Reddit mentions: The best traditional laptops

Not sure if this is the best place to ask (or I should start a post) but I have a list of laptops that seem to be great deals for the specs that they're carrying. Just having a tough time deciding. They range from USD 1000~1600. There's one ASUS that could get as low as 1030 for a GTX1080 but the responses to it have not been so good. Just wanted some good advice on which ones I should get and ones I should be more concerned about. At least I hope others will find this list useful.

• *Sager/Prostar Clevo w 9th gen i7 + RTX 2060 for $1299 - 500GB ssd, 16gb RAM, 144hz (no gsync but eh)Probably the most tempting laptop. It's seems super cheap for a RTX 2060; might be the best bang for the buck laptop out there. But some others seem good enough and a bit cheaper such as the Helios and ASUS w AMD. Anyone think the extra $300 over 1660ti laptops is worth for this? I feel like this one I could use for a good three years before changing set up. That it'll last a bit longer. Any drawbacks with Sager/Prostar from anyone else's experience?
  
• Acer Helios 300 for $1088 - GTX1660ti; 144hz; 16GB DDR4; 256gb PCIe NVMe SSDMost affordable and well regarded option but I'm not sure abut the 256gb ssd. The higher storage ones cost a few hundred more but they were only a bit more expensive a few days ago. I like playing FIFA, Witcher 3, Metro, TW3K and some relatively newer games. Just not sure if the 256gb ssd is enough. Might have to constantly install and uninstall. The price-tag is really hard to resist, though. But maybe it's worth spending a bit more on the Sager with better storage and graphics card.
  
• ASUS ROG Strix GL702VI for $1100 but through some discounts I can get to as low as $1039; i5-7200HQ; GTX1080; G-Sync (but 60Hz); 256gb SSD + 1TB HDDThis seems like an amazing deal. But the responses have been mixed. But a $1k laptop with gtx 1080 that will last about a year or two seem too good to be true. A bit suss but hella cheap. But again... for the lowest pricetag, a gtx 1080 that will last me a year or two.
  
• ASUS w AMD Ryzen 7 + GTX 1660 ti for $1134Seems like another cheap good deal. But are ASUS laptops just not that well regarded? A lot of mixed reviews. But I like the design, the thinness. Plus it has a good entry graphics card.
  
• ASUS ROG Zephyrus for $1311 - This one has a GTX 1070, 7th gen i7, 16gb ram, and 256gb ssd. Once again, ASUS isn't well received in amazon. This one's a bit more expensive than the Sager/Prostar. But I like the slim design and the GPU cards should be more or less equal, right?
  
• ASUS ROG Strix Hero II for $1372 - 8th gen i7, RTX 2060, 16 GB RAM, 521gb PCIe SSD
  
• Acer Helios 300 for $1384 - Only difference is bigger storage, 512 gbs this time. Same GTX 1660 ti and everything else. Considering there are cheaper laptops with seemingly better specs, maybe not worth the extra $300? Plus the others around this range seem to offer better bang for the buck.
  
• Acer Helios 500 for $1400 - AMD Ryzen 7 2700, Radeon RX Vega 56; Vega 56 seems like a really good card. But should I be considering this when there are rtx 2060 n gtx 1080 laptops available for cheaper or around the same price?
  
• Sager RTX 2070 for $1499 - Seems like a great deal for a 2070 card. But might still be pretty pricey for me. Yet considering some of the others, for value, this seems really good
  
• Acer Triton 700 for $1502.49 - GTX 1080 w G-Sync 120Hz, 512GB SSD. Again, like teh Sager, this seems like an amazing deal for the card and monitor. Only drawback I see is the trackpad
  
• ASUS ROG Zephyrus GX501 for $1549 - GTX1080 w 144Hz G-Sync, 16 GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 8th gen i7Similar price range as the previous two. I like the Zephyrus design better but that's really about it. But like the other ASUS laptops, it has mixed responses.
  
  Just for reference, I bought my previous laptop (now blue screened and unusable) four years ago. I wasn't (and still am not) very tech savvy so I wasn’t sure if it was a good gaming laptop back then. But these are the specs for my ASUS A501U: 6th gen i7; GTX 950M; 126gb ssd + 500gb hdd. I'm sure any one of these laptops will be great compared to my mingy 950M.
  
  Which one of these would you guys recommend? Thoughts on how black friday might change the price? Should I wait for BF or just get one sooner?

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----

> Made a post on suggestalaptop, but nobody replied. Hoping I can have some better luck here, what's the best gaming-capable laptop for <=$1800 CAD? Trying to help set my buddy up.
>
> My original post with more details (I don't know if my spoiler is working, stuck on mobile with no method of viewing outside my app):
>
> [Original Text](#s "
>
> Total budget and country of purchase:
> <=$1800, Canada
>
> Do you prefer a 2 in 1 form factor, good battery life or best specifications for the money? Pick or include any that apply.
> Best gaming-based specs for money but with good battery life for non-gaming tasks.
>
> How important is weight and thinness to you?
> Not too relevant, at this price and performance bracket I imagine things don't get too heavy or thick anyways. The thin+light/notebook form-factor is pretty nice and there are some that seem to accommodate these specs.
>
> Which OS do you require? Windows, Mac, Chrome OS, Linux.
> Windows 10 would be best.
>
> Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.
> 15.6" or 17.3" would be preferable to smaller screens.
>
> Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
> He's never owned a PC before, but based on what he wants to try and plays on his PS4 he'll be playing games like BF1 and probably the new Star Wars BF2 when it comes out, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Story and Puzzle games like Life Is Strange and Walking Dead, etc, and maaybe I can get him into some RTSs.
>
> If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
> I want to aim for 60+ FPS 1080p at High-Ultra settings. G-Sync would be nice but not a must-have for sake of budget. The screen doesn't need to have a high refresh rate.
>
> Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
> He's going to be using it for school eventually so the keyboard needs to be decent enough to type on a lot with no significant irregularities. Also a optical drive would be great since he loves to collect CDs, but we're willing to sacrifice this for improvement in other areas (like graphics and battery life) and can get an external optical drive.
>
> * Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
> I'd like him to get a pretty decent screen on it but those seem hard to find in this price range and which are actually available in Canada, so that's less of a priority I guess. Also, if the shipping of the laptop is going to take longer than a month to our location (central Alberta), then we can't consider it, since my buddy is going on a trip to Europe and needs it before then.
>
> These are some laptops on Amazon.ca I've already looked at a decent amount, ranked from most to least preferred based on specs and reviews:
>
> https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01N2WG5HN/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_img?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1Y7FJUK1FZLBK&coliid=I2AHIPWPBTYVZ2&psc=1
>
> https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01N3KQNZ3/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_img?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1Y7FJUK1FZLBK&coliid=IX7NNCQOHJ43M
>
> https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01N12YZ7B/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_img?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1Y7FJUK1FZLBK&coliid=IEO14XZ79TSOS
>
> https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MS3CXW1/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_img?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1Y7FJUK1FZLBK&coliid=I3CQ9TZFNC2S06)
>
> I like the better power of the 1060 over the 1050Ti, but don't want to sacrifice on (7200RPM) HDD storage at the same time.
>
> Thank you very much for any help you can provide!
>
> ")

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/6dh6if/daily_simple_questions_thread_may_26_2017/di3qv5s

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> Every time I play a game, it cuts and freezes, event log gives me a kernel error 41 but none of the steps provided online offer me any help, I have a r9 280 sapphire addition graphics card that's worked reliably all year round in much higher demanding program loads. Sorry if I'm not being consise enough, I am very confused about it and I don't want to shell out money on a new GPU for an old system.

