New Laptop For Casual Gaming

[Alec Lockhart]

Hello everyone!

I have just recently decided to go for a new laptop so I can do some gaming while away from my main rig. I have checked out many laptops and the HP Elitebook 8560P is the one I am thinking about getting. I will be getting it used and I will probably be able to get it for around $280.

Specs:
CPU: 2nd Gen i5-2540m @ 2.6GHz (Dual Core)
Graphics Chip (Dedicated): AMD Radeon HD 6470m (1GB VRAM)
Memory: 4GB Stock (Will upgrade as it comes with 1 empty memory slot)
Screen: 15.6" @ 1366 x 768p
OS: Windows 7 Pro x64 (Will be upgrading to Linux - Ubuntu 14.04 x64 edition)

Now, I know what you are thinking; "Oh noes! Mid-end laptop for gaming!" (and maybe something about Hewlett-Packard) But, seriously, this will just be for lower end gaming and school work. The games I will be playing will be along the lines of Terraria, Minecraft, G-mod, plus a couple other lower-end games. I have also seen the Radeon HD 6470m be able to play BF3 on Ultra settings (OCed) so I know that this laptop will be able to handle a decent amount.

My question is, however... is there a better laptop out there for around $250-350? This of course includes refurbished PCs (I know it's risky but the good price can be worth it) and second hand from a source like eBay. Any thoughts? I am open to ideas at this point, it might be a while until I commit.

Thanks!

 

[LucaFire]

That is the best option, from what I can tell.

 

[James Mason]

The games might not run the same on linux BTW. They might run, but not at the same performance levels.Because of less optimized driver support.
I'd say just make a linux virtual machine on the windows OS if you want to use linux for linux stuff. or dual boot them.