Budget Laptop for playing wow

[Zippster]

Hello,

I am looking to get a laptop for around 400-500ish dollars to use for school and also gaming. Any suggestions?

[lockblock]

Better double or possibly triple that figure or school is all it will be good for.
I mean sure you could find one that will play wow for 500$ but don't expect to do anything outside of 5mans and quests at enjoyable frame rates.

[Faderade]

i spent 1100 when i started school and i got one that was barely good enough(5 years ago).

[Wolfie of Medivh]

Well, no Laptop in that price range will give you incredible performance. Gaming requires a discrete graphics card - and most laptops under 1000$ have intergrated cards, which share the RAM of the computer. These are by their nature slower performers. That doesn't mean you can't run WoW but you will not get top-notch framerates at anything above medium settings. If you just want to quest, 5 mans or other non-intensive tasks, though, you will be fine if you choose your machines wisely.

Here's what to look for: As for processor I'd look for a 4th Gen Intel processor (Intel's mobile offerings beat the pants off of AMDs on both battery and performance, sorry AMD peoples!), preferably a Core i3 or better. Avoid Celerons. A Pentium miiight be okay, but a Celeron just isn't going to hold up long-term. I'd avoid touch screens - they add a lot of cost that would better be spent elsewhere.

I'd look for something with as much RAM as you can get. Six GB is good, 8 would be better. More RAM means you won't be sacrificing running space for graphics performance. Keep in mind though that RAM usually at this level of computer is upgradable - if you see a good deal on a computer with 4 gigs, and the RAM is upgradable on the system (ask if you're not sure), you can buy it, and then upgrade the RAM later. Installation of RAM is one of the most basic computer tasks there is.

If you can customize your build, I might suggest an SSD. Better battery savings and a huge performance jump, but it will likely be out of your price range.

A few off-the-rack options:

http://www.officedepot.com/a/product...Computer-With/

http://dealnews.com/HP-ENVY-15-t-Sel...g/1113409.html (this one is a few dollars above your budget but it's well worth it)

Most important: SAVE YOUR MONEY. Unless you are computerless and can't do anything at all right now, the closer you get to school the better the deals will get. Right now it's a lull between Graduation buying and going-back-to-school buying, but in the next few weeks you're gonna see deals turn up. Get cash off - don't get swayed by items (especially things like Flash Drives, which cost next to nothing, and internet security software, which Windows 8 has a good built-in one and good free ones are easy to install). Also beware Mail-in rebates. While they work fine, make sure you can afford the 3-6 weeks while you wait for them, and that you can still use them (they're usually sent as gift debit cards, so you can use them wherever credit cards are taken).

Hope this helps!

[Chickat]

You can get one that will play wow on low-fair settings at above 30fps. Would probably fall to 15-20fps in lfr though.