[Darth-Apple]

I have decided it's finally time for me to look into replacing my PC. (It's not even that old, around 4 1/2 years, but it's managed to fry two video cards and has had numerous hardware failures, and I need something more portable anyhow. )

Anyway, with my budget around $500, I know I won't get something amazing, but I'm on the search for good deals. Which brands are worth looking into? Which brands should I avoid at all costs?

I'm mostly looking into best buy at the moment. Tigerdirect/compUSA seem interesting as well, but it's a further drive and I don't want to have to wait for delivery.

[Warwick]

This one is one of the best you can find on BestBuy for that price: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-pavilion-...1310311275

I'm actually surprised to see this model on BestBuy. My cousin's boyfriend got this laptop (it was ordered from the USA to a Romanian store), and it works really well. Well, he upgraded the RAM to 8GB, and he actually does video editing work and play Starcraft 2 on this laptop without any issues.

I highly recommend HP laptops, especially when they use AMD processors. I have an Acer laptop running on an AMD processor from the E-series (which is basically their worst series), and it does a better job at running After Effects than my old Intel i3 PC (which I no longer use).

[Darth-Apple]

O.O wow. I'm actually looking towards the A6 models largely because of the improved graphics performance. That definitely looks like an incredible deal for $500, within my budget range.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely look into it.

[Lot Creator]

An upgraded Dv7 from what it looks, just be careful, set the maximum fan speed on the CPU. Idk how well did they fix their heating problems with laptops, but from my experience, they run hot.

[CapTon]

Just don't get a Dell computer they are horrendous.

[Darth-Apple]

Haha I'm not planning on it. They are too pricey for what they offer too.

[Darth-Apple]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-pavilion-...categoryid$pcmcat247400050000&cp=1&lp=10 and http://www.bestbuy.com/site/toshiba-sate...categoryid$pcmcat247400050000&cp=1&lp=6 both look pretty interesting right now. The main thing I'm concerned about with the second option is the CPU performance. Although it is an i5, the GPU/CPU clock speeds seem pretty low. I'd really much rather not go for an i3, but it seems that the first option's i3 is more robust than the low voltage i5s.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6834313717 and http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/len...9:0000F80D: look interesting as well, but are a bit on the pricey side.

[Acko]

I hijack this thread to get help for my own search for a laptop

[Darth-Apple]

this was the one I ended up settling for. It was well out of my budget, but it was worth the investment. It is a bit bulky, but it's a pretty powerful machine for the price, so I won't complain.

EDIT: this page also seems to have some decent deals on it for more portable laptops if you're okay with the 1366x768 resolution.

[SpookyZalost]

I use a IBM/Lenovo W500 thinkpad workstation laptop, i picked it up with a T40 for $25 and it just needed a replacement battery.

specs: https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/pd001301

the one I have came with the full kit too which is nice, the only real changes I made are that I'm running linux on it with MATE and that I swapped the hdd for an SSD.

currently has a 5 hour battery life since I got the extended battery.

will upload pictures when I get home as I put some nice decals on it.

Edit: Found some!


forgot I wrote about it on my blog lol.