Computer Recommendation?

Discussion in 'Video Games' started by DeathByJets, Sep 17, 2013.

  1. DeathByJets

    DeathByJets Well-Known Member

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    Hey guys….need some help.

    My son (13) wants to buy a laptop for school and gaming (probably not in that order). He told me he needs something with 8GB of RAM and at a least 500GB hard drive. I also assume there is some minimum level of video card that is required. My preference is that he not buy a computer that exceeds his needs. Yes, I understand that faster and bigger is better….but what is good enough?

    He can get an inexpensive Dell:

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Inspiron+15.6%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+4GB+Memory+-+320GB+Hard+Drive+-+Black/8786054.p?id=1218893506517&skuId=8786054

    And then it is a big jump to get to his specs:

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Inspiron+17.3%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive+-+Stealth+Black/7850052.p?id=1218861156197&skuId=7850052

    Any thoughts? Needs to be under $1000 (ideally WAY under).

    Thanks,
    DBJ
     
  2. mute

    mute Well-Known Member

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    the first and second option will get him through school just fine. Internet surfing, music, watching videos, typing an essay will get the job done.

    The first option is not good for gaming.

    The 2nd option has a NVIDIA GeForce card which is better than the first which only has Intel integrated graphics. The second option should be able to play some late games (last 2yrs or so) on high settings. Today's games, base on the demand of it, he might be able to squeeze low to medium settings.

    Overall both options are good for school. 2nd option will allow him to game but not at high settings for a lot of today's game and especially tomorrows.

    Laptops in generally arent the best when in comes to gaming. If he wants real juice he needs to build his own desktop or look for a gaming desktop. You can probably build one decent desktop pc for $500-$600 as I did last year for the first time (not including keyboard/mouse/speakers/monitor).
     
  3. fozzi58

    fozzi58 Well-Known Member

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  4. DeathByJets

    DeathByJets Well-Known Member

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  5. abyzmul

    abyzmul R.J. MacReady, 2018 Funniest Member Award Winner

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  6. DeathByJets

    DeathByJets Well-Known Member

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    Thanks....this is helpful. Seems like the graphics card as much/or more of a driver than the memory/storage. Seems like he should get a system with the best graphics card he can afford.
     
  7. dcm1602

    dcm1602 Member

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    This is my advice/opinion as someone who knows computers/gaming VERY well.

    Get him a cheap laptop for school/homework and crap (as laptops are easy to break, and gaming on a laptop is HORRIBLE)

    Then get him a desktop for gaming.

    Contrary to what you think, this would actually be CHEAPER than buying him a gaming laptop (as a gaming laptop is VERY expensive and will offer inferior quality) and itll be easier for you to monitor as a parent (since if he wants to game hed have to use the gaming computer)

    http://slickdeals.net/ has deals on computers AND laptops almost every day, you can find some AWESOME bargains on there.

    (for reference point http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html lists the "performance index of laptop graphics cards, and unless you understand computers which you probably dont, basically says that the graphics card in that 900$ laptop would be TERRIBLE)

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1418:22589&bop=And&Order=REVIEWS&PageSize=100

    or

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...418:104117&bop=And&Order=REVIEWS&PageSize=100

    is where i would start looking

    a 400-600$ "gaming" pc would probably be roughly the equivalent of a 2500-3000$ laptop
     
  8. dcm1602

    dcm1602 Member

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    It has integrated graphics

    Which means that thing wouldnt be able to run any REAL computer game.

    Unless the OPs kid is into playing games from the 80s and 90s, he would at the very least need something pretending to be a real graphics card.

    I would STRONGLY advise the OP to get a desktop pc instead.

    And hell if you look at the "gaming" desktops on newegg, they even look cool. Im only in my 20s but I know If I was a kid I would rather one of the awesome looking gaming PCs on newegg instead of a laptop (and much more so taking into consideration how much better the performance would be)
     
  9. dcm1602

    dcm1602 Member

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    Personally what I would do if it were me, is shop around on slickdeals (check everyday once to twice a day) for a decent deal on a desktop pc. I have a business at home, and have bought 4~ computers in the last 2 months off of finding deals on slickdeal (I think one of them was on amazon, 2 on staples) and was able to get AWESOME deals on non gaming computers. (and in case youre wondering slick deals does not actually sell crap, its basically like forums for people trying to get good deals on anything you can buy. So youll find shit from newegg tigerdirect bestbuy walmart staples etc on there)

    For 300-400$ you should be able to find a desktop computer with 8gb of ddr3 ram plus a quad core (or more) processor and 500-1000gb of memory.

    Then you could buy a 30-50$ graphics card on newegg (the only thing youd have to do is make sure that the power supply on your computer can handle it, and that your computer has a pci express port for the card) which is VERY simple to do and hook it up (which is also incredibly easy to do)

    And then youd have a INCREDIBLY budget friendly gaming pc capable of running ANY game (mostly likely on medium settings depending on your monitor size/resolution).

    That is literally the best most cost effective option possible, short of getting an awesome deal on a used pc on craigslist or something or of course building a PC yourself (which if you had the knowledge to do, you wouldnt be posting this question on a jets board or looking at incredibly overpriced websites like best buy)
     
  10. Mambo9

    Mambo9 Well-Known Member

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    Keep in mind there is no way you can play video games with an integrated video card. That said have fun :p
     
  11. Don

    Don 2008 TGG Rich Kotite "Least Knowledgeable" Award W

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    When you say get through school are you talking about college or high school? If he is humping it around with him I doubt he will want a 17"er.
     
    #11 Don, Sep 18, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2013
  12. dcm1602

    dcm1602 Member

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    hes 13

    I hope neither
     
  13. abyzmul

    abyzmul R.J. MacReady, 2018 Funniest Member Award Winner

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    Yeah, I guess I'm showing my age there, I stopped with games about a decade ago.
     
  14. DeathByJets

    DeathByJets Well-Known Member

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    Thanks all for the advice. Especially to dcm. I'm going to talk to my son about getting a desktop. Will be a bit of a pain, because it will end up on my office desk, but probably better for what he wants.
     
  15. dcm1602

    dcm1602 Member

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    Oh also, ram isnt THAT big of a deal (ie in the OP you said you need 8gb of ram), most computers will come with either 4gb of ram or 8 or more)

    Unless youre buying a VERY high end machine (2000$ +) there will likely no difference in performance ever whether you have 8gb of ram or 4

    I have a pretty good gaming rig and I only have 4gb of ram, and I play on higher resolutions.

    So if you find a great deal on a computer and it only has 4gb of ram, its not a big deal as thats very likely more than hell ever need.

    Basically if you have 4gb of ram it will probably NEVER be the limiting factor for the pc. It will almost always be the graphics card, but could occasionally be the factor

    (oh and depending on how much of a hurry newegg.com always has pretty awesome deals around blackfriday/cyber monday)
     

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