Best Laptop for around $500?

BrooksyX · Jan 23, 2009

Hey guys I plan on buying a laptop in the next week or so and I was wondering would be the best laptop for about $500. I can do up to $600 but that will really be pushing the budget. This laptop will be used primarily at home and at college. Doesn't have to be super good as I have my quad core desktop. So mostly typing papers and some light gaming. Mostly like Counter-Strike: Source and other source engine games.

Things most important to me:
-Graphics Chipset (the best I can get for cheap)
-Battery life
-Size (Smaller is better. Nothing over 15")
-Durability
-Price (obviously lower is better)

Right now I am really interested in getting a toshiba notebook as they seem pretty decent for the price and I like the keyboard and the way they look. Really interested in this one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9163772&type=product&id=1218040476935 but its a little over my budget.

Would prefer to buy from a store (such as best buy, frys, office depot, staples, etc...)

So what do you guys think is the best deal for the price right now? Thanks :toast:

(oh and I am not interested in a netbook, I just sold my dell mini 9)

3870x2 · Jan 23, 2009

wow, thats like the price for a high-end netbook. Could it be possible you could do $600 for credit, and do an extra $300 financed? you could get a good sli notebook, which can max out everything out today.

spearman914 · Jan 23, 2009

U can probably get this. http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cdetland.to?seg=HHO&poid=428720&fgpn=PSLB8U-0K704H Cheaper but has 2GB ram.

J-Man · Jan 23, 2009

high on the price is better! Haha. Higher the price, better the specifications.

DR.Death · Jan 23, 2009

u in canada or the us

3870x2 · Jan 23, 2009

spearman914 said:
U can probably get this. http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cdetland.to?seg=HHO&poid=428720&fgpn=PSLB8U-0K704H Cheaper but has 2GB ram.

he says the graphics is a big deal, that thing wouldnt even play wow...

spearman914 · Jan 23, 2009

J-Man said:
high on the price is better! Haha. Higher the price, better the specifications.

Higher price doesn't mean better specs. It means how well the seller overprices it. lol

BrooksyX · Jan 23, 2009

3870x2 said:
wow, thats like the price for a high-end netbook. Could it be possible you could do $600 for credit, and do an extra $300 financed? you could get a good sli notebook, which can max out everything out today.

Don't want an Sli notebook. Just need something simple. And I don't wanna finance anything either. I don't have any credit and I would probably get turned down for a store card. (Only 18 years old) I used to work at sears and they turned me down for a card :ohwell:

DR.Death said:
u in canada or the us

I'm in the US

DR.Death · Jan 23, 2009

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147935 here is a nice hp notebook

spearman914 · Jan 23, 2009

3870x2 said:
he says the graphics is a big deal, that thing wouldnt even play wow...

Yes it would, prolly only at 15 - 20 fps tho. My bro's inspiron 1525 w/ mobile 965 express and T2300 1.6GHz can play it all low settings at 15fps.

BrooksyX · Jan 23, 2009

3870x2 said:
he says the graphics is a big deal, that thing wouldnt even play wow...

Not a big deal as I need a super badass graphics card but say laptop A is $500 and Laptop B is $550 and has a way better graphics chipset ill spend the extra $50 for it.

spearman914 · Jan 23, 2009

BrooksyX said:
Not a big deal as I need a super badass graphics card but say laptop A is $500 and Laptop B is $550 and has a way better graphics chipset ill spend the extra $50 for it.

Look at Dr.Death's link. Great GPU there for a tad low price.

BrooksyX · Jan 23, 2009

DR.Death said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147935 here is a nice hp notebook

spearman914 said:
Look at Dr.Death's link. Great GPU there for a tad low price.

I wanna try and stay away from HP. Not really impressed with their laptop quality at the moment.

Plus its sold out right now.

DR.Death · Jan 23, 2009

i bought a hp laptop and i have one small problem with it the net work card dose not work for n other then that is is a great laptop its the dv9934ca

spearman914 · Jan 23, 2009

Will this do? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834107024 Geforce 8200M video card.

DR.Death · Jan 23, 2009

spearman914 said:
Will this do? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834107024 Geforce 8200M video card.

its stll a hp but we will see

BrooksyX · Jan 23, 2009

spearman914 said:
Will this do? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834107024 Geforce 8200M video card.

The Toshiba I linked to is the same price and has better graphics. The Ati 3100 is ranked higher than the Geforce 8200.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

DR.Death said:
its stll a hp but we will see

yeah its an even worse HP :laugh:

BrooksyX · Jan 23, 2009

Saw this toshiba at best buy today. Not a bad price for $379. How crappy would it be?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9163549&type=product&id=1218040477626

oh and I have an a 1gb ddr2 ram stick I could throw in there to bump it up to 2gb

lemonadesoda · Jan 23, 2009

Samsung NC20 if you can wait until Mar. (are you UPGRADING new week, or first laptop?)

BrooksyX · Jan 23, 2009

lemonadesoda said:
Samsung NC20 if you can wait until Feb.

Price and size?

edit: Need something with a little more processing power and want it to be at least 13"

Sorry for being so picky.

lemonadesoda · Jan 23, 2009

http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/?p=9309
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/?p=8500

features a 12.1 inch WXGA LCD display with a resolution of 1280×800.

$500-$600

BrooksyX · Jan 23, 2009

lemonadesoda said:
... (are you UPGRADING new week, or first laptop?)

It won't be my first laptop. But it will be the first I have had in a while. I currently don't have one. I just had a dell mini 9 netbook and want to try and stay away from them. Just to weak right not.

