes. You will rarely use the page file unless you plan on doing some media editing or heavy gaming which will not happen because of the GPU. I'd upgrade to 8GB as fast as possible just because though :p

750 GB 5400 rpm SATA
Although it's pretty cheap to switch from 5400rpm to 7200rpm this disk will be fine for your usage

I guess you can figure everything else out

That's a good deal for 550$ I'd say

Note: I believe the links you posted are broken
 
Solution

logiclxm

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Jun 1, 2007
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Thanks velo3100 and Anonymous for the detailed reply.
I fixed the links for the laptop specs from my first post.
Good to know that the laptop is decent. There was a Dell Inspiron 3000 laptop with very similar specs on sale at the local Bestbuy for $500 CAD ($460 US).
I chose not to purchase ot as some reviewers say that Dell laptops tend to overheat easily. Hope HP is better.