New to laptops and would love some guidance; looking in the $400-800 range

[pottedstuff]

Hello,

I have done quite a bit of looking for an affordable, solid laptop. I don't game or do graphic design work at all - the closet to gaming that I approach is playing in browser chess - so I shouldn't need crazy graphics at all. However, I work in science, and often have quite a bit of data to crunch if is necessary (although it is pretty infrequent), and likewise often am unable to charge my devices for long periods of time. I am looking mostly for a laptop that has a good display, good sound/webcam, good battery life, and is fast. I am currently considering the Del Inspiron 15 5000 series - but I honestly feel lost looking at all of the laptops, and I truly don't know what is good or what isn't and don't want to get ripped off, as I have been saving a long time for this! I already have a windows 8.1 disk that I could install on any laptop, although most of them seem to already have windows on them, and I'd be dual/multibooting anyways as I have to run some linux distros for my work regardless. Because I need to store some files on there, and am often without internet, I don't think a chromebook/something that relies upon internet based storage would be appropriate. I also don't want a touchscreen and do not care at all about bulkiness or weight.


I greatly appreciate anyone taking time out of their day to help point in the correct direction; thanks in advance!

 

[pottedstuff]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from pottedstuff : "New to laptops and would love some guidance; looking in the $400-800 range"

Hello,

I have done quite a bit of looking for an affordable, solid laptop. I don't game or do graphic design work at all - the closet to gaming that I approach is playing in browser chess - so I shouldn't need crazy graphics at all. However, I work in science, and often have quite a bit of data to crunch if is necessary (although it is pretty infrequent), and likewise often am unable to charge my devices for long periods of time. I am looking mostly for a laptop that has a good display, good sound/webcam, good battery life, and is fast. I am currently considering the Del Inspiron 15 5000 series - but I honestly feel lost looking at all of the laptops, and I truly don't know what is good or what isn't and don't want to get ripped off, as I have been saving a long time for this! I already have a windows 8.1 disk that I could install on any laptop, although most of them seem to already have windows on them, and I'd be dual/multibooting anyways as I have to run some linux distros for my work regardless. Because I need to store some files on there, and am often without internet, I don't think a chromebook/something that relies upon internet based storage would be appropriate. I also don't want a touchscreen and do not care at all about bulkiness or weight.


I greatly appreciate anyone taking time out of their day to help point in the correct direction; thanks in advance!

 

[velo3100]

You should look for an i7 m cpu as that will help with number crunching, 8 gigs of ram, 1080p matt display, integrated gpu is fine, I would make sure it is intel as they have a better battery life.