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Looking for a new laptop - any suggestions?
So, my current laptop is basically dead, and we think there's really nothing we can do, so now I am looking for a new one.
I will be using this laptop mostly for school (reports, online resources, etc.), e-mail, web browsing, and gaming (Yeah, I'm sort of a nerd so I would like it to be a good computer for gaming). I might also want to have a 2-in-1 laptop and tablet.
My budget is about $250-$400, so any suggestions in that price range?
I would also like to know if anyone has had experience with intel Pentium? I have found some 2-in-1 laptop/tablets I like for $350, but my brother says intel Pentium isn't any good. Any thoughts? The brand is HP, is that a good brand?
Thanks for reading, any suggestions?
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Maybe give some free advice about: Computers?
If you know a little something about computers, a good place to get great prices is New Egg on line.
www.newegg.com
Whatever computer you decide on, check with this site before buying anywhere ele. We've been buying from them for years and years and just got our new computer.
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Hi there,
Sadly, there isn't much for a gaming laptop in that price range. Sure, you can run a lot of games with reduced graphics settings and get by just fine, but if you intend to run the graphics at higher quality settings, you will need a machine with a dedicated graphics card. You can find some of those second hand around $500, but if you intend to buy new, they are way out of the budget you stated. For example, AlienWare, which is famous for gaming laptops, among other things, has a sale going on that would get you into one for $1,099, but it isn't a 2-in-1. This would let you game though.
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... in case you want to look anyway. :-)
Your brother is absolutely right about AMD being better than Intel... up until about 6 years ago when they released a newer series of CPUs that AMD has never been able to top.
It pains me to say that, it really does, but the fact of the matter is that performance per watt of power use is firmly in the Intel camp now.
As for the use of the word Pentium there, I would agree that for higher end use, such as gaming, you would prefer a Core5 or better chip, but once again, your budget won't allow that.
You would be surprised how well the dual core Pentium chips will run most everything you want to these days. I kinda wish they had invented a new name for their mid-level chips, since Pentium has a bit of a stigma attached, but these aren't the old Pentium chips from 1996, in fact, for the money, they are pretty amazing.
Speaking for my own experience, I haven't had a lot of luck with HP laptops. When I had my own shop, more out of warranty HP's came through than anything else.
Having said that, there is a problem with all laptops: They cost more to fix than you would even believe. As long as you buy the longest warranty you can get, you will end up ok no matter what you buy as long as it is a major brand.
I have had good fortune with Acer, Toshiba and Dell, in that order.
All the best.
P.S. Why did you rate that previous answer as not being helpful? I would watch that, since it was an honest opinion, and a good answer on the whole. Ratings abuse gets you banned from theis site... just a friendly heads-up. :-)
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For basic needs and even some gaming, I think there are quite a few options out there in your price range.
First off, if you are willing to take a refurbished or used model, you're going to have a lot more options. If not, you will still find some but just not as much variety.
As far as HP goes, in my personal experience with a number of HP products, they tend to be cheap for a reason. I would probably try to avoid them.
I've also recently used some Lenovo products and I would stay way from those as well.
I have a Toshiba and as far as I know they have always been ranked among the top laptop brands. I would certainly recommend this brand to you, specifically something in the satellite series.
While I don't personally have that much knowledge about 2-in-1 models, I think they can be very convenient and light weight but you may lose some of the power for gaming and you certainly will miss out on the screen size.
Here are a few suggestions:
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