More ram or better processor?

lightspeed

Hi

Im looking to buy a new laptop. I will mostly use it for internet, word, watching lectures but would possibly like the option of video editing in future.

My budget is up to €500 at max and ive seen some from €350 to €480 that i think might suit. I understand SSD seems to boot up quicker and may be more durable than HDD from what ive read so focusing on SSD

Below link to Asus A540 seems decent as it has 8gb ram and 256 gb ssd. However it only has an Amd A9425 processor. Ive read some comments online that it is slow.

https://www.komplett.ie/asus-a540ba-dm392t/80053935/product/9474

2nd option is a hp laptop with 6th generation i3 processor but it only 4gb ram and 128gb ssd.

https://www.did.ie/hp-intel-core-i3-6006u-14-4gb-128gb-laptop-white-14-bs032na-14-bs032na-prd

3rd option is the acer aspire 3 with 256 gb and core i3 8th generation 4gb ram.'


https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-3-a315-53-15-6-intel-core-i3-laptop-256-gb-ssd-blue-10188857-pdt.html


Ive seen other cheaper laptops with pentium gold and silver but im not sure if id notice the difference enough to regret not spending extra to get something with bettee processor.

Is a laptop with lesser processor such as Amd A9425 with more ram at 8gb better than lower 4gb ram but with a better processor such as i3 6th or 8th generation?

Is 256gb necessary or is 128gb sufficient for everyday use? I understand windows updates are large and regular which pushes me to think maybe 256gb is more suited long term.

that amd cpu is rubbish.

just pay a bit more7 and get a min pentium 4415u, ssd and 8gb ram.

i3 7 series or above , amd ryzen 3 or 5, i5 all ok above obviously.

full hd display, most recent i3 that is more powerful than older-gen i5's,
8gb ram
ssd,


https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce1507sa-14-intel-core-i3-laptop-128-gb-ssd-silver-10188781-pdt.html

550.

otherwise buy a 4gb one and swap the ram for an 8gb stick and sell the 4gb one yourself later but not much in it in the price really and saves the hassle of doing that.

128gb is fine for general use.

Eg browsing, streaming, ms office.

Windows updates won't full it up

this is about €450/460 with conversion and delivery. good reliable site

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/81F400E9UK-Lenovo-IdeaPad-330s_2498826.html

4-core i5 (i3's are 2-core)
8gb ram
ssd
full hd display
about 6 hours battery life

great deal (on sale for £399 so not sure when it ends)

Shlippery

glasso wrote: »

this is about €450/460 with conversion and delivery. good reliable site

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/81F400E9UK-Lenovo-IdeaPad-330s_2498826.html

4-core i5 (i3's are 2-core)
8gb ram
ssd
full hd display
about 6 hours battery life

great deal (on sale for £399 so not sure when it ends)

Not OP but cheers for that, nearly picked up the i3 variant on lenovo.com for €449!

lightspeed

glasso wrote: »

this is about €450/460 with conversion and delivery. good reliable site

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/81F400E9UK-Lenovo-IdeaPad-330s_2498826.html

4-core i5 (i3's are 2-core)
8gb ram
ssd
full hd display
about 6 hours battery life

great deal (on sale for £399 so not sure when it ends)

Thanks do you know if this is new and not refurbished?

Kind regards
Andrew

Shlippery

lightspeed wrote: »

Thanks do you know if this is new and not refurbished?

Kind regards
Andrew

I've pulled the trigger and ordered it and all signs so far / email confirmations point to it being new.

Can't find anything refurbished on the website! I think it'd be clearly marked if it was!

A fantastic laptop for the price from what I can see!

lightspeed

lightspeed wrote: »

Thanks do you know if this is new and not refurbished?

Kind regards
Andrew

new if says new.

that site is trustworthy

mondeo

glasso wrote: »

this is about €450/460 with conversion and delivery. good reliable site

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/81F400E9UK-Lenovo-IdeaPad-330s_2498826.html

4-core i5 (i3's are 2-core)
8gb ram
ssd
full hd display
about 6 hours battery life

great deal (on sale for £399 so not sure when it ends)

That is a great laptop for the price ! I have the same one but with an i3 processor, granted I bought mine almost a year ago when the 330s line up first launched. They were much more expensive back then, Still for a machine that was launched a year ago, that is a great price for an i5 version !

lightspeed

Shlippery wrote: »

I've pulled the trigger and ordered it and all signs so far / email confirmations point to it being new.

Can't find anything refurbished on the website! I think it'd be clearly marked if it was!

A fantastic laptop for the price from what I can see!

Hi can you confirm if it is 128gb ssd or a hybrid of ssd and hdd?
The description on website in the text suggests it a hybrid but im not sure if it actually specific to that laptop in link as it also talks about i7 in text but shows i5 in specification or perhaps it just mentioning other variants of same laptop.

"Ample storage for your photos, movies, & more

The Ideapad 330s can be customized to fit all your storage needs: Up to 2 TB SATA HDD stores thousands of videos, photos, and files. A responsive SATA or PCIe SSD – up to 256 GB – features shorter boot-up times and faster data-transfer speeds. And 128 GB PCIe SSD + 1 TB SATA HDD hybrid storage gives you a good mix of both".

briman1983

Dell have a 50% sale on now on refurbished units.

https://www.dellrefurbished.co.uk/laptops?utm_campaign=cj_affiliate_sale&utm_medium=digidip&utm_source=cj&utm_content=7988612&utm_term=13335020&CJEVENT=9e5c4396a2a511e983d2003e0a18050d

might be worth a look.

Shlippery

lightspeed wrote: »

Hi can you confirm if it is 128gb ssd or a hybrid of ssd and hdd?
The description on website in the text suggests it a hybrid but im not sure if it actually specific to that laptop in link as it also talks about i7 in text but shows i5 in specification or perhaps it just mentioning other variants of same laptop.

"Ample storage for your photos, movies, & more

The Ideapad 330s can be customized to fit all your storage needs: Up to 2 TB SATA HDD stores thousands of videos, photos, and files. A responsive SATA or PCIe SSD – up to 256 GB – features shorter boot-up times and faster data-transfer speeds. And 128 GB PCIe SSD + 1 TB SATA HDD hybrid storage gives you a good mix of both".

Pretty sure it's a 128GB M.2 SSD, with an empty slot for an additional 2.5" ssd/hdd if you want to add more storage later!

I can confirm once it's delivered (currently en route to Dub)


(arrived today, factory sealed as new!)

I think 128gb SSD that's included would be more than sufficient to get you up and running, it's such a simple task to add another SSD or 1tb HDD at a later stage for little cost!

I always rank cpu/ram/screen way above storage when it comes to laptops, as it's the easiest to upgrade.