Looking for a lap... top.

[Werzbowski]

I'm in the market for an entertainment laptop (playing dvds, running iTunes, browser games, etc...).

Seeing as the price for i5 & i7 Haswell equipped notebooks is prohibitive for me (I could build an m-itx box for the price of one), I was wondering if AMD A8 & A10 equipped laptops are a reliable alternative for my purpose?

Thanks for your time.

 

[computernewb]

yea for basic needs a8 and a10 are just fine

 

[Prostar Computer]

Not as much processing power from one; they're more comparable to an i3 in terms of computing power. They're plenty capable for what you're after though and tend to have better integrated graphics chips than Intel chips, currently.

 

[jaguarskx]

Based on what you want to do you don't need a laptop with a lot of processing power. I suppose it all boils down to how much you are looking to spend.

 

[Werzbowski]

Right now I'm looking at a Lenovo G510.

i3 4000M
8gb RAM
1tb HDD
Intel HD 4600

 

[Prostar Computer]

Can't comment on the G510's build quality, but the specs look good and can handle what you've listed you'd like the laptop to do. I'm not sure what your budget is, but I've seen a few laptops with an i5 and a smaller hard drive go for $400 - $450 ─ usually Toshiba or Lenovo.

 

[Werzbowski]

Can't comment on the G510's build quality, but the specs look good and can handle what you've listed you'd like the laptop to do. I'm not sure what your budget is, but I've seen a few laptops with an i5 and a smaller hard drive go for $400 - $450 ─ usually Toshiba or Lenovo.

Welp... it's a "gift" from my wife, and she's stipulated that it can't be more than $1000 (Canadian). The main issue I'm running into, is that it has to be purchaseable in a physical store... we don't have the means to pay over $500 online.

 

[Prostar Computer]

And they say you can't put a price on love.

Well, said laptops I suggested in the $400 - $500 range were seen on Amazon and eBay. You should be able to get quotes if shipping and customs fee is a concern. Otherwise, if you feel okay with the G510 and it's at a local retail store, the price is decent for the specs.