Laptop Suggestions

Kursah · Aug 27, 2013

Well I figure if I don't drive until the snow flies and sticks, which is around Thanksgiving or shortly there-after I can probably afford about $400 towards a laptop...unless I land a better part-time job that is.

I repair laptops, but have never been an owner of one..so never have taken the time to really research into them. So while I find time to do that between school, homework, kids and 2 jobs I figured I'd see what my friends and peers here at TPU can suggest!

Can you please help me find the best value for $400 in the Laptop arena?

:toast:

newtekie1 · Aug 27, 2013

TOSHIBA Satellite S955D-S5150 AMD A-Series 8GB Mem...

IMO, if you plan to do any sort of gaming, even light gaming on it, for that price range you have to look at an AMD APU.

Kursah · Aug 27, 2013

Ya I was thinking that as well. How does the HD4000 hold up to the AMD APU? Maybe I should go research that as well..

Thanks! :toast:

ThE_MaD_ShOt · Aug 27, 2013

I bought a Gateway from Acer with has a Amd E1-1200 cpu and hd 7310 graphics for around $380 from Walmart. May not be the greatest out there but it does do good.

Here is a linky

Kursah · Aug 27, 2013

Wish I had some more money...I'd like something a little bit faster but probably isn't necessary. Thanks for the suggestions thus far!

Kursah · Aug 29, 2013

Well damn...not having good luck in the $400 price range. Not even in refurbs. How about $600? Gaming Laptops Junky recommends the HP 15z-j000.

http://www.gaminglaptopsjunky.com/hp-15z-j000-a8-8750m-1080p-deal/

Suggestions please?

Kursah · Aug 29, 2013

Anyone have anymore input? Am I just wasting my time trying to find something in my price range? It seems the second a good laptop deal pops up, it's gone before I can enter my payment info.

:banghead:

Kursah · Aug 30, 2013

UPDATE: I settled on an Asus K55N-DB81 for $399 shipped from Amazon.

It isn't a gaming laptop, but rates well even for some light to medium gaming. But battery life is 5+ hours many have reported. It doesn't have 1080 resolution like the HP laptop I linked...which I almost purchased but just couldn't quite justify. This Asus many people state is packed with enough quality features and decent tech that it could easily be sold for $100's more...not sure how much truth that'd really hold but between pro reviews and consumer reviews most do state that claim.

I couldn't find as much on the HP.

Between that and having my main rig as a solid gaming platform I don't need a gaming laptop for school. Just a decent media laptop that is a good all arounder...and that appears to be what I bought.

Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COR29XI/?tag=tec06d-20

Pehla · Aug 30, 2013

Kursah said:
UPDATE: I settled on an Asus K55N-DB81 for $399 shipped from Amazon.

It isn't a gaming laptop, but rates well even for some light to medium gaming. But battery life is 5+ hours many have reported. It doesn't have 1080 resolution like the HP laptop I linked...which I almost purchased but just couldn't quite justify. This Asus many people state is packed with enough quality features and decent tech that it could easily be sold for $100's more...not sure how much truth that'd really hold but between pro reviews and consumer reviews most do state that claim.

I couldn't find as much on the HP.

Between that and having my main rig as a solid gaming platform I don't need a gaming laptop for school. Just a decent media laptop that is a good all arounder...and that appears to be what I bought.

Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COR29XI/?tag=tec06d-20

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Acer Aspire V5-552G-8632 AMD A-Series A8-5557M(2.1...

Arjai · Aug 30, 2013

Kursah said:
UPDATE: I settled on an Asus K55N-DB81 for $399 shipped from Amazon.

It isn't a gaming laptop, but rates well even for some light to medium gaming. But battery life is 5+ hours many have reported. It doesn't have 1080 resolution like the HP laptop I linked...which I almost purchased but just couldn't quite justify. This Asus many people state is packed with enough quality features and decent tech that it could easily be sold for $100's more...not sure how much truth that'd really hold but between pro reviews and consumer reviews most do state that claim.

I couldn't find as much on the HP.

Between that and having my main rig as a solid gaming platform I don't need a gaming laptop for school. Just a decent media laptop that is a good all arounder...and that appears to be what I bought.

Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COR29XI/?tag=tec06d-20

Good buy! I have a S56, because I had some money to get it. I am not a big gamer but, the HD4000 in the i5 has done a fine job with some Humble Bundle games I have and Gratuitous Space Battles works. So, that is fine for me.

