RE: Engine Choice for the Novice
As a newbie one should be concerned with only two things. Ease of use and reliability. Any engine that qualifies in those two areas has the power necessary to do the job when the engine is sized appropriately.
Cost should not be a factor in the decision making process, although it most always influences it. To use cost as the deciding standard alone has left many newbies with engines that failed to deliver in numerous areas. It has often required the purchase of a second, better engine, different ignition, etc.,
to overcome the mistakes learned with the first engine, costing far more than paying a little more up front for a good engine would have cost.