Here is your answer from an ex firedog.
 

Jbart:

As a former firedog at circuit city I was asked this question alot. Here yis the best answer I can give you.

It all depends on what your doing with it. In most cases, here in the villages, it's about Internet, email, and photos. Some worry about skype or FaceTime app to talk to grand kids with too.

In these case any i3 processor laptop will do. I recommend one with the following minimum requirements to meet basic needs.

Processor i3 or better (lower one will bog down after awhile)
Ram 4gigs
Hard drive 500 gigabytes (larger if you get lots of video form the kids and such)

Really that's all that really matters the rest is fluff added to attract buyers. a good price range is about 350.00 for that setup.

Hope this helps.

Bill