I also got mine for school, and I really, REALLY, like my little ASUS. I also have it Crunching on WCG and I am loving the PPD it is capable of.

I plan to replace the spinner with an SSD, sometime in the near future. I am also waiting to see if WIN8.1 is worth it or, dump it for a *nix distro (probably MINT, I have more time on it than Ubuntu).

So, anyways, I applaud your choice. :toast:

newtekie1 · Aug 30, 2013

Kursah said:
UPDATE: I settled on an Asus K55N-DB81 for $399 shipped from Amazon.

It isn't a gaming laptop, but rates well even for some light to medium gaming. But battery life is 5+ hours many have reported. It doesn't have 1080 resolution like the HP laptop I linked...which I almost purchased but just couldn't quite justify. This Asus many people state is packed with enough quality features and decent tech that it could easily be sold for $100's more...not sure how much truth that'd really hold but between pro reviews and consumer reviews most do state that claim.

I couldn't find as much on the HP.

Between that and having my main rig as a solid gaming platform I don't need a gaming laptop for school. Just a decent media laptop that is a good all arounder...and that appears to be what I bought.

Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COR29XI/?tag=tec06d-20

That is a great laptop from what I've seen. Newegg had a scratch and dent one on sale for $299 a few weeks ago and I'm really kicking myself for not picking it up. :mad:

Kursah · Aug 30, 2013

Pehla said:
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Acer Aspire V5-552G-8632 AMD A-Series A8-5557M(2.1...

Too bad it's out of stock at the 'Egg. Amazon has it at $620 which is the same price as the HP I was looking at before. Though too bad it wasn't available when I was ready to order!

:toast:

Thanks Arjai and Newtekie1.

I was contemplating snagging the $850 Lenovo Y500 with 650M SLI for a breif second...but I would starve and honestly I don't need that kind of power and the battery life was super weak as to be expected. And really I doubt I'll have much time between a family, 2 jobs, 15 credits and a small business to be doing any serious gaming anyways. lol...it's nice to think I'll be able to here and there tho!

I think the Asus will suit my needs quite well, decent battery life, cool running, affordable and many people and places praise it. I have a good feeling about the purchase and am sure it'll be more than suited to my needs. :rockout:

Kursah · Sep 8, 2013

Well the K55N showed up a few days ago, I've had time to do homework, install apps and media and get a general feel for this laptop and Windows 8. So far I am loving the experience and am impressed with this piece of hardware. It's fast even though it has a 1.9GHz AMD quad..it's snappy and will clock up to 2.8GHz, but averages around 2.3Ghz from what I've been monitoring. Though HWMonitor says it's running quite warm at around 90C under load, and the exhaust does move some warm air, it never seems to get hot to the touch and has not been crashing or causing issues yet. That and with Asus's 1-year warranty coverage I have no worries.

If anyone needs a $400 laptop, this is a solid choice! So far I haven't gamed yet though..so I will report back soon with those results. I did however run the setup test on Wargame: EE and it looks and runs better than I expected! :toast:

EDIT: I checked with AIDA64 and my temps are in the Mid 40's for the APU and around 30c for the hdd. Pretty solid cooling for this laptop! I'll have to see what a few games can do and AIDA's CPU test.

Fourstaff · Sep 8, 2013

Asus K5x series is good, I am using a K50 variant and I have various friends using other K5x models. Easy to service too, at least mine and the K52 one

System Name	Kursah's Gaming Rig 2018 (2022 Upgrade) - Ryzen+ Edition \| Gaming Laptop (Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 2022)
Processor	R7 5800X @ Stock \| i7 12700H @ Stock
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X370-F Gaming BIOS 6203\| Legion 5i Pro NM-E231
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S Push-Pull + NT-H1 \| Stock Cooling
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32GB (2x16) DDR4 4000 @ 3600 18-20-20-42 1.35v \| 32GB DDR5 4800 (2x16)
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 4070 JetStream 12GB \| CPU-based Intel Iris XE + RTX 3070 8GB 150W
Storage	4TB SP UD90 NVME, 960GB SATA SSD, 2TB HDD \| 1TB Samsung OEM NVME SSD + 4TB Crucial P3 Plus NVME SSD
Display(s)	Acer 28" 4K VG280K x2 \| 16" 2560x1600 built-in
Case	Corsair 600C - Stock Fans on Low \| Stock Metal/Plastic
Audio Device(s)	Aune T1 mk1 > AKG K553 Pro + JVC HA-RX 700 (Equalizer APO + PeaceUI) \| Bluetooth Earbuds (BX29)
Power Supply	EVGA 750G2 Modular + APC Back-UPS Pro 1500 \| 300W OEM (heavy use) or Lenovo Legion C135W GAN (light)
Mouse	Logitech G502 \| Logitech M330
Keyboard	HyperX Alloy Core RGB \| Built in Keyboard (Lenovo laptop KB FTW)
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64 \| Windows 11 Home x64

