ChristianTarsney
New Member
So, I'm a student looking for a new laptop, ideally something fairly affordable but that will hold up well and that I'll still be satisfied with 3-4 years down the line. I'm hoping to find something in the $500-600 range, but I'd be willing to go higher if necessary to find what I' need. The features I'm looking for are as follows:
(1) Enough processor speed/RAM to run Office, Chrome, Adobe reader and iTunes efficiently even with several windows open; I don't typically run a lot of programs more demanding than that, but I do tend to multi-task a lot, and I'd like a computer that can run fast under those circumstances (and not overheat);
(2) Durability/reliability--I travel a good amount, and since I'm a student I'll also be bringing the laptop to classes on a more or less daily basis; my computers in the past have tended not to last very long, and I'm planning to make a more concerted effort to take care of this one, so I'd like something that's well enough built to be worth the effort;
(3) Ideally, a decent built-in mic and webcam.
(4) A generally convenient, usable interface.
(5) A little gaming capability, enough to run games like Starcraft 2 without too much trouble.
(6) Hard drive size and battery life don't matter as much to me, but I wouldn't mind having at least 500 gigs and a few hours of battery.
Any suggestions for something that meets those specifications? From the reading I've been doing online, it sounds like Asus is about the top of the heap for both performance and reliability when it comes to PC brands, so I've been leaning in that direction, but are there other brands I should be looking at? Any advice would be very much appreciated!
(1) Enough processor speed/RAM to run Office, Chrome, Adobe reader and iTunes efficiently even with several windows open; I don't typically run a lot of programs more demanding than that, but I do tend to multi-task a lot, and I'd like a computer that can run fast under those circumstances (and not overheat);
(2) Durability/reliability--I travel a good amount, and since I'm a student I'll also be bringing the laptop to classes on a more or less daily basis; my computers in the past have tended not to last very long, and I'm planning to make a more concerted effort to take care of this one, so I'd like something that's well enough built to be worth the effort;
(3) Ideally, a decent built-in mic and webcam.
(4) A generally convenient, usable interface.
(5) A little gaming capability, enough to run games like Starcraft 2 without too much trouble.
(6) Hard drive size and battery life don't matter as much to me, but I wouldn't mind having at least 500 gigs and a few hours of battery.
Any suggestions for something that meets those specifications? From the reading I've been doing online, it sounds like Asus is about the top of the heap for both performance and reliability when it comes to PC brands, so I've been leaning in that direction, but are there other brands I should be looking at? Any advice would be very much appreciated!