Trading my iPad mini for laptop help!

[Jaredivin]

quick briefing:
Hey guys/gals, I've decided to trade in my iPad mini 32g w/retina with hardware ~$400 value or so for a laptop mainly for uses of writing essays for school, downloading music with itunes, streaming netflix, and just regular internet browsing. I've posted it on craigslist, and its been a pretty big hit. Im getting a lot of different variations of laptops from different years, and its getting a bit difficult to decipher all of them.

Help:
im mainly curious what you guys think would be beneficial for me as a straight trade, and for what to look for. Things like i3 would be an even trade or if i should be looking for a i5 instead. or stay away from Toshiba because they suck. (Im a laptop newb so any help/flaming will help.)

so far the best offer I think i've had is: http/www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Envy-15-j000-15-j023c-15.6-LED-Notebook-Refurbished-AMD-A-Series-A10-5/34317522

im pretty sure an amd 10>intel i3> apples a7(which my ipad has)

 

[okcnaline]

1) Show me all the Craigslist offers and I will easily tell you which one to choose.
2) That Walmart deal is pretty good. But get ready for problems, since it's refurb.
3) Toshiba laptops. They are awful quality; you're right. One died on my church right after the 2 year warranty is over.

 

[Guest]

i dont like i-stuff but for your need your ipad sounds perfect.Laptop is just a overweight baggage in my opinion.
infact that ipad is propably the best thing Apple have put up till date.Unless you want to do programming or just prefer 14 inch low quality display instead of crisp 10" inch display while watching videos keep your ipad with you.Just one important factor you should reconsider before completely making up your mind for exchange the portability of laptops are overrated(if you are thinking of moving around with it a lot like your ipad you are going to regret it.

 

[Jaredivin]

i was just showing the laptop, its not actually the walmart laptop (although it may be in worse condition since it is craigslist) and i just used toshiba as an example, (first bad brand i could think of)

i've been offered:
asus r510c i3 processor 17" (he claims it is, i had some difficulty finding one matching that description)
hp dv6 1355dx
hp envy touchsmart 15.6" (one in the link above)

also i have been offered a hp pavilion g71-329wm for a ps3 system (curious if i should even debate that) as i only evaluate my ps3 bundle at around $250.

 

[Solandri]

Prior to Haswell (i3-4xxx, i5-4xxx), I don't think the i5 was worth it. The mobile i5 is nearly identical to the i3, the only major feature the i5 gets you is turbo boost. And that was usually only about 0.3 GHz extra speed (about 15% faster). The exception was in the ultra low voltage processors, where the turbo boost was about 1 GHz extra speed, but these processors were rare before Haswell. With Haswell, most of the CPUs I'm seeing are ultra low voltage (end in a U or a Y), so the i5 tends to be about 33%-50% faster than an i3, making it worth it IMHO.

I think you have the AMD pegged down about right. Overall it's slightly faster than an i3. The i3 is faster at single-threaded tasks though.

The HP you've linked has a 1366x768 display. That's pitifully low for a 15.6" screen. I'd even consider it marginal for a 13.3". Unfortunately that seems to be the standard resolution among laptops, with marketers abusing term "HD" to make people think they're getting a decent display when in fact 768 vertical pixels has been the standard since the 1990s. For a 15.6" screen, you really want "HD+" (1600x900) or ideally "full HD" (1920x1080). The latter will put you at about 140 ppi, which is generally considered the threshold for a "decent" resolution viewed from 2 feet away (150 dpi was long considered the minimum for laser printers, with 300 dpi being ideal).

You also need to be careful about the type of screen. If you want wide viewing angles like a tablet or phone, you want to look for an IPS screen. Most cheap laptop screens are TN, and the colors and brightness will shift or even invert depending on the angle you view the screen. Thankfully, unlike the plague of HD screens, IPS screens are becoming more common.

Edit:

3) Toshiba laptops. They are awful quality; you're right. One died on my church right after the 2 year warranty is over.

The vast majority of laptops aren't designed nor made by the brand name they bear. They're made by ODMs - original design manufacturers, which differ from OEMs in that they also design the device.
http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laptop_brands_and_manufacturers#Original_design_manufacturers_.28ODMs.29

Unfortunately the entire industry is very tight-lipped about this practice, and it's nearly impossible to tell which ODM actually made which model of a laptop. For example, Quanta makes all the Macbooks as well as most of HP's laptops. They also make some of Toshiba's laptops.

