Need help choosing a laptop

[CSerra]

Hello Tom's Hardware,

I'm a college student and I haven't got a computer of my own and so I'm considering getting either a laptop, a notebook or a convertible laptop. I want it for browsing, listening to music and playing some games (ie. Hearthstone). Mainly, I want one that can efficiently run iTunes and any other app simultaneously.

As my budget isn't that vast, I have made a search on a Craigslist like website and I've found some options in my city that still come with a warranty. I did this because I want to be able to see them operate before I actually buy them. They are:

Acer Iconia W510 for 290€
HP Pavilion DM1 4160 for 250€
Asus VivoTab RT TF600T for 280€

There is also another Tsunami (HL90) and an ASUS but I don't know the specific models. If necessary I can pass on the links to these adds to help further enlighten you.

As it is, what do you think is the best option for me? Should I even be looking for them like this or should I just go on ebay.co.uk? Or should I look for another particular computer?


I thank all the feedback that you can send my way as I am a real noob in these matters

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Being in college, you might want to consider investing a tad more money in a laptop that will be more reliable and efficient for all four years.

Th first one, the Acer on your list, has only 2GB of RAM. Windows itself takes up about 1+ GB of RAM, and if your RAM gets filled you will have slowdowns. iTunes tends to use up a large amount of RAM, too. Since it is a tablet more than a laptop, it uses an Intel Atom processor, which has a lower frequency rate due to it needing less heat. Furthermore, the graphics card is built into this processor, and it will not meet your needs when gaming.

For some reason whenever I search that exact HP Pavilion, I see TONS of replacement screens for sale, and that cannot mean good news.

The Asus tablet would probably be even slightly less powerful than the Acer, and it uses a seemingly non-main-stream processor made by Nvidia.

Out of those three, I would choose the Acer.

I recommend none of them. For one thing, they have a small amount of storage, a small amount of RAM, and lower-frequency processors since they are tablets and not laptops. Look into some laptops, perhaps it will cost you some more money, but surely it will be worh it to invest in one. This http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i3531-1200BK-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00KMRGF28/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1408158960&sr=1-1&keywords=Laptops laptop is a very cheap price similar to the tablets and is 2X as powerful. Furthermore, I would recommend this to meet your needs:

http://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-17-e117dx-17-3-Laptop/dp/B00LNFCADQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1408159034&sr=1-1&keywords=Laptops

^^ Has 5 stars, costs some more money but:

1) can store a LOT more data
2) can perform many more simultaneous applications without slowdowns
3) better graphics card for gaming, using Intel HD Graphics 4000
4) much more powerful processor, that is the i3 compared to the Celeron

If you have any questions please ask but I know that if you buy one of those tablet-computers, you will have difficulties and slowdowns as websites and programs become more resource-intensive. The laptop I recommended should last you very well all 4 years.