Upgrading Laptops

[MauricioGomez]

So I have been on my ancient macbook for a really long time. And since then I've been wanting to move towards windows instead of mac. Thus I was looking at the Toshiba Satellite L755-S7111, but I still wanted to know if there's a better option for a laptop. I use it mostly for school and the occasional game (mostly Minecraft). Are there any suggestions that you guys want me to consider? My price point is from 200-300 dollars. 

[ZetZet]

Uhm, it's toshiba and it's old? Can you link what you picked? What is your budget?

[MauricioGomez]

I haven't really picked anything just a consideration. And my budget is from 200-300 dollars. 

[LOLZpersonok]

You might be able to pick up a pretty decent used laptop for cheap. Right now, I'm using a Toshiba Satellite P30 from 2004 or so, and it's a pretty nice laptop, which has an excellent 17" display and the best speakers I've ever heard on a laptop. Better yet, I picked it up off the curb for free. Of course, you're looking for something newer. Check the classified ads (Like Craigslist, for example) or check eBay, but be careful on eBay. Because you like playing Minecraft, I'd suggest something that has dedicated graphics. Even though Minecraft isn't a particularly heavy game, it still benefits from having a dedicated GPU.

 

Enter a BestBuy store and have a look around. I got my current main machine from FutureShop (Basically the same thing as BestBuy) and it's a really nice machine. I got it on sale for $650, where the original price was around $800 or so. It plays pretty much any game that I want, and it looks pretty good too. It's out of your budget, but then again, my laptop doesn't use cheap hardware.

[alexhelvetica]

I haven't really picked anything just a consideration. And my budget is from 200-300 dollars. 

I don't think you would do much minecraft of a >$300 laptop.

My brother has a dual core i5 laptop that runs minecraft at 20fps on low settings. (about $500)

[MauricioGomez]

I don't think you would do much minecraft of a >$300 laptop.

My brother has a dual core i5 laptop that runs at 20fps on low settings. (about $500)

It'd still be better than my mac right now. It doesn't even have ddr3.

[MauricioGomez]

You might be able to pick up a pretty decent used laptop for cheap. Right now, I'm using a Toshiba Satellite P30 from 2004 or so, and it's a pretty nice laptop, which has an excellent 17" display and the best speakers I've ever heard on a laptop. Better yet, I picked it up off the curb for free. Of course, you're looking for something newer. Check the classified ads (Like Craigslist, for example) or check eBay, but be careful on eBay. Because you like playing Minecraft, I'd suggest something that has dedicated graphics. Even though Minecraft isn't a particularly heavy game, it still benefits from having a dedicated GPU.

 

Enter a BestBuy store and have a look around. I got my current main machine from FutureShop (Basically the same thing as BestBuy) and it's a really nice machine. I got it on sale for $650, where the original price was around $800 or so. It plays pretty much any game that I want, and it looks pretty good too. It's out of your budget, but then again, my laptop doesn't use cheap hardware.

Yeah I think I'll look around. But I know the people there are often like super pushy to buy stuff I'll have a look around though

[alexhelvetica]

It'd still be better than my mac right now. It doesn't even have ddr3.

whats your mac's specs?

[MauricioGomez]

2.4 ghz Intel Core 2 duo

2 GB 667 MHz DDR2

Intel GMA X3100 144 mb

 

whats your mac's specs?

[techguru]

 

2.4 ghz Intel Core 2 duo

2 GB 667 MHz DDR2

Intel GMA X3100 144 mb

 

 

craiglist

kijiji

look for a i3 with a dedicated videocard

maybe something like a 820m or something

[alexhelvetica]

 

2.4 ghz Intel Core 2 duo

2 GB 667 MHz DDR2

Intel GMA X3100 144 mb

 

 

What year is it from and is it a Macbook?

[LOLZpersonok]

Yeah I think I'll look around. But I know the people there are often like super pushy to buy stuff I'll have a look around though

 

Here's another idea: You can also look at refurbished machines too. $200-300 probably won't get you much in the way of dedicated graphics (especially brand new), so you really have to shop around. Again, pay close attention to refurbished and used machines. You can often get a good deal there. You can also sell your MacBook and put the money towards a new laptop. Apple computers tend to retain their value more than Windows machines, so based on the specs you listed in other posts, you might be able to get another $150-300 out of it.

[MauricioGomez]

What year is it from and is it a Macbook?

Early 2008

[MauricioGomez]

Here's another idea: You can also look at refurbished machines too. $200-300 probably won't get you much in the way of dedicated graphics (especially brand new), so you really have to shop around. Again, pay close attention to refurbished and used machines. You can often get a good deal there.

hmm Okay sounds good

[MauricioGomez]

craiglist

kijiji

look for a i3 with a dedicated videocard

maybe something like a 820m or something

any you recommend? 

[LOLZpersonok]

hmm Okay sounds good

Don't forget to check the edit I made to that post!

[MauricioGomez]

sounds great but I plan on handing this down to my sister. 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-G50-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Core/dp/B00K6ZIFAQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1436000919&sr=1-1&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289794011

 

Would that be a good buy?

[LOLZpersonok]

sounds great but I plan on handing this down to my sister. 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-G50-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Core/dp/B00K6ZIFAQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1436000919&sr=1-1&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289794011

 

Would that be a good buy?

 

This would be a good everyday laptop, but I can't vouch for its performance in playing Minecraft. You can search the web for performance of specific games on specific computers or hardware sets, this might help. That's usually what I do. But just know that the results you see may not always be accurate - prior to me purchasing Skyrim to play on my laptop, I looked up my laptop's configuration to see how well it'd do with that game. People suggested that I'd be able to play it at medium graphics at 1080p; however, I can play it at high graphics with a 1080p resolution, and I can even play ultra on the laptop's built-in 1366x768 display.