Should I buy this laptop? (Dell)

[kershnic]

My laptop died a few weeks ago and I've been overwhelmed/procrastinating about buying a new one.  But I need one.  I mostly need to use basic functions in word and excel and go on the Internet; nothing fancy.  I was hoping to keep it around $500 but up to $750 or so is ok.  If not this, what should I get?

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 series

Processor
5th Generation Intel® Core™ i3-5010U Processor (3M Cache, 2.10 GHz)

Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit English

Memory
4GB DDR3L 1600MHz (4GBx1)

Hard Drive
1TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive

LCD
15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) LED-Backlit Touch Display.    

Wireless
802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0, Dual Band 2.4&5GHz, 2x2

Primary Battery
43 WHr, 3-Cell Battery (integrated)

Color Choice
Foggy Night

Power Supply
45 Watt AC Adaptor

Cable
US Power Cord

Business Support
Dell.com Order

Keyboard
Backlit Keyboard, English

Documentation/Disks
Documentation, Bilingual, English-French

Packaging Labels
Dell.com Order

Non-Microsoft Application Software
Additional Software

Additional Settings
FastAccess Facial Recognition 4, Digital Delivery (FastAccess Anywhere)

Packaging
Shipping Material

E-Star
Energy Star Compliant

Order Information
Shipping Information

Systems Management
Windows System Driver, 7558

Placemat
Placemat Documentation

Driver
802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0, Dual Band 2.4&5GHz, 2x2 Wireless Driver

Operating System Recovery Options
Operating System Recovery Media Not Included

Transportation from ODM to region
Standard Shipment

FGA Module
Inspiron7558_1603_012_EW_P/US/CA/BTO

Label
System Regulatory Label

Office Productivity Software – Word, Excel, Powerpoint & more
No Office License Included

Security Software
McAfee LiveSafe Consumer 12 Month Subscription

Support
2 Year Premium Support

Subtotal $748.99

[kershnic]

Sept 1, 2015 12:27:37 GMT -5 oceanspray said:

Windows 10? Will it have the option to go back to 7 if needed? I would just be concerned because people seem to either love or hate 10.

hm. I'm not sure I have a good choice. :/

[sunshineluv]

On the dell site today, if you spend $699 on some laptops you get a free 32 in tv .

[oswin]

I'd be wary of Windows 10, but I'm also picky about my computers and it's hard to find Windows 7 anymore. It looks like 2-year premium support is $119 (glancing at a build for a similar laptop) - so not worth it in my opinion. I would recommend trying to get more than 4GB RAM (Memory), since just having a bunch of browser tabs open can fill up 4GB quickly. 6GB or 8GB would be better. But if you're literally just using it for word/excel and browsing the internet, you could make do with just about any laptop sold today. This particular laptop you've chosen does have at least a reasonable screen - don't buy anything with less than 1920 x 1080.

[shaynaatl]

I’ll chime in as we recently purchased a Dell laptop for my dad.

Unless I’m missing something, $750 for that config seems really overpriced. I mean like major rip-off. Especially for an i3 processor and only 4 GB of memory.

We purchased this Dell Inspiron on Amazon for $515:

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XPUUGDI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

This one has i5 processor and 8 GB of Memory. Also has 1 TB of hard drive space like yours. It has a 15.6” touchscreen display. The only negative I see of this one compared to yours is that the screen resolution is lower. But excluding that, you are upgrading the processor from i3 to i5, and doubling the Memory, yet paying over $200 less.

And to be honest, this wasn’t even an amazing deal. I followed the laptops section on Slickdeals.net for a while, and they had much better deals. We just ended up with this one because my dad was picky about certain things he wanted.

So in summary, I’d avoid that $750 laptop. For that price, at least look for better specs.

BTW, he upgraded to Win 10 and likes it. Overall Win 10 is getting good reviews, especially if you are coming from Win 8.

[lolo]

If it's just basic functions like that, would a Chromebook work for you? You would use Google sheets and Google docs. It might bring down the price point for you.