Reddit mentions of High Performance HP 15.6" Laptop PC AMD A6-7310 Quad-Core Processor 4GB RAM 500GB HDD AMD Radeon R4 Graphics DVD-RW HDMI WIFI HDMI Webcam DTS Audio Windows 10-Black

I know you said $300 Max but if you are willing to go $50 more the Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575-33BM is the best laptop at that price range and it can run both games you asked about decently.

• Display Size: 15.6-Inch Full HD Notebook 1920 x 1080
  
• Processor: Intel Core i3-7100U
  
• RAM: 4GB DDR4
  
• Storage: 1TB 5400RPM Hard Drive
  
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620
  
• Battery life: 8 hr+
  
• Others: Backlit keyboard, Optical Drive
  
  Below $300 This HP is a decent pick as well

My best suggestion is a Lenovo Thinkpad T410 refurbished for $275. It will have a pretty solid build quality and the best specs you'll find in this price range, and should work well for running linux.

Otherwise I would suggest the HP 15 Touchscreen for $260. It comes with pretty decent specs including an AMD A6 processor, 4gb of ram and expandable storage. Both are a bit on the heavy side though.

For more suggestions or a better idea of what to look for, maybe look through my comprehensive list here.

Go with the HP 15.6inch. Nice laptop within your budget you going to love the HD WLED Backlit Display Laptop. Also comes with a AMD A6-7310 Quad-Core APU, 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD.

There are laptops like this one which should be able to run simple editing programs: https://www.amazon.com/HP-Backlit-Display-A6-7310-Quad-Core/dp/B01NBE6Y5D/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1499452430&sr=1-5&keywords=laptop

a bit over 250, but will be good for the money

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Backlit-Display-A6-7310-Quad-Core/dp/B01NBE6Y5D/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1500784655&sr=1-1&refinements=p_36%3AUnder+%24250

I was eyeing that as one of the options, but how much worse do you think https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01NBE6Y5D/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1502446033&sr=8-9&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=laptop would be? I would guess the biggest drawback would be the screen resolution.

This is my laptop it should be more than enough to play those types of games (if you want you can ask me about other games I might have played them). https://www.amazon.com/Performance-HP-Quad-Core-Processor-Graphics/dp/B01NBE6Y5D

Here is a super cheap laptop.

I would suggest a chromebook but those can't run Skype (yet)

That looks like it could work, but just to double check, what's better in that laptop compared to this one? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NBE6Y5D/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=IU728NGZ7H5ZV&colid=1RJMNYURAFCIO

this is one level lower https://www.amazon.com/HP-Backlit-Display-A6-7310-Quad-Core/dp/B01NBE6Y5D/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1493760384&sr=1-4&keywords=laptop

still new, the model came out in 2017. It should be the best you will get under $300. Without going refurb.

No need to get a refurbished laptop the 2017 HP 15.6" HD WLED Backlit Display Laptop is only $260 brand new and it has great battery life and it is a solid build.

Or you can go for HP 15-F222WM 15.6" Touch Screen Laptop also a great latop and also brand new

If you prefer a Dell the Dell i3552-3240BLK


All three are good laptops and best of all brand new

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Backlit-Display-A6-7310-Quad-Core/dp/B01NBE6Y5D/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1499099144&sr=1-1&keywords=HP+15.6%22+HD+WLED+Backlit+Display+Laptop%2C+AMD+A6-7310+Quad-Core

I would suggest swelling your budget a bit more and get something like Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575-33BM. This is a core i3.

In your budget you can only expect Pentium at most or something like AMD A16-7310. I would recommend that if you do even the remotest demanding work. Here is one though

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Backlit-Display-A6-7310-Quad-Core/dp/B01NBE6Y5D/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1493135571&sr=1-2&keywords=laptop

You can also look around at various lists

https://www.amazon.com/Performance-HP-Quad-Core-Processor-Graphics/dp/B01NBE6Y5D/