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/6dh6if/daily_simple_questions_thread_may_26_2017/di387r9

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> Anyone use the G900 as an everyday mouse?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/6dh6if/daily_simple_questions_thread_may_26_2017/di3bci4

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> Hey so I have been browsing the buildapcsales subreddit and I saw some talk about using Jet and Ibotta together to get nice discounts. Has anyone done this before? I have a few questions about it because I think I could get an i5-7600k for around $170 new and I want to make sure I understand it correctly before purchasing

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/6dh6if/daily_simple_questions_thread_may_26_2017/di3faci

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> Hi, I'm trying to control the speed of two fans on my 360 rad but can't seem to do so?
>
> I do not have enough sys fan headers to plug in all 3 fans from the rad so I bought a silver stone 1-8 fan pwm fan hub, all my fans are 4 pin pwm fans and when they're connected to the motherboard directly, I can control speeds just fine.
>
> However when I have two of the fans plugged into the fan hub, they only run at max speed and I can't change the speed. I have one fan plugged into the glossy port on the hub which has speed detection, and the second fan in a second port on the hub.
>
> I have the hub connected to sys fan 3 header, yet I cannot control the speed of the fans connected to the hub. Why?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/6dh6if/daily_simple_questions_thread_may_26_2017/di3h6id

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> Now that it's been weeks since Mass Effect Andromeda has been released, there's been updates to fix issues on it. Is it worth getting now when there's a deal or wait for more patches?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/6dh6if/daily_simple_questions_thread_may_26_2017/di3i093

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> i have a few ps4 controllers that are wireless i want to use with my computer. is it realistic to somehow use 4 controllers at the same time wirelessly? how? i want to host multiplayer stuff on my pc in my living room.

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/6dh6if/daily_simple_questions_thread_may_26_2017/di3oy67

----

> Hi everyone. Recently I bought a xbox one s controller for some of my pc games. So i pluged it into my pc via a micro usb cable and waited for the drivers to install. However my pc could not find any. So I was looking on the microsoft website how I could resolve my problem, and they stated that I would have to manualy update my drivers with the devices manager, but this didn't work. So I seached again and found an arcticle on this very same sub reddit, which had someone with the very same problem as me. there was a response from someone who linked the drivers, but these drivers where outdated. So now I'am kind of clueless. does anyone know how I could fix this?
> (please keep in mind that I'am using windows 7)

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/6dh6if/daily_simple_questions_thread_may_26_2017/di3uc3f

----

> Why is the OSD User Define option in the Color Temperature settings grayed out for my monitor (BenQ GW2260HM) ?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/6dh6if/daily_simple_questions_thread_may_26_2017/di3v2or

----

> What individual microphone can I buy that is super noise isolating? I run a fan literally 6 inches from where I need the microphone to be and I don't want it to pick up the sound. I have $50

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/6dh6if/daily_simple_questions_thread_may_26_2017/di3wcjz

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> I had a dream that pine needles pierced and got stuck in my monitor and I had to pull them out, and one of them left a stone size chip in monitor. So I had to look up if pine needles were covered in warranty. Theoretically speaking, would that be covered for my dreams sake?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/6dh6if/daily_simple_questions_thread_may_26_2017/di3x7ef

----

> My current PSU ( http://m.shoppingsquare.com.au/p_2939_GreatWall_GW550SEL_550_WATT_TRUE_POWER_SUPPLY ) has been causing me problems since I upgraded to an RX 480. When I open csgo my PC just turns off and restarts. Should I switch it out for a coolermaster 625w extreme (which I heard is trash) or save for a bit for a better PSU?
>
> Tldr: is the cooler master 625w better than the PSU in the link above?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/6dh6if/daily_simple_questions_thread_may_26_2017/di3xxm0

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I know you said you are from india but If you want take advantage of black friday’s sales then I would recommend this Acer Predator Helios 300 2019 version because it comes with everything you need, great value for money, 144Hz screen which is great for fast paced games, easily upgradeable, Latest CPU and GPU, Very good heat management, and here is a more detailed review :

• The top of the laptop plus the keyboard and palm area are metal.
  
• Screen bright enough for using outside in the shade but not in direct sunlight.
  
• GPU is powerful.
  
• Here is benchmark for the GPU performance.
  
• Laptop comes with Optimus to conserve battery.
  
• Keyboard is great, quiet, and have a nice feel.
  
• Keyboard has a numpad but narrower than the rest of the keyboard, and the arrow buttons shifted.
  
• Speakers are at the bottom and kinda muffed so a headset is recommended for when you are gaming.
  
  ***
  
  If you prefer better screen quality, then I would recommend this Eluktronics mech g2 because it has great combination between value for money, weight, battery life, and performance.
  
• It comes with GTX 1660Ti GPU, You can check the below link to see how the GTX 1660Ti
  
• GPU (scroll down for the FPs and settings expected or ctrl+f then type the name of your game).
  https://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-1660-Ti-Laptop-Graphics-Card.386426.0.html
  
• Comes with 9th gen, i7 hexa core CPU which is powerful for your usage.
  
• Very good sRGB coverage which is suitable for photo editing.
  
  
• The outer shell is made almost entirely out of metal.
  
• Keyboard is mechanical with RGB backlit.
  
• It has 3 USB type A, Ethernet, and mic and headphone jack and on the back an HDMI, and USB type C.
  
  
• Screen is IPS with 144Hz refresh rate, with impressively small bezels, and a professional design.
  
  
• Lid can't be open with one hand.
  
  
• Fans get loud under intensive work, but that is normal with every good gaming laptop.
  
  
• Plenty of upgrade options as the chassis supports up to 32GB of ram, and 2 SSDs and 1 HDD.
  
