Hubb's a gamer and wants a laptop

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TheGamersMrs

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My husband is on this forum all the time and I know NOTHING about computers, but he does (apparently). He is a PC gamer and is really into TF2 or games that are similar. I am wanting to get him a laptop, but def don't want to get him something that he will need to keep upgrading, THOUGH i would like to try to keep the price within reason.. meaning nothing close to 1000. At least something he can start with that is good since he is in school as well. Help me out!
 
TF2 isn't that graphically demanding.
Are there any other games he plays that you can remember? Checked his Steam library?
(Start button -> type "steam" -> Enter -> right click on steam icon at bottom of screen -> Library)

Help us out by answering a couple other questions as well:
How much do you actually want to spend? $500? $900?
Is he going to take it with him to school every day, or just do work on it at home? (This affects how much weight and durability will be factored).
 
Happy to help you pick out a laptop for him, but Kueller makes some good points about info it'd be nice to have!

Sounds like an awesome gift though. :)
 
500 is a good price range, but i'm still flexible with it. He has played WOW and battlefield, but that's pretty much it. I see him doing some trading of some sort a lot that i think is with TF2. We do not share a computer and he keeps it locked, so as for checking what he plays other than the ones I have named I am clueless. He has a lot of computer parts, and can find them with pretty good prices, so i'm just looking for a laptop that he can fix up himself a little bit, but not something that is not capable of being used for some gaming. He just does school online, so it's just more of a convenience thing so he doesn't have to go downstairs to do homework while watching the kids.
 
I'd suggest something in the 13-14" inch range then, if it's meant to be mobile, a secondary computer, and still able to do a bit of gaming. I generally recommend Thinkpads but they aren't known for gaming, hm.

Also, I'm not sure what to say about a laptop that he can fix up for himself a bit. A lot of laptop parts can be hard to upgrade, though in many cases it is possible. You might even consider something used in that case though.

Ideapad Z380 is $539 new for one with an Ivy Bridge processor. Integrated graphics, but the HD 4000 is capable of some gaming. 13.3" screen.

Might be able to find a better deal with a 15.6" screen -- those always seem cheaper for some reason -- but personally I find them too large. It is probably the most popular size though.

Are you willing to consider used/refurbished options as well?
 
A gaming laptop for $500 is going to be tough. To get decent system specs at that price, we're probably going to have to hit up the Dell or Lenovo outlet sites. Basically these sites sell any machines that were previously sold and returned/refurbished or custom configured and then the order was canceled. Basically, any returns/cancels they encounter don't get resold through dell.com/lenovo.com, but through the Outlets. They come with the same factory warranty as New Dell or Lenovo products, you just pay less. Dell in particular has a stellar return policy, no restocking fees, just send it back...Also partly why they have so much Outlet stock.

All that is just my way of softening the blow of recommending an Outlet machine:
Dell is offering a 20% off coupon through their outlet site.
Dell Outlet
That coupon code doesn't work as it's written...but if you click the "Chat Now" link on the outlet front page there, a sales rep will happily apply the 20% discount for you.

From the Outlet page, select "Check prices -> laptops" and under the "Family" menu on the left hand side, check the Inspiron 15R Special Edition box. There are currently a couple for $729 -20% ($146) = $583.

For that sum you get:
Latest 3rd generation i5-3210m Ivy Bridge CPU
6GB RAM - There's some others with 8GB for $809 before coupon...don't bother with those, it's not worth the price increase.
750GB HDD - Your hubby will be able to add SSD (msata form factor) in addition to this hard drive...Gives him something to upgrade :)
AMD Radeon 7730M 2GB - Decent mobile graphics card
1920x1080 Display - You're not going to find a 1080p screen on anything else remotely near your price range.

This particular sale ends 9/19 9am CST, so if you're not looking to make a purchase right now, let us know and we'll find something else (like a Y480 or Y580, but those will be a bit more expensive). But at your price point for a gaming laptop, you're going to have to be ready to jump on a deal when it pops up.
 
