Which Should I Buy Or Is There Something Better Out There

-HP 17z-ca200 from Amazon

-HP 17z ca 100 from HP

-What I Currently Have

Background - My current laptop has too many issues after having drinks spelt on it some time ago. The built in keyboard cannot be used and there are a number of issues that occur more often the older it gets. I know next to nothing about about what makes one laptop better than the other as the specs I don't understand.

I have a very limited budget so anything like this hurts me to buy but is needed. The reason for the above choices? A - the price. B - the 17 in screen. C - CD player. From what I understand neither laptop does has all the bells and whistles needed for games like Civilization V and IV which I don't' have. It would be nice to have one to play those games but as I'm on a tight budget I'm happy to be stuck playing Civi IV.

Per the choices - The Amazon laptop has more bells and whistles, right? Price wise with Amazon gift certificates the price is equal for me to buy either one. What bothers me about spending this money on Amazon is the lack of reviews of the product and knowing that not all things for sale there are worth the money. So am I better off buying directly from HP? Would I be a fool for not purchasing any upgrades or warranties?

I'm open to suggestions on any other laptops that may be a better deal for me.

Many thanks in advance.

for $500 don't settle for something that isn't 1080p

if you're wanting to game, you could always get a used laptop on ebay with a warranty from squaretrade or something for way under your price range that's literally 5-10x the performance.


with used parts you can literally build a desktop for around 100 bucks that will play all of the civ games

also facebook marketplace is a great place to find laptops

a reply to: LookingForABetterLife

Either one is more than enough. Here are my recommendations. I play Civ, first for any pc games buy them on steam. that way the license is with them, and you can play it on any machine. Next, machines inherantly go faster and faster every year. Civ 5 is almost a decade old, so any machine you buy can handle it no issue. Civ 6 most machines you buy should have no issue. I'd actually wait till right after christmas and find an open box deal. you should be able to find one with a warranty from any of these places and pay 250-350 for it. as far as a CD rom goes, you can get an external and not worry about the machine, most machines no adays dont have them, so having an external will let you transfer it to the next machine. Don't worry about a big screen, get a monitor instead and hook it up. FYI, I'm up to 6000 hours on Civ 5 on steam great taste bro.

Camain

15.6 inch screen, but it does have a gtx 1650 graphics card, if you're deadset on buying new:

www.walmart.com... bd=&wpa_pg_seller_id=F55CDC31AB754BB68FE0B39041159D63&wpa_ref_id=wpaqs:p4ovNHwnq788BpIxDJ_QEu7pCf5CGx4T3c8glbXAIIy53UESGlIUwnY_BQRkLqBigQSJ6odAn4kKNkJ mVifRIDNrL75nn9-6opEexIGCKe9Xn4LkywJDLnkgg8LzukrWitDTx4Hk3-mn9BV2fxygt6TWDUgm7gr00K5v5RMJmk3d7GOlNskVz4nnb8QPG1NHzvutgEcxFvKSYet36H1sSQ&wpa_tag=&wpa_a ux_info=&wpa_pos=1&wpa_plmt=1145x1145_T-C-IG_TI_1-6_HL-INGRID-GRID-NY&wpa_aduid=818604ac-85c1-4cbd-8ae4-172a90a9eab9&wpa_pg=browse&wpa_pg_id=3944_3951 _7052607_1849032&wpa_st=Gaming%2BDesktops%2B%2BLaptops&wpa_tax=3944_3951_7052607_1849032&wpa_bucket=__bkt__

originally posted by: akiros
for $500 don't settle for something that isn't 1080p

if you're wanting to game, you could always get a used laptop on ebay with a warranty from squaretrade or something for way under your price range that's literally 5-10x the performance.

with used parts you can literally build a desktop for around 100 bucks that will play all of the civ games

also facebook marketplace is a great place to find laptops

This is why I brought these questions to ATS. I never thought of look on Ebay and I'm not familar with squaretrade (bookmarked to read later). So I'll do my best not to jump into the first thing I find. I see I have some searching and comparing to do. Thank you.

a reply to: LookingForABetterLife

When my last computer went out,I had a friend find me a refurbished
Dell computer with windows 10 installed. My son wanted me to get a
lap top,but I didn't want a lap top.I like this computer and I haven't had
any problems with it.

a reply to: LookingForABetterLife

MY PLEASURE!

i actually bought and sold hardware for a living for a while. I sometimes found it hard to discuss with people just because they were so intent to buy or do what they were going to do.

Honestly if all you really want to do is do some light gaming, you can get something for your needs for much, much cheaper. Or you can spend what you intended on and get a lot of performance, really.

