Solved! Laptop to get by?

[Pandaness]

So my girlfriend's computer is kind of at the end of it's life I think and it needs to be changed out. Most intensive game planned will probably be WoW. Also uses it for college reports and what not. And chatting ^.^

1. What is your budget?
I'd go up to $500, ideally i'd like one lower >.>

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15" -17"

3. What screen resolution do you want?
not important

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Desktop replacement

5. How much battery life do you need?
Don't need much, will mostly be plugged in

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Low or closer to medium, mainly for wow (don't kill me ._.)

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
web surfing, aim, watch movies, camera chat, mumble

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
at least 100GB

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Just not ebay ._.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
5+ years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD rom, write would be a plus but not required

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
no preference, just want something good, even if I haven't heard of the brand before I'll check and research

13. What country do you live in?
I live in the US, but the laptop is going to Canada

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Mainly used for school work (not that intensive) but needs to be able to run WoW, internet, and mumble simultaneously.

Thanks for all your suggestions

 

[Bacterius]

Uh $500 is a bit low for a gaming computer, even just for WoW, there is quite a bit of overhead when adding a dedicated graphics card to a laptop. You can get a laptop that will run WoW on low/medium settings well (but not high) for $800. You might be able to find one at $600 but I wouldn't bet on anything cheaper.

You will need at least 2.0GHz of CPU (a core 2 duo, really) and you can use this chart to find which graphics cards will play WoW well (you don't want to play a slideshow do you?): http/www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html (WoW is at the far right of the list).

Whatever you do here are some hints to help you steer clear of bad laptops:
- if its got integrated graphics (Intel HD and stuff), do not pick it, it will not run WoW decently even on lowest settings.
- do not buy "ATOM" cpu's, they are very inefficient because they are designed to save a maximum of power.

Here is a quick suggestion but I recommend you look on lots of websites:

$765 - runs well up to Medium settings
http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np5160-clevo-w150hn-pre-order-p-2999.html?wconfigure=yes

And of course if the laptop can play WoW it can do web surfing, movie/audio playback, video editing, report writing, etc... no issues here

 

[dalauder]

All that for $500 is a tall order. Keep an eye on slickdeals.net and wait for a price mistake. If you're that short on cash, you should be looking at a desktop that plays games on medium graphics and keep an old lousy laptop for laptop stuff.

I guess you could make a low-end gaming build for $330 with a Micro Center (saves $50) and buy a netbook for $180.

 

[WR2]

Lenovo IdeaPad Z560 15.6-in Core i3 2.53GHz Laptop $500 @ Bestbuy

 

[dalauder]

That laptop will not play WoW (at least not on Medium) and is overpriced. Best Buy had a similar i3 for $450 months ago (I got it for $330 on slickdeals)--this price is not exceptional at all.

 

[WR2]

 

[dalauder]

I stand corrected. In that case, get the cheapest i3-370M you can find. I'm not sure how it will play the WoW expansions though--so you might need to avoid the newest areas.

 

[WR2]

HP G42t $449 will let you upgrade the graphics to HD 6370 (HD5470 equivalent) for $50. Total $500
C2D P6200 2.13 GHz CPU, 3GB RAM, 320GB HDD, 14" 1366x768 LCD Wifi/Webcam, etc.

HP G62t also @ $449 will let you grab a HD 5470 for $50.
C2D P6100 2.00 GHz CPU, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, 15.6" 1366x768 LCD Wifi/Webcam, etc.