(12-02-2017, 09:30 PM)PF* Wrote:

(11-29-2017, 11:21 PM)TJBender Wrote: I like and respect this answer. The ThinkPad T430 and Latitude E6420 are about the best values out there right now if you're willing to take one with a scuff or two on it. Hell, my E6410 looks like it's been through WWII, but it's still perfect for those short little trips when I don't plan on gaming from the road. There are some pretty good ThinkPad 2-in-1 tablets, too. The X220t comes to mind immediately. I've still got an X61t that I will never give up because it's just so doggone useful, Core 2 Duo and all. Runs Lubuntu like a champ.

The new H-series mobile chips from Intel are looking beastly, though. AMD Vega graphics on-die will give them something like R9 380X performance from integrated graphics. Of course, it will probably also make them an FX 9590-level forest fire...

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Great information, thank you all. Most of this, however, is lost upon me. I know very little but I do want 8 GB RAM, a DVD read/write, a webcam, 14-15 in screen, 500 GB-1 TB storage.

This looks like it might fit the bill: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-ThinkPad...SwOdpX1rjU

Anybody willing to step in and pick out what I should get off Ebay? I am a trusting soul and would prefer your input over mine.

Based on what you said that your needs are, something like that is what you should look for.  The biggest thing is to get as much RAM as possible.  Don't get too hung up on whether it's an Intel CPU or an AMD CPU.  Both are just fine, especially for your needs.

As far as hard drives, they are cheap.  For a "typical" Windows machine you want probably somewhere around 500GB just for your operating system and programs (apps is what they call them now).

For what it's worth, I'm a "computer geek" and my current desktop machine (which I use more than anything else) is running an AMD processor and has been doing so faithfully for several years.  While I don't do any gaming, I still need a powerful machine to compile (build) programs in a reasonable amount of time.  My current desktop machine I've had for probably 5 years+ and it will still build a large application in a short amount of time.  For the real geeks here, it will compile GCC in around 5 minutes or so.  To give some perspective, I can remember it taking all night to do the same thing with a simple Pentium processor (way back in late 90's early 2000's) and can remember taking it probably an hour or so with the "latest" in around 2005.

The bottom line is, identify your needs (which you have done) and search for a machine that will meet those needs.  Don't worry about "what processor" or any of that.  They are all pretty much the same.  The "slow loading" comments have nothing to do with hardware and everything to do with software.  That's a whole other discussion.

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