Best laptop under $400 (READ DESCRIPTION)

[Guest]

I need someone to find a laptop for me for under $400 for casual use and light gaming(minecraft, sims 3/4...etc).
NEED: Widescreen, 5+ hours battery, keyboard with numpad

WANTED/PREFERED: 13"+ monitor size, backlit keyboard, touch screen

PREFERED OS: Windows 8.1 Pro(Win 7 ultimate is acceptable)

WANTS FOR SPECS:
CPU: AMD or Intel, does not matter(2 Ghz+)
GRAPHICS: Dedicated graphics(preferred)
STORAGE: 250Gb+
USB PORTS: USB 3(preferred)
INTERNET: WIFI
SCREEN: 1080p preferred, lower(1024x768/1366x768) is ok.


Thank you in advance!!!!!!!

 

[jaguarskx]

You are not going to find a laptop that meets your needs.

1. 13.3" laptops are generally expensive because they are typically designed to be both portable and powerful. You can buy a 11.6" or 14" laptop for around $400, but not a 13.3" laptop which probably starts at $800 if not more.

2. Touchscreens generally adds costs to a laptop so finding a new laptop with a touchscreen and is somewhat capable of playing games for $400 is difficult.

3. The smallest laptop that will have a numeric pad is 15.6". Including a numeric pad on smaller laptops means the keys must be smaller as well which likely makes for a bad typing experience.

4. A laptop with dedicated graphics generally starts at about $600.

5. Laptops with 1080p screens (and no dedicated graphics) generally start at about $600.

6. Windows 8.1 Pro is usually installed on business laptops which are more expensive than consumer laptops. I have only seen Windows 7 Ultimate as a $200 option for custom laptops that are outside your budget.


The following 15.6" Acer Aspire E5-551-86R8 laptop is probably the best you can get for just over $400. It has integrated graphics and should be able to play Sims 4 on low settings.

http/www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-E5-551-86R8-15-6-Inch-Midnight/dp/B00K2O4QO0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427260752&sr=8-3&keywords=a10-7300

 

[Guest]

You are not going to find a laptop that meets your needs.

1. 13.3" laptops are generally expensive because they are typically designed to be both portable and powerful. You can buy a 11.6" or 14" laptop for around $400, but not a 13.3" laptop which probably starts at $800 if not more.

2. Touchscreens generally adds costs to a laptop so finding a new laptop with a touchscreen and is somewhat capable of playing games for $400 is difficult.

3. The smallest laptop that will have a numeric pad is 15.6". Including a numeric pad on smaller laptops means the keys must be smaller as well which likely makes for a bad typing experience.

4. A laptop with dedicated graphics generally starts at about $600.

5. Laptops with 1080p screens (and no dedicated graphics) generally start at about $600.

6. Windows 8.1 Pro is usually installed on business laptops which are more expensive than consumer laptops. I have only seen Windows 7 Ultimate as a $200 option for custom laptops that are outside your budget.


The following 15.6" Acer Aspire E5-551-86R8 laptop is probably the best you can get for just over $400. It has integrated graphics and should be able to play Sims 4 on low settings.

http/www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-E5-551-86R8-15-6-Inch-Midnight/dp/B00K2O4QO0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427260752&sr=8-3&keywords=a10-7300

How about a 15" laptop(with numpad), no touch, windows 7(if possible(win 8.1 is too hard to use without touch)), a 1366 x 768 screen, a 250-500 Gb HHD, and an AMD APU. Whould that be possible in my price range?

 

[Alabalcho]

Windows 7 is not generally available on consumer laptops. And once you add a shell replacement to Win8, you won't find much difference in operation.

Go to any good online shop, and apply the filters by yourself. This way you can see which tick from your wishlist affects the price the most.

 

[ac130]

Retailers with heavy filters: - it just comes down to preference and also rule out a4 and a6 processors
http/goo.gl/TTRLm2 Amazon, all conditions
http/goo.gl/JsrivW - Newegg, computers refurbished and new
http/goo.gl/9izWQS - Newegg, computers not refurbished

The dell Inspiron 5000 seems to be a really good deal if you can pay the extra $50, its mid way down on the second Newegg link

I also didn't filter for windows versions so they are probably all windows 8.1, but they are the best deal and also install a program called Classic Shell and you will get your start menu and there are many other tweaks that will get windows 8.1 to feel just like 7.

 

[Guest]

Retailers with heavy filters: - it just comes down to preference and also rule out a4 and a6 processors
http/goo.gl/TTRLm2 Amazon, all conditions
http/goo.gl/JsrivW - Newegg, computers refurbished and new
http/goo.gl/9izWQS - Newegg, computers not refurbished

The dell Inspiron 5000 seems to be a really good deal if you can pay the extra $50, its mid way down on the second Newegg link

I also didn't filter for windows versions so they are probably all windows 8.1, but they are the best deal and also install a program called Classic Shell and you will get your start menu and there are many other tweaks that will get windows 8.1 to feel just like 7.

I think the iinspiron is my best choice. I was able to find it on a different site(Adorama) for $40 less than Newegg. Thanks for suggesting it!!

 

[ac130]

Retailers with heavy filters: - it just comes down to preference and also rule out a4 and a6 processors
http/goo.gl/TTRLm2 Amazon, all conditions
http/goo.gl/JsrivW - Newegg, computers refurbished and new
http/goo.gl/9izWQS - Newegg, computers not refurbished

The dell Inspiron 5000 seems to be a really good deal if you can pay the extra $50, its mid way down on the second Newegg link

I also didn't filter for windows versions so they are probably all windows 8.1, but they are the best deal and also install a program called Classic Shell and you will get your start menu and there are many other tweaks that will get windows 8.1 to feel just like 7.

I think the iinspiron is my best choice. I was able to find it on a different site(Adorama) for $40 less than Newegg. Thanks for suggesting it!!

No problem! Glad you found a great deal! You should be able to play minecraft with some low shaders at ~40 fps and most other games at a good FPS at low/medium.