Under $1000 Gaming Laptop with Non-Gaming Aesthetics

[Guilty Baby]

So my friend (who is currently a mac user) gave me an odd request of finding laptop that could game on but wouldn't scream "GAMING" because he doesn't want his parents to scrutinize him for it. (Honestly he should just settle it with his parents.)

 

Anyway... here are some of basic requirements that I nailed down from his picky requests:

- Under 16" IPS panel.

- No giant 1 inch thick laptops.

- Preferably lightweight.

- Reasonable battery life that will last at least 4 hours on lightload.

- i5 CPU and 950M+ GPU Power 

- Under $1000

 

So far my list consist of the Asus K501UX (specs) just because it's not overly expensive and kinda fits with the mac-like profile. I know the I'm not using all 1000 dollars and could probably get a 960M for that budget but I can't seem to find one that isn't branded with either green or red highlights, lol.

 

Thanks guys. Any recommendation would be appreciated!

 

I really wish there was a website where you could nail down a list of laptops based on specs (like PCPartPicker) but unfortunately not even manufacturers' own websites do that very well.

[Xenift]

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y700-series/y700-15-inch/

 

Just say it is a laptop with awesome speakers.

 

 

But please, at that price point not getting this laptop is a shame.

[Sauron]

An asus n550jw should do the job, looks pretty standard from the outside but packs a serious punch.

[AllHokage]

Macbook air! Can play at ultra 120fps on minesweeper

 

But seriously the laptop @Xenift linked is awesome! (stole my suggestion )

[AlphaGamer46]

So my friend (who is currently a mac user) gave me an odd request of finding laptop that could game on but wouldn't scream "GAMING" because he doesn't want his parents to scrutinize him for it. (Honestly he should just settle it with his parents.)

 

Anyway... here are some of basic requirements that I nailed down from his picky requests:

- Under 16" IPS panel.

- No giant 1 inch thick laptops.

- Preferably lightweight.

- Reasonable battery life that will last at least 4 hours on lightload.

- i5 CPU and 950M+ GPU Power 

- Under $1000

 

So far my list consist of the Asus K501UX (specs) just because it's not overly expensive and kinda fits with the mac-like profile. I know the I'm not using all 1000 dollars and could probably get a 960M for that budget but I can't seem to find one that isn't branded with either green or red highlights, lol.

 

Thanks guys. Any recommendation would be appreciated!

 

I really wish there was a website where you could nail down a list of laptops based on specs (like PCPartPicker) but unfortunately not even manufacturers' own websites do that very well.

Just go to your local computer retailer to look for a laptop.

 

If you want a gaming laptop with non-gaming aesthetics, make sure the laptop meets these criteria.

 

1. An i5 CPU (For gaming, I recommend a quad core)

2. Dedicated graphics. When getting a laptop for gaming, make sure it has dedicated graphics otherwise your games will look awful. Most non-gaming laptops these days ship with AMD graphics chips.

3. Screen under 16". Most decent laptops ship with a 15.6" display.

4. One without an optical drive. Laptops without optical drives are generally thinner than those with. If you need an optical drive, purchase one from your local computer retailer or online. They are like $20AUD.

 

The batteries are probably where the issues will arise. If you try to game on the battery not connected to mains power, that charge will disappear. These laptops all last at least 4 hours on light load with most of them having 6+ hour batteries out of the box.

 

I was looking at buying a laptop last year and found some really good ones for around $700-900AUD. You should be able to find one cheap somewhere.

 

Hope this helped! Alpha.

[ZacDaMan72]

 

Acer Aspire V15 Nitro, does this look too gamery to you?

[ShadowCaptain]

SNIP

 

 

This is perfect IMO though not exactly a slim ultrabook, its not exactly that fat and heavy either - and its a great price for the spec with the 960m!!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i7559-763BLK-Full-HD-GeForce/dp/B015PYYDMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450170029&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+960m

 

 

But there are others, like the MSI Ghost Pro and Phantom, Acer Nitro, HP Omen etc

 

But I guess its subjective in terms of what looks gamery etc

 

But you are limited with your budget, id never recommend LESS than the 960m

[exercutor5]

http://www.sagernotebook.com/Notebook-NP7255.html

[Guest Kloaked]

2. Dedicated graphics. When getting a laptop for gaming, make sure it has dedicated graphics otherwise your games will look awful. Most non-gaming laptops these days ship with AMD graphics chips.

 

Small criticism: you can't just look for a PC with dedicated graphics and a good CPU and think it's a good gaming machine for your money. That sounds like what a BestBuy employee would tell me to look for.

 

Plus, AMD's dedicated chips have gotten a lot better on the mobile side. Now if you're talking about their integrated graphics, yes that's true.

[Xenift]

-snip-

The i5 is a quad core.

These days laptops all have intel graphics, it is the old laptops that have amd graphics.

15.6" is huge for a laptop, trust me.

Mostly nowadays, other than ultrabooks, standard work laptops around $500 all have optical drives.

 

And really, there is no alternative to gaming wirelessly at this point in time. I am afraid that a socket has to be nearby if you wan't to game for longer than an hour.

[Xenift]

-snip-

Great choice really! Some of my friends use this laptop. 

The laptop has a black edition which has the same graphics processor as the Y700, and slightly better CPU to boot.

 

However the laptop seems to fluctuate in pricing really easily(actually nah) and that the speakers are not really as good as the ones on the Y700.

[Guilty Baby]

Thanks for all the replies! I think the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 seems to be the best deal out all of them. Unless I'm missing something. It does seem fishy though, so cheap for quite a bit of hardware.

[Castdeath97]

Thanks for all the replies! I think the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 seems to be the best deal out all of them. Unless I'm missing something. It does seem fishy though, so cheap for quite a bit of hardware.

I found some reviews for it, it's good:

 

http://www.9to5gadgets.com/2015/11/review-dell-inspiron-i7559-763blk-cheap.html

 

http://pcverge.com/dell-inspiron-i7559-763blk-15-6-full-hd-gaming-laptop-review/

 

http://techforpennies.com/dell-inspiron-i7559-763blk-review/