Just about any laptop with a dedicated graphics card and at least a 2nd gen i5/i7 would do just fine(even some cards with a first gen i7 will play civ vi maxed out I would think). probably $250-300, but the more you spend with used things, the performance gains are kind of exponential.

if civ is the only game you're going to play, check out the ASUS ROG G73JW. You can usually get them on auction for around 200 bucks.

maybe look at a youtube video of one playing civ vi just to make sure if you do go ahead with it.

If you don't need 2TB a SSD is much better. I bought directly from HP because you can customize options. I got a i7 2core processor with a 500gb SSD, low graphics option for $500. It can play starcraft 2 though and that's all i need

originally posted by: camain
a reply to: LookingForABetterLife

Either one is more than enough. Here are my recommendations. I play Civ, first for any pc games buy them on steam. that way the license is with them, and you can play it on any machine. Next, machines inherantly go faster and faster every year. Civ 5 is almost a decade old, so any machine you buy can handle it no issue. Civ 6 most machines you buy should have no issue. I'd actually wait till right after christmas and find an open box deal. you should be able to find one with a warranty from any of these places and pay 250-350 for it. as far as a CD rom goes, you can get an external and not worry about the machine, most machines no adays dont have them, so having an external will let you transfer it to the next machine. Don't worry about a big screen, get a monitor instead and hook it up. FYI, I'm up to 6000 hours on Civ 5 on steam

great taste bro.

Camain

So, you are saying that either of the selected laptops with play any of the Civi games? I'll look into Steam too, thanks. Using Steam would I be playing the games online? I ask this as my wifi goes out sometimes on me. Is there a monthly fee to use Steam as well?

In my search I have noticed that a majority of the lower priced laptops are minus the CD rom but the externals can be purchased for just a small amount. I don't really have the space to hook up a larger monitor, nor the knowledge on how to do so but thank again.

a reply to: akiros
Thank you, I'll keep the Acer in mind but it's a bit more that I want to spend right now.

originally posted by: mamabeth
a reply to: LookingForABetterLife

When my last computer went out,I had a friend find me a refurbished
Dell computer with windows 10 installed. My son wanted me to get a
lap top,but I didn't want a lap top.I like this computer and I haven't had
any problems with it.

Dell computers were my first choice as well as my dad recently purchased one. However I am more in the need of a laptop computer.

originally posted by: blueman12
If you don't need 2TB a SSD is much better. I bought directly from HP because you can customize options. I got a i7 2core processor with a 500gb SSD, low graphics option for $500. It can play starcraft 2 though and that's all i need

I'm not sure what I need to buy from a TB to SSD's to most anything else hardware wise so I'll keep your suggestions in mind in my search. Thank you.

a reply to: akiros

Just about any laptop with a dedicated graphics card and at least a 2nd gen i5/i7 would do just fine(even some cards with a first gen i7 will play civ vi maxed out I would think). probably $250-300, but the more you spend with used things, the performance gains are kind of exponential.

if civ is the only game you're going to play, check out the ASUS ROG G73JW. You can usually get them on auction for around 200 bucks.

Making notes as I go along as you offer some good suggestions. A ATS friend has already suggested the ASUS' as an affordable option so I'm keeping them in mind.

a reply to: LookingForABetterLife


Dude just get an Acer. You can also save a pretty penny and get a two to three year old model that will most definitely fit you needs and will still do and damn thing you want.
I have had Dell, ASUS and HP. Yet my Acer in a big win gets the crown.

What are you mainly going to use it for ?
Laptops are for business and surfing the web .
PCs are for gaming.
If for light duty , shop around and get a good notebook...
Lenovo makes some good laptops for gaming at a good price.

Using Steam would I be playing the games online? I ask this as my wifi goes out sometimes on me

You can always set Steam to offline mode , then it does not matter if connected or not.

a reply to: Gothmog


I have an Acer laptop that I use for gaming.
But it did cost me a pretty penny.
6core I7, GTX 1060 6G and 16G ram.

a reply to: Gothmog
Gaming is nice but a PC is just not practical for me at this time. So off I'll go looking that the laptops such as the Lenovos. Thank you for your reply.

originally posted by: Allaroundyou
a reply to: Gothmog


I have an Acer laptop that I use for gaming.
But it did cost me a pretty penny.
6core I7, GTX 1060 6G and 16G ram.

Perhaps after the holidays Acer will mark down some of their laptops as I can only spend so many pennies.

a reply to: LookingForABetterLife


Look up the price for a Acer predator Helios 300 from 2018.
That is the one you want on a penny.

originally posted by: LookingForABetterLife
a reply to: Gothmog
Gaming is nice but a PC is just not practical for me at this time. So off I'll go looking that the laptops such as the Lenovos. Thank you for your reply.

Perhaps I gave the wrong impression.
There is nothing wrong with laptops.
That is why I recommended Lenovo alongside other's recommendation.
The key is "shop around"