Author Topic: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop  (Read 6735 times)

Betazep

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Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« on: December 01, 2015, 09:13:55 AM »
Getting one for my 14yo kid for Christmas, but I only want to spend $350-400 ($500 max).  I basically missed out on Cyber Monday, and it has been so long since I payed attention to computer hardware... I wouldn't know what is a good deal or not.  Basically looking for a laptop with a dedicated Graphics Processor.  It doesn't have to play the most extreme games on the most extreme settings... just has to be able to allow him enough power to play some things. 

Thoughts?

Thanks.
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KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2015, 03:47:09 PM »
I think you will need to hit eBay and start looking for a good used machine.  A new laptop with a discrete GPU (say GTX950M or GTX960M) is a very good buy in the $800 to $1000 range.  Even the latest CPU based graphics are worthless in games past basic adventure games, Bejeweled, etc..

Reasonable specs for solid but not stellar gaming...
GPU:  GTX 950
CPU:  Gen 4-6 Core i5
Memory:  8-12GB
Storage:  512GB or larger HDD and or 128GB SSD - nice, does not affect gaming except load screens
Screen Size: 15.6"
Resolution 1920 x 1080

This is a very good deal and will give you something to hunt.  Let me know what you find and I can check out the deals if it helps.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01578ZK9A/?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=ur2&psc=1&smid=A17MC6HOH9AVE6&tag=bensbargaicenter&linkId=HESAAQVTFHI4T44C

Betazep

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #2 on: December 02, 2015, 09:05:27 AM »
Thanks for the specs... that helps a lot.  I never got an Amazon Store card.  Looks like I would get a $20 cash off plus 12 month same as cash.  I suppose I would spend a little more since that is the case.

This looks pretty good and has a bay for a second drive.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i7559-763BLK-Full-HD-GeForce/dp/B015PYYDMQ/

I think I might actually get the 2 year warranty too.  He is a 14 year old who is going to take his computer to School in a backpack full of books.  I expect the worse.

I added it to my wish list, but still looking around.

"The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents." -Nathaniel Borenstein

Betazep

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #3 on: December 02, 2015, 09:13:44 AM »
This one maybe...

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GE62-APACHE-276-9S7-16J212-276-15-6-Inch/dp/B012AQH9AU/

***Leaning toward this one****

Then again, I am leaving the $800 range and getting up near the one you showed, but there is just something in me that says, "No way my 14 year old is going to own an $1,100 laptop."  (plus warranty)
« Last Edit: December 03, 2015, 09:08:57 AM by Betazep »
"The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents." -Nathaniel Borenstein

Betazep

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #4 on: December 02, 2015, 09:19:11 AM »
Back at $800... let me know if there is a compelling reason I shouldn't buy this one and absolutely should invest more right now.

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Leopard-15-6-inch-i5-4210H-Computer/dp/B015YLY8XE/

***oops not this one****

It is a bit heavy, but seems like it has good specs for the price?

« Last Edit: December 03, 2015, 09:08:40 AM by Betazep »
"The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents." -Nathaniel Borenstein

Betazep

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #5 on: December 03, 2015, 09:22:05 AM »
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01578ZKPO/ref=psdc_565108_t2_B012AQH9AU

Alright.  I think this one.  Smaller version of what you posted.  Going to sleep on it for 24 hours.
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KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #6 on: December 04, 2015, 06:19:16 AM »
 :dblthumb2:

Betazep

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #7 on: December 04, 2015, 09:04:49 AM »
Thanks a bunch Knuck! :)
"The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents." -Nathaniel Borenstein

KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #8 on: December 05, 2015, 11:39:35 AM »
 :woot:

micah

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #9 on: February 01, 2016, 04:16:59 PM »
Hey my turn to drool over a new lap top
I'm torn between spending a couple hundred bucks to fix my 5-year old desk top and then a bit more for a second monitor...  or just maybe drop a little extra cash and get a new laptop.

If I'm going to go all out, I want the latest processor and at least 16GB Ram.  I also don't need it to be small or light and I'd like an optical drive so I'm looking at some thing like this:  http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-17-3-Inch-Laptop-Windows-80FG00DCUS/dp/B011HNT9X2/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1454361070&sr=1-2&keywords=laptops&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011%2Cp_n_feature_eighteen_browse-bin%3A6819965011%2Cp_n_size_browse-bin%3A7817234011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A13580790011%2Cp_72%3A1248879011%2Cp_36%3A-100100

thoughts?

