What is a good laptop with a decent video card, has decent battery life and is around $500?

S

Shpadoinkle

Active member
I want to find a decent laptop that has these traits and more. Right now I have a '06 15" MacBook Pro that has just crappy everything (except for graphics and speakers). The battery only lasts 5 minutes, and I can only run one program at a time.

I love to watch movies, and I love to play music. (I do plan on getting an external hard drive for all my movies and music.) I also use Photoshop and Illustrator on a regular basis.

I just posted this on another forum so why not post on NS too.
 
get a new battery and an external... pretty sure thats the first positive review of mac speakers ive ever heard as well.
 
Well I just want something to get me through. I don't want to be done with Apple, but I can't afford them. The speakers are better than any laptop I've seen.

The thing with my laptop now is that the magnetic clips that keep it closed keep breaking.

My disc drive has also been bent in. I can put in a disc. I can also play it, but I can't eject it because it's being blocked.

My power cord caught on fire, and Apple wouldn't warranty it.

So to get all that fixed, and keep it running like new would be the same, if not more, as if I were to buy a new one.

I would LOVE to have a little MacBook, but those exceed $1000 with AppleCare.
 
I have a Toshiba Satellite I really like. Its main purpose is to run CAD programs and editing videos once in a while. I do 3D rendering with it and import GIS data for a map making class. It bogs down a little but then again so do the computers we have at school which are supposedly optimized for that kind of stuff. It was a $900 computer on sale for $650. I have not had any problems with it. If you are smart about what you install and buy virus protection you shouldn't have any worries. It also has HDMI outputs which is sweet because we can stream movies on the big screen with it.
 
acers arent to bad my dad has one i use it from time to time but i have an lil bit older vaio i lover it. i have CS4 photoshop on it i can use tht itunes be on the internet all at the same time so there 2 diff. computers for ya

 
HP

Most manufacturers are really good. If they weren't they wouldn't still be in business. You really need to go and try some out then decide what you NEED and go from there.
 
I got my Dell Inspiron 1525 for about $500. It's pretty solid. Battery life is decent, runs decently fast. I run pinnacle studio and photoshop on it just fine, but I have had it break down on me once.
 
This. Go to a computer or office store and talk to an employee. You should be able to tell if they are knowledge-able in about 5 minutes. If you trust their opinion let them suggest something for you.
 
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