Any recommendations for a budget laptop?

[Fryer]

Not a serious gamer here and pretty much played Nintendo IPs my whole life. There are a few other franchises I do enjoy but overall I'm not someone who has a serious backlog of games or a collection for that matter.

I don't know much about computer specs and am not entirely sure what to look for. Are there any decent laptops that can run the newest King of Fighters or Guilty Gear without much issue? I do have a Nintendo Switch and a Playstation 5 but I have a very small library for both systems and it looks like it will stay that way (unless I fall in love with PC gaming, I might trade away the PS5). Other than this, I really am just using this for general web browsing and YouTube, though work related things would be a bonus in case I switch jobs. Not looking for a desktop because I like the option to play in bed, plus it's more space efficient.

Other than that, is wifi any better/worse than consoles? Most of my online interactions are solid on PS5 but I do not have an ethernet cable. I would buy one but the home's router + modem are plugged in near the entrance of my family home.

EDIT: saw this posted in a local store, should I make the purchase or am I better off elsewhere? https://imgur.com/a/ui44UWO#A0Mab47

Edited February 18, 2022 by Fryer

[Ycine]

Fighting games are cheap. Even though GG Strive and KoF XV are pretty, they don't need much to run smoothly (and that even goes for 3D Fighters like Tekken or SoulCalibur).

As for the PC you're linking =>

CPU : is actually okay, not the best but will work greatly.

GPU : is on the underside, 4GB of memory is lackluster nowadays, don't expect too much in term of visuals (I mean, it may be enough for "High" quality but you will lose in term of performance).

Memory : 8GB, this is the standard, nothing too fancy and should be plenty for what you want.

Monitor : 17 inch, that's a nice screen. The laptop may weight a bit because of it but this means you have a numeric pad on the keyboard.

Storage : 500 GB is lame. This space will be used for both your files, data etc... and the OS and I don't know how much Windows 11 needs. Plus there is no indication if it's HDD or SSD. Keep in mind that both work fine but you should aim for SSD for better usage.

OS : Windows 11. I don't know anything about it.

The thing was pre-owned too so I don't know what happend for it to be benched like that.

Lastly, WiFi is better on Laptop but if you're aiming to play VS games, you should know that being a WiFi Warrior is tough. Even with proper netcode people will not match against someone on WiFi. I would recommend getting the Ethernet cable but fear not, you're not the only one and you will find matches anyway.

[lenticular]

8 hours ago, Fryer said:

Not looking for a desktop because I like the option to play in bed, plus it's more space efficient.

Be careful of trying to play on a gaming laptop from bed. I find that gaming laptops tend to run quite hot when gaming (or doing anything else that's processor intensive), so it's usually best to sit them on a table when you're looking to play. If you have them literally sitting on your lap then they can get quite uncomfortable, and if you just rest them on sheets or blankets then that can blcok some of the airflow around them and make them get even hotter. At the very least, I'd recommend also investing  in a laptop cooling tray (aka, laptop cooling pad or laptop cooling stand), though even with one, the experience still might not be what you hope for.

[Fryer]

3 hours ago, Ycine said:

Fighting games are cheap. Even though GG Strive and KoF XV are pretty, they don't need much to run smoothly (and that even goes for 3D Fighters like Tekken or SoulCalibur).

As for the PC you're linking =>

CPU : is actually okay, not the best but will work greatly.

GPU : is on the underside, 4GB of memory is lackluster nowadays, don't expect too much in term of visuals (I mean, it may be enough for "High" quality but you will lose in term of performance).

Memory : 8GB, this is the standard, nothing too fancy and should be plenty for what you want.

Monitor : 17 inch, that's a nice screen. The laptop may weight a bit because of it but this means you have a numeric pad on the keyboard.

Storage : 500 GB is lame. This space will be used for both your files, data etc... and the OS and I don't know how much Windows 11 needs. Plus there is no indication if it's HDD or SSD. Keep in mind that both work fine but you should aim for SSD for better usage.

OS : Windows 11. I don't know anything about it.

The thing was pre-owned too so I don't know what happend for it to be benched like that.

Lastly, WiFi is better on Laptop but if you're aiming to play VS games, you should know that being a WiFi Warrior is tough. Even with proper netcode people will not match against someone on WiFi. I would recommend getting the Ethernet cable but fear not, you're not the only one and you will find matches anyway.

You think I should proceed with the purchase or save for something better? 
 

I’m probably gonna use it for like 70% browsing and 30% gaming. Most current gen games don’t interest me outside Nintendo IPs. 

[emazur]

I'd look on the website Slickdeals - there's one on the front page that looks really really really nice for $600 brand new that even has a nice GPU that's budget friendly:

https://slickdeals.net/f/15628594-new-customers-acer-predator-helios-300-i7-11800h-rtx-3050-ti-15-6-144hz-600-w-text-coupon-valid-in-store-only?src=frontpage

But in-store only may be an issue for that particular deal. If so keep looking at the site daily for the next couple weeks and you'll find something soon enough (don't just check the front page, check the forums > hot deals and also make use of the search function)

[Fryer]

1 hour ago, emazur said:

I'd look on the website Slickdeals - there's one on the front page that looks really really really nice for $600 brand new that even has a nice GPU that's budget friendly:

https://slickdeals.net/f/15628594-new-customers-acer-predator-helios-300-i7-11800h-rtx-3050-ti-15-6-144hz-600-w-text-coupon-valid-in-store-only?src=frontpage

But in-store only may be an issue for that particular deal. If so keep looking at the site daily for the next couple weeks and you'll find something soon enough (don't just check the front page, check the forums > hot deals and also make use of the search function)

Ok so a local seller is selling Asus ROG ZEPHYRUS G14 Gaming Laptop for $750. It looks like it had been barely used; should I take this deal?

[emazur]

13 minutes ago, Fryer said:

Ok so a local seller is selling Asus ROG ZEPHYRUS G14 Gaming Laptop for $750. It looks like it had been barely used; should I take this deal?

If it was me, no - I looked up the GPU on this model which is GTX 1650. There's nothing wrong with that but it's absolutely demolished by the RTX 3050 TI of the machine I linked to (you can check yourself by searching for websites that do a gpu comparison check. You can also do a CPU comparison check. The ones I was just looking at weren't very user friendly so perhaps someone else can chime in with a recommended comparison check site). And don't forget that buying secondhand means little or no warranty - if you're spending several hundred dollars not worth it IMO (couple hundred? might consider rolling the dice).

Honestly the best advice advice is from my first post - it's what I'd tell my own family to do (factoring in target budget) and what I'd do myself

[Fryer]

2 minutes ago, emazur said:

If it was me, no - I looked up the GPU on this model which is GTX 1650. There's nothing wrong with that but it's absolutely demolished by the RTX 3050 TI of the machine I linked to (you can check yourself by searching for websites that do a gpu comparison check. You can also do a CPU comparison check. The ones I was just looking at weren't very user friendly so perhaps someone else can chime in with a recommended comparison check site). And don't forget that buying secondhand means little or no warranty - if you're spending several hundred dollars not worth it IMO (couple hundred? might consider rolling the dice).

Honestly the best advice advice is from my first post - it's what I'd tell my own family to do (factoring in target budget) and what I'd do myself

How important is GPU? I don’t really plan on playing that many games, just 2d fighting games. Aside from that, I’m a casual gamer who probably will use it for web browsing on the side

[emazur]

4 minutes ago, Fryer said:

How important is GPU? I don’t really plan on playing that many games, just 2d fighting games. Aside from that, I’m a casual gamer who probably will use it for web browsing on the side

GPU is mostly important for 3D (I doubt 2D only gamers even give a second thought to the GPU). If you look at laptops on Slickdeals in the $400 to $500 range probably any of them will do the trick.