EDIT: I'm not a gamer, but I need to run photoshop and have a dozen browser windows open and maybe be remote desktoped all at the same time
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KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #10 on: February 02, 2016, 06:20:34 AM »
For heavy work and longevity towers have it all over laptops.  Build your own if you want to do it right and save some bucks.

But if a laptop where you need to be.

http://bensbargains.com/categories/notebooks-83/
 

micah

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #11 on: February 02, 2016, 08:48:10 AM »
Thanks for the link!

For heavy work and longevity towers have it all over laptops.  Build your own if you want to do it right and save some bucks.
 

well, so herein lies my question.  Do you I just spend the money to fix my otherwise perfectly good tower?  I need a hard drive and a copy of windows ( < $200 ) and then I'd want a second monitor ( < $ 200) and I have a couple slots free so I could up my ram from 8gb to 12gb for less like $30 (the other slots all have 2gb sticks so I'd just bump it up a little, rather than replace those I think)   So for less than $500 I could have a perfectly good desktop up and running.

Should I just do that? I really don't "need" a laptop. My thought was it be cool for remote working (although, I've been doing fine with my chromebook) and I wouldn't need to buy another monitor to have two screens (because I have one already plus a laptop has its own screen)

What do you think?
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ober

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #12 on: February 02, 2016, 10:43:07 AM »
I'd go desktop upgrade, personally.  Cheaper, and further upgrade capability in the future.

KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #13 on: February 02, 2016, 12:37:42 PM »
Thanks for the link!

For heavy work and longevity towers have it all over laptops.  Build your own if you want to do it right and save some bucks.
 

well, so herein lies my question.  Do you I just spend the money to fix my otherwise perfectly good tower?  I need a hard drive and a copy of windows ( < $200 ) and then I'd want a second monitor ( < $ 200) and I have a couple slots free so I could up my ram from 8gb to 12gb for less like $30 (the other slots all have 2gb sticks so I'd just bump it up a little, rather than replace those I think)   So for less than $500 I could have a perfectly good desktop up and running.

Should I just do that? I really don't "need" a laptop. My thought was it be cool for remote working (although, I've been doing fine with my chromebook) and I wouldn't need to buy another monitor to have two screens (because I have one already plus a laptop has its own screen)

What do you think?

Have you checked (using a utility like Speccy) to see if you are actually using 8GB or more of memory?  That is a fair amount of memory for most common gaming and home editing.

If you have a legal copy of Windows you can upgrade to Win 7 x64 for free.  FYI you have to have X64 installed to use more than 8GB of RAM.

A good SSD is fairly inexpensive.

Watch Craig's List for a second monitor and I bet you find a free or really cheap monitor in short order.

Make sure that there are drivers for your PC before performing the W10 upgrade.

If you ever want to build a new system I bet you could keep it in a reasonable price range...


KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Inexpensive Gaming Laptop
« Reply #14 on: February 02, 2016, 01:24:16 PM »
Just a sample build..

NZXT Source 210 S210-001 Black “Aluminum Brush / Plastic” ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$30 after $10 Rebate

RT=$30

EVGA 100-B1-0600-KR 80 PLUS Bronze 600W Active PFC ATX12V v2.31 / EPS 12V v2.91 Power Supply
$40 after $15 Rebate

RT=$70

ASRock H97M Pro4 LGA 1150 Intel H97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$80

RT=$150

Intel Core i5-4440 Haswell Quad-Core 3.1 GHz (3.3 GHz Turbo) LGA 1150 84W BX80646I54440 Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4600
$190

RT=$340

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-2133C10D-16GXM
$65

RT=$405

EVGA GeForce GTX 950 DirectX 12 02G-P4-1950-KR 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card
$140

RT=$545

Mushkin Enhanced Reactor 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MKNSSDRE256GB
$83 - This is OPTIONAL

RT=$628

HGST Deskstar NAS H3IKNAS40003272SN (0S03664) 4TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" High-Performance Hard Drive for Desktop NAS Systems Bare Drive
$160

RT=$788

Cooler Master Sleeve Bearing 120mm Silent Fan for Computer Cases, CPU Coolers, and Radiators (Value 4-Pack)
$13

RT=$801

DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX 400 CPU Cooler 4 Heatpipes 120mm PWM Fan with Blue LED
$29

RT=$830

You will have to get an OS or transfer an OS then upgrade to W10.
Taxes.
Shipping.
Your time and effort.
Individual part warranties.