PC gaming Tech → I'm on a Budget of 500 Bucks and looking for a gaming laptop

Was browsing craigslist and this piece of "Gaming Heaven" is listed. It's brand new and under budget. I can't see it being a gamer though. »orlando.craigslist.org/s ··· 220.html

That Turion CPU was released in 2010 as meant to compete against the Pentium M low-power chips. Dual 1.8 GHz.

Nope.

Start browsing craigslist and the For Sale forum. You may be able to find gaming PCs that are a couple years old. Like i5-700s w/GTX 460s or something.

I'm certainly not an expert in this area, so I could be way off, but for just moderate gaming, these two at $550 (I realize this is $50 over your budget, but it's the cheapest I saw at Newegg, you may be able to find something similar elsewhere for a bit less) look like they might be ok:

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 34215662

Acer Aspire V3-571G-6407 Notebook Intel Core i5 3210M(2.50GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M

4GB Memory
500GB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M
Windows 8
DVD Super Multi
------------------------------------------

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 34310625

lenovo IdeaPad G780 (59347664) Notebook Intel Core i5 3210M(2.50GHz) 17.3" 4GB Memory 500GB HDD DVD±R/RW NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M

4GB Memory
500GB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M
Windows 8
DVD±R/RW

I found the Acer Aspire V3-571G-6407 at microcenter for 530. That's a local shop from me.

The lenovo has 2gb video memory and a bigger screen.

I would stay away from win8 for a while longer unless your pretty technically savvy. I've had loads of problems since upgrading from Vista a couple of weeks ago. as always, drivers are an issue, and a myriad of other small issues that can drive someone batty. my wife can't even navigate anything on it either (i find this acceptable personally).

I upgraded from Windows 7 to 8, and have not had any real problems with it. I did install ClassicShell to get the start button/menu back and to have windows boot directly to the desktop. After doing that, it feels virtually identical to Windows 7 for me, and I haven't personally run into any driver or other issues.

Just curious if the "budget" system on the Tom's Hardware site would be the best of both worlds for the OP? $500 per system...based on benchmarks...looks to be certainly playable based on the games he listed:
»www.tomshardware.com/rev ··· 364.html

I saw this on craigslist. I guess you have to get it shipped to you. This has great sound and screen. It comes with a GT555M. 50 bucks over your budget. I may grab it payday if still available but it'll be a drop from the 570 I had.
»tampa.craigslist.org/pnl ··· 965.html

That budget and laptop for gaming are a recipe for rage-quitting my friend. Need a solid 800+ these days for a new laptop that can "game".

I just cannot emphasize enough that going for 3 laptops at 500 a pop is going to leave you with 3 computers whose maximum capabilities will barely be above watching youtube videos. The only possible way this would work is if you found some screaming deals on refurbs/used and even then your gaming would be limited to playing everything on low.

The only possible way I could see any of this working is going with a sort of hybrid setup. e.g. 1 desktop 1 laptop, 1 desktop 2 notebooks, but 500 a pop is really just equivalent to buying 4 wheels for your car that are actually wheels for an ATV. Sure, you'll have 4 wheels but they won't do what you want them to.

If anything you will want to come up with a different setup. Do they both need to take it to friends house at the same time? If no you could do 700 desktop and 800 laptop.

If you could save one purchase for later (such as buying yours later down the road) you could do two 750 laptops.

If they wont be playing much on the laptops while at friends (e.g. just watching cat videos) you could go with two 350 netbooks and a 700 desktop.

Another possible option would be getting them tablets (such as kindle fires for 270 a pop) and 1 or 2 desktops with the remaining 1000.

If at all possible desktops are so much more cost efficient than laptops. You get practically twice the power for the same price as a laptop.

$500 would be enough for laptops that can play tf2 and minecraft, aswell as l4d. Not sure about lol I know nothing of it.

My phone can minecraft. This is a gaming PC --- let's set the bar higher than early 1990's graphics capabilities.

The OP wants a pc that can play minecraft, I'm just saying for $500 he can get that.

Dude, minecraft has better graphics than early 1990's games I know I still play them.

The $500 laptop builds from Toms Hardware can play BF3 at about 45 fps on high settings. I think it will run circles around Minecraft, but I was hoping for some of the opinions from the builders on here about that system.

I've seen Minecraft rape RAM in upwards of 4gigs while playing.

Is that with stock texture pack or high res?

I think the Acer Aspire V3-571G-6407 15.6-Inch laptop would be perfect for you. It features with Intel Core i5 3210M 2.5 GHz (3 MB Cache) CPU, 4 GB SDRAM, 500 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive, 15.6-Inch Screen and NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M GPU
check link here »gaminglaptophome.com/che ··· der-500/