So you can't really narrow down which laptops are good or bad based on the brand name. You have to do it by model, which as you can imagine is a nearly impossible task. About all the brand name tells you is how good the aftermarket support will be.

 

[okcnaline]

1) The first one isn't very good. The GPU is igfx, so that's not good. And the i3 model exists, as far as I care. It's i3-3217U.
2) This one is the worst. The G31/G41 GPU is the WORST I've ever seen.
3) I suppose this one is the best option then...
4) That guy's dreaming.

 

[Jaredivin]

i dont like i-stuff but for your need your ipad sounds perfect.Laptop is just a overweight baggage in my opinion.
infact that ipad is propably the best thing Apple have put up till date.Unless you want to do programming or just prefer 14 inch low quality display instead of crisp 10" inch display while watching videos keep your ipad with you.Just one important factor you should reconsider before completely making up your mind for exchange the portability of laptops are overrated(if you are thinking of moving around with it a lot like your ipad you are going to regret it.

yeah, the only issue with the ipad, is that i dont necessarily buy everything, like microsoft office and my songs off itunes, and i love the feeling of a keyboard. The usage of this device will be mainly while laying in bed/watching tv, and my ipad is great if i hold it with both hands, but hard to prop up on my own legs while trying to type on the touch screen. I may also let my little siblings play basic games like rollercoaster tycoon and the sims on it, so i think i'd rather just have a laptop.

 

[Jaredivin]

Prior to Haswell (i3-4xxx, i5-4xxx), I don't think the i5 was worth it. The mobile i5 is nearly identical to the i3, the only major feature the i5 gets you is turbo boost. And that was usually only about 0.3 GHz extra speed (about 15% faster). The exception was in the ultra low voltage processors, where the turbo boost was about 1 GHz extra speed, but these processors were rare before Haswell. With Haswell, most of the CPUs I'm seeing are ultra low voltage (end in a U or a Y), so the i5 tends to be about 33%-50% faster than an i3, making it worth it IMHO.

I think you have the AMD pegged down about right. Overall it's slightly faster than an i3. The i3 is faster at single-threaded tasks though.

The HP you've linked has a 1366x768 display. That's pitifully low for a 15.6" screen. I'd even consider it marginal for a 13.3". Unfortunately that seems to be the standard resolution among laptops, with marketers abusing term "HD" to make people think they're getting a decent display when in fact 768 vertical pixels has been the standard since the 1990s. For a 15.6" screen, you really want "HD+" (1600x900) or ideally "full HD" (1920x1080). The latter will put you at about 140 ppi, which is generally considered the threshold for a "decent" resolution viewed from 2 feet away (150 dpi was long considered the minimum for laser printers, with 300 dpi being ideal).

You also need to be careful about the type of screen. If you want wide viewing angles like a tablet or phone, you want to look for an IPS screen. Most cheap laptop screens are TN, and the colors and brightness will shift or even invert depending on the angle you view the screen. Thankfully, unlike the plague of HD screens, IPS screens are becoming more common.

Edit:

3) Toshiba laptops. They are awful quality; you're right. One died on my church right after the 2 year warranty is over.

The vast majority of laptops aren't designed nor made by the brand name they bear. They're made by ODMs - original design manufacturers, which differ from OEMs in that they also design the device.
http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laptop_brands_and_manufacturers#Original_design_manufacturers_.28ODMs.29

Unfortunately the entire industry is very tight-lipped about this practice, and it's nearly impossible to tell which ODM actually made which model of a laptop. For example, Quanta makes all the Macbooks as well as most of HP's laptops. They also make some of Toshiba's laptops.

So you can't really narrow down which laptops are good or bad based on the brand name. You have to do it by model, which as you can imagine is a nearly impossible task. About all the brand name tells you is how good the aftermarket support will be.

wow thanks for a bunch of insight. The clarity wont necessarily be an issue as I have my desktop with a raedon 8650 on my 21" tv and my 39" samsung tv also, i mainly just put that so people like you can help me evaluate all aspects of the laptop world. So i appreciate all of that. With all of your knowledge, are their any particular model laptops around 400-500 that really stand out? I may be more interested in just selling my iPad and replacing it with a laptop instead.

