Best laptop around $500 (Preferably Dell)

[Zain_Rocks]

So I need to buy a laptop, and my budget is around $500. I won't mind it going to $550. I'll clear this thing first, it has to be Dell. That is because in my area, Dell is the only laptop that gets good service and repairs. I will only try HP/Acer if they come at a bargain price compared to Dell. I will use this laptop for home use, and gaming. (Though I have a XBOX 360 so I'll only use it for some older games of which my 360 disc is corrupted and I don't want to buy another.)

I need this laptop to last around 4 years for me (up to date and all).

So the two laptops I have checked out till now are 15RInspiron 5521 and 14zUltrabook.

In the versions I checked about, these were the common specs (in the spoiler).

Spoiler

Dell Inspiron 15R(5521)

Processor: 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3317U processor (3M Cache, up to 2.6 GHz)
RAM: 4 GB
HDD: 500 GB
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon™ HD7670M 1GB DDR3 graphics memory (along with the normal Intel HD Graphics 4000)
Display: 15.6 inch LED Backlit Display with Truelife and HD resolution (1366 x 768)

Inspiron 14z Ultrabook

Processor: 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3317U processor (3M Cache, up to 2.6 GHz)
RAM: 4 GB
HDD: 500 GB
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon™ HD7570M 1GB DDR3 graphics memory (along with the normal Intel HD Graphics 4000)
Display: 14 inch LED

Both also have 2 USB slots, a 1 MP webcam+microphone and some other basic things, which are the same. I bolded the differences.

So the problem is that Ultrabook has a $50 more price, despite worse specs. According to my friends, it's either due to the motherboard or warranty. One told me that he is unaware about Inspiron5521 but Ultrabook has a LONG battery life. Can somebody shed some light here?

Finally, I won't mind spending an additional $50-$80 and get my budget to $600 if that can get me a way better laptop. So I have a few questions in a spoiler below regarding how good it should be and remains in my initial $500-$550 budget, please check them

Spoiler

Q.1: Core i5 or Core i7? Can a Core i5 last for my home use + gaming for a few years and not feel very outdated (Like a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo nowadays for example) in 1-2 years?
Q.2: 500 GB or 1 TB? I am mostly inclined on 1 TB here.
Q.3: RAM 4 GB or 8 GB?
Q.4: Should my AMD Radeon stay in the Mobility 7000 series or should I take it too 8000? Can 8000s support PS4/XBOX ONE gaming?
Q.5: Is there any site that lists battery life for these laptops?

Keep in mind my budget while answering Q.1-Q.4

.

P.S. I am mostly probably asking one of my relatives to buy it for me as they are abroad (Australia/USA). Should be cheaper than here in Asia. Are laptops around there good that I won't need to get a international warranty?

 

[bliq]

I don't think any laptops play Xbox/PS games. If they did, that would be interesting.

neither video card in those machines are great but the ultrabook is probably 50% faster. still not great. how important this is depends on you.

both will have good battery life, but the ultrabook will probably be slightly better since it'll have a smaller screen to power. Probably 4-6 hours realistically.

Core i5 should be fine for several years but of course it depends on what you do. Gaming wise, I doubt it would last 4 years. You'd need something pretty cutting edge and expensive to last you 4 years in gaming, GPU-wise.

I'd go with 500GB. then swap the HDD with SSD, and put HDD in an external enclosure for longer term storage. But that's money.

I'd go with 4GB as you can add another 4GB quite cheaply.

If you're not comfortable opening up your computer, get the 1TB and 8GB.

If it were me, I'd get the ultrabook since it's lighter and that means it would be more likely I'd carry it around.

 

[Zain_Rocks]

Is there any other laptop around this range you'd recommend?

 

[Zain_Rocks]

And by XBOX/PS, what do you mean? XBOX 360 or XBOX ONE? I am pretty sure Radeon HD7670 can support GTA IV or FIFA 14 type games (game-debate & common sense while viewing specs also agrees). That's what I need.

Can I also insert a better graphic card later on, something in the HD8000s/9000s?

