Looking for a new laptop for school

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Maverin1

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Jul 26, 2012
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I'm planning on going back to school full time in the near future. One thing that always held me back was a hand me down compaq i have from years ago. As i live a distance from my campus a laptop becomes a must for my needs. I've done some research but there are so many variables left unanswered. Mostly i've been looking at Lenovo and Asus but i'm open.

I'm looking at a budget of preferably under 500 dollars. I can't see spending money to do run solely word so some entertainment is a must. Given that i don't expect nor want much. I have an expensive gaming rig at home that i will probably be neglecting when school starts full swing. But to be able to play minecraft or total war on low wouldn't hurt. I've seen videos of CoD (to be generic) running on an i3-3217U. Assuming low-med, AA off, could that work? Again, games are on the back burner, just wondering.

I was looking at an Asus D550 (http://www.amazon.com/Asus-D550CA-BH31-15-6-Laptop-Computer/dp/B00FT0NJWW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1396654916&sr=1-1&keywords=Asus+d550) but i watched a review which pointed out how loud the keyboard is. I plan to use this in a classroom i don't want all eyes on me when i type notes or something. Screen quality is questionable. The d550 is 1366x768. Now i've never owned a monitor under 1920x1080 so i could be wrong, but doesnt that classify as 720p? And is so that is nowhere near a problem.

The short answer:
500 or under
Light entertainment value (ie some games on low-med, watching movies/tv in decent quality)
Quiet keyboard for class. I'll assume any laptop running word shouldn't be a problem fan wise.

I'd also like to know about brand reliability/customer support as that could have an impact in the final decision.

If I sound too picky or demanding i apologize in advance. I suffer from a case of buyers remorse and general indecision. My friends won't go to stores with me anymore because i stare at stuff and over think everything for hours to turn around and return it the next day lol. Anyone who decides to brave this wall THANK YOU for your time and patience!
 
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Don't worry I understood all that. I build systems for myself and friends and what not so I'm computer literate. Laptops just seem to be an entirely different monster lol. I'll look into the one you suggested. I know lenovo is in the top contenders for quality and support that's why I was leaning that way initially.
 
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Follow up question. What's the amd vs intel when it comes to laptops. Would j benefit from one or the other? I know the pros and cons in performance desktops but not in laptops
 
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So for an extra 35 dollars it's not worth getting a G505S with the 5750? assume the HDD doesn't matter in my budget, anything over 500 for my uses is extra. By what i found online it seems as though the a10 but be bigger enough to close the gap in CPU performance, cpu-boss actually gave it 0.1 more lol. Other than that it states that CPU wise they are equal in everything else other than, of course, single core performance. One thing i've come to understand in high performance chips is that Intel is the preferred for their single core performance as most high end uses (games) only utilize four cores. AMD can be better for multitasking and so forth. So in an environment where the only times the CPU will be pushed would be for entertainment purposes, would the amd not be preferable? I'd assume that at 4 cores running 2.5 it should be able to perform as well as 2 intel cores running 2.4 and you stated the on board graphics are better. Ha, ever see anybody knitpick so much about low end hardware?

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPad-15-6-Inch-Laptop-59406417/dp/B00HIYA4F2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396792183&sr=8-1&keywords=a10+5750+lenovo
 
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Alright. I watched a review on the g510. Looks pretty nice. Only downside is there are no expansion bays on the bottom. All considered I think I'll go for the i5. It's no debate between amd and Intel at that point. Just out of curiosity, I've heard people talking about the i5 having a 3.1 turbo. Is that true on the laptops or do they lock it to 2.4?
 
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Yeah. I'm really over thinking the whole ordeal but i'm leaning towards the i5. I keep seeing how AMD edges out Intel in graphics but you raise a good point. The AMD cpu side probably doesn't have the longevity on the i5 anyways. Lenovos aren't the easiest to upgrade ram i don't think. They don't have an expansion slot requiring you to dismantle it a bit if i'm correct. No problem really. How do you know that it has 3x2 and not just one 6? I assume being that it has 2 slots they'd have the sense to use them. But sometimes its hard to give manufacturers that much credit! lol
 
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Oh wow nevermind. I just watched a video on youtube about the g510. Remove the battery, remove 2 screws, and the whole bottom plate slides right off revealing the most accessible laptop I've ever encountered. That just sold me on lenovo. My current laptop is a presario cq50 that you shouldn't risk turning on without a cooling dock to even run word because of all the dust and pet hair in it. G510 gives direct access to the fan!
 
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Lol does any reasonable person get along with Apple? Sure they make a good product, it best be for the price of it! I've always liked Asus laptops. I'm on the fence about their desktop hardware but I've never heard anything bad about their laptops and they supposedly have the lowest failure rate at 15.x percent. I think i'll look into them. I have some time yet before i really need to buy anything so i'm going to hold off for a few weeks and either A: Expand my budget for dedicated graphics, or B: get something essential for school and save the most I can.
 
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OK then. a little bit of shopping has showed me something. Asus doesn't play around. You get the pentium for 300 dollars or you aren't seeing an i5 below 600. I suppose on an ammended budget Lenovo is still my best bet lol.
 
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Well the hardware is there. Especially for the price. By what I can find Acer isn't horrible. On par with Toshiba. And it had a factory 2 year warranty I think so it should serve for a good while. Definitely with considering at my budget.
 
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Well I looked at cpu/gpuboss. Website seems reliable if you skip the overall score and look at the actual numbers. According to that the i5 will operate just slightly better than the a10 and the radeon graphic outperform the nvidia as well and that's without the apus help. I didn't find anything about battery life outside system specs but the amd was 4.5 and the Intel 4.
 
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So i went to Best Buy and Walmart to look at Acer's and get a feel for their quality. I think they are pretty nice. The look doesn't stand with Lenovo but it comes close in my opinion and is pretty aesthetically pleasing. When i look up reviews all i see is people saying how, while labeled as business, it turns out as a decent budget gaming rig, which by other things i've seen that's something Acer is good with. And as far as quality it has a 2 year warranty and if i get two years out of it i'd say it was worth it seeing as how laptops have an estimated 18 mo lifespan. The size doesn't seem to cause heating problems either and i haven't seen anyone complaining about fan volume but even if it does get loud/hot i have that cooling dock and i've seen its wonders on an overheating computer lol. Leaning towards the Acer for now with an Asus sitting comfortably in my mind's "Some Day" Seat.
 
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