• Heat management is great, it can get hot but it gets cool again pretty quickly once the fans kick in.
  
  
• Main con of the laptop is the trackpad, it is mediocre at best when you compare it to other laptops in the price range.
  
  
• Battery life during normal usage is around 3.5-4.5 hours and 1.5 hour during gaming.
  
  
• Speakers are down facing so during gaming, it is best to wear headphone since the fan gets loud during gaming as well.
  
  If you are looking for more Black Friday Deals make sure to check my mega thread of black friday laptop deals here

Made a post on suggestalaptop, but nobody replied. Hoping I can have some better luck here, what's the best gaming-capable laptop for <=$1800 CAD? Trying to help set my buddy up.

My original post with more details (I don't know if my spoiler is working, stuck on mobile with no method of viewing outside my app):

[Original Text](#s "

• Total budget and country of purchase:
  <=$1800, Canada
  
  
• Do you prefer a 2 in 1 form factor, good battery life or best specifications for the money? Pick or include any that apply.
  Best gaming-based specs for money but with good battery life for non-gaming tasks.
  
  
• How important is weight and thinness to you?
  Not too relevant, at this price and performance bracket I imagine things don't get too heavy or thick anyways. The thin+light/notebook form-factor is pretty nice and there are some that seem to accommodate these specs.
  
  
• Which OS do you require? Windows, Mac, Chrome OS, Linux.
  Windows 10 would be best.
  
  
• Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.
  15.6" or 17.3" would be preferable to smaller screens.
  
  
• Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
  He's never owned a PC before, but based on what he wants to try and plays on his PS4 he'll be playing games like BF1 and probably the new Star Wars BF2 when it comes out, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Story and Puzzle games like Life Is Strange and Walking Dead, etc, and maaybe I can get him into some RTSs.
  
  
• If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
  I want to aim for 60+ FPS 1080p at High-Ultra settings. G-Sync would be nice but not a must-have for sake of budget. The screen doesn't need to have a high refresh rate.
  
  
• Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
  He's going to be using it for school eventually so the keyboard needs to be decent enough to type on a lot with no significant irregularities. Also a optical drive would be great since he loves to collect CDs, but we're willing to sacrifice this for improvement in other areas (like graphics and battery life) and can get an external optical drive.
  
  
• Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
  I'd like him to get a pretty decent screen on it but those seem hard to find in this price range and which are actually available in Canada, so that's less of a priority I guess. Also, if the shipping of the laptop is going to take longer than a month to our location (central Alberta), then we can't consider it, since my buddy is going on a trip to Europe and needs it before then.
  
  These are some laptops on Amazon.ca I've already looked at a decent amount, ranked from most to least preferred based on specs and reviews:
  
  https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01N2WG5HN/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_img?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1Y7FJUK1FZLBK&coliid=I2AHIPWPBTYVZ2&psc=1
  
  https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01N3KQNZ3/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_img?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1Y7FJUK1FZLBK&coliid=IX7NNCQOHJ43M
  
  https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01N12YZ7B/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_img?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1Y7FJUK1FZLBK&coliid=IEO14XZ79TSOS
  
  https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MS3CXW1/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_img?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1Y7FJUK1FZLBK&coliid=I3CQ9TZFNC2S06)
  
  I like the better power of the 1060 over the 1050Ti, but don't want to sacrifice on (7200RPM) HDD storage at the same time.
  
  Thank you very much for any help you can provide!
  
  ")

Personally I think it is worth it, especially if you do what I did. I bought mine off ebay from bestbuy as an open box, cost me 850ish dollars plus tax and an upgrade to next day shipping, which brought the total up to about $950.

At that price, for me its unarguable. If it had been like 1200 or so, i might of had to think about it. But at that price, it seems like one of the best choices out there.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Open-Box-Excellent-Dell-G7-15-6-Laptop-Intel-Core-i7-8GB-Memory-NVI/323328281085?hash=item4b47de09fd:g:RQYAAOSwx3dblLBx:rk:2:pf:1&frcectupt=true

It was indeed open box but mine came in perfect condition. You might not like this option, but it is a way to get it much cheaper. The sale price seems to change every so often

But despite the open box, I was able to get the full premium plus warranty from dell for it for roughly 4 years (3 years 7 months or so, due to the fact it was open box I believe.)

​

I think the ram should be upgraded however at least if you get into ram intensive tasks. And they do offer a 16gb ram openbox and new option from the bestbuy ebay store, and I am sure if you hunt around you will find an openbox at a physical bestbuy location if you look.

If anything my ram was the only down side to this buy. But I intended to upgrade this anyhow and will be using crucial's compatibility guarantee program to make my purchase of 32gb of ram. This ram issue might not be a problem for you, however I run VM's for work and genuinely need the extra ram for things to actually run or the VM's have a high likelihood of not running or crashing.

I also dropped a 2 TB seagate firecuda hard-drive (SSHD) in my laptop with no problem ( I disabled UEFI secure boot and made sure the bios was up to date, and it worked perfectly on the first try). 96$ from amazon. I got probably 1tb worth of games on it already :P.

Going with an 8gb model gave me a few advantages as well, for example this laptop seems to come with dual sticks of ram no matter if you buy the 16gb or 8gb model. IF you want to upgrade to 32gb of ram, expect to throw away the old ram. Also the 8gb version came with a 256gb ssd, which is not a bad size and one less thing I have to worry about upgrading. Consider that I have used 98gb on my installation already...

So overall for my particular case, if I went with the 16gb version, in the matter of a month or two the following things would of happened.

I would of thrown out the ram, as I need the 32gb of ram and cannot reuse the old sticks in this particular latptop after an upgrade.

I would of thrown out the SSD, because just my base install I have done now would of ate all of the storage space. For reference I am using 98gb of ssd space, and have only 1 game installed on the ssd (csgo)

And I would of thrown out the HDD, because my base install has already used the entire storage space that drive would of provided. For reference I used about 1tb of storage already but I do have like most of my games installed (something like 47 games). I did that because I can lol, The other 1tb is dedicated to VM's and production related stuff.

Your end result might not be the same, if you are not intending to use it for the type of work like I do, you might have an advantage going with the 16GB model instead. Each person's usage and goals will differ.

​

There are some things to consider however

This thing does not have the ultimate battery life of like 10 hours you can find on other laptops.

I find that it lasts anywhere from 3~4 or so.

You cannot play games while on battery, at least not on anything close to high or medium settings without huge frame rate drops. And expect gaming to eat battery life much quicker.

I am saying this because, if you have never had a gaming laptop, you should be informed to expect this. My alienware had the same issue on both performance and battery life.

