New Laptop suggestions? $700ish

[butch81385]

Hey guys.

I haven't followed hardware recently which leaves me a bit behind the curve when it comes to looking for a new laptop. I'm expecting to pay around $700ish. I would like 8GB of ram. I have found some deals at costco and even best buy for some laptops with 8GB of ram and either a 3rd gen i5 or a second gen i7.

Is it true that the i7, even if it is only 2.1 ghz is better than a faster and newer i5? is the integrated "3000" graphics good enough for the occasional minecraft playing?

See any deals recently on any laptops that fit my budget and needs?


Plan to use the laptop for web browsing, minecraft, some light photo editing, and potentially the occasional engineering/drafting.

Thanks in advance!

[butch81385]

Came across this for $800:

Costco Laptop

Wonder if I can pick it up in store to save the shipping cost.... 12GB of ram would be sweet with a 3rd gen i5....

[RicheemxX]

Bleh 12gb of ram is a waste in most cases. Are you really going to be running that many apps or something that intensive that you need that much ram?? If not you can get the same machine, with 8gbs of ram directly from HP or even from Costco for $100 less.

I liked the HP DV series, they have pretty good sound, the cool sense and simple pass features are pretty cool.

If you are looking for something a bit more portable it looks like they have some good prices on the Envy Ultrabook series. Those things are sleek!

[nickslick74]

I second the HP dv series, you can put together a decent dv6t-7000 for around your $700 price.

[butch81385]

Saw this online.

Any thoughts?


Toshiba Satellite S855-S5254 15.6" Laptop | Staples®