You can find something in your price range that will work well doing the general web surfing and picture mode. If you're not into gaming or need to do memory/processor intensive stuff like AutoCad or Photoshop something like this would get you through.

https://m.costco.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-320-15-Touchscreen-Laptop---Intel-Core-i5.product.100340019.html


I'm not sure why they're specing this particular model with 12gb of memory I'd look for something that had a little more like 16 or 32gb. Also look for the i5 or i7 processor.

Just walk into a Best Buy, Staples, heck even Wal Mart for that matter. Buy something from a brand you recognize (Dell, HP, etc) and just make sure it has an Intel processor. Haven't had good luck with AMD. You aren't asking the computer to do much from your original post.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

You might want to look into a mini computer, also called a NUC. They are super tiny and don't use much electricity.

any specific intel processor?

I just got one of these. Spent the little extra to buy another 4 GB stick of Ram which took less than 5 minutes to install.

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-E5-575-33BM-15-6-Inch-Notebook-Generation/dp/B01K1IO3QW/


It will do everything you need and more.

Like ECE said, either the i5 or i7 would be nice, but not sure if you will still be in your price range.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

I'd go to Dell's website and start looking for a sale.

 
Sounds like you could get by with a cheap Chromebook for what your stated needs are.

If not, Asus is my trusted PC brand. Long lasting, keep their speed well and never give me problems. Only issue with them is they include Windows which is getting worse with every new version. My last Asus had Windows 7 and it lasted me 8 years and was still going strong. Had another with windows 8 and it was a train wreck, updated my home comp to windows 10 and it isn't much better. Made the switch to Macbook Pro and haven't looked back. Bit spendy for your needs though.

I second the idea for a Chromebook or Chromebox. They will be less than $300 and do everyting you want to do, though I am not sure about their ability to access photos from an external drive. If they can't do that, you might need to upload the photos to Google Drive or similar and then access them online.

Actually looked at the chrombook/box/stick thing this morning.

Only major downside is my wife needs to download a program for some contract work she does (records online college lectures). If that wasn't an issue, then yeah hands down chrombook.