Household laptop help

[Thalandros]

Alright so my household is in need of a laptop, and they're kinda hard to build yourself, so we'll have to buy one. A british friend of mine recommended Novatech.co.uk and they deliver their laptops without any bloatware and even without Windows if desired. This is perfect. Now I want to get this laptop for £400, around €520:

 

CPU: Intel Pentium 3550M Dual Core 2.3GHz 2MB
Memory: 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz Memory
Hard Drive: Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid 1TB 8MLC 2.5" Hybrid
Now it also comes with a 15.6'' screen that's the standard 1366x768 resolution, ''Anti Glare''. Also a DVD writer and optical drive, which can still be handy I suppose for some odd cases.

They allow you to customize the build though, and I was wondering two things. The laptop is going to be used for general household usage: Banking, browsing, video-watching, netflix, etc. Nothing really heavy or game related.

These are the things I wonder.

 

1:With the laptop comes the 3550M Haswell Pentium, but is it really a noticable difference for home usage over a Celeron N2830 or 2950M they also offer? The prices differ quite much and obviously the 3550 is best, but I usually game so I don't know about only everyday applications.

 

2. The HDD. I've put a hybrid hard disk in which will cost me extra, but I've also got the choice of 128/256/500GB SSD's. The price difference between hybrid/ssd is basically nonexistant but the SSD would be only 128GB and I'm not sure if that's enough. On the other hand, are hybrid drives, once it's learned your usage, actually so much faster than regular HDDs? I'm trying to find a middle ground here.

[thekeemo]

you will feel how bad the the celerons are

[MuffinTopMike]

If you go with that laptop don't get the Celeron and the hybrid drive isn't really necessary if you are just browsing the web or watching movies, I good 7200rpm drive would be cheaper and do the job fine. In my opinion I would get the Lenovo E540 base model.

[Thalandros]

If you go with that laptop don't get the Celeron and the hybrid drive isn't really necessary if you are just browsing the web or watching movies, I good 7200rpm drive would be cheaper and do the job fine. In my opinion I would get the Lenovo E540 base model.

The thing is the only actual HDD that you can select is a 5400RPM one. Kind of too slow I feel?

[MuffinTopMike]

The thing is the only actual HDD that you can select is a 5400RPM one. Kind of too slow I feel?

Yeah 5400rpm is too slow, so you should probably keep the hybrid drive. Is there anyway you can replace that Pentium with an i3?

[Thalandros]

Yeah 5400rpm is too slow, so you should probably keep the hybrid drive. Is there anyway you can replace that Pentium with an i3?

I'd have to look at other websites. Novatech has the option of an i5 4200M but it's an extra 150 pounds over a 2950M

[Thalandros]

Yeah 5400rpm is too slow, so you should probably keep the hybrid drive. Is there anyway you can replace that Pentium with an i3?

I did justcheck another sites and most just seem to offer Pentiums (3560M, N3530)

 

Although this website has: 

Pentium N3530 Quad

4GB memory

500GB Hybrid hard drive + 8GB SSD

Optical drive

All for ~€437 which seems like a good deal.

http://www.laptopplus.nl/product-details/17-3-inch-bto-v-book-17cl07-prijsdoorbraak-met-quad-core-amp-ssd/1028465/

[MuffinTopMike]

I did justcheck another sites and most just seem to offer Pentiums (3560M, N3530)

 

Although this website has: 

Pentium N3530 Quad

4GB memory

500GB Hybrid hard drive + 8GB SSD

Optical drive

All for ~€437 which seems like a good deal.

That seems like a much better deal, an i3 would still be better than the Pentium but that laptop seems like pretty good value. If you buy from big laptop brands like Lenovo, Dell, HP or Asus you will probably get laptops a lot cheaper. For example the Lenovo E540 has a i3 and is only £430, plus all the main components can be upgraded. But otherwise the laptop with the Pentium N3530 seems like a good choice.

[Thalandros]

That seems like a much better deal, an i3 would still be better than the Pentium but that laptop seems like pretty good value. If you buy from big laptop brands like Lenovo, Dell, HP or Asus you will probably get laptops a lot cheaper. For example the Lenovo E540 has a i3 and is only £430, plus all the main components can be upgraded. But otherwise the laptop with the Pentium N3530 seems like a good choice.

On what website? on all dutch websites I looked for I cannot get one for under 700 euros.

Could you link me one or a couple that have an i3, any HDD that's not 5400RPM (preferably an SSD/hybrid disk) and under or around €500? Would be much appreciated. Shipping from outside Netherlands is no issue.

[MuffinTopMike]

On what website? on all dutch websites I looked for I cannot get one for under 700 euros.

Could you link me one or a couple that have an i3, any HDD that's not 5400RPM (preferably an SSD/hybrid disk) and under or around €500? Would be much appreciated. Shipping from outside Netherlands is no issue.

I found this Lenovo laptop that seems pretty nice:

http://shop.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/thinkpad/edge-series/e540/?sb=:000000F0:000003CA: