14" laptop that can do light gaming AND is $700 or less?

[TBTech]

Usage is typical web browsing and MS Office type stuff, some gaming (think Sims3) and preference is something in the 14" form-factor. Budget is $700 or less. I'm thinking something with the AMD Vision platform is going to be the way to go but I'm having trouble finding much that looks good.

Here is what I've found so far. Any other recommendations or comments about these two laptops would be appreciated.

HP ProBook 6465b
I like that this one has USB 3.0, eSATA and a 7200RPM drive but it has Display port output instead of HDMI and I don't have any experience with the ProBook line.
Satellite L745D-S4214

This one is a bit cheaper and has a bigger, but slower harddrive. Has HDMI but no USB 3.0 or eSATA. Again I only have current experience withe Dell laptops so not sure how Toshiba's consumer oriented satellite's are on the quality these days.

 

[fralexandr]

from a quick newegg search i found a few notebooks with acceptable graphics in the 13.3"-14.5" size range close to your budget

acer AS4830TG-6808
bhphoto.com
available from amazon.com also, if you prefer (you'll have to click the 15 new button, amazon has it for $680 no tax in most states, free shipping)

hmm weird, some 6465b's say they have 6520g's in them... oh nevermind that's with the A6-3410 ack
a google search of the probook 6465b a6 turns up a few just shy of $700, provantage has ok resellerratings, but i've never purchased from them.

msi x460dx

the probook is going to be sturdier
the 6480g is a pretty terrible gpu
notebookchecks on the gpus
540m > 6520g > 6480g

 

[TBTech]

Whew, that's a tuff call. I really like the specs on that Acer, but...its still an Acer

 

[fralexandr]

yeah, i personally don't have anything against acer, though a lot of people do
ditto on the msi, though personally i prefer acer to msi heh might just be something irrational though

 

[TBTech]

Thanks for your help fralexandr. I presented both the Acer and the HP to the person we are buying this laptop for as a tradeoff between performance and durability and we will see which one they value more. I like that notebookcheck website, I'll have to save that for future reference.

 

[BoberFett]

Does it have to be a 14"?

I'm a few days late to the party, but I just ordered a Lenovo with the A6 and a 6650 for $500 for my daughter. Seems like a decent performer for the money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-34246328-L03A

 

[rabbitz]

Does it have to be a 14"?

I'm a few days late to the party, but I just ordered a Lenovo with the A6 and a 6650 for $500 for my daughter. Seems like a decent performer for the money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-34246328-L03A

Yea, llano is good for basic computing, and light gaming. Check out this deal here. A8 vostro 3555 for $479. Swap in a 120gb ssd ($100 sata2, $150 sata3) and another stick of 4gb ram ($15-$20, why not) and you should have a pretty quick machine for under 700.

edit: $0 upgrade for backlit keyboard, $20 upgrade for 5400rpm 500gb -> 7200rpm 750gb

 

[htwingnut]

Go with this. Llano is perfect for gaming at 720p. Does well at 1080p even. One thing with Llano is you want to overclock/undervolt. The CPU is very flexible for overclocking as well as undervolting for long battery life and a quiet laptop. Check out my guide which was geared more for HP DV6z but is applicable for the most part for any laptop with a Llano APU. http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...-dv6z-llano-overclock-optimization-guide.html

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Casual games like The Sims 3 can run fine on Intel's HD Graphics 3000. You don't need to go with Llano for that, especially when you give up tons of CPU power in comparison to Sandy Bridge.

If you're looking for a 14", I recommend you look at my review for the ThinkPad E420, which is in my signature. You can get it pretty cheap at $500 and it comes with eSATA, 7200RPM HDD, and has an ExpressCard 34 and mSATA slot if you want an SSD for speed and the capacity of an HDD.