Help me buy a good bad PC!

[Brendan Stepladder]

Hey, Escapists. My Parents and grandparents are buying me a laptop for my high school graduation. I'm not a PC gamer, and have no intention of becoming one. Nonetheless, I'd appreciate pointers as what to avoid and what's a good buy. For reference, I have about a $300 budget. That's for the help.

Captcha: Take the cake. Let's hope your advice does so.

 

[DazZ.]

If you're not using it for games and just buy anything reletively new.

Format it to get rid of bloatware and reinstall Windows (or whatever you're using).

 

[cmdrmonkey]

At that price get an off-lease Thinkpad or Latitude and fix it up.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Anything would work really if you don't intend on PC gaming. Just look around at some stores for a comp at that price, look up some reviews (Seriously, don't ignore doing that for any reason) and make the decision you feel is best. At $300 you're not gonna get a massive powerhouse, so don't expect quad core 4.0 GHz performance, but as long as it's of a decent brand and not horribly bloated with bloatware, it'll be just fine~

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Unless it has a touch-screen yank out Windows 8.

As a tablet OS it's OK otherwise you're better off sticking with Windows 7.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Avoid Windows and go for linux. That way it'll be cheaper. Although, I'd get a Nexus 7 or ipad for that price. https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_7_8_GB?id=nexus_7_8gb&hl=en_GB

 

[Maxtro]

Here's a good place to start

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-XE303C12-A01US-Chromebook-Wi-Fi-11-6-Inch/dp/B009LL9VDG/ref=zg_bs_565108_1

The most important question to ask, is what you want the computer to do.

If it's for college, I believe a computer that can run office is a must.