Looking for a laptop under 500$

[tchub12]

Hello, I want to buy a laptop for my friend in a low budget (est. under 500$) , could you advice me some ? The articles I read didn't really give anything... She loves playing lol and only so I don't need much performance, I need durable and lightweight laptop. Thank you in advance.

 

[Luc_4_]

I got really cheap with mine even going through local craigslist ads and found a out-of the -house vendor bought a nice little Thinkpad A8 5550M APU with radeon graphics for about $350 500gb HDD.

It can play LoL if thats all she wants,

Try looking through some small vendors in your area might be a better bet than going to a Fry's or Best buy which you might get lucky and find one for about 400 I know I did on best buys website.

 

[Chugalug_]

The CPU performance is awful on that laptop. 🙁
Get this, fantastic deal and has a good integrated graphics chip.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834315713&cm_re=940MX_laptop-_-34-315-713-_-Product

 

[bhogervorst]

Hello, I want to buy a laptop for my friend in a low budget (est. under 500$) , could you advice me some ? The articles I read didn't really give anything... She loves playing lol and only so I don't need much performance, I need durable and lightweight laptop. Thank you in advance.

I got really cheap with mine even going through local craigslist ads and found a out-of the -house vendor bought a nice little Thinkpad A8 5550M APU with radeon graphics for about $350 500gb HDD.

It can play LoL if thats all she wants,

Try looking through some small vendors in your area might be a better bet than going to a Fry's or Best buy which you might get lucky and find one for about 400 I know I did on best buys website.

Hi tchub12,

Seems very kind of you to buy a laptop for your friend - so let's help you find a good laptop!!!

Luc_4_,
Firstly, your idea is very good. If you need something for cheap buy used. From the particular laptop you made an example from, I would always recommend staying away from mobile AMD APU's - I've got one in my laptop which is very similar to yours and it really isn't great. The iGPU really kicks butt for what it is but the CPU is just ehhh.

tchub12,
Back to you for a moment, here are some things you might want to tell us:

• 
  - Are you okay with buying used?
  - Are you okay with something older? (as old as 5 years)
  - Do you favor any particular brands based on experiences etc. ?
  - Do you prefer anything in else particular or is this just a "get 'er done" laptop?

Here's some things that I would suggest based around what you said:
"She loves playing lol and only so I don't need much performance, I need durable and lightweight laptop"

• 
  - If you want durable, don't buy anything new from HP. Older HP laptops are built okay but the newer ones are cheap and junky.
  - I would recommend Dell, Acer, Lenovo and ASUS as good makers of relatively thin but durable laptops if you're buying new. Toshiba makes some of the best built laptops but they're spendy unless you buy used - which could be good as well!
  - Avoid Intel Celeron CPU's if you can and AMD CPU's altogether.
  - Try and stay above 4GB of RAM if possible, that shouldn't be hard for $500

Here are some laptops I could recommend brand new off of Amazon / Newegg which are under $500:

• 
  - If for some reason you need to cut your budget in half, this laptop can do the basics for little more than $250
  - This Acer laptop will perform decently for $350
  - Here's a pretty powerful ASUS laptop for $475 which will perform very well
  - If you really want to go for gold and get something ultra-portable with a touchscreen, this Dell is just under $475 and is stylish for the money.
  - If you want ultimate performance for the $$$, this Acer packs one of the only dedicated GPU's you can get under $500, for only $480.

Now I know these are all new but I wouldn't be able to accurately suggest used listings on eBay or Craigslist because those come and go and you'll have to find them based on your location, assuming you wish to purchase used.

I hope that helped a little. I always love helping people help other people with tech!
Good luck, let us know how it goes!
- BHogervorst

 

[Chugalug_]

That last Acer isn't a first party seller, its a dodgy shop i've never heard of, the title makes it even more suspicious... 😛

 

[bhogervorst]

That last Acer isn't a first party seller, its a dodgy shop i've never heard of, the title makes it even more suspicious... 😛

Nice catch Chugalug_,
I didn't pay too close attention to those and it's good you caught that.

tchub12, Be watchful of things like that.

