Best Gaming Laptop/Netbook Under $500

[yukijin]

1. What is your budget?
up to 500, willing to go up to 550

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

up to 15.6''

3. What screen resolution do you want?
does not matter
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Portability

5. How much battery life do you need?

not an issue

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Looking to play wow/SC2 in low/med grapics At 1024x768

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

other than gaming, general web browsing.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

320GB+

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

newegg, amazon

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

at least 1 year

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

not an issue

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

dont care, as long as it perfoms well.

13. What country do you live in?

USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I'm trying to ge the maximum gaming capability out of a netbook/laptop under $500, leaning towards these two:

ThinkPad X Series X120e for its APU performance and ultra portbility
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246103

or the HP ProBook 4530s with the faster i3 2310M with HD 3000 graphics
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157822

which is better for perfomance, gaming? Any better netbooks/laptops out there?

 

[legendkiller]

I Would recommend getting the ThinkPad X Series X120e since it got a separate videocard which you can upgrade... Intel HD Graphic is like the bottom of the line right now and IDK about HD 3000 but it's not as close to a video card

 

[yukijin]

i also just found a llano laptop under 500:

http://us.gateway.com/gw/en/US/content/model/LX.WY102.001
sadly only 1000mhz memory and 5400rpm hard drive

 

[jaguarskx]

The Intel HD 3000 is a little better than the desktop Radeon HD 5450.

It is a little better than the Radeon Mobility HD 5470 since laptop versions of desktop video cards are weaker. The following review pegs the Intel HD 3000 between the Radeon Mobility HD 4570 and the nVidia NVS 3100m.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-3000.37948.0.html

 

[jaguarskx]

Here's a link to how Intel's previous GMA 4500MHD integrated video performed. The fastest card listed in the comparison is the Radeon Mobility HD 4200. The Intel HD 3000 graphics core is a pretty large step up for Intel.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Graphics-Media-Accelerator-4500MHD-GMA-X4500MHD.9883.0.html

 

[jaguarskx]

i also just found a llano laptop under 500:

http://us.gateway.com/gw/en/US/content/model/LX.WY102.001
sadly only 1000mhz memory and 5400rpm hard drive

That comes with the A6-3400 APU which has the Radeon HD 6520G graphics core and it is a little faster than the Intel HD 3000. I would say it is slower than the desktop version of the Radeon HD 5550.

Here's how it ranks amongst other mobile video cards:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6520G.55734.0.html


Llano APUs have better graphic cores than Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs, but the CPU part of the Llano APU is weaker than Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs. Assuming each CPU has the same clock speed and number of cores, an Intel Sandy Bridge CPU is more powerful than the AMD Phenom II CPU which is more powerful than the Athlon II CPU. The CPU in the Llano APU is based on the Athlon II CPU.

 

[yukijin]

That comes with the A6-3400 APU which has the Radeon HD 6520G graphics core and it is a little faster than the Intel HD 3000. I would say it is slower than the desktop version of the Radeon HD 5550.

Here's how it ranks amongst other mobile video cards:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6520G.55734.0.html


Llano APUs have better graphic cores than Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs, but the CPU part of the Llano APU is weaker than Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs. Assuming each CPU has the same clock speed and number of cores, an Intel Sandy Bridge CPU is more powerful than the AMD Phenom II CPU which is more powerful than the Athlon II CPU. The CPU in the Llano APU is based on the Athlon II CPU.

So as far as gaming is concerned, llano is the only way to go. if only they had a llano with a 7200 rpm
HDD and 1333mhz ram for ~$500...

 

[legendkiller]

Why get a $500 and under? I recommend getting this gaming laptop for $500 with a bit high increase in price but it better than those laptop is mentioned...

















































http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220794

 

[yukijin]

Why get a $500 and under? I recommend getting this gaming laptop for $500 with a bit high increase in price but it better than those laptop is mentioned...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220794

THAT is a steal. i guess i wasnt looking back in generations far enough. +1

 

[yukijin]

Best answer selected by yukijin.

 

[dbrian500]

Under the $500 budget the best gaming laptop deal right now is Acer V3 with AMD A8-4500m processor priced at $399.

http://bestlaptopsunder500hub.com/best-laptop-under-500-deal-of-the-week.html

It features

AMD A8-4500M processor 1.9 GHz with 4 MB Cache
AMD Radeon HD 7640G Graphics packing 512MB of graphics system memory
4 GB DDR3 RAM.
640 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
15.6-Inch 720p screen
Windows 8 Operating System
8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive
2- USB 2.0 Ports and 1 USB 3.0 port for ultra fast file transfer
1- HDMI port with HDCP Support

AMD A8-4500M processor combined with AMD Radeon HD 7640G Graphics can provide 30-40+ fps for latest games like Battlefield 3 and Skyrim

OR

For about $549 you can also go for Acer V3 with Core i5 processor and 1GB dedicated Nvidia graphics.

http://bestlaptopsunder500hub.com/best-core-i5-gaming-laptop-with-1gb-dedicated-graphics-under-500.html

It features

3rd Generation Intel Core i5 Processor
1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT630M dedicated graphics
15.4 inch LED-backlit widescreen display
4GB DDR3 Memory
500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Windows 8
2 USB 2.0 Ports, 1 USB 3.0 port and 1 HDMI Port

NVIDIA GeForce GT630M 1GB dedicated graphics is capable of providing 30+fps for many latest games.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-630M.63761.0.html

 

[josedroidx]

You should take a look at gaminglaptopforunder500.net

 

[billygump]

1. What is your budget?
up to 500, willing to go up to 550

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

up to 15.6''

3. What screen resolution do you want?
does not matter
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Portability

5. How much battery life do you need?

not an issue

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Looking to play wow/SC2 in low/med grapics At 1024x768

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

other than gaming, general web browsing.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

320GB+

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

newegg, amazon

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

at least 1 year

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

not an issue

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

dont care, as long as it perfoms well.

13. What country do you live in?

USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I'm trying to ge the maximum gaming capability out of a netbook/laptop under $500, leaning towards these two:

ThinkPad X Series X120e for its APU performance and ultra portbility
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246103

or the HP ProBook 4530s with the faster i3 2310M with HD 3000 graphics
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157822

which is better for perfomance, gaming? Any better netbooks/laptops out there?