President Evil
Member
What's the best budget laptop that you would recommend?
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Best Budget Laptop?
- Thread starter President Evil
- Start date
President Evil
Member
$550 or less. I'll be using it for writing, graphics, and media consumption. It is a must that it has good image/video quality.
jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
When you say "graphics" what exactly do you mean? Gaming? Drawing?
It sounds like you might be looking for a mid-tier Chromebook or Windows S system, given your budget and what you want it to do.
EverydayBeast
ChatGPT 0.1
I say Acer Nitro 5, you could find one in your price range, classic do-it-all laptop.
President Evil
Member
Nah, I meant like graphics as in art. I don't have a preference between AMD or Nvidia. Also, I don't know about Chromebooks since they won't run editing programs like Paint Shop and Photoshop. As for IPS panels, I ordered an Acer recently and the image quality sucked on it and it had an IPS panel, so I don't know... I know I am being picky, but I really need good image quality for my Photoshop endeavors.
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President Evil
Member
Maybe 13-15? I'd take an 11 if need be, though.
President Evil
Member
Amazon has a Gen 4 brand new for $400 something. Is it possible to use a Surface in your lap?
DESTROYA
Member
Not unless it comes with a keyboard cover.
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
not really being honest here .
you could but i would not advice you to do that,
it's a bit unstable with the keyboard cover
You might want to look into a surface laptop instead make sure it's a recent model.
again if you want to save some cash go second hand
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DESTROYA
Member
newtypepilot
Member
bushido boi, is that you?
lol $550 budget. You need to at least double your budget or you need to seriously lower your expectations
lol $550 budget. You need to at least double your budget or you need to seriously lower your expectations
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
no you don't
stop overpaying for shit that is outdated anyway in 2 years
President Evil
Member
I was really hoping you'd be able to use the Surface in your lap. That is hugely disappointing.
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
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President Evil
Member
Well, I tend to sit Indian style in my recliner, so that probably wouldn't work for me. Lol.
Does this look good? It's not the regular Surface laptop, but it's still pretty nice.
There's a cheaper model with less storage and without the graphics card, I think.
Does this look good? It's not the regular Surface laptop, but it's still pretty nice.
There's a cheaper model with less storage and without the graphics card, I think.
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newtypepilot
Member
based on OP's responses on what his needs are, $550 budget is highly unrealistic.
jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Fair enough. I'd say the only thing to look out for then (because you'll see it a lot in your proposed price range) is to watch out for "Windows S Mode" laptops. These are very much like Chromebooks in that you can only load apps from the Windows Store. You can usually convert them into regular Windows 10, but they also (typically) have ARM processors and won't run a lot of applications as a result. Best to steer clear of those entirely, if possible.
Also, for your budget range, expect Photoshop to run... not well.
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
That will def do what you want.
You can always add a micro sd if you want a bit more.
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DESTROYA
Member
Those first gen surface books have a lot of issues, I got rid of mine pretty fast .
Had issues from the start, keyboard didn’t detach when I wanted, battery in the tablet part would not charge at all after a couple of weeks, and had driver update issues causing random blue screens.
I would stay away from those.
Had issues from the start, keyboard didn’t detach when I wanted, battery in the tablet part would not charge at all after a couple of weeks, and had driver update issues causing random blue screens.
I would stay away from those.
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President Evil
Member
Would this be a good buy? Or is it too old at this point?
President Evil
Member
OP has a budget of $550 but shows laptop more expensive
Sorry. I moved some money around and ended up having more available for the laptop.
DESTROYA
Member
Don’t be sorry just let us know how much your really willing to spend , that surface laptop is still good but the Alcantara fabric keyboard gets easily stained and dirty quick, other issue I see it doesn’t run a full version of W10 but W10S.
The big difference between Windows 10 S and any other version of Windows 10 is that 10 S can only run applications downloaded from the Windows Store.
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
This is the one i meant originally.
Looks great
Great screen for graphical design!
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President Evil
Member
I guess my real max price would be around $700. As for Windows 10 S, isn't there a way to switch S mode off? Pretty sure there is, but I might be misinformed.