GameSinewPCs · Jan 23, 2009

Look into Asus, Acer, Gateway and dell. You should be able to find a laptop with a low end core 2 or turion and an 8400/8600/9500 for that price. An 8400 will play wow without any hicoughs.

BrooksyX · Jan 23, 2009

What about this one:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9173191&type=product&id=1218044029373

trt740 · Jan 23, 2009

J-Man said:
high on the price is better! Haha. Higher the price, better the specifications.

what

System Name	Main / Home Media Serever
Processor	Intel i5 2500k @ 4.75ghz / AMD AM3 5200+ x2
Motherboard	ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Performance / Biostar 790GX
Cooling	Xigmatek Dark Knight / XIGMATEK Apache
Memory	12gb of G.Skill Value Series DDR3 / 4x 1gb DDR2
Video Card(s)	XFX Radeon 6870 1gb / Asus Radeon 5450 512mb
Storage	2x Samsung 830 64gb SSD Raid 0 & 750gb WD Blue HDD / OCZ Vertex II 80GB & 10TB of HDD Space
Display(s)	2x Acer 24" LED / Samsung 50" LED
Case	Xigmatek Asgard II / APEX PC-389-C
Power Supply	Rosewill 750w / Antec EArthwatts 380w
Software	Windows 7 Professional x64 SP1 / Ubuntu 14.04

System Name	Ultrabeast GX2
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 @ 4.0GHZ 24/7
Motherboard	Gigabit P35-DS3L
Cooling	Rosewill RX24, Dual Slot Vid, Fan control
Memory	2x1gb 1066mhz@850MHZ DDR2
Video Card(s)	9800GX2 @ 690/1040
Storage	750/250/250/200 all WD 7200
Display(s)	24" DCLCD 2ms 1200p
Case	Apevia
Audio Device(s)	7.1 Digital on-board, 5.1 digital hooked up
Power Supply	700W RAIDMAXXX SLI
Software	winXP Pro
Benchmark Scores	17749 3DM06

System Name	Mine \| Dad + Mom
Processor	E8500 E0 Wolfdale @ 4.6GHz 1.5V \| E2180 M0 Allendale @ 3.0GHz 1.3V
Motherboard	Asus Maximus Formula (X48) w/ Rampage BIOS \| Asus P5Q Pro (P45)
Cooling	Xigmatek Rifle HDT-S1283 w/ SFF21F Fan \| Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
Memory	G.Skill Pi Black 2x2GB 1.02GHz CL5 \| OCZ Reaper 2x2GB 1.05GHz CL5
Video Card(s)	Sapphire 4870X2 2GB 820/1020MHz \| Sapphire 4850 1GB 700/1100MHz
Storage	WD VR 150GB 10K RPM + WD 500GB 7.2K RPM \| WD 200GB 7.2K RPM
Display(s)	Acer P243WAID 24" 1920x1200 LCD \| Acer V193W 19" 1440x900 LCD
Case	Cooler Master HAF 932 Full-Tower \| Antec Twelve Hundred Mid-Tower
Audio Device(s)	Fatal1ty Xtreme Gamer w/ Z-5500 5.1 \| On-Board Audio w/ S-220 2.1
Power Supply	PC Power and Cooling 750W Non-Modular \| Corsair HX-520W Modular
Software	Windows Vista Home Premium X64 \| Windows Vista Home Premium X64
Benchmark Scores	Not Wasting Time!

System Name	Watercooled beast
Processor	Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 4.02GHz
Motherboard	ASUS Rampage Formula X48
Cooling	Swiftech Apogee GTZ, Black Ice GTX Xtreme 480, EK 250 Rev 2, EK 4870 X2, MCP655, 1/2" Tygon Tubing
Memory	4GB DDR2 OCZ @ 1066MHz 2.1V
Video Card(s)	HIS ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 800 on core, 1000 on memory (overclocked in CCC)
Storage	500GB Maxtor Diamondmax 22 SATA II 32MB Cache
Display(s)	Samsung 24" SM245B
Case	SilverStone TJ07 black/windowed version
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty + Logitech Z-5500
Power Supply	Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W Modular
Software	Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Retail

System Name	death machine
Processor	intel 6600 quad core cooled by scythe mutgen 2
Motherboard	dfi lanparty UT P35-T2R
Cooling	air
Memory	crucial ballistic tracer 4 gb
Video Card(s)	nvida 260 gtx
Storage	segate baracuta 500 GB , western digital blue 1TB
Display(s)	asus 23.6 vh242h
Case	lian-li pc-a70 full tower
Power Supply	650 watt Antec Earth Watts
Software	windows 7 and lots of other titles

Best Laptop for around $500?

BrooksyX

3870x2

spearman914

New Member

J-Man

New Member

DR.Death

3870x2

spearman914

New Member

BrooksyX

DR.Death

spearman914

New Member

BrooksyX

spearman914

New Member

BrooksyX

DR.Death

spearman914

New Member

DR.Death

BrooksyX

BrooksyX

lemonadesoda

BrooksyX

lemonadesoda

BrooksyX

GameSinewPCs

New Member

BrooksyX

trt740

System Name	ICE-QUAD // ICE-CRUNCH
Processor	Q6600 // 2x Xeon 5472
Memory	2GB DDR // 8GB FB-DIMM
Video Card(s)	HD3850-AGP // FireGL 3400
Display(s)	2 x Samsung 204Ts = 3200x1200
Audio Device(s)	Audigy 2
Software	Windows Server 2003 R2 as a Workstation now migrated to W10 with regrets.

System Name	Apple Bite
Processor	Intel I5
Motherboard	Apple
Memory	40gb of DDR 4 2700
Video Card(s)	ATI Radeon 500
Storage	Fusion Drive 1 TB
Display(s)	27 Inch IMac late 2017