I did find a way to cheat this, by buying one of these.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0713XJBG2

it gave me at least an hour maybe hour and a half of gaming time, and I suspect it will give 4~8 more hours of normal web browsing usage but I haven't tried it fully yet. It can be very useful if you are mobile and need to use your laptop for production. However I don't think you can bring it on carry-on at an airport due to the restrictions of battery sizes by TSA, you should be able to put it in checked luggage however.

Other than the battery life, I personally cannot find too many cons about this laptop. It seems to be a solid performer overall, and has all the modern features you need like the fancy new thunderbolt connection (40Gbps), and support for NVME high speed drives as well as a regular 2.5" drive (as long as its 7mm or less in thickness) . And the build quality seems very good.

Its not very flashy and the cost to performance ratio is way up there. It has the amazing 10 series nvidia graphics card and ddr4 ram and the latest generation intel processor with an insane 12 cores and even turbo boosts on 6 cores up to something like 3.9 ghz which is pretty fast.

Overall its not a bad piece of kit, and I don't think you can build a desktop for much cheaper than this with very similar specs. That is to say, I don't think its way over priced. Unlike the alienware 15 with almost the same specs for 1800

I will say however,

One of the other options is the Acer predator

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-Overclockable-Aeroblade-PH315-51-78NP/dp/B07CTHLX8C

I might of made your decision harder, but there are videos comparing these two and some others at the same time. It might be worth the look at them, overall your going to have to decide what you like more. They basically come down to preference. There are a few laptops with these specs at this price range. For me, the dell has the understated look that can pass for professional, the capability I needed, and a brand I really trust, so it was a no brainier.

​

But at the end, they are all going to be great bang for your buck, the pricing on this and the other direct competitors to this laptop are solid imo.

I don't know about the reliability of the others, I don't remember having to replace lots of parts in the other brands. Only HP has really had some serious bunks that I can remember, I changed way more HP motherboards than any other laptop. But I have owned Dell's and they never failed me so I stick by what I know is usually solid..

No matter what you get, if you intend to keep it many years. You need to get the warranty and max it out if you can. If you intend to keep it as long as you say, you will want accident protection and everything, and make sure you read reviews on the warranties. You don't want to find out after you break it that the warranty you got is bulls#$%. Dell has a lot of business contracts, and they have solid warranties there, and as a result those solid warranties trickle down to consumers as well. I know I've had nothing but the best warranty support from them.

​

On a side note, here are a few few recommended accessories to protect your laptop no matter what you buy, its not a bad idea to get something like the following

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071HBDDW8

Hardened glass screen protector

​

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DA2OMKS

Water and dust Resistant keyboard cover to give an extra step against a drop of water penetrating the keyboard and ruining the motherboard underneath.

​

It should be noted that I do not get paid for any of these items, you'll notice none of them are links to a compensated account somewhere.

I just like dell products and have had good experiences with them. This is just another case of a product that I think is great and worth the money.

Howdy!

I am a sophomore in the game design major, specifically David (also to some chortle!). First of all, welcome to the BFA! I had a similar predicament when I was approaching my freshman year last year and so hopefully I can help you out.

Second of all, I just want to let you know a few things as a person who worries about money and making the best purchases!!!

NOTICE: If you are not taking programming for games first semester, you can get away with not having a laptop for a semester. Ultimately, would not recommend, but it gives you a unique look on the world and your personal use of technology! I spent many a nights late at Bobst because of this!

You probably want a laptop that weights 5 pounds or less, but also one that is relatively thin.

My first purchase with my financial aid money was a chunky little sager that was a beast of a machine. There's a certain luxury to being able to carry around your laptop with one hand. I think that is the plus of all the people using Macs, but I certainly cannot afford that. It was too chunky and too small for my tastes and leads me to my next tip.

You probably do not want a gaming laptop. Well... a ~super powerful gaming laptop~.

Depending on your habits, you might be spending a lot of your time freshman year not playing games (you will find out this is a good thing!) or just playing games for games 101 (history of games basically). There is also a game library in both Manhattan and Brooklyn which both have gaming PCs as well as a bunch of consoles. If you do fancy yourself a lot of games and think you'll be playing a lot in your room, I'd totally recommend just building a desktop along with getting a laptop. I'm still using a $600 build I made in middle school which plays games fine on a 1440x900 screen.

Lastly, you should get what you're most comfortable using OS wise and you probably want to get it before the year starts.

I grew up using PCs because my parents couldn't afford macs and just being comfortable using your computer is probably the most important part. A lot of the professors use macs, but a large percentage of the BFA student body has PCs because a lot of games are made for Windows and I guess they wanted super gaming laptops?

This is what I bought.

I can firmly say that you do not need anything more powerful than this graphically or processor wise. Feel free to get something beefier or more expensive. That's up to you, but this runs everything fine for me (as well as my buddy Simon, ayy shout out to Simon!). Only thing I miss is having 16GB of RAM, but I am soon upgrading the 8GB to 12GB which should be a bit better (8GB was completely fine). You know yourself much better than I do so if you need more storage space, look for something with more!

Don't worry about your computer not lasting either? As long as you get a good warranty you should be fine. A lot of the development that you will be doing computer wise will not be as graphically intensive as the games that come out!

Good luck and feel free to PM me! (please do !!! us first years are itching to meet the new crop :^)

Not even sure what's up with your form:

> Do you prefer a 2 in 1 form factor, good battery life or best specifications to your requirements for the money? Pick or include any that apply.

>Best Requirements

Wtaf man. GET IT TOGETHER CHARLIE.

> Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.

>Look at last question

Last question says you prefer Windows..

I get the feeling this question is a troll but nevertheless, I'm going to give you a nice answer.

Programming doesn't usually require a hardware intensive machine, it doesn't need a GPU or a penisvery powerful CPU but since you asked for such a high budget laptop in which weight doesn't matter I'm going to offer you a high-budget laptop and a low-budget laptop. The high budget lappy will last you approx 6 years and the low budget will last you 4 years approx.

I shall, from this point onwards, assign nicknames to the laptops:

1500 USD ASUS ROG G751JY-VS71(WX) shall now be called "That popular fat guy in college"

The 800 USD Dell Inspiron 15 7599 shall be called "good guy greg" because it's great value.

Processor: Both of these guys have incredibly powerful processors but note that a high end notebook processor is equal to a mid-range gaming processor. The fatty can easily spit out 2.6 GHz with it's i7-4720HQ however the good guy can push out a very respectable 2.3 GHz with it's powerful i5 6300HQ.

I want to give you a tip, NEVER buy a laptop based on it's processor solely. Most people are fooled buy the fact that one processor is an i7 and the other is an i5, well here's a fact, the most powerful model of the i7 can push out only 3% more than the most powerful i5.

