How to choose/configure a laptop?

[KaBone]

First of all, apologies if the forum grows tired of laptop advice threads. I have put in a lot of hours researching laptops and I think I have narrowed to what I want. I'm having difficulty deciding between different options. Not in the sense that I don't prefer certain options over others, that part is easy. The difficulty is putting value to each option. Which is why I'm soliciting help from my most trusted forum.
My list of desirables - the least expensive: 14" or 15.6" screen, 1920x1080; 256GB SSD; 8GB RAM upgradable to 12GB min; i5 quad core; 4.5# max; touchscreen; convertible, but not detachable.
I'll settle for i5-xxxxU minimum. Also not married to touchscreen and convertible.

How much is too much to pay to upgrade:
the SSD, the RAM (i.e., DDR3 to DDR4), dedicated graphics card, and
the processor, which has the most options

I'm also having difficulty finding a laptop with a quad core i5 less than 5# and less than $1400. I can get 2 really good laptops for $1400 so I'm looking for something far less expensive.

Many laptop finder tools ask how you will use your laptop. I will use the laptop for a little bit of everything. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Laquer Head]

Where are you located and what currency.

Easiest thing to do is to give an actual budget and people can give you relevant solutions.

Most mid-range+ machines these days have a quad intel cpu, 8-16GB DDR4 ram, usually at least an SSD (some have SSD/HDD combo)

As for upgrading,.. how much is too much is all relative to what your personally willing to spend, the age/upgradability of the product.. As a rule of thumb, most laptop CPU cannot be changed out.. some are simply not user accessible, some are soldered in place. Pretty much assume that the CPU is what it is with a laptop and in 95% of cases - you wont be changing this.

RAM, SSD, HDD, etc are user upgradable, but limitations will be on a machine by machine/vendor by vendor basis.

Give us an idea on location, budget, and currency and we can give you ideas to narrow down options.

 

[KaBone]

Where are you located and what currency.

Easiest thing to do is to give an actual budget and people can give you relevant solutions.

Most mid-range+ machines these days have a quad intel cpu, 8-16GB DDR4 ram, usually at least an SSD (some have SSD/HDD combo)

As for upgrading,.. how much is too much is all relative to what your personally willing to spend, the age/upgradability of the product.. As a rule of thumb, most laptop CPU cannot be changed out.. some are simply not user accessible, some are soldered in place. Pretty much assume that the CPU is what it is with a laptop and in 95% of cases - you wont be changing this.

RAM, SSD, HDD, etc are user upgradable, but limitations will be on a machine by machine/vendor by vendor basis.

Give us an idea on location, budget, and currency and we can give you ideas to narrow down options.

Location - Hawaii, which can introduce shipping complications. The reason I'm looking for a laptop is because the battery in my old one died and only dell will send me a replacement at $150.
Currency - USD ($, bucks, greenbacks, do re mi)
Budget - Initially I was thinking $600 b/c that's 4x the cost of the replacement battery I need. I think I paid $1000 in total 2 or 3 years ago for the laptop I have now, dell Vostro 3450 with aftermarket upgraded RAM and SSD. I'm willing to spend $800 on the laptop that checks all the boxes. Like I wrote, so far that laptop is $1400, or more than 9x the cost of the replacement battery.

One more clarification, I'm not looking for what I think is too much to spend to upgrade. I'm looking for what you think is too much to spend to upgrade. For example, I think lenovo wanted $90 to go from 4 to 8GB. That's ridiculous when I can get the best selling 4gb stick for $30. However, I don't have an idea of the appropriate cost to go from DDR3 to DDR4.

 

[Laquer Head]

Okay...so first off.. Hawaii..super jealous..

Anyhow, if all you need is a new battery, have you considered a 3rd party reseller like Dr.Battery , for example? The 'official' replacement from the manufacturer is always gonna be an astronomically high price...not just Dell. (In case you are wondering, yes these batteries are good quality, the fitment is essentially like factory, and I've personally used these guys for years)

If you can source a 3rd party replacement, it will be cheaper and prevent you having to buy a whole new machine --which at 2-3 years isn't really necessary..provided there aren't other existing issues?

I'd look into this option first.

As far as the second part you clarified, you can't go from DDR3 --> DDR4 . That laptop came with DDR3 and that's what you will be sticking to, only way to go to DDR4 is indeed a new machine with DDR4.. so this as an 'upgrade' is not doable!

What you can do, however, is purchase a DDR3 4x4GB kit or DDR3 8x8GB kit (if compatible) and upgrade the capacity and give the laptop a matching pair. G-Skill, Corsair, Kingston all offer these type of SODIMM (laptop ram) kits

EDIT: Check This LINK!!

 

[KaBone]

Okay...so first off.. Hawaii..super jealous..

