Windows 10: Windows 10 from the ground up

Yeah, but just think what a massive disappointment it would be to buy a computer with Windows 10 loaded on it from the factory, with a Microsoft Windows 10 certified sticker on it, a Windows 10 product key in bios, and then find out it was "designed for" Windows 8.1. I would be heartbroken.

Yes, Sheldon, that was sarcasm.

 

There is no 250$ lappy that would be a good gaming machine. If you start to head to the 600+ dollar models then there might be a better selection.

Or it was designed for Vista. *Wink

*Purple for sarcasm..

 

Many newer prepackaged deals at this time are seeing 2tb size drives as well as having been seeing the 1tb. Depending on planned usages leaving room for expansion is something to consider for later hardware upgrades as well as expansion of local capacities. All-In-One types are very limited for anything like this.

For custom builds on the other hand it used to be you had to keep planning out having enough ram as well as figuring out how drive space as well as the hand pick of video cards especially for any gaming rig with enough feuding having been seen for which was this or that as far as who performed better. Eventually every brand surpassed the level of what was needed for the influx of pc games once you hit the high enough clock speed and GRam capacity with 2tb cards, SLI, Quad SLI, etc. 6 months later everything was considered outdated when the next new line ups of cards were out.

For premade as we already only know too well are bought by the options that come with a particular system such as cpu, memory, how many usb ports, how many are now 3.0, and size of drive since capacities have gone up as far as the 2tb and even higher with some models seen lately. Which once would have been a large gap between gaming rig and web browsing, email, chat box has been closed tremendously since even the lower end machines have passed the once maximum capacity as far as minimum for video, sound, memory, and capacity.

With the OS MS realized Vista was Windows getting too big and saw 7 resolve that fast until bringing in 8 where Windows grew again but not at the kernel level but Dual GUI end of things. And when I mentioning I would be waiting a couple of versions allowing MS to get things worked out which I knew back in 2012 would be what it took here we now have 10 needing it's own bugs worked out much a better offering! But that's still at the OS/Software end of things.

As far as hardwares those tend to be evolving platforms that occasionally undergo some rather striking changes. For each newer version MS has to then reshape things in order to get the OS to function fully each newer innovation seen. The lean for the last several years now however has been on the Tablet/Mobile spectrum which is reflected on the premade desktops being seen as well. Touchscreen this and that is now a common item on laptops as well as tablets and things like Windows Phone.

Taking all that into consideration OEMs generally introduce each new model series with a short life expectancy in order to retain a profitability margin by a faster turnover of newer models. Support simply gets dropped off sooner on older lines which were sold as "disposable goods"?!

When ordering parts for custom builds in contrast the manufacturers take into account people may be building brand new but still running older versions and generally a one or two previous version margin as far as the initial support factor and may go two versions newer then the present to be able to continue to sell the same or updated version of same. The board for the present main build here ends off with 8.1 apparently while the 10 installer found what it needed on it's own with some drivers being 7 x64 drivers.

The next board may or may not see 7 support when finally getting to the next build while not immediate rush to build the next is presently seen due to having planned for expansion when first built to avoid any need to rush into the next new. I could still have XP on this build as well as Vista as far as the Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 board in use here which apparently saw support for 2000 as well as XP when first introduced and still seeing XP 32/64 support long after XP became DOA by MS! Component manufacturers who market items separately will maintain support much longer then OEMs will on anything premade. That is one thing to keep in mind when trying to plan out any new system that you want to see last for any lengthy period of time.

 

Well there is no difference in ram limitations between 8.1 and 10 if you are comparing 64 bit. Most of the limitations are in hardware and not in the software. Basically all the new hardware are designed to be Windows 10 compatible which most likely will be Windows 8.1 compatible. Basically companies certify a product/device as compatible with an OS but because it's not certified doesn't mean it doesn't work it only means it wasn't tested at the level of the compatible OS and it may or may not work.

 

Buying a Cheap Windows 10 Laptop Part 4

Some of your choices will include a Celeron chip as the CPU. Built like an Intel chip, a Celeron has a much smaller cache (the cache allows the CPU to locate information much more quickly) and sends out much smaller amounts of information than a Pentium chip running at the same speed.

Decades ago, the phrase "Celeron chip" meant "This computer is built with cheap parts in order to slightly lower the price while greatly lowering the quality." Knocking $40 off the price of a $1,000 laptop was a really bad way to save money. (The difference today is about $50).

But today, the best Celeron chips are better than the middle-of-the-road Intel chips of 18 months ago. And we successfully ran cartoons, movie, and Windows Store aps on a laptop with a Celeron chip. The laptop was made by a company that cobbled together left-over unsold parts to make a rugged budget rig that ran well.

$50 does make a difference on a $250 low-end laptop. Go home and research before you buy, but a Celeron chip is not cause for an automatic reject of a budget laptop.

