College laptop - 500 budget

[Jvoelker]

Looking for a standard best speed for 500 bucks. Best bang for buck. Standard programs like word and surfing. Any help would be appreciated. I'm lookin at http/www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-V3-551-8469-15-6-Inch-Midnight/dp/B009A8L0IE/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top right now.. Any better?

 

[azathoth]

I would much recommend the Lenovo G580 over the laptop you have chosen there.
http/www.amazon.com/Lenovo-59344050-G580-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B009AEPKPM/ref=sr_1_6?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1355865218&sr=1-6

This laptop has a significantly faster processor, the a8-4500m is essentially a dual core processor at 1.9Ghz, it is adequate, but there are much better options.

Such as the Z580 which has a dual core Ivy Bridge chip, at 2.4Ghz, much higher clock speed, and clock for clock as well it is faster.

The graphics on the Z580 are the HD4000, for light gaming, both the HD4000 and the 7640g are adequate to play most games on low-medium settings if you wished to have a bit of play time during a break.

I would much recommend that you choose the Z580.


***Both laptops have 1x4GB RAM, and either one you choose you should purchase a second stick. Very cheap at $20.
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233376
You will get twice the memory bandwidth, and twice the memory capacity by doing this.

 

[Jvoelker]

Is an ssd a big deal

 

[andrewcarr]

Actually the A8's graphics are quite a bit better than the HD 4000. If that wasn't true AMD's A series of chips would have no purpose to them. The A8 can play a few games on medium and most on low where the HD 4000 can play games on low and some at under 30 FPS.

Although I still second the Lenovo laptop.

A SSD will greatly improve load times but it would have to be at least 60 GB to be useful and preferably 120GB or more.

 

[Jvoelker]

How bout http/m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/detail.jsp?skuId=6978466&pid=1218817842976&tab=reviews&overview=no

 

[azathoth]

Actually the A8's graphics are quite a bit better than the HD 4000. If that wasn't true AMD's A series of chips would have no purpose to them. The A8 can play a few games on medium and most on low where the HD 4000 can play games on low and some at under 30 FPS

Versus the HD3000 yes, but the HD4000 is quite capable, the A8-4500 APU isn't very strong.
http/www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-4000.69168.0.html
http/www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7640G.69836.0.html

They're neck and neck for almost every game.

It is the 4600m APU that crushes the Intel's attempt at GPU's.

 

[azathoth]

How bout http/m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/detail.jsp?skuId=6978466&pid=1218817842976&tab=reviews&overview=no

That is one heck of a nice sale. Exact same specifications as the Lenovo Z580, but includes a larger screen, with higher resolution.

And it's cheaper!

 

[Jvoelker]

Any good ones at bestbuy

 

[dbrian500]

As OP said in his post, he needs a laptop for standard programs like word and surfing, then Acer V3 would be more than enough for that. But if you are looking for even 1 step further then I would suggest a core i5 laptop with dedicated graphics for your college. Something like acer 571 which got 1GB dedicated graphics with core i5 processor.

http/bestlaptopsunder500hub.com/best-laptop-under-500-deal-of-the-week.html

http/bestlaptopsunder500hub.com/best-core-i5-gaming-laptop-with-1gb-dedicated-graphics-under-500.html