Is this a good laptop?

[Gold Man]

Hey guys, I seem to make a habit of posting on here quite frequently, don't I?

Anyways, one of the courses I intend to take this year (Communications Technology, it's a new course), requires I have a laptop for the course. I would use Sir Heats-a-lot (the old junker I keep complaining about), however it needs a cooling pad and power cord at all times to remain powered on. It even takes around 7 minutes for it to boot up and be ready to run.

So, I've been looking to find a replacement laptop (or rather, one to get me by until I can get something better) for this. I've also considered this as a way to get a half-decent gaming laptop, one with a good GPU and whatnot. The pinch is it needs to be under $500.

I am thinking about this one though, tell me what you guys think:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F7TQ3Z0/?ie=UTF8&tag=daarna-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325#productDetails

Specs:
CPU: AMD Elite Quad-Core A8-5550M Accelerated Processor
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 8550G with 2158MB graphics memory, 4MB L2 Cache
RAM: 4GB DDR3
Hard Drive: 750GB
OS: Windows 8 64-bit
Other: 2 USB 3.0 ports, HDMI port, 17-inch display (1600x900 resolution)

Don't worry, I have not put to rest my plans to salvage my desktop (I'm still hunting for a monitor for it and whatnot), and intend to slowly upgrade it over the course of the school year, as I intend to get a part-time job this year. But for now, I am trying to get the most out of this opportunity as I can. If you have anything better for a pricepoint below $500, please recommend!

[Led]

I am a bit more partial to Dell laptops:
http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15-3531-laptop/pd?oc=dncwc3002b&model_id=inspiron-15-3531-laptop


Tons of choices.  Above is one.

[Gold Man]

Actually, I did some background checks today on the APU and GPU (yes, I found out it's an APU in that thing!), and it turns out to be half-decent. It works good for light-gaming (like Minecraft, SWBF, etc.), but the key feature is that the APU is an upgradeable part of the laptop! This means if I want to get into heavier games, I can go and upgrade the APU at any point in time to something on the higher end (like an A10 model, or some of the other APUs that AMD might release in the future).

I think this one's a keeper, unless you know of some other laptop for under $500 with more juice in it.

[Disciple]

If you want to play on the laptop and not spend too much money,i recommend an Asus.I have one that`s not made  for gaming but i can run games like Arma 3,BF3 on it...(Of course not on high).

Processor   Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3230M CPU @ 2.60GHz
Manufacturer   Intel
Speed   2.6 GHz
Number of Cores   4
Video Card   Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Dedicated Memory   32 MB
Memory   6.1 GB
Size   64 Bit
Display Maximum Resolution   1366 x 768

[{TCE}Call-of-Duty]

I'm also a bit more inclined to Asus, I would recommend a T1000A 2 in 1 tablet, it's a tablet with a keyboard dock that has a 500gb hardrive and a 11hr battery life here is a link and specs. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IVLHJ2M/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_PJ38tb11Q16FY

Brand Name: Asus
Display Size: 10.1
Model: T100TA-H1-GR
Operating System: Windows 8.1
Computer Cpu Manufacturer: Intel
Computer Cpu Type: Intel Atom
Hard Disk Size: 500
Hard Disk Description: (32 GB Solid State Drive + 500 GB hard disk drive)
RAM Memory Technology: DDR3L SDRAM
Ram Memory Maximum Size: 2
Display Technology: LED-lit
Hardware Platform: PC
Display Resolution Maximum: 1366 x 768

I'm planning in getting this with some accessories to replace my laptop. Here are those links.

Samsung USB 2.0 Ultra Portable External DVD Writer Model SE-218CB/RSBS https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DBV28TG/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_r138tb1CSTF5X

Sabrent 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub with Individual Power Switches and LEDs (HB-UM43) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JX1ZS5O/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_2138tb1K7570S

BlueRigger High Speed Micro HDMI to HDMI cable with Ethernet (6 Feet) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0060AU5MW/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_G238tb1N5D3T8

[{PLA} Van STING]

I have had a Lenovo laptop for almost three years and it has had ZERO problems.

Have you guys heard of this brand http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D1KWS3I/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=TOCJEEJ8F08&coliid=I1KMSSWSNN8AXO&psc=1

[Epifire]

Hey guys, I seem to make a habit of posting on here quite frequently, don't I?

Anyways, one of the courses I intend to take this year (Communications Technology, it's a new course), requires I have a laptop for the course. I would use Sir Heats-a-lot (the old junker I keep complaining about), however it needs a cooling pad and power cord at all times to remain powered on. It even takes around 7 minutes for it to boot up and be ready to run.

So, I've been looking to find a replacement laptop (or rather, one to get me by until I can get something better) for this. I've also considered this as a way to get a half-decent gaming laptop, one with a good GPU and whatnot. The pinch is it needs to be under $500.