Both of these processors can run heavily processor intensive games like "Total war: Warhammer" and can compile code equally fast because the algorithm is usually bottle-necked.

Graphics Card: They both have very powerful graphics cards but the fatty wins this battle hands down. It comes with a Nvidia GTX 980M which has 1536 CUDA cores, versus the good guy which only has approx 640 CUDA cores, respectable but the 960M is no match. VRAM is not a limiting factor, in either of them, the only game that requires more than 4 GB of VRAM is The Witcher 3, which can still be run at high and only consumes about 3 GB. Even GTA V only requires 3.8 GB at it's highest settings. Both of these can run Overwatch at max with 50-60 FPS, though the 980M can probably push out 80 FPS.

The fatty is definitely much better in this regard if you plan on doing very hardcore gaming.

Storage: I know for a fact that coders lover SSD's, the good guy comes with a pre-installed 256 GB M.2 SSD, M.2 SSD's are some of the most powerful SSD's and 256 GB is more than enough. The ASUS (popular fatty) has an optional SSD slot, goes upto 512 GB in both of the laptops. You can get a 256 GB M.2 SSD for 200 USD or a 512 GB M.2 SSD for 320 USD.

When getting an SSD only opt for Samsung, they make the best SSD's with 0 flaws.

Other than that they both have 1000 GB HDD's (no, not 1024) but that should be plenty.

RAM: NEVER BUY A LAPTOP BASED ON RAM YOU FUCKING DIMWIT, IT'S UP-GRADABLE. JESUS CHRIST.

But yeah they both have DDR3 RAM. The ASUS has 16 GB while the Dell has 8 GB

Screen size: Coders ALWAYS prefer large screens so I got the ASUS with it's 17.3 inch 1080p display, you know the ladies love a big screen ;), though the dell has a comfortable 15.6 inch 1080p screen. But as a coder I think you will prefer a large display.

Extra: The dell has thunderbolt 3

Sorry if I hurt your feelings during the review. Pansy.

Youtube videos you should watch:

[SSD's vs HDD's](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQEjGKYXjw8)


[CPU vs GPU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kypaBjJ-pg)

[i3 vs i5 vs i7**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLSPub4ydiM)

Good luck.

Alright! So There's good news and bad news. The good news is you can absolutely upgrade your computer in a variety of ways. You can even give yourself a dedicated graphics card! The bad news though, is that doing so probably won't be cheap. It might be better to buy a new laptop, or start putting together a desktop rig for yourself. I'll let you be the judge though! Here we go!

RAM: Upgrade from 4GB to 8GB

This would definitely speed up your computer. *GB is the minimum I recommend to anyone, regardless of what they are using the computer for. 4GB of RAM is the minimum necessary for a modern operating system to function, so doubling to 8GB will give you some very noticeable improvement.
I generally stick with Crucial.com RAM for upgrades. They're affordable, have good customer service, and have never steered me wrong before. You have two choices for an 8GB upgrade from them. A standard 8GB module and a Ballistix 8GB module. The latter is supposed to be higher quality, but I'm not really familiar with the differences, nor do I think it's worth the extra money. I'd go with the standard.

Hard Drive: Upgrade to Solid State or Fusion Drive

Upgrading the hard drive won't improve gaming performance, but it will make everything you do on your system faster overall. Not 100% sure, but I think your computer has a 500GB drive in there right now. decent space, but bare bones performance. Upgrading to a Fusion Drive or SSD will give you a huge performance jump. SSDs are the fastest drives out there, but assuming you don't want to decrease your disk space, your going to have to pay the premium. SSHDs aka Fusion Drives offer the best of both worlds; they add flash storage to a standard drive, and optimize performance by putting the system files and most frequently used files and programs on the flash section. Huge performance boost for a MUCH lower price than an SSD. I love these things, and definitely recommend one if budget is an issue. To upgrade your drive, you'll need to either have a backup you can restore to the new drive, or clone your existing hard drive to the new drive beforehand. My recommended method of doing this is by buying a hard drive enclosure. It's super affordable, and will let you repurpose your old hard drive as an external drive or backup drive when you're done.

CPU, Motherboard, and GPU:

Ok, here's where everything gets complex. The RAM and Hard Drive are easy upgrades, but while they will definitely speed things up, they won't help with gaming performance as much as this will. Your processor is trying to handle running the computer and running the games at the same time, and since it's not a great processor, it can't do that very well. Upgrading the processor allows your computer to do a lot more at once, and adding a GPU essentially gives games their own dedicated processor to work with. You'll see huge gaming performance boosts by going this route. Here's the trouble though: Your CPU is integrated in the motherboard. The only way to upgrade it is by swapping in a new motherboard with a better integrated processor. The silver lining here is that your computer model line had several motherboard options, both with more powerful CPUs as well as dedicated integrated GPUs. This means that by buying a new motherboard, you could upgrade your CPU, add a GPU, or both!
Here's the problem though. These motherboards are hard to find, expensive, or both. Parts-People.com has the listings and Dell Part numbers for several upgrades to your system, both with and without NVidia GPUs.

No GPU:
i5-4210U 1.7GHz - 6YPRH |
i5-5200U 2.2GHz - THVGR |
i7-4510U 2.0GHz - 7G1CD

With GPU:
i5-4210U 1.7GHz - 1P4HG |
i5-5200U 2.2GHz - T7TC4 |
i7-4510U 2.0GHz - CHXGJ

As you can see...pricey AND sold out. But at least this gives you a references. You may also notice that the ones with NVidia GPUs actually say they are only compatible with models that already had a discrete GPU...that's not actually true. I double checked with one of their technicians; all you'd need would be a replacement fan/heatsink. The one in your system only covers the CPU. The new one would cover both the CPU and the GPU. Fortunately, this part is inexpensive, both on the Parts-People site and on eBay.
Speaking of eBay, I think it's the best option for finding one of these motherboards. I did find the best version of the bunch for sale, but they're still quite pricey. There is another option though. By watching eBay for used Dell Inspiron models that have the motherboard you need, you might be able to find and win an auction for a whole computer at a far lower price point than the motherboard alone. As it turns outYou'd need to look for keywords like processor speed, and hope that if you tactfully asked if it said "nvidia" somewhere, the seller would understand what to look for. It gets risky, but you might even find auctions for damaged versions being sold for parts. Idiot cracked his screen? Motherboard's probably ok! Idiot spilled beer all over the computer...avoid that one. You wouldn't be restricted to Inspiron 15 (3542) either. As it turns out, these boards were used in Inspiron 14 (3442) and Inspiron 17 (5748) models as well. Definitely helpful if you go that route. Hell, with nothing wrong with it and at the right price point, you might find a whole new computer this way!