Anyhow, if all you need is a new battery, have you considered a 3rd party reseller like Dr.Battery , for example? The 'official' replacement from the manufacturer is always gonna be an astronomically high price...not just Dell. (In case you are wondering, yes these batteries are good quality, the fitment is essentially like factory, and I've personally used these guys for years)

If you can source a 3rd party replacement, it will be cheaper and prevent you having to buy a whole new machine --which at 2-3 years isn't really necessary..provided there aren't other existing issues?

I'd look into this option first.

As far as the second part you clarified, you can't go from DDR3 --> DDR4 . That laptop came with DDR3 and that's what you will be sticking to, only way to go to DDR4 is indeed a new machine with DDR4.. so this as an 'upgrade' is not doable!

What you can do, however, is purchase a DDR3 4x4GB kit or DDR3 8x8GB kit (if compatible) and upgrade the capacity and give the laptop a matching pair. G-Skill, Corsair, Kingston all offer these type of SODIMM (laptop ram) kits

EDIT: Check This LINK!!

Of the 3rd party vendors i've checked that will ship a battery to HI, it's about the same price as the OEM from Dell (haven't checked Dr. Battery). That's the premium for accepting the liability for shipping 'dangerous goods'. I haven't ruled out the replacement battery option yet.

I'm not thinking of replacing DDR3 sticks with DDR4. A laptop that comes with DDR3 is generally less expensive than a laptop that comes with DDR4. How much is that upgrade worth?

Another example - I logged an acer e5-575g with an i5-6200U at $550. Today I see a deal for the same computer except with an i7-7500U for $650. Is it worth $100 to go from an i5-6200U to an i7-7500U?

 

[Laquer Head]

Of the 3rd party vendors i've checked that will ship a battery to HI, it's about the same price as the OEM from Dell (haven't checked Dr. Battery). That's the premium for accepting the liability for shipping 'dangerous goods'. I haven't ruled out the replacement battery option yet.

I'm not thinking of replacing DDR3 sticks with DDR4. A laptop that comes with DDR3 is generally less expensive than a laptop that comes with DDR4. How much is that upgrade worth?

Another example - I logged an acer e5-575g with an i5-6200U at $550. Today I see a deal for the same computer except with an i7-7500U for $650. Is it worth $100 to go from an i5-6200U to an i7-7500U?

Yeah, I suppose that's the nature of the beast living on an island, you pay a premium to have anything imported there..

If I were buying a new laptop today, I wouldn't be buying anything DDR3 ---> DDR4 is the way to go, and the price difference isn't due to the RAM, it'll be due to CPU, GPU, whether it has SSD or traditional HDD...etc. RAM chips are just RAM chip honestly. As for the worthiness of going to DDR4, I dunno.. but I'd still lean towards the newer tech.

As for 6500U ---> 7500U I doubt there is much noticeable difference, cept the 6th/7th gen designation. I'd imagine some vendors are starting to chop prices on the 6th gen till supply runs dry and its all 7th gen on the market.

I still say to check out Dr. Battery (and maybe others) and see if you can just get the battery replacement. I don't think a new laptop makes sense, and people here know I'm a stingy bastard and while I blow my own money - I have a real habit of talking people outta spending theirs unnecessarily.

EDIT: On a side note, what CPU is in your current Vostro? I think its an i5, but do you know which one for sure?

 

[KaBone]

my vostro has an i5-2450M. apparently i bought it in april 2012. it has an amd radeon 7650M graphics card.

 

[Laquer Head]

my vostro has an i5-2450M. apparently i bought it in april 2012. it has an amd radeon 7650M graphics card.

Decent chip, so its from like Q1 2012 as you mentioned. Now it is a dual core, hyper threaded, and most new machines, people are opting for quad cores, but given that its a school machine - if you can score a battery - I'd still do that first.

I feel like going to a new machine, or new anything really should be/feel like an upgrade, and just going to a newer, dual core (ie. 6200u/7500u) and DDR4 isn't really gonna net you much significant improvement--in fact, it'll probably leave you a bit let down.

 

[KaBone]

I appreciate the replacement battery advice. However I feel the discussion has moved away from the original information request.
How much is too much to pay to upgrade?
So far it seems that DDR3 and DDR4 are the same price, and 7th gen chipsets are not worth the extra cost over 6th gen.
I'm not sure if it was understood that the CPU comparison above is between an i5-6200U and an i7-7500U.

 

[Laquer Head]

I appreciate the replacement battery advice. However I feel the discussion has moved away from the original information request.
How much is too much to pay to upgrade?
So far it seems that DDR3 and DDR4 are the same price, and 7th gen chipsets are not worth the extra cost over 6th gen.
I'm not sure if it was understood that the CPU comparison above is between an i5-6200U and an i7-7500U.

Well, I don't know what you want me to tell you, how much I'd pay for something in my country and how much you'd pay depends on many factors.

As for the CPU, yes it was understood..and they are still dual core cpu, neither of which are particularly exciting to me. So in that regard, any amount is too much cause I wouldn't buy a machine with either.