I would definitely suggest going with a full-sized laptop because, as said before, minis are really awful. I would not suggest buying a used laptop unless it's from someone you know and trust because there could be any number of malware or even hardware problems with the computer that may cost you more and more money to repair.

Between HP and Dell, it really just depends on the specs of the computer. If it were between two with the same specs, I would personally choose Dell, but HP is a fine computer as well. It also depends for which purposes you will be using the computer. Just distinguish which one has better hardware for the price you are getting. Also, if you're getting a used one, check which software they already have installed on it, which may tip the favor of your getting it and not having to spend another few hundred on software. I'm assuming for $300, you should want around a 2GHz processor, graphics card I don't think is significant for your purposes if you aren't gaming on it, 1 or 2 GB of RAM, and however much storage you want on the hard drive.

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