Any advice about getting a new laptop?

[Dr. Seuss]

Well, I've always used desktop computers but for my personal needs I will need to get a laptop for the first time in my life, but I'm not too savvy when it comes to laptops.

I'm in a limited budget so I'm limited to $500 (Computers in my country are pretty expensive), I need a laptop for internet navigation (like social media navigation, internet browsing, playing movies, all that stuff), emulation of not so powerful consoles like 3DS, GBA, Gamecube and mainly for romhacking tools (which don't require powerful pc's)

Here are my options for my budget:

Choice #1: Lenovo Ideapad 3 14IIL05
14" screen 1366x768 IPS
256GB SSD storage
8GB RAM 2666 Mhz
Intel Core i3-1005G1 with UHD Graphics G1
2 cells battery

Choice #2: HP 245 G7:
14" antiglare screen 1366x768
1TB GB mechanical HDD
8GB RAM
AMD Ryzen 3 3250U with Vega 3 Graphics
41 watts 3 cells battery

Choice #3: Asus Vivobook X413J
14" screen 1920x1080 IPS
128GB SSD
8GB Soldered RAM 2400 Mhz
Intel Core i3-1005G1 with UHD Graphics G1
2 cells battery
(This one comes with a free 2 year extended warranty)

All of them come with Windows 10 Home

I have no other choices considering my budget, Which one would you recommend based on these specs? Is there anything else I need to take in consideration when purchasing a laptop? Thanks in advance.

 

[Lamp]

I wouldn't choose HP since HDD's don't run windows well if you're trying to boot off it and HP products kill themselves pretty quickly, not worth the money imo

I would choose the vivobook but the storage on that thing will get eaten by windows itself, 128 GB is not a lot.

The Ideapad seems like the best choice, its display doesn't seem that great but it should be serviceable and i think Lenovo still supports this model but i'm not sure.

thats my two cents

 

[donavannj]

Well, I've always used desktop computers but for my personal needs I will need to get a laptop for the first time in my life, but I'm not too savvy when it comes to laptops.

I'm in a limited budget so I'm limited to $500 (Computers in my country are pretty expensive), I need a laptop for internet navigation (like social media navigation, internet browsing, playing movies, all that stuff), emulation of not so powerful consoles like 3DS, GBA, Gamecube and mainly for romhacking tools (which don't require powerful pc's)

Here are my options for my budget:

Choice #1: Lenovo Ideapad 3 14IIL05
14" screen 1366x768 IPS
256GB SSD storage
8GB RAM 2666 Mhz
Intel Core i3-1005G1 with UHD Graphics G1
2 cells battery

Choice #2: HP 245 G7:
14" antiglare screen 1366x768
1TB GB mechanical HDD
8GB RAM
AMD Ryzen 3 3250U with Vega 3 Graphics
41 watts 3 cells battery

Choice #3: Asus Vivobook X413J
14" screen 1920x1080 IPS
128GB SSD
8GB Soldered RAM 2400 Mhz
Intel Core i3-1005G1 with UHD Graphics G1
2 cells battery
(This one comes with a free 2 year extended warranty)

All of them come with Windows 10 Home

I have no other choices considering my budget, Which one would you recommend based on these specs? Is there anything else I need to take in consideration when purchasing a laptop? Thanks in advance.

Of those, the Lenovo, unless you have the cash for buying an upgrade for the 128 GB in the ASUS.

If you can, are refurbished enterprise grade laptops available in your country? You can find some of those for under $500 here in the US, and while they're older they usually are higher spec than the options you're looking at, so those would be worth considering, imo.

 

[UnderKingSerenade]

Often Ram and hard drives are marked up on laptops. You can find laptops with great specs but low ram and a small HDD for cheap. Just replace the hard drive with an SSD and upgrade the ram and you can save a good amount.