Best laptop for a college student?

[Bob]

I'm a freshman in college with about a 800 dollars budget (prefer up to ~700-750 to spend though). I don't like macs so it's probably gonna come down to Dell or HP.

I'm looking for laptop suggestions that suits me, a casual gamer, social media websites, music, streaming videos, and most importantly, to do homework (I'm a business student). I'm looking for a good performance and the best that amount could buy

[CasualPC]

I'm no laptop enthusiast, but Computershopper gives some good ideas. Their top lists show the Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra as their second favourite, they cite gaming as one of it's big strengths, as well as it's price which is just under $800.
Check it out: http://computershopper.com/laptops/revie...481tg-6814
Check out some other buying guides they have:
Gaming Laptops for Students: http://computershopper.com/back-to-schoo...for-school
Ultrabooks for your budget: http://computershopper.com/back-to-schoo...-under-800

[Joe Smith]

It's tough to find a decent laptop at that budget unfortunately. Your right at that budget where they have last years technology/parts installed in the laptops and any upgrades will easily push you to $1000 and up. Here are some options though.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15r-5520/pd

The $800 one isn't a horrible computer, but definitely not the newest technology. You should make it through college with it. Good luck bud.

[johnathan]

You can get some good second hand deals these days especially in corporate. Checkout the dell outlet online.

But for your budget go for a Dell inspiron 15R or Dell XPS 14z if your budget can strech

[edit1754]

For casual gaming, this is really one of your greatest options if you select the NVS 5400M GPU. You get great build quality and a good display.

**Lenovo Thinkpad T530** (with the 15.6" 1600x900 display) through the Barnes and Noble Gold discount
- Sign up and sign in here: http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/con...snoblegold
- Barnes and Noble Gold discount T530 link: http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/con...ction=init (you will need to create a free Barnes and Noble Gold account)
- Start with the cheapest base configuration.
- On the configuration page, upgrade the "Display type" to at least HD+ (1600x900). You should not buy the Lenovo Thinkpad T530 in any configuration that includes the default HD (1366x768) display. 1366x768 resolution in a 15.6" display makes things onscreen large, and 15.6" displays that have 1366x768 resolution tend to have very poor image quality due to low contrast. But the upgraded 15.6" 1600x900 and 15.6" 1920x1080 displays have great contrast, and also allow you to fit more onscreen. The availability of the upgraded displays upgrade is part of my reasoning for recommending this computer.
- Recommended: Get the free WiFi adapter upgrade to the "Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2200", because some have reported issues with the stock "Thinkpad 1x1 b/g/n" adapter.
- Note: The Core i5-3210M from the Core i3-2370M isn't a bad upgrade choice. It may also help with battery life since it's IvyBridge instead of SandyBridge.
- Upgrading to the NVS 5400M dedicated GPU will help with moderate gaming. It isn't the greatest GPU, but it's a good step up from integrated graphics.
- Does not come with a Webcam by default. If you want one, you need to select the upgrade.
- In the cart, click the green "Activate eCoupon" button to get your discount.

The ASUS N53SM-AS51 is also a decent option for casual gaming and in general, with a NVIDIA GT 630M and a 15.6" 1920x1080 matte display.
- http://www.amazon.com/N53SM-AS51-15-6-In...n53sm-as51

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For a little bit heavier gaming, you might want to consider either of these:

**HP DV6z** (A10-4600M, AMD Radeon 7670M + 7660G crossfire, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte display) - **$799 + tax**
- Saved Configuration: http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shoppi...id=7409659
- Use coupon code **NBF8752**
- The selected GPU configuration is the AMD Radeon 7670M plus the Radeon 7660G integrated into the A10-4600M. When working optimally, this is supposed to compete with a NVIDIA GT 650M. You could also configure it with the Radeon 7730M which does not crossfire and by-itself is slower than the NVIDIA GT 650M. In any case the crossfire doesn't work as expected, you should still get acceptable game performance because the 7660G and 7670M are still capable GPUs.
- Don't downgrade to the 1366x768 display, unless you require its larger text for eyesight-related reasons. 1366x768 resolution in a 15.6" display makes things onscreen large, and 15.6" displays that have 1366x768 resolution tend to have very poor image quality due to low contrast. I would not even be recommending this as an option if it did not offer the upgraded 1920x1080 display.

**Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition** (i5-3210M, AMD Radeon 7730M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte display) - **$749 + tax**
- http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15r-se...5722439813
- Use coupon code **VXR688LTJGKQC$**
- Keep in mind that you may need to add some games to the list of programs that force-enable the dedicated GPU.

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