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I'm looking to replace an older laptop, and needs are changing. It will be used for light schoolwork/business, as well as youtube watching and some games.
I saw this article on lower cost laptops that would be good for gaming.
I've read through it but don't understand some of the differences. I know that an Intel Core i5 would be good, they all have 8GB and 1 TB, but differ in the graphics and I do not know what that means, Intel HD 620 Graphics vs AMD Radeon.
Any help, explanation or advice is welcome and appreciated. TIA.
What games do you want it to play? Anything semi-modern and graphically intensive, no, they won't.
General purpose, 8th generation Intel, 1920x1080 resolution, integrated graphics. You can dabble with AMD/Vega 8 but they're quite a bit behind an Intel with MX150 graphics. Best use case is budget productivity rather than gaming, although frankly the processors are slow as well but they are a tad cheaper.
If you want gaming on that budget they're frankly horrible choices. The only passable one would be the HP with the Ryzen 2500 and Vega 8. Problem is the 1366x768 resolution. That's actually fine if all you want is gaming because that's the resolution you'll be running games at anyway. For general use, however, 1366x768 is bad and 128 GB of storage means you'll need to add a hard drive.
The display is pretty crappy and dim, so not something to use in environments with uncontrolled lighting like a bright coffee shop with tons of windows and forget about outdoors. Storage is limited and the SSD speeds are quite slow. There's room to add a second SSD or 2.5 HDD, but Acer doesn't include mounting. The kit isn't expensive. It's bigger and heavier than pricier laptops, more the size of a newer actual gaming laptop. HDD + mounting kit would push you over $600. It's still the best choice though, unless you can find something marked down substantially. https://us-store.acer.com/42-gden7-sv1
The other option is to buy a cheap gaming laptop like the Dell G3. They all have bad displays like the Acer above but the GTX 1050 (or maybe 1050 Ti) and higher powered processors are really what you're looking for with a cheap gaming laptop. They're more expensive. Occasionally they go on sale for around $600 but not very often. Usually it's clearing out the older model sales when they do which already happened. Realistically they're just out of your price range. G3 is $700 for in i5-8300H, GTX 1050, and 1 TB HDD. No SSD but you can add your own. That's about as cheap as you'll get a gaming laptop for.
I'm looking to replace an older laptop, and needs are changing. It will be used for light schoolwork/business, as well as youtube watching and some games.
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There are so many variations, options and price ranges you could consider, it's difficult to say. Basic, general duty computers are pretty much the same with capacity and speed being the primary differences. For example, I just bought a couple of laptops for my grandsons (9-10) for schoolwork, Youtube and a variety of GAMES -- and got what they need for about $150 each.
If they were a little older and more into online, interactive role play games, I would likely spend $400-$600. For an adult gamer, you might be looking at $1000. If you can find out what type of GAMES they regularly play (and what type software they plan/want to use), you can more appropriately spec a requisite system, since graphics, sound cards, high speed processing for games, is the primary price-driver in your criteria.
Also, what type of laptop do they have and where are they seeing limitations with that?
Yea, I don't answer these questions anymore without specific game info.
Co-worker asked for advice for her kid that does 'light gaming'. I recommend one.
Kid first gts it, he loves it...playing Minecraft. Not a month later she tells me how she bought him Gears of War 4 and it won't play. She's all mad.
GOW4 is NOT 'light gaming'.
The games that he wants to play includes something call Ark, with dinosaurs? Parent told me that 12 RAM will be enough?
And I apologize for not providing enough info. I just seriously have no idea. I don't know this stuff means or what is relevant. That's why I am seeking advice.
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