Processor	Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard	AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling	Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory	32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s)	RTX 2070 Super
Storage	500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s)	Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case	Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s)	Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply	eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

System Name	Kursah's Gaming Rig 2018 (2022 Upgrade) - Ryzen+ Edition \| Gaming Laptop (Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 2022)
Processor	R7 5800X @ Stock \| i7 12700H @ Stock
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X370-F Gaming BIOS 6203\| Legion 5i Pro NM-E231
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S Push-Pull + NT-H1 \| Stock Cooling
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32GB (2x16) DDR4 4000 @ 3600 18-20-20-42 1.35v \| 32GB DDR5 4800 (2x16)
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 4070 JetStream 12GB \| CPU-based Intel Iris XE + RTX 3070 8GB 150W
Storage	4TB SP UD90 NVME, 960GB SATA SSD, 2TB HDD \| 1TB Samsung OEM NVME SSD + 4TB Crucial P3 Plus NVME SSD
Display(s)	Acer 28" 4K VG280K x2 \| 16" 2560x1600 built-in
Case	Corsair 600C - Stock Fans on Low \| Stock Metal/Plastic
Audio Device(s)	Aune T1 mk1 > AKG K553 Pro + JVC HA-RX 700 (Equalizer APO + PeaceUI) \| Bluetooth Earbuds (BX29)
Power Supply	EVGA 750G2 Modular + APC Back-UPS Pro 1500 \| 300W OEM (heavy use) or Lenovo Legion C135W GAN (light)
Mouse	Logitech G502 \| Logitech M330
Keyboard	HyperX Alloy Core RGB \| Built in Keyboard (Lenovo laptop KB FTW)
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64 \| Windows 11 Home x64

System Name	Selene / Yoda
Processor	Fx 8350 @ 4.4 / Phenom II x6 1090t @ 3.6
Motherboard	Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 r4.0 / Gigabyte 890XA-UD3
Cooling	H100i / Xig Dark Knight
Memory	4x 8gb G.Skill Snipers / 4x 4gb G.Skill Ares
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte R9 290x / XfX DD & VisionTek HD6850's C'fired
Storage	256gb ssd, 2x 2tb Wd Blacks & 1x 1tb Wd black / 1x 1tb
Display(s)	Dell Ultra Sharp 2408 WFp / Hp w2207
Case	Raidmax Vampire / Chieftec Alum. Dragon Blue
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Hd Audio / Onboard Hd Audio
Power Supply	Corsair TX 850 watt / Corsair TX 750 watt
Mouse	Logitech G500s
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe
Software	Win 10 pro / Win Vista Home prem. 64 bit
Benchmark Scores	What are benchmarks anyway?

System Name	Kursah's Gaming Rig 2018 (2022 Upgrade) - Ryzen+ Edition \| Gaming Laptop (Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 2022)
Processor	R7 5800X @ Stock \| i7 12700H @ Stock
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X370-F Gaming BIOS 6203\| Legion 5i Pro NM-E231
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S Push-Pull + NT-H1 \| Stock Cooling
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32GB (2x16) DDR4 4000 @ 3600 18-20-20-42 1.35v \| 32GB DDR5 4800 (2x16)
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 4070 JetStream 12GB \| CPU-based Intel Iris XE + RTX 3070 8GB 150W
Storage	4TB SP UD90 NVME, 960GB SATA SSD, 2TB HDD \| 1TB Samsung OEM NVME SSD + 4TB Crucial P3 Plus NVME SSD
Display(s)	Acer 28" 4K VG280K x2 \| 16" 2560x1600 built-in
Case	Corsair 600C - Stock Fans on Low \| Stock Metal/Plastic
Audio Device(s)	Aune T1 mk1 > AKG K553 Pro + JVC HA-RX 700 (Equalizer APO + PeaceUI) \| Bluetooth Earbuds (BX29)
Power Supply	EVGA 750G2 Modular + APC Back-UPS Pro 1500 \| 300W OEM (heavy use) or Lenovo Legion C135W GAN (light)
Mouse	Logitech G502 \| Logitech M330
Keyboard	HyperX Alloy Core RGB \| Built in Keyboard (Lenovo laptop KB FTW)
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64 \| Windows 11 Home x64

