For word processing look for the cheapest piece of crap that you can find. There are few apps that require less processing power. Pay more attention to the keyboard and screen. (Personally I would never do any serious WP on a laptop keyboard, but you may feel differently.) x64 is completely pointless. 4GB RAM will be completely wasted.
Look for used with:
* W7 (why?)
* MS Office of some vintage (or your preferred app) already installed
* PS/2 keyboard port so you can attach a real keyboard (I use an IBM M1 but a few modern keyboards are acceptable)
Invest leftover $$ in a decent printer (or hydra). Or your GF.
Agree w u (mostly) - Thanks for suggestions! FYI
Actually, I intended to get a keyboard and hook it up via port. Same for mouse.
MS word- don't need full office suite.
win 7, why? Very comfortable with its interface, dislike win 8, and I'm still holding off on the win 10 - why?
1) MS is pushing it way to aggressively for there NOT to be a 'gotcha' attached.
2) Yes, it has its pluses, but I am waiting a bit to see what the tech gurus, etc. come up with re: win 10 and spying on me issues.
3) I would like total transparency from MS about how they are going to make money on Win 10 if no win 11 (yada) is in the wings. (Probably part of the gotcha.) Will win 10 turn into a subscription / license arrangement where users have to pay a monthly/yearly fee to keep their currently installed win 10 functioning? Win 7 will do what I need - the laptop won't be web enabled.
