Board 8 > B8 help me choose a new laptop

(+) Yeah! (+)

This one has had overheating issues ever since I upgraded to Windows 10, and now I think a fan is out on it. So, basically, here's what I'm looking for:

1. I'd like to be able to atleast somewhat game. Don't need like, super current gaming. I'd like it to be able to play atleast semi-current stuff, but doesn't have to be fancy and ahead of the time or anything. This isn't SUPER important, but at a bare minimum, I'd like it to do like, Sims 4 level stuff well

2. I'd like it to have a CD drive/burner if that's still a thing

3. I can't afford too much. Like, 500-700, though preferably toward the bottom of that if at all possible.
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Bump for the day time
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I think @Wanglicious was super helpful last time?
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I'd be willing to pay for help on this. I'm pretty clueless. >_>
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Saw earlier but had to go out and just got home.
Will look around tomorrow. But first guess is a GTX 960m is probably in that range? Dunno where we're at in the year but the current gen should've bumped a lot of older ones down hard.
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Awesome, looking forward to any help, thanks!

This is twice now that you'll have helped me, so I'll definitely try to compensate in some way.
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eh, i'm not really looking for compensation. quick check done, haven't really dug much...

$500-600:
still looking.

$600-700:
seems to be the range of most GTX 960m with other aspects that are strong. this would be its "standard" level, which is to say that if it's on a half decent sale it'll be in the category above.

$700-750:

i go a bit above your budget range because 1) i don't know how much you're including tax, 2) i don't know how ASAP this is, and 3) you're just cutting off every immediate sale i can see of the 1050 Ti. if gaming matters much, that's the one that lets you do most modern games at mid to high settings if they're particularly demanding.


sticking to 500-700? 960m would be the likely guess, though 1050 should be doable too. Ti, maybe.
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I did some quick searing in your range.

If you're not picky where you buy some ebay has a handful of decent ones in your range. Your upper gpu limit seems to be a 960m and that's going to be around the 600+ range, and those are hard to find. Newegg also has a system right at the end of your budget which packs an AMD RX 460... which is better than the 960m. Keep in midn though that corners were cut somewhere (like lack of a disc drive).
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technically the 1050 happened already - best buy sale right now one at $700, at $800 they've got the Ti and an IPS screen on it which is nice, though out of the budget. and it's not that unusual to happen either really, it seems may was a great month for laptop sales, june's a bit weak. like if nothing is needed immediately... july 4th sales, maybe?

but best buy totally means "tax," so yeah.
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Get a Surface Pro 4 imo
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I'm willing to go above my budget a bit, after looking around. Let's say 900's a pretty solid cut-off, give or take a bit for tax. Like, some sites lead me to the Lenovo Legion Y520. Is that a good one, is it a bit more than I may need?

I do notice disc drives are a bit hard to come by.

EDIT: Or the Inspiron 15 7000?
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I know less than zero about laptops and computers in general, but recently wanted to upgrade from my older Acer laptop. I looked for ones that were comparable because I enjoyed the size, disc drive, and had no issues with Acer, and ended up getting this for $750 (Canadian) which is about $570 US:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01M0ACDFW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

940mx
8gb RAM
17" screen

I'm not even sure if that's good and I probably overpayed but it can apparently run some games and has worked out for me so far.
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Looking at Best Buy a bit...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-1tb-8gb-hybrid-hard-drive-black/5709801.p?skuId=5709801

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-256gb-solid-state-drive-black/5872507.p?skuId=5872507

Could anybody explain the biggest differences in these to me/why I may want the more expensive one?
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davidponte posted...

I know less than zero about laptops and computers in general, but recently wanted to upgrade from my older Acer laptop. I looked for ones that were comparable because I enjoyed the size, disc drive, and had no issues with Acer, and ended up getting this for $750 (Canadian) which is about $570 US:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01M0ACDFW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

940mx
8gb RAM
17" screen

I'm not even sure if that's good and I probably overpayed but it can apparently run some games and has worked out for me so far.

Thanks, this seems like it may be something to look at if I end up having to stick to my original budget

My budget is varying a bit because I'm currently using a Macbook for work that I was given in a training program, and we're not sure if we get to keep them or not. If we don't, I HAVE to buy a Macbook for work, which obviously shoots the floor out of my other laptop budget a bit. But if I don't, I can afford to pay more for this.
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If you already have / are getting a Mac book why are you getting a laptop and instead of a desktop?
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KokoroAkechi posted...

If you already have / are getting a Mac book why are you getting a laptop and instead of a desktop?

I have no room for a desktop setup.
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I think a fair question is too. What is more important. Your ability to play semi-modern titles at mediumish resolution or having a display that's going to look good for like watching media with good viewing angles etc. Because you're not likely to get both at the lower end your price range.
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I would stay away from 17inch screens and would go for 16gb of ram if youre willing to paya little more (8-900).

Its just too difficult to find bags and transport a 17 inch computer. Bought one 4 months ago (1000 dollar asus republic of gaming laptop) that is 17 inches and thats my only complaint with it.
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Save
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Thanks, Wang

I think I like the Dells, my question would mainly be... Is a 1050 Ti much better than a 1050? And how much better is an SSD than a regular harddrive, since it's a difference of a 256GB SSD vs. a 1TB regular.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEb0mWN5-gE

skip to 1:37 to get past the intro, see some numbers, then see it tested in actual games.
basically 1050 Ti vs. 1050 is a 34% increase in the most extreme cases, though when everything is being pushed down the two start resembling each other more. still with a good 10 FPS difference.

1050 vs. 960m is closer all around.
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Huge thanks, man. That video helps a lot.
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no prob.
and for newegg, in "well i'm late on this but what the hell" news...

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA8S15UZ3741

that thing is currently, and will be until the end of the day, $850.
that's a GTX 1050 Ti (4GB VRAM), i7-7700HQ, 8GB DDR4 laptop.

only weak point is the hard drive technically but i mean... if you want some gaming you'e still waiting for 500GB SSDs to drop i guess? 7200 RPM ain't bad for what you've gotta do at least.


so you can consider that one the high end of cost and function/features.
there's a similar dell one on sale at best buy that's a bit weaker and 800 but tax is probably enough to make the difference. either way, that's what 800-900 is, 1050 Ti machines.

if we drop down to your proper range, again, 1050 is probably doable.
july 4th sales coming up soon.
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save
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I ended up going for the Dell with the 1050 TI, since I found out I had credit with them

You've been a big help, man. Thank you.
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oh nice. wasn't sure if you had done anything yet, that's a good laptop though. outisde the budget but will def serve you well for a while.
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Yeah, it was a little over budget, but I had $50 credit which made it a bit more manageable. And I figure it's worth paying a little more for something that'll last longer.
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