Laptop Suggestions

Kursah

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newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

Kursah

Super Moderator

ThE_MaD_ShOt

Kursah

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Kursah

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Kursah

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Kursah

Super Moderator

Pehla

Arjai

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

Kursah

Super Moderator

Kursah

Super Moderator

Fourstaff

Moderator

System Name	windows 10 pro 64bit
Processor	i5 6600k 4.4ghz 1.25v
Motherboard	asus maximus viii gene
Cooling	BeQuiet Dark Rock pro
Memory	2x8(16)GB 2860mhz
Video Card(s)	gtx 1070 EVGA
Storage	ssd x2 128gb raid0/ ssd480gb
Display(s)	AOC 1440p 75hz
Case	Aerocool DS Cube
Audio Device(s)	asus motherboard intergrated
Power Supply	be Quiet pure power L8 600w
Mouse	Corsair Ironclaw wireles
Keyboard	Logitec G213
Software	my favorite World of Tanks :) is that a software?? :)

System Name	Bay2- Lowerbay/ HP 3770/T3500-2+T3500-3+T3500-4/ Opti-Con/Orange/White/Grey
Processor	i3 2120's/ i7 3770/ x5670's/ i5 2400/Ryzen 2700/Ryzen 2700/R7 3700x
Motherboard	HP UltraSlim's/ HP mid size/ Dell T3500 workstation's/ Dell 390/B450 AorusM/B450 AorusM/B550 AorusM
Cooling	All stock coolers/Grey has an H-60
Memory	2GB/ 4GB/ 12 GB 3 chan/ 4GB sammy/T-Force 16GB 3200/XPG 16GB 3000/Ballistic 3600 16GB
Video Card(s)	HD2000's/ HD 2000/ 1 MSI GT710,2x MSI R7 240's/ HD4000/ Red Dragon 580/Sapphire 580/Sapphire 580
Storage	?HDD's/ 500 GB-er's/ 500 GB/2.5 Samsung 500GB HDD+WD Black 1TB/ WD Black 500GB M.2/Corsair MP600 M.2
Display(s)	1920x1080/ ViewSonic VX24568 between the rest/1080p TV-Grey
Case	HP 8200 UltraSlim's/ HP 8200 mid tower/Dell T3500's/ Dell 390/SilverStone Kublai KL06/NZXT H510 W x2
Audio Device(s)	Sonic Master/ onboard's/ Beeper's!
Power Supply	19.5 volt bricks/ Dell PSU/ 525W sumptin/ same/Seasonic 750 80+Gold/EVGA 500 80+/Antec 650 80+Gold
Mouse	cheap GigaWire930, CMStorm Havoc + Logitech M510 wireless/iGear usb x2/MX 900 wireless kit 4 Grey
Keyboard	Dynex, 2 no name, SYX and a Logitech. All full sized and USB. MX900 kit for Grey
Software	Mint 18 Sylvia/ Opti-Con Mint KDE/ T3500's on Kubuntu/HP 3770 is Win 10/Win 10 Pro/Win 10 Pro/Win10
Benchmark Scores	World Community Grid is my benchmark!!

System Name	Orange! // ItchyHands
Processor	3570K // 10400F
Motherboard	ASRock z77 Extreme4 // TUF Gaming B460M-Plus
Cooling	Stock // Stock
Memory	2x4Gb 1600Mhz CL9 Corsair XMS3 // 2x8Gb 3200 Mhz XPG D41
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570 // Asus TUF RTX 2070
Storage	Samsung 840 250Gb // SX8200 480GB
Display(s)	LG 22EA53VQ // Philips 275M QHD
Case	NZXT Phantom 410 Black/Orange // Tecware Forge M
Power Supply	Corsair CXM500w // CM MWE 600w