best gaming laptops may 2011 image
oogabooga3
We need a new desktop. I want something up to date and reliable which is good for checking email, paying bills, downloading videos and is inexpensive. We don't need it for video games or anything really fast like that. Where is the best place to buy a cheap computer?
Answer
First question is how cheap?
There are used PCs as both laptops and desktops on Craigslist and Goodwill stores for under $100.
They are not up to date and not necessarily reliable, but they function, and that is cheap.
The second is about your monitor-display, or are you using a TV that hopefully is higher resolution than x768. 720p TVs cause display issues in WIndows 8. Most computers today do not include the monitor, but do include a keyboard and mouse, and may or may not include USB speakers.
Third question is whether you go ethernet connected by cable, or do you need wireless. Some computers include wireless. Others need an added PCI card or USB stick.
Fourth question is form factor. There are towers called desktops in various sizes and go down to slimline and bookshelf and mini's. Often, you get better performance out of a low priced laptop, especially if including a display, and the laptops usually have HDMI outputs and can accept inexpensive mice, keyboards, improved speakers, and have portability.
With form factor goes the ease of upgrade or repair. In general, the larger and less integrated the system, the easier it is to repair or upgrade it.
Although you do not need high performance, we usually want the best value for the money, and a bit faster response times can't hurt. More ram is better. Larger HDD is better. CPU scores can be looked up:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
A second tab has graphics scores that are less important to you.
Places to buy are many in the US.
There are weekly sales of a couple of models and clearances.
Walmart, Staples, Best Buy, Newegg.com, Tigerdirect.com, Amazon.com gets you a variety and you can google a model once you find one to see if it is offered for less somewhere else.
You read a couple of surveys on quality:
2012 survey:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2020964/apple-and-lenovo-desktop-pcs-tops-in-satisfaction.html
2011 Survey:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/244481/desktop_pc_reliability_and_satisfaction_dell_and_hp_home_pcs_get_poor_grades.html
and use it as a factor, but Apple is expensive for what you get.
My sister wanted what you describe. She has a few older PCs and monitors, but wanted one where the internet worked faster and boot up faster and application responsiveness up to $500 and she ended up with a Lenovo H430 at Staples with Windows 8, a Core i5-3330 and 8GB RAM and a 1TB HDD and that met her requirements well in a tower pc.
Now, you start with a couple that meet your needs and see if you can do better:
A basic slimline Acer-Gateway for $340
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113245
Model SX2370-UR13
A6-Series APU A6-3620(2.2GHz)
1x4GB DDR3 500GB 7200 RPM SATA III HDD
AMD Radeon HD 6530D
Gigabit ethernet, Bluetooth and WiFi
memory card reader
2USB 3.0 in back. 4USB 2.0
VGA and HDMI outputs
CPU score 2924, and graphics G3D 548
It would be nice to buy and install a second 4GB RAM card. That is easy.
$30 to $35 in a do-it-yourself
http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/memory/#t=11&v=1500&z=4096&c=90&n=1&sort=a8
Just match what it has already in speed.
It is an early 2012 CPU below an Intel i3 but still fast enough with graphics power you don't really need but is above Intel integrated HD 4000 but not gaming level. It is the new Windows 8 to get used to, but is a faster boot and shutdown. Does what you want and the price is considered cheap and size is small, but upgrading is minimal.
In Intel, whether Newegg or Walmart at about the same price, size and brand, gets an Intel G640 Pentium with 4GB RAM and 1TB HDD. The CPU and graphics are a little lower in performance but the HDD is bigger:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Gateway-SX2865-UR308-Small-Form-Factor-Desktop-PC-with-Intel-Pentium-G640-Processor-4GB-Memory-1TB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-8-Monitor-Not-Included/22018103
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113244
The choices are endless, so you have to narrow down your preferences and price point. Then you can just browse the online circulars and sites.
What makes a good computer or laptop?
min
I've been looking at several laptops and computers to buy. I'm not a technical person so I have no idea what makes a good one? Like on advertisements they would put something like "interl core" "xx processor" 15.1 xx" and I have no idea what they meant. Anyone?
I'd probably use them for gaming or school projects.
For gaming ive heard about this alienware...? Whats the diff between alienware and other normal ones?
Thank you in advance!
Answer
Alienware has hardware that mainly has the ability to focus on gaming. But just because it's great for gaming doesn't mean it isn't good for other tasks too. I highly recommend this brand to you. Alienware (depending on the specs) can fill (basically) all your needs.
The only difference that Alienware has from its competition is their hardware selection. They select quality processors, sufficient RAM, and usually have great graphics cards (fit for a gamer). The good thing about Alienware, is that you don't really need to think when you buy one. When you're buying from Alienware, your guaranteed a quality computer. They may be kind of pricey, but most are cheaper than buying a Macbook (except you're getting double the worth with it).
Processors:
To understand what makes a processor better and faster, you have to look at the socket, and speed. The higher the number in front of LGA determines the socket type. 2011 motherboard sockets (latest) hold 2011 version processors, 1155 Motherboard sockets can only hold 1155 version processors.
The higher the Ghz on a processors, the faster the CPU will be. CPUs has the task of executing a sequence of stored instructions called a program. the higher the Ghz, the faster it can perform this task.
Say you had a 3.6 Ghz processor and a 3.2 Ghz, obviously the 3.6 Ghz will run faster, but that depends on the number of cores.
If there are 4 (quad) cores in a processor running at 3.6 Ghz, and a 6 (hex) cores processors running at 3.5 Ghz, the 6 core processor will run faster, because of its number of cores.
Ram:
The task of RAM cards is allow stored data to be accessed directly in any random order. RAM is very important. It allows many programs to run at a time. Most programs that you run will use RAM.
The higher number of RAM, the better performance. A computer with 16 gb of RAM will run faster than a computer with 8 gb of RAM. Therefore, the 16 gb is (obviously) better.
Some motherboards will have a limit to how much RAM it can hold. If you plan on upgrading RAM, then be wary of this, and check the motherboard's manufacturing website to check this.
8 gb to 16 gb is sufficient for the average user.
Graphics card:
This is very important to gaming. Graphics cards is what allows you to play games, and watch videos. The better the graphics card, the better you will be able to play games. It's that simple. Before buying a computer (laptop), check to see if it has a good intgrated graphics card, then look up the benchmarks for it. If you are a heavy duty gamer, and want to play games like Skyrim on a laptop, then you need to be especially wary of this.
Example: Gtx 680M
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video_lookup.php?gpu=GeForce+GTX+680M
This graphics card is for a laptop, and it can run games very well (As you can see from the link).
If you're buying a laptop with a graphics card like this: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Intel+HD+4000 Then don't expect to play any high quality games.
15.1" 12.4 (what do they mean?):
This number usually represents the size of the screen you are getting (in inches). This only applies to laptops, since you can buy virtually any size screen for a desktop.
HDD:
The last thing that's important on any computer is the hard drive space. Hard drives hold all your data; Games, programs, work documents...etc. Computers fill up fast, so be sure to buy a computer/laptop that has a hard drive with sufficient space. Nowadays, hard drives can be pretty big, but what is big?
100gb small
300gb medium
1000gb (or 1TB) big
Be wary of this. It took me 2-3 years to fill up a 300gb hard drive, and I have yet to fill my 1Tb hard drive.
I know this was kind of long, but your question was very broad, and I enjoy teaching people. I hope I taught you something today, and I hoped this helps! P.s, Pro tip: don't buy a Mac!
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