New laptop for college that can also handle light gaming

[Stark112]

I am looking for a new laptop for college that I can also play the Sims 3 with all expansions on medium settings. Looking for something with a 15-16" screen, nothing too large with 6GB of ram. Max spending limit is $1,000. TIA

 

[Stark112]

No one? I know nothing about computers. If someone could just give me a general idea of what I should look for...

 

[BearTheIrish]

best laptop for you would probably be an ultra-book that comes as close to 1k as you can get it maybe an Asus or Lenovo seem to be producing some of the best.

Sims 3 has very low graphical demands so a dedicated graphics card might be over kill but wont hurt you so you should be fine with a laptop or ultra book with an [Intel HD graphics (3000 or 4000)]

 

[vedeyn]

You could get the base m14x r2 model for $1000. Its an amazing laptop imo

 

[BearTheIrish]

i'm sorry but
STAY AWAY FROM ALIENWARE
under NO circumstance should you get one of there laptops ... i spent 3k on an m15 3-4 years ago and it cant do JACK SH*T for gaming
yea it could probably handle sims 3 no problem but just stay away from them.

besides for a laptop in college you need battery life and it needs to be lightweight both of which Alienwares lack

 

[jordonc]

Honestly, I have no idea what would be best for you. I'm not even sure which I'd buy for myself. Each laptop I picked out has its strengths and weaknesses, whether it's the screen, graphics performance, weight, or battery life.

Okay, so I spent some time on Newegg gathering a few laptops around, all varying in price and performance levels. The key for me is just what kind of performance gaming performance you are looking for. If you just need lower to medium settings at a lower resolution, but no lag, go with an ultrabook with the intel HD 4000 graphics like BearTheIrish said. You'll get great battery life and the ability to play non-demanding games at decent quality. I used the desktop version of the HD 4000 graphids and was running Mass Effect 2 and 3 at medium settings and 720p. But I did have some problems getting some games to run, and I'm not sure if the Sims 3 is one of them. That being said, if you want to be able to play your games at a higher quality, get a laptop with a dedicated graphics card such as a 640m, 650m, 660m, or 7670m. They will only have 3-4 hours of battery instead of the 8+ that you might get with an ultrabook, but that's the price you pay for better gaming.

The first 4 I picked out all have dedicated graphics cards and will play games better, but they all weigh more and have less battery life. The MSI and Samsung have the nicer screens. The Acer I picked has just the HD 4000 graphics (worst of the bunch) and has a weaker (bust still capable) i5 cpu, but on the plus side has a small SSD, costs the least, weighs the least, and you get a $100 gift card.
Sorry this post got so out of hand.

$1050 SAMSUNG Series 7 NP700Z5C-S01US Notebook Intel Core i7 3615QM(2.30GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory DDR3 1600 750GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834131310
or
$939.99 after $100.00 rebate MSI G Series GE60 0NC-006US Notebook Intel Core i7 3610QM(2.30GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 750GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (heavier and lower battery life though)
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152339
or
$780 TOSHIBA Satellite S855-S5266 Notebook Intel Core i7 3610QM(2.30GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory DDR3 1333 640GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi AMD Radeon HD 7670M
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214875&Tpk=S855-S5266
or
$900 lenovo IdeaPad Y580 (20994CU) Notebook Intel Core i7 3610QM(2.30GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory DDR3 1600 750GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246628
or
$750 + free $100 gift card Acer Aspire TimelineU M5-581T-6490 Ultrabook Intel Core i5 3317U(1.70GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 500GB HDD + 20GB SSD HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi Intel HD Graphics http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215402

 

[Stark112]

Thank you so much for your replies. I have been looking over the Ultrabooks and I think I'm decided on the Asus Zenbook Prime.

 

[Stark112]

Best answer selected by Stark112.