Which budget laptop?

[cluffboy]

Hello people of tom's hardware,

I am needing a laptop for college school work (pre-pharmacy @ UofA, so no intensive programs will need to be run on this laptop) but I would also like it to do some light and casual gaming. i.e. Baldurs Gate II, Neverwinter Nights II, WoW. I don't own these games, except wow (haven't played for a year, but i may get back on), and they look interesting enough that i would like to play them with my brother online. I am assuming since they are older just about anything will run them. I would really like to play some of torchlight II and Diablo III on this thing if possible. Lower settings are ok, low FR and lagging are not.

I am not sure how unrealistic my expectations are since this is a budget machine and my wife will let me spend ~$400 +/-$50. I have picked out a few deals going on and would appreciate any input between the 3, or any suggestions outside the box would be great as well.

DELL

(this one looks decent on paper, but has a large number of negative reviews, price- $399 before taxes from dell.com)

Processor
Intel® Core™; i3-390M (2.66Ghz, 3M)
Operating System
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, SP1 64-Bit, English
Memory3Help Me Choose
4GB Single Channel DDR3 Memory
Chipset
Mobile Intel® 5 series express chipset HM57
Video Card
Intel® HD Graphic



HP

(this one is a floor model for $392 after taxes from best buy, it looks in great condition, but i am not sure if i should stay clear of a floor model)

Processor Platform AMD VISION A6 APU
Processor AMD A6-Series
Processor Speed 2.4GHz
Battery Type 6-cell lithium-ion
Display Type High-definition LED-backlit with BrightView technology (1600 x 900)
Screen Size (Measured Diagonally) 17.3"
Cache Memory 4MB on die Level 2
System Memory (RAM) 4GB
System Memory (RAM) Expandable To 8GB
Type of Memory (RAM) DDR3
Computer Hard Drive Size 640GB
Optical Drive DVD±RW/CD-RW
Optical Drive Speeds Drive speeds not specified
Direct-Disc Labeling No
Digital Media Reader or Slots Yes, digital media card reader
Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6520G dedicated
Video Memory Up to 2037MB


HP

(this one is more portable than the g7 for sure, priced at $377 after taxes and rebates from staples)

AMD Dual-Core A4-3305M Processor
4GB installed memory
640GB hard drive
15.6-inch diagonal HD(8) BrightView LED-backlit display (1366x768)
Digital media card reader for Secure Digital and Multimedia cards
SuperMulti DVD burner
AMD Radeon™ HD 6480G Discrete-Class Graphics with up to 2037MB total graphics memory


thank you all in advance, and let me know if any other information would be more helpful.

-brian

 

[clairesmith]

DELL

(this one looks decent on paper, but has a large number of negative reviews, price- $399 before taxes from dell.com)

Processor
Intel® Core™; i3-390M (2.66Ghz, 3M)
Operating System
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, SP1 64-Bit, English
Memory3Help Me Choose
4GB Single Channel DDR3 Memory
Chipset
Mobile Intel® 5 series express chipset HM57
Video Card
Intel® HD Graphic

__i go with this one..HV is one of the best recommended laptop a college student should have.Its just my opinion about waht laptop should you buy among the choices.


http/www.techyv.com/article/top-10-best-laptop-brands

 

[cluffboy]

DELL

(this one looks decent on paper, but has a large number of negative reviews, price- $399 before taxes from dell.com)

Processor
Intel® Core™; i3-390M (2.66Ghz, 3M)
Operating System
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, SP1 64-Bit, English
Memory3Help Me Choose
4GB Single Channel DDR3 Memory
Chipset
Mobile Intel® 5 series express chipset HM57
Video Card
Intel® HD Graphic

__i go with this one..HV is one of the best recommended laptop a college student should have.Its just my opinion about waht laptop should you buy among the choices.


http/www.techyv.com/article/top-10-best-laptop-brands

Thank you for your idea, i followed the link to the computers listed, but it seems that they recommend the brand and type, but not so much the specific build.

I am not too concerned with brand so much as what is a more capable machine based on the specs, and whether those differences are worth it based on price (and somewhat to do with brand also based on reliability)

thank you