Buying first laptop,600$

[braincruser]

1. What is your budget?
Up to 600$, a 500$ config more suited.
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15.6"-17.3"
3. What screen resolution do you want?
768p-900p
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
portable
5. How much battery life do you need?
1.5-3hrs
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Discrete GPU is a must-have.
Yes, league of legends-high,most modern fps,rpg's-medium to high(i can live without antialiasing)
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Programing-microsoft visual studio, Autodesk Maya, Photoshop,general internet.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
320-500
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
http://amc.com.mk/?c=1
http://www.anhoch.com/pcmarket/?cat_id=3003&sort_by=name&display=all&page=0&limit=10
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
3-4 years min
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
dvd-rom
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
HP- not necesary excluded but i have experience with hp's overheating a lot.
13. What country do you live in?
Macedonia
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Doesnt have to be latest generation, If you need translation from macedonian ask for contact info/google translate sucks in this lang.

 

[AntiZig]

What is your budget in macedonian currency?

I can tell you right now, for 600 USD, you simply won't find what you're looking for.

$600 models do NOT feature good dedicated graphics cards that will run latest fps on medium-high.

you might be able to find an older used system for that much, but other than that, if you need a new laptop, the best you'd be able to get is an AMD A6 APU, which has a 6520G. It can handle games on low to medium, but def not high.

Here's what I would recommend, but they are above your budget:

ACER AS5750G-2416G64Mnkk - newer system i5-2410 + GT540M - this is a very good gaming hardware by today standard, I would def recommend this, but again, out of your budget.

Acer TM5740G - this might be not a bad choice - i5-430 + HD5470. Newer processor with low range GPU.

Here's a few examples from newegg with new llano CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215113 - I think this one will have very good performance because it has the APU + dedicated GPU, I can't find any reviews tho

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834101252 - this is the runner up, with A6 APU.

Here's the approximate performance you'd get out of the GPUs you can find for your budget


The top 2 come with the newest AMD llano A8 APU. (540M system I'm recommending above is better than A8)

So my conclusion is, either increase your budget or upgrade a desktop that you're using right now (I'm assuming you are using a desktop). $600 and below is not a gaming budget for laptops.

Is there a website that you can search for used laptop sales in your country? or maybe a used laptop store? if you could go there and have a look, there are older options that might still give you good performance today.

 

[geekapproved]

If you want to find the best laptop deals everyday, go to bensbargains.com, they list all the best deals from every vendor.

 

[AntiZig]

If you want to find the best laptop deals everyday, go to bensbargains.com, they list all the best deals from every vendor.

does that include deals in macedonia? I didn't think so...

 

[braincruser]

The gaming part was more of a second choice i was looking for the maya/programing rig first. nothing fancy either.