And how is the Ultrabook that much quicker? Same processor, RAM etc

 

[geekIN]

DONT buy DELL. It wont last 2 years even. I have XPS L502x which I bought in 2011. 3-4 months earlier, NVIDIA GPU died. Now I cant game no longer. Also it has a faulty CPU (credits to INTEL), faulty GPU (credits to NVidia).
Still, if you want to buy DELL, then I recommend reading user comments on forums who already have your model.

 

[bliq]

Dell is fine. Every manufacturer will sell a dud once in a while.

Anyways, I don't think windows laptops can play actual Xbox discs of any kind. But a game available for both Xbox and PC, a laptop can play the PC version. I could be wrong- I'm not really that up on console gaming.

Anyways, how it would play GTA IV, the PC version? Might be ok since that's an older game.

Can you insert a better video card later? no. not on these relatively inexpensive laptops.

On the ultrabook being quicker? It's not. I was saying it might have longer battery life since smaller screens use less power, but ultrabooks might have a smaller battery. It's also lighter, meaning you'd be more likely to carry it around. My point being, it doesn't matter how powerful your laptop is if it's too heavy to have it with you. I've got a 4.5 lb laptop which is about as heavy as I'd ever want a laptop. But I do have to (and can) carry it around with me all the time.

As far as what's in that price range, it really depends on what suppliers are available to you. If you really want a Dell, I personally like the 14z or even the 13z. If you are open to other manufacturers, I like the HP envy series and Asus Zenbooks also. Sometimes ebay daily deals has good deals on laptops and amazon often has good deals also.

 

[bliq]

Dell is fine. Every manufacturer will sell a dud once in a while.

Anyways, I don't think windows laptops can play actual Xbox discs of any kind. But a game available for both Xbox and PC, a laptop can play the PC version. I could be wrong- I'm not really that up on console gaming.

Anyways, how it would play GTA IV, the PC version? Might be ok since that's an older game.

Can you insert a better video card later? no. not on these relatively inexpensive laptops.

On the ultrabook being quicker? It's not. I was saying it might have longer battery life since smaller screens use less power, but ultrabooks might have a smaller battery. It's also lighter, meaning you'd be more likely to carry it around. My point being, it doesn't matter how powerful your laptop is if it's too heavy to have it with you. I've got a 4.5 lb laptop which is about as heavy as I'd ever want a laptop. But I do have to (and can) carry it around with me all the time.

As far as what's in that price range, it really depends on what suppliers are available to you. If you really want a Dell, I personally like the 14z or even the 13z. If you are open to other manufacturers, I like the HP envy series and Asus Zenbooks also. Sometimes ebay daily deals has good deals on laptops and amazon often has good deals also.

 

[Zain_Rocks]

Seems like you people misunderstood the PS/XBOX comment by me. I meant their PC Versions , with PS3-esque graphics.

 

[Zain_Rocks]

I won't have problems in carrying it or having it on my lap. That's not a problem. I am using it mostly for home use. Is the 14z still better for me? Nothing business here.

 

[bliq]

I won't have problems in carrying it or having it on my lap. That's not a problem. I am using it mostly for home use. Is the 14z still better for me? Nothing business here.

If mostly for home use, Inspiron 15R. Or maybe consider a desktop. For mostly home use, the bigger screen is a big benefit

 

[Zain_Rocks]

I already got a PC. I need a laptop due to powercuts. Are there other laptops way better around this range?

 

[Zain_Rocks]

Is there a Dell Latitude version around this price? One of my friends suggested me Dell Latitude over these but didn't specify a version.

 

[Zain_Rocks]

Well? :\

 

[geekIN]

INSPIRON 15R NON TOUCH: http/www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15r-5537/pd?oc=fncwu173h&model_id=inspiron-15r-5537

HP: http/www.flipkart.com/hp-pavilion-g6-2301ax-laptop-apu-quad-core-a8-4gb-500gb-win8-2-5gb-graph/p/itmdgtjcmdusnsky?pid=COMDGTJCRYXXV8CE&otracker=from-search&srno=t_1&query=hp&ref=de9513a3-6a4d-47f4-9550-be63a39e4a45

the HP G6 perfectly fits on your budget and can game as well.

 

[Zain_Rocks]

Can I customize Dell or HP laptops for a mix of specs?

 

[geekIN]

AFAIK Sony is now providing customizing capabilities. HP-no . DELL- they used to do before, not sure about now.