- BHogervorst

 

[jaguarskx]

LoL has pretty low system requirements which can run on integrated graphics with max graphic settings at 1080p resolution and over 60 FPS. The $350 Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575-33BM with a Core i3-7100u and integrated Intel HD 620 can easily run the game. It has 4GB of RAM which is enough, but I recommend installing an additional 4GB of RAM. That improve overall performance a little bit because when Windows starts running out of memory for all the programs opened, it starts to swap data back and forth between RAM and the hard drive which can slow down performance a little bit. Two sticks of RAM also means the RAM itself will run at full speed (dual channel) instead of half speed (single channel). This can improve integrated graphic performance by around 10% - 15% depending on the game.

Acer Laptop:
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i3-7100U-Windows-E5-575-33BM/dp/B01K1IO3QW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1475751103&sr=1-15&keywords=e+15&linkCode=sl1&tag=tecdea0f-20&linkId=973caed1ea66abfb86c5ee0a1596151b

4GB RAM stick
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Single-PC4-17000-SODIMM-260-Pin/dp/B015HQ9SI6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1480359252&sr=1-7&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin:673263011&linkCode=sl1&tag=tecdea0f-20&linkId=64acafb4e681473bd0b856587e89452d


Below is a video showing LoL being played on the Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575-33BM that has been upgraded to 12GB of RAM. That means the RAM is running at full speed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3NMfIOizFY



If your friend plans on playing more demanding, then the above Acer Laptop Aspire E E5-575G-55KK would be a better choice.

 

[Chugalug_]

Even so, even for general use I recommend at least a mobile i5, an i3 falls behind and lags in use I find.
8GB of RAM is all you need, any higher is generally overkill. 😛

 

[tchub12]

Thank you all very much. Really veery much ! I didn't really think that my post would get this much response.

Luc_4_
flankly saying I'm more into intel processors than amd, so probably I'll get one with intel(i3 or i5).

Chugalug_
Your link was really helpful I loved Aspire E E5-575G-55KK design and the performance (google helped me) also very much.

bhogervorst
Special thanks to you my friend, you words really made my day. Answers to your questions:
- Yes I'm ok with buying a used laptop.
- I'd be glad if I buy a newer one. It's a gift so it would be better if it was newer than 3 years (maybe).
- I have a good experience with Asus. I have asus s46cm. I've been using it for about 5 years and under using I mean really "hard" using and it started lagging just now. Also I love Lenovo designs.
- No I don't have any more preferences.

Maybe I'll look for a used one at the local market. I really liked ASUS R556LA.
You helped a lot!

jaguarskx
Really helpful advice. I was looking for only 8gb laptops but now I understand that I can add 4gb by myself and will get almost the same performance at a lower cost.

Thank you guys very much ! It's very kind from all of you.

 

[bhogervorst]

Thank you all very much. Really veery much ! I didn't really think that my post would get this much response.

Luc_4_
flankly saying I'm more into intel processors than amd, so probably I'll get one with intel(i3 or i5).

Chugalug_
Your link was really helpful I loved Aspire E E5-575G-55KK design and the performance (google helped me) also very much.

bhogervorst
Special thanks to you my friend, you words really made my day. Answers to your questions:
- Yes I'm ok with buying a used laptop.
- I'd be glad if I buy a newer one. It's a gift so it would be better if it was newer than 3 years (maybe).
- I have a good experience with Asus. I have asus s46cm. I've been using it for about 5 years and under using I mean really "hard" using and it started lagging just now. Also I love Lenovo designs.
- No I don't have any more preferences.

Maybe I'll look for a used one at the local market. I really liked ASUS R556LA.
You helped a lot!

jaguarskx
Really helpful advice. I was looking for only 8gb laptops but now I understand that I can add 4gb by myself and will get almost the same performance at a lower cost.

Thank you guys very much ! It's very kind from all of you.

tchub12,

No problem! I always love to help people and it makes my day when people appreciate my help
I hope you find something great for your friend using the combined advice from all of the great people who posted here. I think you're on a good track.

Please let us know how it goes or if you need anymore help on any subjects!
Thanks, have a nice day!
- BHogervorst