I am thinking about this one though, tell me what you guys think:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F7TQ3Z0/?ie=UTF8&tag=daarna-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325#productDetails

Specs:
CPU: AMD Elite Quad-Core A8-5550M Accelerated Processor
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 8550G with 2158MB graphics memory, 4MB L2 Cache
RAM: 4GB DDR3
Hard Drive: 750GB
OS: Windows 8 64-bit
Other: 2 USB 3.0 ports, HDMI port, 17-inch display (1600x900 resolution)

Don't worry, I have not put to rest my plans to salvage my desktop (I'm still hunting for a monitor for it and whatnot), and intend to slowly upgrade it over the course of the school year, as I intend to get a part-time job this year. But for now, I am trying to get the most out of this opportunity as I can. If you have anything better for a pricepoint below $500, please recommend!

For the price that actually looks pretty good. You're gonna be hard pressed to find much in that range that doesn't have a generic Intel graphics card in there. Only downside to me that I see is that OS, but I'm not a huge fan of 8 so it's more of a personal preference. CPU is fair but I wouldn't count on having it run a lot of heavy applications with ease. It seems like an all around good buy for the hardware in it though. If I were you, I'd aim at trying to do most my gaming on the Desktop, since usually your parts last longer and they're far more expandable than a laptop is.

[Gold Man]

For the price that actually looks pretty good. You're gonna be hard pressed to find much in that range that doesn't have a generic Intel graphics card in there. Only downside to me that I see is that OS, but I'm not a huge fan of 8 so it's more of a personal preference. CPU is fair but I wouldn't count on having it run a lot of heavy applications with ease. It seems like an all around good buy for the hardware in it though. If I were you, I'd aim at trying to do most my gaming on the Desktop, since usually your parts last longer and they're far more expandable than a laptop is.

Yeah, I was really hunting for something that didn't have an Intel GPU in it. I was lucky enough to find one with a half-decent APU (which is luckily upgradable, as I've found out). The APU is an A8 series, which was released last year, however I can upgrade the APU to an A10 which has more power. Unfortunately I believe it uses a Trinity base, instead of the new Richland design (which was actually released in June this year, if I'm not mistaken), so I'd need to find an A10 based off Trinity for an upgrade.

As I said though, this is mostly something to get me by. I didn't have many hopes in running anything like the new SWBF on it, I'l save that for my old HP 1477c that I intend to modify over the year. Planning to scrap the motherboard, processor, and RAM, but keep case, PSU, hard drive, and optical drives.

EDIT: Did a recheck, the APU is based off Richland architecture, which was released last year. The highest I could upgrade would be an A10-5750M APU, which offers an Radeon HD 8650G graphics unit, just a slight jump over the 8550G the A8 has. However the A10 clocks at around 2.5GHz for the base, whereas the A8 clocks at 2.1GHz.

In short, I think this is the laptop for me, just wanted to see if you guys knew anything better for that pricepoint. Feel free to put a solved tag in the thread if you want.

[aeria.]

I prefer Intel's 4th gen integrated GPUs over AMD's laptop offerings. However for the price tag, that laptop's far from bad.

[Epifire]

Yeah, I was really hunting for something that didn't have an Intel GPU in it. I was lucky enough to find one with a half-decent APU (which is luckily upgradable, as I've found out). The APU is an A8 series, which was released last year, however I can upgrade the APU to an A10 which has more power. Unfortunately I believe it uses a Trinity base, instead of the new Richland design (which was actually released in June this year, if I'm not mistaken), so I'd need to find an A10 based off Trinity for an upgrade.

As I said though, this is mostly something to get me by. I didn't have many hopes in running anything like the new SWBF on it, I'l save that for my old HP 1477c that I intend to modify over the year. Planning to scrap the motherboard, processor, and RAM, but keep case, PSU, hard drive, and optical drives.

EDIT: Did a recheck, the APU is based off Richland architecture, which was released last year. The highest I could upgrade would be an A10-5750M APU, which offers an Radeon HD 8650G graphics unit, just a slight jump over the 8550G the A8 has. However the A10 clocks at around 2.5GHz for the base, whereas the A8 clocks at 2.1GHz.

Oh yeah sorry I meant to say GPU. Intel processors are fine, but they're not a good brand to hear on the GPU side as they're usually pretty shoddy. I've used Intel processors my whole time in computers and they've always been solid for me.

[Gold Man]

Well, in the end I upgraded a bit more than I thought I would. I got me this instead:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/hewlett-packard-hp-pavilion-17-laptop-silver-amd-a10-5745m-750gb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-8-1-17-f048ca/10298750.aspx?path=322be0b93820eaecc65e50d35d685abaen02

It's unfortunate I coudn't find any international shipping guys on Amazon for that model (money-wise), but this one is good enough. Has 8GB of RAM, An A10-5745M (just a smidge lower than the 5750 model), and has an 8610G over the 8550G (again, just slightly below the 8650G, but still better). 750GB HDD, and uses Windows 8.1. In the end, I guess I ended up going higher than my intended pricepoint. By about $122 to be exact.

I've already reserved it, and intend to buy it up tomorrow. I don't intend to be able to run the new SWBF on it, but it will be something so I can run TF2, GoIO, Unturned, and other games on it perfectly.

(For the record SK, yes I have tried TF2 on my old laptop, and it was choppy as heck, even in multiplayer.)

[Gold Man]

I am sending this message from my new HP laptop! I'm currently using my dad's 4G signal. and in a car, but I don't care! I finally got my replacement!

[Led]

Very nice, congrats!