TheGamersMrs said:
My husband is on this forum all the time and I know NOTHING about computers, but he does (apparently). He is a PC gamer and is really into TF2 or games that are similar. I am wanting to get him a laptop, but def don't want to get him something that he will need to keep upgrading, THOUGH i would like to try to keep the price within reason.. meaning nothing close to 1000. At least something he can start with that is good since he is in school as well. Help me out!
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Why don't you just ask him? I realize it detracts from the element of surprise for a gift, but it's the best way to guarantee he'll get something he'll be happy with. :)
 
Lethal said:
Why don't you just ask him? I realize it detracts from the element of surprise for a gift, but it's the best way to guarantee he'll get something he'll be happy with. :)
Click to expand...

No need, at ~$500 the limiting factor is price. The Inspiron 15R Special Edition will play TF2 wonderfully, and might play BF3 at mediumish settings (depending on resolution, probably more like medium-low at 1080p), but you're not going to get a laptop that will do a decent job on BF3 until you get to about $850 and can find something with a GTX660M card.
 
ask him about backpacks then lure into the .. would you rather have a big laptop in a backpack or a small laptop lol... then go from there. If your able to pinpoint a size of a laptop.. then you can work on choices easier.. but if you want some bang for your buck.. check out the lenovo y580, it's a 15.6" laptop so your at average size for a laptop and you get great performance for the price.
 
$500 is a tough price for a "gaming" laptop. At that price there are definite trade-offs between performance, build quality, and mobility.

I would say best graphics bang for the buck at that price is something with one of AMD's APU's. A-6 or A-8 quad cores. I have an HP dv6-6117dx. I love it. especially after upgrading to an SSD and 8gb of ram. Should be able to find one for around $500 or even less if you get a good deal. Can play a good amount of games at medium detail.
 
yea it is a huge laptop but the performance and for good price. plus it can be upgraded a lot if you put in the time into it. it can be upgraded to 6xxx or 7xxx radeon series w/ vbios flash. there's a modded bios out there that allows for overclocking and voltage controls. but for the person who doesn't mod, it's still a great laptop for 500$.
 
Something like an AMD Trinity A8-4500 might manage to fit into your price range if you want to get something new. The A6-4400 could be had for under $500.

Thinkpad Edge E535 can be customized with the A4, A6, A8, or A10 AMD options. I'd suggest the A8, though the A6 would work. It starts at $499 but I think your $500 budget was flexible. This would probably be a reasonably solid machine.

If you want Intel plus a discrete card... you could look into some refurbished things like this or this.
 
HaX said:
btw: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1716022

this is only 500 and will be able to play games just fine. excellent condition

i have one, i luv it
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I would be really hesitant about buying something used that can't be returned. Again, what if he doesn't like it or it's not what he wanted?

That would be like me casually mentioning to my husband that I'd like to get a steel string acoustic guitar (mine are all nylon classicals) and him going out and buying something off of craigslist after he joined a guitar forum to ask "what's the best acoustic I can get for my classical-playing wife for $500?"

While I would applaud the effort, I would be miffed (and that's putting it mildly) that I didn't get a say in picking out something so personal to me, especially if it were non-returnable. I know way more about guitars than he does and he would never buy me one without my input. Just like I would never buy him any mountain biking or paintball (his hobbies) gear unless he told me exactly what he wanted, right down to the brand, size, color and model #.

OrangeWolf brings up a good point - AMD vs. Intel. There are fans in both camps. Does the Mrs. even know which side her husband's on? Personally, while I'm presently typing this on an AMD desktop, I think I would go Intel for a laptop these days.

Mrs. say "he has a lot of computer parts" but needs to know that most desktop parts won't work in laptops. It's not like when I fried a vidcard on this box and hubby was able to find something in his stash and had me back up and running in minutes. :)
 
true, just shooting out suggestions for a gaming laptop solution on budget that's all. there's always a mindful effort when considering buying a "used" product.

I agree, she should ask her husband what he wants. This seems to be the best route in mind.
 
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