Recommendations for a good but cheap laptop? (For gaming)

[Pastry Popper]

I know laptops aren't the best for gaming, but seeing as I don't hav e highspeed internet, I think something portable would be nice. Unfortunately, I don't have the money at the moment, so I have plenty of time to think and hopefully find something.
My budget is kind of low at 300-400 dollars, but I think that might be good enough. What I'm looking for is something that has a decent-mid range dedicated graphics card, and can play games such as Far Cry 3, Skyrim, and Metro 2033 at low settings and at least 25-30 fps. Probably a long shot, but it's worth a try. I would also prefer it to run on Windows 7.

I do have a parts list for a desktop, which also comes at $400 including the OS. But after that, I still need a monitor, keyboard, external wifi adapter, and probably a desk and chair. So a laptop would be much easier. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[mason]

Hello, I am xXWoLF's friend, and he linked me to this. I am a computer builder and have much knowledge of computers. I few weeks ago I found this one video that is a $500 budget build that ran Metro LL on Max getting 30 FPS, and Crysis 3 on High getting 30-45 FPS.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twUM3vkm-mo There it is. The only thing I would change is the PSU to a 550-600watt. This is $100 higher than your budget, but, I think you may be able to get the extra money. Really any budget below will not match this performance. Expect 60-70 FPS in Battlefield 4 on High-Max. And, a word of advice: A "decent" gaming laptop that could play games on high on a 1080p resolution (Most laptops arnt 1080p) would cost around $2000.

[senseidongen]

At prices as low as you suggested, you should look at AMD APU powered machines. Sure, not CPU power houses but the iGPU is pretty decent and I doubt you'd get better gaming performance without forking out more money.

For reference, I have an A6 APU powered HP Envy which will happily play Just Cause 2, Crysis, Left 4 Dead and a few other games at medium(/high, though not for crysis) settings just fine. This is going on the laptop's own display resolution (1366 x 768). Bear in mind as well that mine is a thin, ULV laptop so you should be able to get better performance from a normal voltage APU.

Edit: for a $400 budget gaming desktop, an APU is also not a bad idea

[Pastry Popper]

I guess I'm going with the desktop then. Going to be a hassle to carry that thing whenever I want to install or update a game, but it should be worth it. Thanks for the help everyone!
senseidongen, the pc I have a parts list for is an AMD build with an APU. I'll post the parts with links below. (credit goes to _I_ for the list) Let me know if there's something better for about the same price that I can substitute.

AMD A8-5500 Trinity 3.2GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 65W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 7560D $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113288

ECS A55F2-M3(1.0) FM2 AMD A55 (Hudson D2) HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $50/40ar
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135327

Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model BLT2KIT2G3D1608DT1TX0 $17
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148488


Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148767
LG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH24NS72 - OEM $18
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136254

XION XON-710P_BK Black Steel Micro ATX / Mini ITX Slim Desktop Computer Case 300W Power Supply $40/30ar
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208049

adding win 7 64 is $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

[rotNdude]

Your budget is too low. Keep saving your money.

[senseidongen]

All looks good, though consider upgrading to a mobo with A75 chipset as that will be have SATA 6GBps, plus in case you wish to later crossfire your APU with a seperate GPU. I have a desktop with an A10-6800K and when I need to I plan to crossfire with an HD7750 :)

[Soylent_Merchant]

Do not get an APU build. Dead end upgrade wise, save up at least 600-700, And if you want AMD get a AM3+ bases build.
And if your budget is only 300-400 and you have no foreseeable plans to save up more, a PS4 may actually be your best bet

[Pastry Popper]

I'd much rather have a computer because I plan on using it for more than just gaming.

Messaggio originale di senseidongen:

All looks good, though consider upgrading to a mobo with A75 chipset as that will be have SATA 6GBps, plus in case you wish to later crossfire your APU with a seperate GPU. I have a desktop with an A10-6800K and when I need to I plan to crossfire with an HD7750 :)

I found a refurbished Radeon 4870 X2 graphics card on craiglist a while back, is this one any good?

[_I_]

an a10 apu build will have issues playing metro 2033 even on lowest settings
a 7850 will stay above 40fps with it

if you can save up $600 an i3 with 7850 would be much better than the amd apu build
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1sLMk


a 4870x2 is stronger than a 7850, but its a 350w gpu vs 130w
it would require a 650-700w psu to run it

[senseidongen]

Bear in mind everyone that he plans to use a slim case - part of the reason why I went for an A10 APU was for the same reason, so even if you want a separate GPU, the best you can get is a low profile HD 7750 (or best Nvidia equivalent) which isn't a huge leap up from the A10's GPU. It all comes down to what you want and the A10 serves me fine for gaming and an A8/A10 will serve you well if you're on a budget.

P.S. I know you can get a low profile 7850 but that is brutally expensive :P

[tvertner]

At that price, a used PS3 would be a great choice and those games will look better than whatever you could build for twice your budget. Then, you could be a bit less discerning on your laptop purchase. If you decided to go the desktop route, you could then save your OS money and run Linux, since the general lack of games wouldn't be an issue.

[senseidongen]

Messaggio originale di Krashlocke:

At that price, a used PS3 would be a great choice and those games will look better than whatever you could build for twice your budget. Then, you could be a bit less discerning on your laptop purchase. If you decided to go the desktop route, you could then save your OS money and run Linux, since the general lack of games wouldn't be an issue.

That is also a very good idea...

[[UFO] rad87gn]

Messaggio originale di rotNdude:

Your budget is too low. Keep saving your money.

Yep. You need to spend 1,400 to infinity for a good one. I have a good laptop that plays anything and everything. So fun being able to play anywhere. But one thing it wasn't is cheap. If it doesn't have a sweet gaming GPU with good heat control you will be at a major loss.

[Pastry Popper]

Messaggio originale di Krashlocke:

At that price, a used PS3 would be a great choice and those games will look better than whatever you could build for twice your budget. Then, you could be a bit less discerning on your laptop purchase. If you decided to go the desktop route, you could then save your OS money and run Linux, since the general lack of games wouldn't be an issue.

Like I said before, I want a computer because I plan on using it for more than just gaming. Plus I already have some games up here.
If needed I could get a larger case, and I guess I'll have to get a more powerful PSU. If I can get that graphics card, could I run it in crossfire with the APU?
Also, how about this? would I be able to use it with crossfire? http://eastnc.craigslist.org/ele/3923744338.html

[Pixels]

your budget will NOT get you a laptop capable of playing any modern games

[mason]

Messaggio originale di Toasty:

Messaggio originale di Krashlocke:

At that price, a used PS3 would be a great choice and those games will look better than whatever you could build for twice your budget. Then, you could be a bit less discerning on your laptop purchase. If you decided to go the desktop route, you could then save your OS money and run Linux, since the general lack of games wouldn't be an issue.

Like I said before, I want a computer because I plan on using it for more than just gaming. Plus I already have some games up here.
If needed I could get a larger case, and I guess I'll have to get a more powerful PSU. If I can get that graphics card, could I run it in crossfire with the APU?
Also, how about this? would I be able to use it with crossfire? http://eastnc.craigslist.org/ele/3923744338.html

1st off: That is an NVIDIA Card. It does not have crossfire. It has SLI.
2nd.: The AMD APU Series can hybrid crossfire with 1 AMD Radeon 6000 series or higher GPU. For an APU Build (Any build under $500 without using used parts, im sorry, will be horrible. Just save up your money and check out the $500 Hybrid crossfire build I made in the 2nd comment) I would recommend an AMD 7850 or higher.