Looking for a budget laptop for around $800

[deadlybunny]

Hello! I am looking to replace my desktop as my primary gaming machine. my desktop is currently running an AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz(cant unlock the 4th core, not stable) and a radeon 2900xt(old i know!)

1. What is your budget?
around $800 US. not a hard cap, but would like to keep it around here.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

Anything over 14"

3. What screen resolution do you want?

doesn't matter

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

doesn't matter

5. How much battery life do you need?

doesn't matter

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

I would like to play Wow and starcraft 2 at medium-high settings if possible. also plan on using it for diablo 3

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
n/a

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

At least 120gb

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

newegg, amazon, etc. doesn't really matter.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

2-3 years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

Any, Blu-ray would be a bonus but not necessary

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

Anyone trustworthy

13. What country do you live in?

United States


thanks in advance to any replies!

 

[WR2]

TOSHIBA Satellite L655 @ $800
Core i5 480M(2.66GHz) 15.6" 1366x768 LCD w/ Mobility Radeon HD 5650
4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVD burner

 

[WR2]

Acer Aspire AS7745G @ $900
Core i7 740QM(1.73GHz) 17.3" 1600x900 LCD w/ Mobility Radeon HD 5650
4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Blu-Ray Combo drive

 

[WR2]

This might be your best option:

lenovo IdeaPad Y560 @ $800
Core i5 480M(2.66GHz) 15.6" 1366x768 LCD w/ Mobility Radeon HD 5730
4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVD burner.

 

[deadlybunny]

Thanks for the replies! reading the reviews on the lenovo laptop i found this candidate
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115987
they both seem to be very similar, but the acer is 80$ cheaper with a gt 540m.

 

[WR2]

Core i5-480M (2.66GHz) & GeForce GT 540M @ $730.
Nice find. A good bump up in GPU power and a lower price. I think you have a winner.

 

[WR2]

NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M review

Laptop gets a decent review as well: Review Acer Aspire 5742G Notebook (GT 540M) not an exact model match but it should do for comparison of case features, etc.
Your model has an upgraded i5-480M CPU and 4GB vs i5-450M & 8GB in the reviewed model.

 

[WR2]

And I just noticed the Core i3 380M(2.53GHz) & GT 540M $650 model.
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115986
That's also an excellent price point.

 

[deadlybunny]

Ill probably go with the i5 as I assume the 80$ difference is worth the CPU performance increase. thanks again for your help, unless someone else finds a super amazing deal I'm probably going to go with the i5 acer!

 

[deadlybunny]

Best answer selected by deadlybunny.