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jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
I'm pretty sure you can still convert Windows 10S to full blown Windows 10 for free (there's an "upgrade app" in the Windows App Store that does it). But it's also a one-way street - once you get rid of S mode there is no way to convert the laptop back, even with a factory restore.
The real kicker to look out for here is that a lot of the W10S laptops and tablets have ARM processors, which means a lot of applications won't run on Windows. Last I looked into a few months ago, there still weren't any antivirus suites that ran on ARM. But thankfully this is an Intel CPU Core i5 so it shouldn't be too much of an issue.
Still, only having 8GB of RAM and the integrated intel graphics chip is going to make running Photoshop on top of Windows 10 feel like a bit of a chore.
President Evil
Member
Is there anything with a comparable quality screen to the Surface products that isn't the Surface products? Lol.
I'm still mulling over that Surface laptop, though. Just don't know which color is the best for me.
I'm still mulling over that Surface laptop, though. Just don't know which color is the best for me.
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President Evil
Member
I already have an iPad Pro. 
DESTROYA
Member
Well can’t it do everything your asking?I already have an iPad Pro.
President Evil
Member
Making graphics is kinda hard for me on the iPad Pro. You can't install custom fonts for one.
DESTROYA
Member
When you say making graphics do you mean like drawing with a pen or like CAD work? I’m a little confused
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
Yes you can???
jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
President Evil
have you checked out the NeoGAF marketplace?
Del 7577 1060 Maxq, 16gb RAM, 256gb nvme + 500gb ssd, i5 7300HQ $650 Shipped
Selling my Dell 15 7577 bought in late 2018, I preffer NYC local pick up, but will do shipping too (with the help of the buyer since I never shipped anything inside of the US). I used this laptop every day since late 2018, it's upgraded to 16gb of RAM and it has an additional 500gb SSD with the...
If you aren't going to be playing games Acer makes rock solid but no frills laptops of you want a windows based experince.
If you just want to watch videos online, surf the net, etc Acer chromebooks are a inexpensive and good alternative to a windows laptop. You can put any app on one that will mimic anything a full fledged windows laptop can like office products.
Other than that I can't help you. I never owned a laptop really. I just know ones I'd picked up for people who dont game and never had a real issue. All I can say is if you want to game dont get an acer. They make really good products but they aren't for gaming.
If you just want to watch videos online, surf the net, etc Acer chromebooks are a inexpensive and good alternative to a windows laptop. You can put any app on one that will mimic anything a full fledged windows laptop can like office products.
Other than that I can't help you. I never owned a laptop really. I just know ones I'd picked up for people who dont game and never had a real issue. All I can say is if you want to game dont get an acer. They make really good products but they aren't for gaming.
Heimdall_Xtreme
Hermen Hulst Fanclub's #1 Member
Actually I buy a Asus tuf FX505DT.
You can play Resident evil 2 remake and Monster Hunter World, even The last COD Modern warfare.
eddie4
Genuinely Generous
Dell Refurbished Dell Latitude 14 7000 Series (E7470)
Dell Refurbished Latitude E7470
www.dellrefurbished.com
Dell Latitude 14 7000 Series (E7470)
- Processor: Intel Core i5 (i5-6300U) 2.40 GHz
- Memory: 8 GB
- Hard Drive: 128 GB
- Display: 14" QHD Touch (2560 x 1440)
- OS: Windows 10 Professional
womfalcs3
Banned
I got a new Lenovo Ideapad 6 months ago for $506:
14-inch 1080p screen.
Intel i7 processor (forgot the model number, but quad core)
8GB RAM.
2GB dedicated VRAM
1TB HDD (really the only negative)
$550 can get you better specs right now.
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I would recommend the ASUS Vivobook F510UA If you want something new. It has the i5-8250U processor, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD storage, and 1080p 15.6" display. This laptop has a fair battery life, around 5 hours for light general use. The laptop will be fine for your use, it has better components than nearly any Chromebook. The laptop has fair build quality for the price as well.