Speaking of a new computer...we come to my final point. Cost and worth. If you were to buy the RAM, Fusion Drive, external enclosure, i7 + GPU Motherboard, and Fan/Heatsink right now, you'd be looking at something like $350. Not terrible in the grand scheme of things, especially considering the fact that you could buy them at separate times, upgrading in stages as budget allows. However, the Wirecutter's pick for a budget laptop is $550 on Amazon, and would match or exceed the performance of everything above with no hassle or downtime. Just something to consider!

Phew! That was a lot. Hopefully it's helpful information, and gives you an idea of your options. Let me know if you have any questions!

honestly for your usage that’s a very big budget especially if you’re not gaming.If I were you i would find a nice thinkpad (T lineup) or an asus zenbook of high specs.I’m not a programmer but I think .NET and visual studio code are what you’re using? And I think they are light even an I5 cpu would do the trick or an I7 of you want the extra power.Since you won’t be compiling a lot just choose any machine with the following:

1)I5 8th gen or i7 8th gen even the U series should do well.Those are available from every manufacturer.Don’t go for 7th gen u cpu’s they are just dated by this point and the difference is huge.Also if you are an amd fan the new ryzen 2500u + 2700u are great options with good graphics power and linux compatibility.

2)16 gb of ram or 8gb + an empty slot.Again every manufacturer has a model of those.
3)an ssd or an ssd empty slot are NECESSARY as you will want an ssd no matter what,Having an hdd plus the ssd is a welcome extra space but not an hdd alone.
Ideally go for 512ssd or 256ssd+hdd.

4)please stay away from nvidia cards under linux they are just so much work.

5)from this point on if my choices doesn’t fit your taste you know what specs to look for as nobody can tell you what the keyboard feels like and that is something you have to try yourself and is important because you will type A LOT.
Some options :

1. pricey option : ASUS ZenBook 13 UX331UAL
   
   Looks like perfect for you but the battery life which I can’t judge.
   
   2)this laptop from asus that you can upgrade with an ssd and extra ram(no idea about battery or keyboard quality): https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0762S8PYM/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1524137187&sr=8-13&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=asus%2Bzenbook&th=1&psc=1
   
   3)lenovo’s thinkpad lineup configurable via their website and all have great keyboards and nice battery life and supposedly great linux compatibility out of the box with all distros.
   
   4)dell xps 13 which is pretty much the standard In laptop recommendations for work. configurable In the dell website.
   
   5)the x1 carbon from lenovo is a rugged option.
   
   6)hp elitebook 830 G5 customized from hp’s website seems like a damn great 13inches option but is a bit pricey around 1850$ for a full configured I5 model and it has only a 50wh battery so I can’t judge the battery life.
   
   
2. the hp envy 13t looks like a nice option too,here is a review of it from laptop mag :
   https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/hp-envy-13t
   
   There are some other options that I can’t think of right now and I may have stretched it with the pricing but you have a generous budget.A word of advice would be to find an option In the 1500$ range and save those 1000$ for upgrades as even top of the line notebooks will get old fast or don’t upgrade and by that time ~3 years you would have saved another 500$ or so and by a new notebook.Hope that helps have a nice day :)

I was in a similar boat. Wanted a well built, light, and high battery life laptop that could net insane gaming performance. Sadly, you're going to have to make some compromises if you're looking to spend around $1000. Here are some decent options:

Somewhat lightweight Gaming laptops:

• Usually weigh around 4.6-6 lbs, so not too heavy
  
• 1060 or higher
  
• All around powerful machines
  

• Usually a mix of plastic and brushed aluminum (honestly, still not bad)
  
• Screens are typically not amazing
  
• Usually abysmal battery life (not ideal for doing work off campus)
  
  Some options for this category:
  
  
• https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-gl502vm-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-12gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1060-1tb-hard-drive-black/5712362.p?skuId=5712362
  
  
• https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834234455&cm_re=asus_gaming_laptop-_-34-234-455-_-Product
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-i7-7700HQ-1060-6GB-G3-571-77QK/dp/B06Y4GZS9C
  
  
  Lightweight ultrabooks that can still game pretty well:
  
  

• Typically equipped with 1050's (still good, just don't expect 60fps with high/max settings on newer titles)
  
• Usually great quiality
  
• Portable!
  
• Moderately good to insanely good battery life
  

• Not as powerful as gaming laptops with 1060's+
  
• Can run on the expensive side depending on the brand or if not found on sale
  
  Some options for this category:
  
  
• https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-720-2-in-1-15-6-4k-ultra-hd-touch-screen-laptop-intel-quad-core-i7-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-platinum-silver/5722755.p?skuId=5722755 (love this computer, but previous shipments had screen defects with black bars appearing. I'd hope that has been fixed as it's a great device otherwise)
  
  
• http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/xps-15/spd/xps-15-9560-laptop (Dell XPS 15 is an awesome slim device with an amazing battery life)
  
  
• http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-pavilion-power---quad-w--2gb-gfx-touch-optional-1gk62av-1 (on sale right now! Great deal, but this laptop has a mostly plastic build quality unlike every other laptop in this category, and apparently a noisy fan... but you can get a 1050ti configured in this thing!)
  
  
• https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-spectre-x360-2-in-1-15-6-4k-ultra-hd-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-512gb-solid-state-drive/5712363.p?skuId=5712363
  OR https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-spectre-x360-2-in-1-15-6-4k-ultra-hd-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-512gb-solid-state-drive-dark-ash-silver/6082118.p?skuId=6082118 (HP Spectre's are great! But they only have a 940mx... so they're the worst for gaming here and probably won't run a game like the new Assassin's Creed very well.)
  
  
  A super expensive laptop:
  
  

• Super powerful (typically 1060+)
  
• Great battery life
  
• Very portable
  
• AMAZING build quality and screens
  

• Super expensive
  
  Some options for this category:
  
  
• (The Dell XPS is kind of in limbo but I threw it in the above category instead)
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-Aero-15W-BK4-i7-7700HQ-GeForce/dp/B07141QMKD (amazing, thin, light, and high battery life computer with a 1060! Great screen too! Probably my favorite laptop here under $2000)
  
  
• https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/config/surface-book-2/8MCPZJJCC98C?cid=surfacebook2interstitial (the Surface Book 2 is the coolest laptop here! The screen comes off so you can use it like a tablet or drawing canvas, and it has a 1060! But the 1060 configuration costs $2500 and only goes up if you want more storage)
  
  
  Basically, either you spend a TON of money or compromise somewhere. Best of luck!

