Laptop specs

I currently have a laptop which I use for work. Mostly, writing texts, adding content to websites and such. The laptop is pretty outdated, sometimes, I need to wait ten seconds for the sentence I just typed to appear on screen. It's time for a new one.

Sadly, I haven't been able to keep up with the developments, so I'd like to ask those here for advice. I know you guys know your stuff when it comes to laptops and tech :) What do I definately need in terms of specs?

Some boundaries:
- Must operate on Windows
- Must have a screen of 15"6 or more
- Must be below USD 425
- Obviously, must have Wifi :)

I will be using it on the road a lot, plugging in wherever I can find a decent WiFi connection. I will be doing some pretty simple photo editing work (mainly resizing, cropping). I intend to install OpenOffice. I may use it for presentations (PowerPoint, Prezi or the likes).

I won't be playing very heavy PC games on it, I have a desktop for that. I will also not be watching Netflix on the laptop, as I have a decent tv for that.

Thank you for your time.

Some additional questions:
A) Back in the days, adding more GB of RAM would significantly speed up your system. Is this still a thing? I am hearing that 8gb instead of 4gb isn't worth the additional money anymore
B) Is SSD really that much better?

Ouch that's a lot of latency when it comes to typing. This is usually caused by CPU utilization at around 100% and most of your RAM being used up.

That's a tight budget you have but luckily one quick search for $425 laptops lead to a pretty solid contender for your needs - Acer Aspire 3

As for your questions I will answer to the best of my ability:

A.) Adding more RAM will speed up your system but this depends on how much RAM is being used. If 3.5gb is being utilized out of 4gb of RAM, then yes, adding up to 6gb of memory will increase your system's performance. However, using the same scenario, if you increased it to 8gb instead of 6gb, the performance increase is relatively the same. (Assuming the memory usage is still at 3.5gb). More memory means you can have more applications open simultaneously without taking a performance hit.

Do not forget that the parts of computer system work together. Even if you have 16gb of RAM and your system still isn't performing well, the next issue, (though this typically depends on your current operation), could be that your CPU is working harder than it's intended. Low clock speed and a low number of cores can cause issues with processing. This includes the processing that happens when you hit a key on a keyboard and it comes up on the monitor. If you want more info on this, don't hesitate to ask us.

B.) If you're asking if a SSD is better than a HDD, that would again depend on how you intend use it. A SSD is faster (better) for file operations such as loading applications and boot times. You generally only ever see the benefit of a SSD when you open an application. A SSD shines when you use it for booting up your system.

In your case, I believe 6-8gb of RAM is sufficient for what you do on your laptop, as well as a CPU with a clock speed of at least 2.5ghz and at minimum dual cores. A SSD is of course entirely personal preference.

Disclaimer: For those of you hardware junkies that know much more I am 100% aware that I'm not explaining in detail what these pieces of hardware do nor to their full potential. That is intended so that OP can obtain a high level understanding which is more important than the low level details.

That Acer Aspire 3 suits all the OP's requirements perfectly.

Good job. :)

I was about to suggest Linux, but then saw the "Must operate on windows"

Thank you both for your input.
Sadly, the Aspire 3 turned out not to be available anymore (not here, anyway), but I was redirected to a machine with slightly higher specs, for a comparable price. I've ordered and it should arrive tomorrow.