What Is a fast laptop for not alot of money?

Question

I did some work for my grandmother and she is buying me a laptop for my hard work. I will need this laptop for school but I would also like it to be fast enough to play games on like WoW and stuff. So what is a relitively fast laptop for about $500-$800. Please list the name, price, and a review of how good it is.

Answer 1

I'm not sure of any laptop that fits all of those criteria, but I will give you a little informations on hardware.

RAM is usually more important than processor speed, although you will need a fairly good processor. 2GB of RAM is more than enough for general purpose use, but for more memory intensive things like games will be better with more.

For processors, I suggest dual-core, they are reasonably priced nowadays, and provide a lot of power. There are also plans to create programs that utilise the full power of dual-core, but even without this, they are still powerful. I wouldn't personally go for anything much less than 1.8GHz. Of course faster CPU's are available, but they are usually quite expensive for just a little added performance that you may not notice.

There are benefits that come from 64-bit versions of operating systems, but they require 64-bit CPUs (ie. AMD). Although 64-bit is technically better, 32-bit is a much safer option for most, as some drivers and software is unable to run in 64-bits. As for an actual operating system, that's your choice. Linux is fast and stays fast, but a well maintained Windows can be just as good, and Linux can be a little dawnting for some computer users, and doesn't always support some programs that you may want.

I would advise you to get a non-reflective screen, things like "CrystalBrite" look good, but aren't functional in light. Also, you don't really need a large screen, 15.4" widescreen is quite good. I wouldn't personally go for 17" screens, I don't like big screens, and for a laptop, you sit quite close anyway.

Graphics cards for gaming need to be quite good, so you may need to find a graphics card that will suit the games that you want to play. Also some graphics cards are capable of using a small amount of RAM as extra memory.

Think a little about size and weight; don't buy a heavy laptop if you want it to be really portable. Size doesn't make much difference, but you may like a lighter one. Personal preference really.

For a make? I don't think it matters too much, most are pretty much the same when you get down to it. Some may disagree, but I don't see much difference, and as long as it's built well, it should be fine.

If you get Windows,download AusLogics Disk Defrag, and CCleaner. Run these about once a week, and you'll keep your computer fast.

Hope this helps you pick out a good laptop and have fun.

Answer 2

The Dell Intel Pentium Dual Core T2390 1.86GHz Laptop is a pretty fast laptop. Priced at only $599.99, it has:

Hard Drive: 250GB 5400 RPM

Optical Drive: 8X CD/DVD Writer

Processor Speed: 1.86GHz

Processor Type: Intel Pentium Dual Core T2390

RAM: 3GB

Screen size: 15.4"

Graphics Chipset: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100

Integrated Video Memory included

Native Screen Resolution: 1280 x 800

Video Memory: 384MB

Audio Chipset: SigmaTel STAC9228

Audio Output: Multichannel

Okay, and thats just a few of its features, follow the link and you can see the whole review of it! Hope this helps!

Answer 3

You can get a fairly nice fast laptop for that price range, but if the game you want to play is a high tech type one, like how video games are, you wont be able to get a good gaming computer for that price range.

But as long as you get a laptop with an intel processor and stay away from dell computers, you'll have a nice laptop. If you need help let me know. I would go with an Hp, if it were me.