 

Prescisely! Systems are not designed OS specific but OSs are designed to run on specific hardwares. That would be the "Fruit company" that leans on seeing OS Specific Hardwares/Hardware Specific OS. Why else do you also see OS patches due to continual changes in hardwares as well as manufacturer's updates for boards and other things?

With OEMs a laptop isn't 10 specific BUT only would be seeing 10 support regardless if 2000/XP could run on it as well. Everything is competitive marketing as well as disposable in order to see the fast turnover.

 

Celeron is Intel, Just hobbled down "Full" Pentium. That gives it lower power requirements and with that less heat and longer battery life. With newer processors it also may mean no GPU integrated.

 

This whole entire post is wrong because a Celeron chip is an Intel chip, just like an F-150 is a Ford.

Intel® Celeron® Processors

 

+1.. more misinformation.. but there is a humor value to his posts in this thread.

 

Buying a Cheap Windows 10 Laptop Part 5

Should you consider a Chromebook? Besides not having Windows 10, a budget Chromebook has no offline abilities. (The more expensive ones can function offline). Loosely speaking, you might be talking two gigs of RAM with a quad-core processor. You're also talking about $50 US less than a Win 10 laptop. Depending on how you use the term, many people do not regard a Chromebook as a laptop.

But you're also talking about a bigger, brighter screen. You're talking about faster boot-up, no malware problems, and automatic upgrades in the cloud, rather than on your machine.

You'll get a lot less aps than you'll find in the Windows Store, but there are enough free ones to do everything except play high-end games.

A surprising thing is that Chromebooks are far more popular than the numbers tell. I've been listing numbers on Windows operating systems and on browsers, but these don't include Chromebooks. For the first quarter of 2016, they outsold Macs for the first time. Some sources believe that Chrome, not Mac, is the most popular operating system after Windows.

But of course--if you can't get onto the web, a Chromebook is nothing but a paperweight.

 

Vince, you seem to have this uninterruptable desire to post a guide to laptop buying, but you aren't listening to what people are saying. There's no definitive guide and no need or reason for one. Everyone's needs and budget are different. Each time you've "updated", you've completely changed what you've stated.

If you want a definitive guide to buying a computer, it's this: do your research. That applies to any purchase, to be honest.

 

I think Vince left whatever little (if any), credibility he had remaining from previous posts, out in the rain with the church orphans and the two laptops that didn't survive the drenching from that thunderstorm.

It can only be the amusement value of seeing an OP burying themselves in their own loudly proclaimed and often misinformed opinions, and the incredulity of other TF members that has allowed this thread to continue past 50 postings. This is no soapbox!

Now, why is he going on about Chromebooks on a general support forum for Windows 10, except for the sad case of verbal diarrhoea he apparently likes to impose on others?

 

And I have been sitting back watching all of this and know from actual shopping around for a laptop at the best price but still able to outdue the model being replaced I found a 17.3" Toshiba, 1tb main drive, 6gb of ram running the 64bit 10 Home for under $500! No laptops except "Used" laptops are found for only $250 unless some vendor is having some type of going out of business clearance sale at this time. The average prices run $800 upto nearly $2,000US when taking a serious look around!

As for quad core cpus you mostly see those on premade desktops not many on laptops unless paying top dollar! Most often dual core cpus running 1.8ghz-2.2ghz some as far as 2.3 or 2.4ghz for a price! 6gb generally found on Pro not Home x64 rigs as a general rule. 4gb typical of Home edition laptops regardless of version with some 7 laptops still being sold! Due to how tremendously popular 7 got over the years vendor warehouses still had some rather large inventories still needing to be cleared out while no new models except Dell custom orders with choice of OS offer would be seeing 7 or 8 and soon no longer 8.1 coming out.

The latest new models out still find 8.1 on them since 10 hasn't yet seen the first full year of RTM with July no longer being the freebie but paid for on everything when the new version is actually full RTM ready! The 10 launch last year was about where 7's RC was back in May 2009 but put out to get people looking at 10! Now due to the Insider builds you are seeing what the finished version is shaping up to be.

As for hardwares being shaped for software the fact applies to cpu being updated to support virtualization seen with the Atholon IIs and ICore Intels. The Celeron line up which was the lower model end at Intel lacked support while the P4s were just starting to see that type of support coming in And Celerons haven't been in use for some time now! Xeon and Core I series mobile processors are what to compare! PassMark CPU Benchmarks - Laptop & Portable CPU Performance

 

Good to hear from you, Night Hawk.

On May 9, CNET posted reviews of four budget laptops, three of which were under $200.

Best budget laptops of 2016 - CNET

The two budget laptops that I have did not meet the standards of any of these, and yet they ran fine.

 

I have no idea what this thread is about. First it started out as a "how much RAM do I need".. now it's an advice thread on purchasing a laptop?? First I don't mind the change in topic but it would be nice if the OP really knew what he was talking about. A 250 dollar laptop is kind of minimal and not much use for gaming.

The OP has lost a lot of credibility with me with this thread and some of his other posts.