Gaming Which laptop should I buy?

[Jakob95]

I want to buy myself a laptop. My budget is $450. I want my laptop not to be slow, and it must have a webcam. Keyboard must be good. It has to have Windows 7. Processor and RAM must not be awful and must suffice for the latest programs right now. Also has to be able to play YouTube HD videos without lagging and stuff. Also has to be available from either Best Buy or Newegg I don't want to purchase from any other stores.

EDIT: Or should I just get the iPad 2?

 

[Rydian]

Just to be sure, you are aware you're not going to be gaming on this thing, right?

 

[Blackzeta]

Get a Gateway NV53A, An Bestbuy Exclusive. The processer is the best for a Laptop an AMD Phenom II X2 N660. 320 GB HDD, and a 1.3 Webcam. It also has a DVD drive and other things. It comes with Windows 7 Home Premium, I am currently using this laptop and it works great, I highly reccomend it.

 

[Rasas]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Laptop+/+...p;skuId=1572092

Well this one has decent specs (2.5Ghz Processor 4GB Ram Graphics Card not that good but for that price it is decent) but your better off waiting or getting a ipad depending on your gaming wants.

I doubt it will run the latest programs though.

 

[Jakob95]

I don't want to play games on my laptop. Although it would be a cool addition I never thought about it...

 

[rad140]

I don't want to play games on my laptop. Although it would be a cool addition I never thought about it...

Depends what your definition of games is. Facebook and casual games will run on any laptop but if you want to play something recent, you'll need to double your budget.
Games a few years old should run as long as you have a graphics card.

From what I've seen in the $450 price range, you can expect:

-Budget Intel/AMD dual core processor, 2.13-2.24 Ghz range
-up to 4 GB RAM
-Intel integrated graphics, low end ATI graphics card
-320 GB hard drive, on average
-DVD drive
-Windows 7 OS

The recommendations above seemed like good deals. Nothing that I saw looking quickly on New Egg stood out, but this (Intel, faster) or this (AMD, slower, graphics card) were on sale.

Also, don't expect much of a looker.

EDIT: If you're willing to buy a refurb, you can often get much more expensive laptops for cheaper.

 

[Jakob95]

I forgot I want my laptop to look nice and high-tech. I don't want some ugly crap that looks like that.

 

[Deleted User]

I forgot I want my laptop to look nice and high-tech. I don't want some ugly crap that looks like that.

You pay for what you get with laptops, if you pay for crap, you get crap. It's rather simple really.
You're pretty much locked-down into the netbook range, so there's really no chance of customization.
To be honest, Jakob, unless you really need one, I'd save my money or go the desktop route.

This is the cheapest/most powerful laptop on newegg (re-certified).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16834220733

QUOTEI forgot I want my laptop to look nice and high-tech. I don't want some ugly crap that looks like that.

No chance, most places that offer customization/skinning services make it anywhere from $80-150.00

That said: http://www.invisibledefenders.com for aftermarket/pre-designed skins.

 

[Originality]

Not being very knowledgeable with the American market, all I found was this for $480, which is still over-budget.

Core i3, 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD, Intel HD graphics, 5 hour battery. The CPU is better than those previously mentioned, using on-die graphics, and 2GB of RAM is enough for Windows 7 (which it comes with). Also Intel HD graphics is plenty enough to play Borderlands, so any game less intensive than that will also work, as will HD video (it can playback BluRay, but it'd be more comfortable with normal DVDs).

As for laptop looks... you don't get a choice until you start spending over $800. Low end laptops will always look low end, and not many mid-ranged laptops will come with shiny cases.

 

[rad140]

I forgot I want my laptop to look nice and high-tech. I don't want some ugly crap that looks like that.
I think you're being unrealistic. You're not going to get Sony or Apple style looks at the $450 price range.

QUOTE(I2aven's_Sage @ Jan 30 2011, 06:11 AM) This is the cheapest/most powerful laptop on newegg (re-certified).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16834220733

If you can afford the extra, that's a pretty good deal.

All laptops nowadays pretty much have a webcam, and keyboards are really something you have to test out in person.
Also, what do you mean by the "latest programs"? You're not going to be editing HD video on this thing, that's for sure.

As I see it it, you have four options:
1. Go for a higher-end netbook
2. Go for a lower-end laptop
3. Buy a desktop instead.
4. Wait for the iPad 2.

You might as well wait for the iPad 2 to see what the thing is. Maybe there will be some better deals on laptops by then?

 

[Jakob95]

My cousin bought a HP laptop for $500 last year and its blazing fast. I don't understand why are you guys saying that a $440 laptop would suck.

 

[Berthenk]

My cousin bought a HP laptop for $500 last year and its blazing fast. I don't understand why are you guys saying that a $440 laptop would suck.

We are saying that a $440 laptop would suck because they do. Get some more money if you want a better laptop, you're not getting anywhere with $440.

 

[Jakob95]

Is this a good laptop?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Inspiro...p;skuId=1696564

Or this is better?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Laptop+/+...p;skuId=1572092

EDIT: Again I am not looking for a gaming laptop. Just a laptop to use the web on and watch videos.

 

[Berthenk]

The second one is most likely the best. It has more RAM and a CPU at a higher clock speed. Also more CPU cache. But, both have the same crappy IGP. Should be enough to get HD video running, maybe even full HD, though you won't really need that on a resolution of 1366*768.

 

[rad140]

Is this a good laptop?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Inspiro...p;skuId=1696564

Or this is better?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Laptop+/+...p;skuId=1572092

EDIT: Again I am not looking for a gaming laptop. Just a laptop to use the web on and watch videos.

The HP is technically the better one (more ram, higher clocked processor), but one of the reviewers said the mouse and keyboard were bad. Try before you buy, in store.

If you just want to browse the web and watch some vids, a netbook is more than adequate. And that's coming from the owner of one.

 

[Jakob95]

This one has an i3 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Laptop+/+...p;skuId=1917062 is i3 better then AMD Turion™ II

 

[rad140]

This one has an i3 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Laptop+/+...p;skuId=1917062 is i3 better then AMD Turion™ II

Yes.
That one also has a bigger HD, if you're willing to pay the $20 outside your budget.
And try before you buy.

 

[Jakob95]

This one has an i3 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Laptop+/+...p;skuId=1917062 is i3 better then AMD Turion™ II

Yes.
That one also has a bigger HD, if you're willing to pay the $20 outside your budget.
And try before you buy.

I don't need a huge HDD so that doesn't affect me at all. Even 120GB would be enough.

 

[rad140]

This one has an i3 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Laptop+/+...p;skuId=1917062 is i3 better then AMD Turion™ II

Yes.
That one also has a bigger HD, if you're willing to pay the $20 outside your budget.
And try before you buy.

I don't need a huge HDD so that doesn't affect me at all. Even 120GB would be enough.

It adds up, bigger is better.
Even though it's more, that HP Intel one is the better deal, and more future-proof.

 

[Makar]

This one has an i3 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Laptop+/+...p;skuId=1917062 is i3 better then AMD Turion™ II

i3 is better, and that one even has 180GB more storage. The AMD Turion™ II computer has a slightly better graphics card, but you will still be able to watch HD video pretty nicely on the i3 computer.

Keep in mind, you say you wanna watch Youtube HD without it being slow, but a main factor in watching videos online in HD is your internet service and not the computer. If you have fast internet service, you won't have to wait for HD Videos to buffer while on slow internet it may take a while. If videos on Youtube HD load slowly on your current computer, a new much faster computer won't load the video much quicker (although there will be less frame skips).