HP Pavilion 15

• Don't be fooled by the Core i7 processor label. This is a dual-core U-series near-negligibly faster than i5 U-series chips of the same generation, and actually slightly slower than i5 U-series chips of the current generation (that's how little the difference is). If you need CPU performance, you need HQ series, i5-HQ or i7-HQ. If you don't, i5-U is pretty much just as good as i7-U. This CPU branding is misleading to the point that it has warranted a section in the sidebar on this sub.
  
• 12GB RAM... higher than some, but it's $30 to DIY-upgrade most 8GB RAM laptops to 12GB.
  
• No SSD is also a bit disappointing.
  
• Screen is IPS and touch, however be aware it's the less-good glossy-touch-layer-over-matte-LCD type, which gives you all the reflections of glossy, without the "popping" colors/contrast.
  
• No dedicated GPU, if you were going to game or use GPU-bound software.
  
  Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro
  
  
• Not bad. Good GPU, good display. No SSD, but there's a great deal on one at Microcenter for the same price but with a dedicated 512GB SSD. http://www.microcenter.com/product/475414/Aspire_V15_Nitro_Black_Edition_VN7-593G-70U4_156_Gaming_Laptop_Computer_-_Slate_Black
  
• This one's also great: https://www.amazon.com/Eluktronics-P650HP6-Premium-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B01MT7P0QJ/
  
• And this if the greater thickness won't be an issue: https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-GT62VR-Dominator-027-i7-6700HQ/dp/B01K00YHMG/
  
  Dell Inspiron 15
  
  
• Some Inspiron 15 models are good; not this one. This Costco Inspiron 15 is saddled with the low quality TN display with poor contrast and viewing angles. Pretty freaking awful for $1150 IMO, regardless of SSD size. It looks like this: https://i.imgur.com/Sajajqc.jpg
  
• The good Inspiron Gaming 15 is the 7000 series, not the 5000 series... more specifically the 7567 with the IPS screen upgrade
  
• http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-256gb-solid-state-drive-black/5872507.p (Includes IPS)
  
• http://www.dell.com/en-us/member/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-7567-laptop/fncwf514s?selectionState=eyJGUHJpY2UiOjg5MC45OSwiT0MiOiJmbmN3ZjUxNHMiLCJRdHkiOjEsIk1vZHMiOlt7IklkIjo3NjAsIk9wdHMiOlt7IklkIjoiRkhETlQiLCJQcmljZSI6NDkuNX1dfSx7IklkIjo1NzIsIk9wdHMiOlt7IklkIjoiRkcwMDI4In1dfV19 (IPS upgrade auto-selected)
  
• If you would like the 512GB SSD, you can choose the 4K model if you don't mind gaming in non-native res, and making sure apps scale correctly. Good deals in the Dell Outlet usually, but none right now.
  
• Or you could choose the 7700HQ + 1TB model on Dell.com, pick the IPS upgrade on the config page, add a 512GB SSD yourself, and maybe also upgrade the RAM yourself.
  
• Or you can choose the Eluktronics N850HK1 model with the 512GB SSD for $1049. Even better type of IPS display.
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Eluktronics-N850HK1-Premium-Gaming-Laptop/dp/B01N7YTLD0/
  
• Note that may not apply to you anyway: There's an offered 4K model but it's PenTile (RG/BW) not-true-4K. I would choose the Inspiron 7567 4K model if you wanted 4K, since that is a true 4K display.
  
  Lenovo Legion Y520
  
  
• Not bad. Massive storage specs, however you may not need those, and the battery life is rather mediocre at under four hours.
  
• I'll usually recommend the Inspiron 7567 (IPS configs) and Eluktronics N850HK1 over this.
  
• Screen is fine, but I think the Inspiron 7567 IPS is slightly better, and the Eluktronics N850HK1 is definitely better.
  
  Lenovo Ideapad Y700
  
  
• It's not awful but the GPU is a 960M and you can easily get a 1050 or 1050 Ti at this price. Actually you can get a GTX 1060 / GTX 1060 for this price if you'll take advantage of it, but if not I might look at other options.
  
• Screens are IPS but none of these are as good as the Eluktronics' and Acer VN7-593G displays when it comes to color saturation. I wouldn't recommend the Y720 configs above $1150 or so; there are better options. (General exception that may not even apply to you: if you want 4K and are buying it specifically for that. Also applies to the Y700).
  
  Thinkpad P51s
  
  
• Thinkpads (T/P/X series) are great for durability and longevity. But, if you get this, don't pay to upgrade the CPU. They're all U-series. If you need CPU performance, I would choose the regular P51 with the HQ CPU. Link with Lenovo's 'Perks' discount. If you don't, cheapest i5-U is just as good as the rest, for all practical purposes.
  
• dGPU is also better in the P51 than the P51s, if you need that.

This infographic could help you start with your research to see what is available in different price ranges. You could look to see if some of the more expensive laptops on this list are on sale this weekend for the sales for Black Friday/Cyber Monday if you would like to take advantage of those sale prices. In terms of suggestions:

Acer Helios 300 is a solid choice but does look a lot like a gaming laptop if you have issues with that for college. It is not on sale for the weekend so you would be able to take your time on that one.

Razer Blade stealth looks great and is a great laptop but may not be great for gaming (due to the lack of a nice GPU) unless you plan on buying something like the Razer Blade Core to add an external GPU later. But obviously that will add a lot to the price and not make it too price efficient.

I personally have the ASUS Fx502vm and love it. It is very powerful and looks a little more professional (than other "Gaming laptops"). It is currently on sale for $1000 so you would probably have to buy it quickly to take advantage of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals but I got it for 1250 and still think it was a great buy.

My brother recently bought the Lenovo Y720 and loves it and it is on sale from $1300 to $1050 for Black Friday weekend.

Overall there are a lot of good deals online this weekend you could take advantage of this weekend or you could take your time and do research and find the best laptop that fits you. $1000 to $1200 is a great price range because you can start to get some powerful laptops for a good price. I think you should try to buy a laptop with a NVIDIA GPU if you are paying that much for a GPU but if a graphics card isn't a high priority, the Razer Blade Stealth is a good option especially for below $1000.

I have one last question if you wouldn't mind answering it for me. I've spent a lot of time researching more on the laptop models that the comments have suggested for me, as well as doing my own research on some I like, and I am very close to making a decision. I was just wondering on whether or not you would be able to tell me which one you think would be the best path to follow. I'm asking both you and u/shopineer since your usernames tend to pop up a lot in the subreddit and you both seem like you know what you're doing.

1. The Acer Aspire E15 - In doing my own research, I'll admit that I really like the sound of this one. The price tag and value you get for this model is incredible, and it looks like this is a positively reviewed laptop on both here as well as Amazon. The general design is a bit bulky but I thoroughly enjoy it for some reason, I'm just not sure how much upgrading it would cost. RAM isn't too much from what I've read but to add an SSD to it rather than rely on the HDD within, that could be a bit costly.
   
