Laptop Advice

Taelin · January 2013

Hey guys, needing some advice and opinions. over the last...7 years or so ive gone through two Toshiba Laptops, and have had decent luck out of them as far as longevity and reliability for what I use them for. I wouldnt consider myself a heavy gamer, but aside from playing Aetolia I also throw a little Diablo 3,Starcraft 2 and similar games in the mix.

First issue im running into is the new Window 8. I dont really like the looks of it, and from what ive been reading, it doesn't support a lot of programs that Window 7 and previous versions support. In the same token, ive never toyed around with Mac at all aside from my iPhone, which I love iOS.

Second issue once we get past the Window vs Mac issue, is am I good going with a low end or even Refurb model, of spend money for a higher end one and hope it lasts longer.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Dhar · January 2013

For the games you listed, here are some specs to be able to play them comfortably at medium to high settings:

Processor-

Intel i5 2.1ghz or higher (2450M is probably the best bet. You might be able to get away with an i3)

AMD Phenom II 995 (intel is the better choice here)

GPU-

NVIDIA GT 540M or higher

Radeon HD 76xxM or higher

You're going to be looking at the $500 - $700 price range for a reliable laptop that can play those games well. If you really count your pennies at the risk of losing some performance and maybe having to play some of your games with low settings, you could get by with downgrading a tier and getting in the $400-$500 price range.

I have to suggest against Macs with all my heart, unless you are truly in love with them. They are just not price efficient whatsoever and have trouble running & emulating a lot of worthwhile software and modern games. You are getting the same exact parts you could get in a $500 Laptop in a Macbook Pro for over a grand. Ridiculous.

You'd be silly to not look for refurbished models, as long as there is a return policy in case it is DOA or has other big issues. Cheaper does not always mean worse in the world of technology. You're right about Windows 8, it was definitely a poor release and has a lot of bugs. I doubt it will be consumer friendly for the next year.

Here are a couple suggestions for you.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834256652

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834216035

Anything in the Acer Aspire 7750G series.