Hello community,
I've got a budget around 700-1,000, I might budge a little over that, but it'd have to be worth it. Looking for around 15.6 in screen, general high resolution (just alright, doesn't haven't to be amazing), would prefer a mildly brighter screen with decent battery life (with light usage, in class etc, at least 2-3 hours, preferably higher). Weight isn't much of an issue. I'd prefer something with a DVD ROM rather than without it, HDMI, USB(3.0 preferred but not a deal breaker), SD card reader, Ethernet. Back lighting would be cool, but is not a necessity.
As far as gaming, limitations with hardware in the past have kept me from playing PC games in general. I'd like to be able to play things like the Witcher 3, Minecraft, Dark Souls 2, Elder Scrolls online, as well as various lower end steam games. Prefer settings in medium, they don't need to be high def, play-ability is more important than looks.
I'm a computer engineering major (freshman), so there's a lot of programs I could be using, but I don't know for sure what exactly. I also occasionally edit photos or draw digital art. Ideally, I'd like the laptop to last through at least my senior year, so about 3 1/2 years.
I've looked at the Dell Inspiron and the Acer Aspire series, but I'm not really sure what exactly I should be looking for as far as hardware specs.
I've got a budget around 700-1,000, I might budge a little over that, but it'd have to be worth it. Looking for around 15.6 in screen, general high resolution (just alright, doesn't haven't to be amazing), would prefer a mildly brighter screen with decent battery life (with light usage, in class etc, at least 2-3 hours, preferably higher). Weight isn't much of an issue. I'd prefer something with a DVD ROM rather than without it, HDMI, USB(3.0 preferred but not a deal breaker), SD card reader, Ethernet. Back lighting would be cool, but is not a necessity.
As far as gaming, limitations with hardware in the past have kept me from playing PC games in general. I'd like to be able to play things like the Witcher 3, Minecraft, Dark Souls 2, Elder Scrolls online, as well as various lower end steam games. Prefer settings in medium, they don't need to be high def, play-ability is more important than looks.
I'm a computer engineering major (freshman), so there's a lot of programs I could be using, but I don't know for sure what exactly. I also occasionally edit photos or draw digital art. Ideally, I'd like the laptop to last through at least my senior year, so about 3 1/2 years.
I've looked at the Dell Inspiron and the Acer Aspire series, but I'm not really sure what exactly I should be looking for as far as hardware specs.