   
2. The Acer Spin 5 - This one is also one that I enjoy, but with a somewhat heftier price tag. The 2-in-1 form factor is definitely cool and the SSD included is definitely a boost over standard HDD. My main concern here is whether or not that 2-in-1 form factor would be best used in my hands, seeing as it's still a somewhat large rectangle in tablet mode and I'm not exactly going to take notes or likely draw with it anytime soon. I'm unsure on whether or not this can be easily upgraded (it seems like the RAM is from the reviews I read, which also favor this device, but I can't find anything on SSD upgrades) and the bigger price tag makes me a bit hesitant if the previous option would be better overall.
   
   I ultimately decided against the HP models that were suggested to me in this thread because they didn't seem to have very good reviews upon closer inspection. They're beautiful pieces of machinery but I don't think they're the correct fit for me. The same goes for the Acer Swift 3, since the reviews point to possible bad experiences in comparison to the laptops I've narrowed it down to. Even now I'm hesitant to purchase a used or refurbished unit, hence why I won't attempt to go after a refurbished Surface 2 or 3, and while this Acer Aspire E15 model is tempting, I'm still a bit squeamish since it seems like a very hit-or-miss sort of ordeal.
   
   The main question now is whether it's a better choice to go with an Aspire E15 that can be upgraded, which could serve as something to gain experience from, or whether it would still be the better choice to opt for a Spin 5. Any advice you can give me is greatly appreciated and thank you for taking the time to help everyone here. A lot of us would more than likely be lost without helpful users like you.

You're not going to be able to do squat for video editing or streaming on a 250-370 dollar laptop. the best laptops in that price range to be completely honest are chromebooks. Chromebooks aren't bad but you can't do much other than chrome based stuff, hence the name. If you just wanted to watch videos and could tolerate a 720p screen, chromebooks would be fine, but I will NEVER recommend any windows laptop at that price point unless for some odd reason it has more than 6 gigabytes of RAM. 6 is the bare minimum that one should accept when using Windows 10, and 8 should be the target minimum. Only get 6 gigabytes of RAM if that's the absolute best you could afford at the time. You may be better off spending a couple hundred extra dollars on something like the Acer Aspire or one of the many HP x360 models. I personally recommend the x360 over the acer simply because I've got better product history with HP than I do Acer. I personally didn't get my laptop on Amazon, couldn't find one for my budget that was good enough. I paid 400 dollars for mine. I have the HP 15-bw053od. It's a 15 inch laptop with a quad core AMD APU and pretty decent integrated graphics (good enough to game on actually) it also has 8 gigabytes of RAM out of the box but I could upgrade to 16 any time for pretty cheap. Also it has a pretty slow 5400 RPM hard drive but that could also be swapped out with an SSD down the road. Amazon may not be the best place for you to get yourself a laptop unless you wanna bump your budget up by a couple hundred dollars, I got my laptop at OfficeMax. Microcenter is also a good place to look for laptops though.
Here are a couple links to okay/good laptops on Amazon, which are sadly about your 370 dollar limit:

HP x360 2in1

Acer Aspire E15

Both of those are pretty strong for the price, but they wouldn't be the absolute best at video editing. Depending on the webcam streaming you want to do those laptops could do just fine. The acer would do video editing a bit better simply for having an SSD installed already, but if I remember correctly, you could also put an SSD in the x360, which is also a touch screen, which I think is pretty useful for a lot of windows programs outside of gaming.

Not sure what your budget is but you can run Fallout 4 on the Acer Predator Helios 300. I did a review on it a few days ago so it might be helpful to you

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The Acer Predator Helios 300 was always known to be one of the best budget gaming laptops and now that the 2018 model has dropped in price it might be worth getting now in 2019.

Who is this laptop for?

The design is not professional by any means as it has a black metal lid (plastic body) with the predator logo in the middle and two red stripes running vertically. As for students, it is not ideal as it weighs about 6 pounds which is not ideal for bringing around and its limited battery life adds to its lack of portability. But for gamers and creators, Acer Predator Helios 300 finds its home.

Ports

• Full size Ethernet jack

• USB type-c

• Full-sized HDMI

• USB 3.0

• Full size SD card

• Two USB 2.0 ports

• Audio jack

Upgrades & Maintenance

Just like all other versions of the Helios 300 upgrading is easy. There is a slot for a 2.5 inch hard drive which and the RAM is easily accessible by taking off 2 screws if you want to get. The m.2 nvme SSD can also be upgraded but you have to do a little more work. There are a lot of screws to remove in order to get to the CPU & GPU if you want to repaste.

Battery Life

The battery is 48 watt hours which is quite small for a laptop this powerful so don't expect to get a lot of gaming out of this when it's off the charger. Even when you are just browsing or watching a few videos you will be limited to around three hours of use so if you are gaming it is best you to keep it plugged in the entire time.

Display

The display in this model has an 98% srgb rating which is ideal for people who want to edit photos and are videos. With over 300 nits of brightness this laptop is able to game outdoors reasonably well. The 144 Hz screen will give a nice and smooth gameplay but unfortunately, it doesn't have G sync.

Others

· The 720p webcam is placed at the top of the device and it is not of the best quality, it is grainy and not ideal for conference calls.

· The speakers are placed at the bottom and they are bang average. Nothing special but not terrible either

· The keyboard has a nice rubber feel which makes it nice to game and type on

Performance

This version of the Helios comes with Intel's 8th gen coffee-like processor, which has six cores that means you can game comfortably at 1080p with settings at high and stream at the same time without any bottlenecking its GPU. This laptop will comfortably run new titles or any modern titles and will be able to do so with its settings set to high.

Gaming performance is only bottlenecked by thermal throttling. The Helios falls short in the heating department. The keyboard reaches around 53 degrees Celsius, which is a few degrees higher than what is acceptable. Additionally, after extended gaming periods there is noticeable thermal throttling. The CPU temperatures start spiking and there are frame drops while you are playing.

There are methods that will help with the throttling if you don't want any frames to drop and you want a good experience.

Firstly, don't let the system determine the fan rotations, set it to max and leave it on max all the time with cool boost enabled. This will keep the CPU temps around 80 degrees. If you want to get the laptop even cooler you can undervolt the CPU and GPU and also repaste

Conclusion:

The Acer Predator Helios 300 still offers a lot of value for the money especially that is on sale. The display is great for gaming and most importantly it is color accurate for creators who want a gaming laptop

Most gaming laptops do not have a good battery life so that’s no big deal. The only real downside of this laptop is its heat management but that can be handled with a few tweaks.