Is this a good laptop for general use?

[FromanSK]

Hello TH.

My brother is a teacher who's had the same laptop for at least four years now. It's on its last breath and barely functions anymore. Thus, Christmas is coming and our mother is planning to buy him a new one. Being a frequent viewer of QVC, she found this one (specs are are near the middle of the page).

I'm more qualified to talk about desktops, specifically gaming PCs, so I'm not entirely certain this is a good laptop. The RAM is great and the processor seems adequate, but beyond that I can't say. As I mentioned, he is a teacher, so it's not going to be used for much more than internet browsing, word processing and lesson planning. He won't be playing any games, so the specs aren't too terribly important. My biggest concern is the price. It's rather expensive (then again, laptops tend to be expensive...) and I just want to make sure it's a good deal. The advantage of it being on QVC is the 6 month payment plan, but if you have alternatives from other sources, that's fine too.

Also, on a slightly unrelated note, how is Windows 10? The laptop comes with it and I opted out of the free upgrade (I'm running 8.1 at the moment) because I've heard nothing but negative criticism of it.

Specs are as follows (quoted from the computer's page)
Includes Pavilion 15-ab146cy laptop with AC adapter and four-cell lithium-ion battery; PC Treasures software digital download (ships separately)
Windows 10 Home operating system
1.8GHz AMD A4-6210 quad-core processor with 2MB L2 cache
15.6" diagonal WLED-backlit HD touchscreen display with 1366x768 resolution
6GB DDR3L SDRAM
1TB 5400 RPM hard drive
SuperMulti DVD burner
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
AMD Radeon R3 graphics with up to 3328MB total graphics memory
B&O PLAY audio with dual speakers
HP TrueVision HD webcam with dual array digital microphones
Full-size island-style keyboard with numeric keypad
HP Imagepad with multi-gesture support
SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card reader
Two USB 3.0 ports
USB 2.0 port
HDMI, ethernet ports
Headphone/microphone jack
Measures approximately 15-1/4"W x 10-3/8"D x 1"H; weighs 4.89 lbs
UL listed; 1-year Limited Manufacturer's Warranty
Imported

Thanks TH. Have a lovely evening.

 

[Gamer Cat]

It will help if you post the specs of the computer.

 

[FromanSK]

It will help if you post the specs of the computer.

They're in the link, but I will add them to the OP if you wish.

 

[Gamer Cat]

Sorry, I did not see it.

Not bad specs. You may be able to find something else that has a Intel i5 processor instead for that price.

 

[jaguarskx]

$550 for a laptop with an AMD A4-6210 APU is overpriced. It is not a particularly powerful processor, but it would be adequate for your brother's purposes.

The following Dell Inspiron 3543 has a more powerful Intel Core i5-5200u CPU with similar specs as the HP laptop but with only has 4GB of RAM for just $400. It should should have better battery life since Intel CPUs generally consumes less power than AMD APUs.

http/www.walmart.com/ip/Dell-Longitude-Silver-15.6-Inspiron-3543-Laptop-PC-with-Intel-Core-i5-5200U-Processor-4GB-memory-1TB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-10/46784937


RAM is pretty inexpensive and it is pretty easy to install. A 4GB stick of RAM is only $22.

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148813


Below is a basic video showing how to install RAM in a laptop.

https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcBwnb8rENQ

 

[bmw-vision]

I have a laptop that I soley use for studying (So probably the same sort of use), and from experience, 4gb is plenty for normal use (Including multiple tabs, videos, running programs, etc).
Processor wise, I have a Pentium 3540 (About same performance as the original CPU) and it works fine for everyday use. It is by no means the fastest, but if you want to keep the price low, it gives you a base line to work up from performance wise.
Do you think a touch screen would be something he would use, as that's mainly the reason for the price difference compared to what everyone else has listed?
Lenovo might also have discounts for teachers, so you could look at that.
Also regarding windows 10, its a bit different than win7, but I find it good for laptops. But you may need to consider compatibility, if he uses it at school, as they might want to install programs on it, of which they might be designed for windows 7.