New to Tech. Looking for New Laptop (easy question)

[David Morley]

Hey there,

 

Recently discovered Linus Tech and his great, informative channel. I'm new to this world of computer language and parts with some basic knowledge of computer components but could use some help with purchasing a new laptop. If you know of a similar topic somewhere that would answer this, feel free to guide me in that direction.

 

I'm finally getting a new laptop and I have a budget of $500 to do so. My goals for this laptop with be some light gaming (light meaning playing online shooters a few times a month) and then the rest will be grad school use (so just Microsoft Office type of work). Nothing crazy as you can see.

 

Should I get a laptop that is at the higher-end of my budget and has an i7 processor with 8 gigs of ram and a decent graphics card and screen, or should I get a cheaper $200 laptop and buy the upgraded components to install manually (SSD, ram, graphics card, etc)?

 

Thanks guys!

[Zando_]

Most laptops don't have user upgradable GPUs or CPUs, only the RAM and HDD can be swapped. And on most newer ones in that price range, they're horrible to take apart because they use plastic clips and screws, instead of just screws (IDK why but they just do), so if you don't have the right tools you'll snap them and your laptop will have a hard time holding itself together. Defo get the best specs you can off the bat on a laptop. 

[LukeSavenije]

2 minutes ago, David Morley said:

Hey there,

 

Recently discovered Linus Tech and his great, informative channel. I'm new to this world of computer language and parts with some basic knowledge of computer components but could use some help with purchasing a new laptop. If you know of a similar topic somewhere that would answer this, feel free to guide me in that direction.

 

I'm finally getting a new laptop and I have a budget of $500 to do so. My goals for this laptop with be some light gaming (light meaning playing online shooters a few times a month) and then the rest will be grad school use (so just Microsoft Office type of work). Nothing crazy as you can see.

 

Should I get a laptop that is at the higher-end of my budget and has an i7 processor with 8 gigs of ram and a decent graphics card and screen, or should I get a cheaper $200 laptop and buy the upgraded components to install manually (SSD, ram, graphics card, etc)?

 

Thanks guys!

You can't just slot in a gpu in most laptops. Those things can only be done in desktops. Ram is also a problem in some laptops, cpu can't be swapped out, ssd is fine on most pc's, but for this budget you can get maybe a i5 with a mx150 (aka gt 1030). 

[r2724r16]

If you want a laptop, go check out Dave2D's channel. He covers many different laptops at various price points, and his reviews are pretty informative and well thought out.

5 minutes ago, David Morley said:

I'm finally getting a new laptop and I have a budget of $500 to do so. My goals for this laptop with be some light gaming (light meaning playing online shooters a few times a month) and then the rest will be grad school use (so just Microsoft Office type of work). Nothing crazy as you can see.

At this budget, it doesn't really make sense to buy a new laptop. Look for good deals on the used market with a good CPU/GPU, and upgrade the RAM and storage in the future if needed.

[LukeSavenije]

Also, do you mind desktops or does it need to be a laptop?

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

I would save up a little more and get a budget gaming laptop

[David Morley]

Helpful information. Thanks guys. It would need to be a laptop only because I will be needing to take this to campus for grad school work. 

[genexis_x]

10 hours ago, David Morley said:

budget of $500

Might want to go used, something with a decent GPU like 960M

 

Any preference on weight and battery life?