I am looking for a $400-550 laptop for Light gaming, and general use

Fumblerful

Estimable
Dec 16, 2014
5
0
4,510
Country of purchase: USA
Budget range: $400-550
Purpose: schoolwork, light gaming, YouTube, and internet browsing
Screen size preference: 15" give or take
OS preference: Windows 64 bit professional.
Gaming requirements (example games and desired fps/settings): If it can run CK2 or at least 3089 it is fine
Other performance requirements: None
Brand preferences and reasons: not lenovo. Have heard bad things about them from programmers
Any particular style that you like (examples are great): no
Which of the following qualities would you prefer? (Choose one, two, or balanced) *
Long battery life -vs- Low weight -vs- High performance: balanced, less than 5.2 lbs
Build quality -vs- Low price -vs- High performance: Build and low price
Low noise/heat -vs- High performance: low noise
Which features would you pay a premium for?
High resolution screen: no
A great keyboard: no
A great touch-pad/mouse buttons: No
Great audio: No
List any features that are critical:
Less than 5.2 pounds.
 
Solution
It is going to be a bit difficult to buy a laptop that uses Windows 7 because brand names companies have dropped it in favor of Win 8. The exceptions are business oriented laptops which does have an option to install Windows 7, but it is generally a $50 - $100 option. Business laptops are also generally more expensive than consumer laptops.

I recommend the following 15.6" Toshiba which is currently on sale for $449 (excluding Office 365). It has a Core i5-5200u CPU and a 1080p touchscreen, but no DVD drive, and yes, it has Windows 8. It weighs in at 4.49lbs.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Toshiba-Satellite-S55t-B5152-Signature-Edition-Laptop/productID.314413400

You can update it to Windows 10 for free when it is...

Fumblerful

Estimable
Dec 16, 2014
5
0
4,510


Actually 8 is fine. I'll just get 10 when it comes out.
 
It is going to be a bit difficult to buy a laptop that uses Windows 7 because brand names companies have dropped it in favor of Win 8. The exceptions are business oriented laptops which does have an option to install Windows 7, but it is generally a $50 - $100 option. Business laptops are also generally more expensive than consumer laptops.

I recommend the following 15.6" Toshiba which is currently on sale for $449 (excluding Office 365). It has a Core i5-5200u CPU and a 1080p touchscreen, but no DVD drive, and yes, it has Windows 8. It weighs in at 4.49lbs.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Toshiba-Satellite-S55t-B5152-Signature-Edition-Laptop/productID.314413400

You can update it to Windows 10 for free when it is released towards the end of July. Below is a link to a Windows 10 technical preview from Oct 2014 when it was made available for download. Windows 10 has been updated since then, but it provides a baseline as to what it looks like. You can easily search for more recent videos that reflects changes to the technical preview version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGT9pSuacCI
 
Solution