Please help - need a Laptop under $ 500 for writing and video editing

[Tamlyn Muireadeah]

I am a writer and I also like to edit our 1080p home movies. Last month I had the bright idea to update the BIOS on my laptop. It froze partway through the process and never recovered. Took it in - no go. Cut to the chase - I need a new one.

If you've got a few seconds, please look over the following specs and let me know if any recommendations come to mind. I know I'm looking in the budget range, and that's okay.

I'd like 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB HDD, Bluetooth for my wireless mouse, WIFI 2.4/5gHz, HDMI, USB 3.0, 3 USB ports at least.

I found this on Newegg:
HP ProBook 455 G4 15.6" Laptop - 2.40 GHz AMD Pro A10-9600P APU - 16 GB DDR4 RAM - 1 TB HDD - DVD-Writer $499.00

It has decent reviews. But I can't visually inspect it.

I found this in the store at Best Buy:

Lenovo - 15.6" Laptop - AMD A12-Series - 8GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive - Platinum gray
Model: 80XS0024US $379.00

But there are no reviews online except on the Lenovo website where it has a 2.5 Star rating. Not real hopeful. But at $379.00? Hard to overlook that for the price.

If you've come across a great deal in the $400-500 range, please let me know!

Thanks!

 

[okcnaline]

1) 2 dead links.
2) Your requests are impossible for the price.

 

[Tamlyn Muireadeah]

I've changed the links to descriptions with model numbers. The editor doesn't like the direct links for some reason.

Again, if you have suggestions for *good deals*, please let me know. They don't have to be exact. I'll survive with a 500GB HDD, 8GB RAM, and without USB 3.0.

 

[okcnaline]

You are not going to edit any 1080P videos with a decent experience at this price.

 

[azaran]

For what you're trying to do, writing isn't the hard part. At this point you can pretty much do that on a glorified ech-a-sketch. The video editing is the hard part. For that you want a strong processor, a good amount of RAM and ideally a large and fast HDD.

At your price point, you're not going to get all 3. Of those 3, on most laptops you can upgrade the RAM and HDD but the CPU is the one you're stuck with. So try and go strong on that. The A10 and A12 lineup is pretty similar in CPU processing, the A12 is slightly faster by a 100mhz. The bigger difference comes down to the R5 GPU in the A10 and the better R7 GPU in the A12. Both are along the lines of a 5th gen Intel i-3.

Of those two options, hardware wise, the Lenovo would be the better if you can upgrade the RAM at some point. If you're not going to upgrade anything in it, then the slightly less powerful CPU (100mhz difference) of the HP will be made up for with the larger amount of RAM it carries.

With the price range you're looking at you're not going to find a whole lot of variety. If you look for i3 models (keep it to 7th gen if you can, 6th isn't terrible either) you might find some change ups. This model is slightly above your price range but might be a good buy.
https/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA7AB5Z73041

Faster CPU and double the HDD space. I'd also look at Costco, if nothing else they're return policy and warranty policy tends to be really good.