Laptop suggestions

[Schmidty]

I want to buy a laptop for $500 or less, but I also want to make sure I can play games on it. Now, I'm not expecting to be able to play new games like Bioshock at full quality or whatever, but I would like to be able to play WoW or Civ 4 without horrible slowdowns. I've looked around online a little, but I've never owned a laptop, so I have no idea what specs I need, what brand is better, where to look for a cheap-ish one, etc.

Any suggestions?

[Schmidty]

Anybody?

[stevew]

My first thought, anyways, was that you were going to be hard pressed to find any laptop with more than integrated Video at that price point. Maybe integrated has gotten a lot better as of late, but last time I checked I think it would be pretty hard to play most games on something with integrated video. Maybe it's gotten better?

[Schmidty]

My first thought, anyways, was that you were going to be hard pressed to find any laptop with more than integrated Video at that price point. Maybe integrated has gotten a lot better as of late, but last time I checked I think it would be pretty hard to play most games on something with integrated video. Maybe it's gotten better?

Yeah, I remember that too (integrated, shared memory cards, etc.). I was also hoping that things had changed, or that I could at least find a place that would offer a really, really good deal on occasion.

[Neuqua]

I bought a new HP last week for $649 (after rebate) and am absolutely loving it. I know it's above your price point but I think the specs are very solid for the price.

Here's the link:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-Pavilion-15-4-Widescreen-Notebook-PC-DV-6449-US/sem/rpsm/oid/184836/catOid/-12963/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

[lordscarlet]

I'm on the macbook bandwagon, so I don't know anything sub $500. :)

[CamEdwards]

yeah, i just bought a new inspiron from dell, but I upgraded a few features and topped out at $1200.

On the other hand, it plays Civ IV like a dream. :)

[Schmidty]

yeah, i just bought a new inspiron from dell, but I upgraded a few features and topped out at $1200.

On the other hand, it plays Civ IV like a dream. :)

Man, I would love to buy something like that, but my wife would kill me.

Of course she can buy new furniture all the time, and I'm not allowed to complain. :mad:

[Gallifrey]

Schmidy,

Try tigerdirect.com

I buy all my parts from them and their laptop prices are good.
Under $500 is very tough to get quality for the money. But if you look at the $650 to $750 range where there are rebates as mentioned above you can get a high quality laptop that will last.

In laptops you really get what you pay for...or not. Whatever that saying is hold true here.

[rowech]

We bought a Toshiba this summer and have been very happy with it.

[ThunderingHERD]

If you're on a tight budget like that you need to keep an idea on <a href="http://www.slickdeals.net">www.slickdeals.net</a> and <a href="http://www.fatwallet.com">www.fatwallet.com</a>.

As for gaming performance, I don't play WoW but Civ4 runs just fine on my old Dell Inspiron 1405 (1.66ghz Core Duo, 1GB, integrated graphics).

[Antmeister]

Also try out Overstock.com. They have been around for a while:
http://www.overstock.com/

[bignej]

Try tigerdirect.com

I buy all my parts from them and their laptop prices are good.
Under $500 is very tough to get quality for the money. But if you look at the $650 to $750 range where there are rebates as mentioned above you can get a high quality laptop that will last.


I bought a laptop from them about 5 months ago. Total with extra RAM was $489. It stopped charging or running on ACabout 2 months later. I bought a new adapter which didnt work. Tech support for Gateway said that it was a bad mother board and they would fix it for $250, not counting shipping etc. I'd say it might be worthwile to splurge for value in this case. And don't buy a Gateway.

[ThunderingHERD]

HP Pavilion 14.1", 1.8ghz Core Duo, 1Gb RAM, GeForce Go 7200--$633.49, free shipping. (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=600225)

[Schmidty]

Bumping this because I'm buying my laptop tomorrow (getting my bonus), and I've found a couple that I really like on ebay; however I'm worried about getting screwed over. The guy who's computers I'm looking is a power-seller with all good feedback, but I've also heard that scammers can do strange things on ebay (copying names, sending empty boxes, etc.).

I just wanted to see if any of you have bought a computer on ebay, and if so, what's a good way to make sure someone's not trying to scam you.

[Schmidty]

Dola.

Here's the one I'm looking at - http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Inspiron-1520-Core-2-Duo-GeForce-nVidia-8600M-GT_W0QQitemZ180164532952QQihZ008QQcategoryZ140080QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Please don't buy it out from under me. :)

[highfiveoh]

If you get it you should ask about the RAM upgrade. You'll want 2 GB to run Vista. Don't want to pay too much extra though as you can get RAM elsewhere fairly cheap. Think I bought 2x1 GB sticks for around 70 dollars (including shipping). Installing RAM in a notebook can be a pain for novices though, so I wouldn't be afraid to pay a little more.