If you're willing to spend more on 3D the one with the 3050 TI (3D card) in my first post really is an exception deal - the next cheapest laptop I could find with the same GPU is $850 (which is also a relatively cheap price) but this is easy to buy anywhere: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-tuf-gaming-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx3050-ti-512gb-ssd-eclipse-grey/6464212.p?skuId=6464212

But if you have that kinda money it's only a little bit more ($1000) to buy a laptop with (at first glance) easily better specs: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1639833-REG/msi_crosshair_17_a11udk_091_17_3_crosshair_17_gaming.html

 

[Fates-Blade]

This is the very best IMO:

 

Gateway 15.6" FHD Ultra Slim Notebook, AMD Ryzen™ 5 3450U, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Tuned by THX™ Audio, Fingerprint Scanner, 1MP Webcam, HDMI, Cortana, Windows 10 Home, Purple - Walmart.com

The specs are insane for the price IMO.

 

You can take a look at this guide for others:

Best Gaming Laptops Under $500: 6 Budget Laptops for Gamers (techguided.com)

Edited February 19, 2022 by Fates-Blade

[Ycine]

On 2/18/2022 at 8:14 PM, Fryer said:

You think I should proceed with the purchase or save for something better? 
 

I’m probably gonna use it for like 70% browsing and 30% gaming. Most current gen games don’t interest me outside Nintendo IPs. 

You might find something better for maybe 30% more of that price. As I said and as stated by Emazur, that GPU is quite old. It will do for what you want but you will always have to sacrifice something to make it work perfectly for gaming.

And again, there's the matter of Windows 11 and the fact that it was pre-owned (if it got there because of some hardware issues like with the hard drive or the screen or the keyboard or anything else) you will just pay more to fix the problem.

[Fryer]

On 2/19/2022 at 1:40 PM, Ycine said:

You might find something better for maybe 30% more of that price. As I said and as stated by Emazur, that GPU is quite old. It will do for what you want but you will always have to sacrifice something to make it work perfectly for gaming.

And again, there's the matter of Windows 11 and the fact that it was pre-owned (if it got there because of some hardware issues like with the hard drive or the screen or the keyboard or anything else) you will just pay more to fix the problem.

Managed to get an HP Omen 15 with 16 RAM and RTX 2060 for $850. Not sure how overpriced it is but most listings I find have it in the $1000-$1200.

Works great and had no issues whatsoever, though a bit dusty in the side. This was a major upgrade from my slow HP pavilion x360 I got 4 years back.

[Ycine]

9 hours ago, Fryer said:

Managed to get an HP Omen 15 with 16 RAM and RTX 2060 for $850. Not sure how overpriced it is but most listings I find have it in the $1000-$1200.

Works great and had no issues whatsoever, though a bit dusty in the side. This was a major upgrade from my slow HP pavilion x360 I got 4 years back.

Depending on the CPU, GPU, RAM and Data Storage it will greatly vary. Finding it for less than 1000 is actually pretty neat.

This is good news anyway. Glad you found something that fits for your activity. 

Note : for the WiFi, try it out and see for yourself. If you find yourself dealing with too much lag spike consider using the cable otherwise enjoy!

[Fryer]

1 hour ago, Ycine said:

Depending on the CPU, GPU, RAM and Data Storage it will greatly vary. Finding it for less than 1000 is actually pretty neat.

This is good news anyway. Glad you found something that fits for your activity. 

Note : for the WiFi, try it out and see for yourself. If you find yourself dealing with too much lag spike consider using the cable otherwise enjoy!

I played fighting games on this laptop and there was no lag whatsoever and it looked nicer than my PS5 screen. It’s nuts because I don’t have an ethernet as my router modem is in the opposite side of the house

[DelaneyHarmon]

There are laptops of different price points, and it largely depends on the characteristics. If you are going to buy a laptop for gaming, consider the options of specialized gaming equipment. To work with many important documents, you need to look at models from Apple. The advantage of such laptops is their amount of memory. The more information can be stored on the hard drive, the less it will burn out. If the hard drive is damaged, files are deleted or corrupted, and you will resort to data recovery. It is possible to do this with the help of professionals. Still, it is better not to take the risk and think about it beforehand. What do you think?

Edited May 27, 2022 by DelaneyHarmon