Low budget gaming laptop

[jmsellars1]

Hi guys,

I'm thinking of buying a laptop soon, I'm going to use it for running some audio/recording programs and some light gaming. I don't need anything too crazy in performance, graphics-wise something that would run heroes of newerth would be great, preferably mid-high settings. The recommended card for that is a desktop 7800gt. With the music stuff, any modern CPU/ram and a fast hdd are pretty much fine.

Here's what I had in mind:

Lenovo Thinkpad E525 at around 450 pounds which is roughly 650-700 usd.

Was thinking I would then get a crucial m4 64gb SSD too since around 20gb for games and 20gb for other stuff is plenty of space. Should come just under 550 pounds, maybe 500 if I shop around.

Can anyone else think of a laptop with half decent graphics for less than 400-500?

I would consider a much cheaper lower specced laptop if its good for the price for the same purposes, ie save 200 pounds by just turning my settings to minimum.

Lastly I don't want something too big, the smaller the better. 15.6'' max.

Thanks.

 

[WR2]

Lenovo Thinkpad E525 at around 450 pounds which is roughly 650-700 usd.

Lenovo Thinkpad E525 is $500 not $700

edit; $556 with tax, shipping and recycling fee.

 

[jmsellars1]

Yeah things are cheaper in the US. Had another idea anyway, if i want to go with a more portable option and play games on the lowest settings which I don't mind, I could go for the MSI x370. The portability and battery life would be appreciated and I think the CPU should be just about sufficient. Anyone know if that takes 2.5'' drives though or is it 1.8''? I can't seem to find out.

 

[WR2]

It's the standard 2.5" drive. Make sure your model has the larger sized battery for best battery life.
You should double check in your game's support forum to check to make sure you'd be happy with the gaming performance. It's a very weak CPU/GPU combo.
AMD Radeon HD 6310/6320 Graphics review

 

[WR2]

MSI X370 Review 4 cell battery 3hr+13min, 8 cell battery 7hr+54 with WiFi running.

 

[WR2]

Was thinking I would then get a crucial m4 64gb SSD too since around 20gb for games and 20gb for other stuff is plenty of space. Should come just under 550 pounds, maybe 500 if I shop around

Im thinking you'd be much better off putting the cost of the SSD back into the basic laptop.
Maybe one of the new Llano A6-3400M / HD 6520G notebooks. I think they have 14" models out there.

 

[jmsellars1]

Yeah that's something else to think about, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[hang-the-9]

Get rid of the SSD, and put that money towards a faster CPU and video card. Remember that a laptop is almost never upgradable easily or cheaply, whatever you get now you will run till you toss it and buy a new one. A few 100 spent now will make you much happier in a few years when it still feels fast and can run newer stuff.

 

[jmsellars1]

Yeah maybe you're right. I should say though, I'm mainly using it just to use a drum sampling program in the background and that won't need a very powerful CPU. The other use is for taking with me when I visit friends and family back home or go on holiday or something. The gaming side isn't massively important. It's looking like that Lenovo or MSI are my best choices atm though. Just depends whether I want performance or portability. Think its gonna be a month or two before I go for it anyway. Anyone got any other ideas?

 

[jmsellars1]

Does anyone here know of a shop in the US that will deliver to the UK? Found an eBay store where I can get a Toshiba with the a6 for 300gbp+60gbp delivery, that's still noticeably cheaper than UK stores.