Right now, a perfect combination of RAM (how big your brain is) and storage (how many books are in your library) is 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD (SSD stands for solid-state drive - a vastly superior storage technology over a traditional hard drive). Costco has been selling configured laptops with 15.6" screens for around $499-$579. Peachtree Computers has been selling refurbished laptops with similar specs for a few hundred $$ less. The processor (how quickly you can figure stuff out) is no longer the bottleneck when you have an SSD in your computer. If you have a traditional hard drive in your computer, it usually can be easily upgraded for < $150 and the difference is phenomenal.
Be careful when buying a laptop for a really good price on Amazon thinking it's brand new as they are sometimes refurbished computers. You really have to read the fine print to find that out. You usually can tell because it will have an SSD but the processor is 6th or 7th generation. Not a bad thing, but if I'm buying on Amazon, I want to know if it's new. It's also typically a consumer-grade laptop that's been upgraded, not a business-grade like what Peachtree Computers sells.
Here's a new consumer-grade Acer on Amazon for $499 that's worth checking out: https://amzn.to/37lCtAl,
