What Are the Best Laptops Under $500 for College and Gaming?

[Char. Limit]

Unlike my last few threads, this one is lighthearted and happy.

My parents are buying me a laptop to go to college with! Trouble is, we don't know which to get. We'd rather not spend much over $500 dollars, but I'd like it to play a few certain video games (Civilization IV and V, to be exact). I'm guessing the biggest issue will be the video card...

Do any of you guys have any advice for me? We'll need to buy it in person, but I'm sure that's not much of a restriction.

 

[Danger]

I'm afraid that I can't offer you any advice. I'm strictly a Mac guy, and those are well out of your price range.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I'm a die-hard Dell fan as their customer service has been fantastic. Get a good warranty and they will even send someone to your house for any needed fix.

You pay more up front for an extended warranty, but it is worth its weight in gold if you have any problems. They even replaced my screen when I damaged it through carelessness.

 

[rootX]

My parents are buying me a laptop to go to college with! Trouble is, we don't know which to get. We'd rather not spend much over $500 dollars, but I'd like it to play a few certain video games (Civilization IV and V, to be exact). I'm guessing the biggest issue will be the video card...

Getting ready for the college?

 

[Astronuc]

I'd recommend an ASUS laptop. I have had significant and costly problems with Dell, and some problems with HP/Compaq.

 

[vela]

I'd wait until you actually get to your school and see if they have any good deals and what they recommend.

Personally, I'd go with a Mac, though, as Danger noted, it's out of your price range.

 

[turbo]

First contact the Admissions office at your college, and ask if they have any guidelines. Depending on your field of study, there may be some recommendations regarding network compatibility, operating system, ability to run certain software packages, etc. I haven't owned a laptop for a while, but I was always well-satisfied with Toshibas (light with rugged cases) and less so with HP and Dell (ugh!). Those are the only three that I owned or used exclusively for any length of time, so things might be different these days.

 

[Gokul43201]

Many academic institutions have discount programs through specific manufacturers. Contact your IT office to find out if such exist at your college.

 

[Leptos]

Many academic institutions have discount programs through specific manufacturers. Contact your IT office to find out if such exist at your college.

I noticed that my new $500 dollar laptop is way better overall than my $2000 laptop I bought 2 years prior. It's funny how quickly consumer technology becomes outdated. IIRC, Dell offers some decent laptops for under $800 that have the latest 1GB graphics cards, 6gb ram, 500gb harddrive, i5 processing, 4 hour battery charge, and 17 inch screens.