 

[Jaredivin]

1) The first one isn't very good. The GPU is igfx, so that's not good. And the i3 model exists, as far as I care. It's i3-3217U.
2) This one is the worst. The G31/G41 GPU is the WORST I've ever seen.
3) I suppose this one is the best option then...
4) That guy's dreaming.

okay so pretty much take the 3rd option out of those?

and how about this laptop ( Acer TravelMate 5742-7159 ) for the ps3? sound any better of a deal?

*if im able to trade my ps3 for a laptop, i can focus on trading my iPad for a tv. Craigslist takes up the majority of my college downtime, and i also do some research via craigslist for college classes so i'm somewhat of a craigslist hussy (for lack of better word) *

 

[okcnaline]

Nope. Intel's integrated GPU is worst a GT 525M.

 

[Jaredivin]

Nope. Intel's integrated GPU is worst a GT 525M.

awesome, thanks for your help, ill be commenting on here if i receive any more offers!

 

[Solandri]

are their any particular model laptops around 400-500 that really stand out? I may be more interested in just selling my iPad and replacing it with a laptop instead.

Most of the laptops you're being offered for trade are very old or obsolete. If your budget is now $400-$500, you can usually pick up a decent new (or refurbished) laptop at that price on sale. Try following this site every day, and read through the comments on each deal to gauge how good/bad/old the laptop is:

http/slickdeals.net/deals/computers/

I've been keeping an eye out for two friends who requested help with their laptop purchases. There hasn't been a decent sale (aside from gaming laptops) for a couple weeks. Unfortunately, you (and they) just missed out on a killer deal at Staples where they had a coupon for $150 off any clearance laptop two weeks ago.

The other option is to wait until Black Friday (just after Thanksgiving). There are always a bunch of good deals around then. e.g. I picked up the following during Black Friday last year for $499 (15.6" 1080p IPS panel, touchscreen, i5, 500 GB HDD). So maybe sell your iPad between now and then, and have the cash ready in hand to jump on a sale.

www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Acer-Aspire-V5-573P-6896-Touchscreen-Laptop-Intel-Core-i5/productID.288024500

Actually, lemme PM you. I think the guy I got that one for is looking to sell it now.

 

[Jaredivin]

Is a Sony Vaio fit 14" ( http/www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2418648,00.asp ) for my ipad mini? is that a good trade on my part?

 

[okcnaline]

Tell that guy you'll trade in one week. That deal is okay, but that's exactly what it is. The integrated graphics is a 4000, worse than AMD A8-5670G, so it's an okay deal. Wait another week.

 

[Jaredivin]

Tell that guy you'll trade in one week. That deal is okay, but that's exactly what it is. The integrated graphics is a 4000, worse than AMD A8-5670G, so it's an okay deal. Wait another week.

yeah i even tried accepting his deal, but then he wanted an extra 100 dollars, saying his laptop was evaluated at 1100

 

[Jaredivin]

How does a ps3 and 125 dollars sound for a hp dv7-7133nr?

 

[okcnaline]

Nah... the GPU is pretty awful.

 

[9810766079]

are their any particular model laptops around 400-500 that really stand out? I may be more interested in just selling my iPad and replacing it with a laptop instead.

Most of the laptops you're being offered for trade are very old or obsolete. If your budget is now $400-$500, you can usually pick up a decent new (or refurbished) laptop at that price on sale. Try following this site every day, and read through the comments on each deal to gauge how good/bad/old the laptop is:

http/slickdeals.net/deals/computers/

I've been keeping an eye out for two friends who requested help with their laptop purchases. There hasn't been a decent sale (aside from gaming laptops) for a couple weeks. Unfortunately, you (and they) just missed out on a killer deal at Staples where they had a coupon for $150 off any clearance laptop two weeks ago.

The other option is to wait until Black Friday (just after Thanksgiving). There are always a bunch of good deals around then. e.g. I picked up the following during Black Friday last year for $499 (15.6" 1080p IPS panel, touchscreen, i5, 500 GB HDD). So maybe sell your iPad between now and then, and have the cash ready in hand to jump on a sale.

www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Acer-Aspire-V5-573P-6896-Touchscreen-Laptop-Intel-Core-i5/productID.288024500

Actually, lemme PM you. I think the guy I got that one for is looking to sell it now.