So, my Acer laptop I've had for for a little over 3 years is toast. The screen is getting white horizontal lines, important keyboard keys aren't working, mouse flickering, etc. My budget is between $400-$500 and no I'm not building my own. I don't even know how to describe what I want. How good it runs games is not important, but would be a nice perk. I use my laptop for basic tasks such as the internet (YouTube, forums, downloading images), Photoshop, MS Word, and other programs.  

For a good one in that price range I would say a chrome book. But no one wants a chrome book for some reason. I love mine though.  

Posted by hosler

For a good one in that price range I would say a chrome book. But no one wants a chrome book for some reason. I love mine though.

I'd recommend a chromebook.
You can play games, though not downloadable ones you can still play graal.
They run very fast, but all you really have is chrome os.
It comes with Chrome versions of MS Office which you can use online and offline.
It's also light as hell.

I'f you're not a hardcore gamer I'd say get a chromebook.  

Here its only 300$ in my area, I dont know about yours do.

Aspire E1

Spoiler

Operating System
Operating System Linpus™ Linux®
Processor & Chipset
Processor Manufacturer AMD
Processor Type E-Series
Processor Model E1-2500
Processor Speed 1.40 GHz
Processor Core Dual-core (2 Core)
Memory
Standard Memory 2 GB
Maximum Memory 8 GB
Memory Technology DDR3L SDRAM
Number of Total Memory Slots 2
Memory Card Reader Yes
Memory Card Supported Secure Digital (SD)
Storage
Hard Drive Capacity 500 GB
Hard Drive Interface Serial ATA
Optical Drive Type DVD-Writer
Display & Graphics
Screen Size 35.6 cm (14")
Display Screen Type Active Matrix TFT Colour LCD
Screen Mode HD
Backlight Technology LED
Screen Resolution 1366 x 768
Graphics Controller Manufacturer AMD
Graphics Controller Model Radeon HD 8240
Graphics Memory Technology DDR3 SDRAM
Graphics Memory Accessibility Shared
Network & Communication
Wireless LAN Standard IEEE 802.11b/g/n
Ethernet Technology Gigabit Ethernet
Built-in Devices
Webcam Yes
Microphone Yes
Finger Print Reader No
Interfaces/Ports
HDMI Yes
Number of USB 2.0 Ports 2
Number of USB 3.0 Ports 1
Total Number of USB Ports 3
VGA Yes
Network (RJ-45) Yes
Software
Operating System Linpus™ Linux®
Input Devices
Pointing Device Type TouchPad
Keyboard Yes
Battery Information
Number of Cells 4-cell
Battery Chemistry Lithium Ion (Li-Ion)
Battery Capacity 2500 mAh
Maximum Battery Run Time 4.50 Hour
Power Description
Maximum Power Supply Wattage 65 W
Physical Characteristics
Height 25.3 mm
Height (Front) 14.40 mm
Height (Rear) 25.30 mm
Width 342 mm
Depth 245 mm
Weight (Approximate) 2.10 kg
Miscellaneous
Package Contents
Aspire E1-422-12502G50Mnkk Notebook
Lithium Ion Battery
AC Adapter
Additional Information Wireless LAN: Acer Nplify 802.11b/G/N

 

Oh yeah. If you can find a laptop with Linux instead of windows then that will save you a good chunk of change since you aren't paying for the OS.  

Got an ASUS F555LA-AH51 a few months ago. It has an i5, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, Windows 8.1.
So far no problems with it but I don't play big games at all. It was about $500 when I got it on Amazon.  

Thanks guys for the recommendations. I checked out the Chromebooks and they sound cool. Does it run Windows?

I've never really used anything other then Windows before.  

Any laptop running Windows would be better than a Chromebook.  

why buy a laptop when there's still rice to share ;)  

Posted by Rexx

Any laptop running Windows would be better than a Chromebook.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooo  

Posted by Rexx

Any laptop running OS X would be better than a Chromebook.

Fixed.  

Posted by Señor Albonio

Fixed.

Forgot to add "and would be $500 over your budget" ;)  

Posted by Rexx

Any laptop running Windows would be better than a Chromebook.

It really depends on what you're looking to do. If you have a good desktop PC for gaming and are looking for a laptop to do work or for browsing the web on then Chromebooks are perfect. Pretty much everything Tyler mentioned he does on a laptop is doable on a Chromebook other than Photoshop, there's plenty of alternatives out there though e.g. this.  

My Gaming computer is only 700$  

Posted by Señor Albonio

Fixed.

He said good laptops, not overpriced fashion statements.