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Good All-around Notebook For Students?

Phones, computers, tablets, and all other forms of electronic wizardry
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Baufritz
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Good All-around Notebook For Students?

Post by Baufritz »

I'm thinking of finally switching from paper notebooks to electronic notebooks for my school notes and projects.
Since I can't take my desktop PC to school because of portabilty issues, and my old laptop recently decided to give up on life, I need a new laptop too. Now, here's where I'm stuck.
Do you guys know any good models? What do you use?
I'm looking for a laptop that is easily portable (not too big/heavy etc.), but also has the capability to play a few games like Battlefield 2 or Minecraft (for spontaneous LAN-Partys in the classroom :P )
I really like the touchscreen interface on tablets (handwriting on the screen etc..), but since I need the machine for lan-partys too, a tablet is kinda out of the question. Maybe a hybrid like the Lenovo Yoga or the Vaio Duo? Do these have gaming capability? Gosh, too many requirements...

Anyway, what do you guys think?
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ThatOneFox
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Post by ThatOneFox »

I have an Acer Aspire V5. It cost £260 ($398.97). It can stream HD video at 1080p no problem. It does minecraft at 20-60fps and runs TF2/Gmod. Word processors function fine, and yes, there is a touch version (More expensive though)
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Post by Baufritz »

StreetLights wrote:I have an Acer Aspire V5. It cost £260 ($398.97). It can stream HD video at 1080p no problem. It does minecraft at 20-60fps and runs TF2/Gmod. Word processors function fine, and yes, there is a touch version (More expensive though)
Sounds nice, I'll take a look at that

...the thing is, I'd like to use the touch interface mainly for writing/drawing notes, so I'd appreciate a horizontal screen...but if that's not possible, I'm as fast as with a pen with a keyboard too.
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Post by ThatOneFox »

Baufritz wrote:Sounds nice, I'll take a look at that

...the thing is, I'd like to use the touch interface mainly for writing/drawing notes, so I'd appreciate a horizontal screen...but if that's not possible, I'm as fast as with a pen with a keyboard too.
There's always USB drawing pads...
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Magmar
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Post by Magmar »

StreetLights wrote:I have an Acer Aspire V5. It cost £260 ($398.97). It can stream HD video at 1080p no problem. It does minecraft at 20-60fps and runs TF2/Gmod. Word processors function fine, and yes, there is a touch version (More expensive though)

Is this the notebook you're talking about here? What Baufritz is asking for seems to be exactly what I'm looking for in a notebook as well. Do you know about how it can play other games, perhaps games like the new SimCity or graphically similar games?
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Post by ThatOneFox »

I'll have to try putting something big on it. It runs Warframe at 40fps
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Post by Phantomboy »

My sibling uses the Lenovo Thinkpad X230 for digital illustration and browsing the net. From what I've seen it handles games alright, nothing to write home about. It is certainly worth at least a look to see if it is something you are interested in :)
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Post by ThatOneFox »

Magmar wrote:Is this the notebook you're talking about here? What Baufritz is asking for seems to be exactly what I'm looking for in a notebook as well. Do you know about how it can play other games, perhaps games like the new SimCity or graphically similar games?
It is a version, but mine has a 2.1ghz CPU not a 1.5ghz one. Search for the thin and light version.
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Post by Magmar »

StreetLights wrote:It is a version, but mine has a 2.1ghz CPU not a 1.5ghz one. Search for the thin and light version.

If you could possibly link to one with to 2.1ghz that'd be awesome. I can't seem to find any other than the 1.5/1.8ghz area. This computer is exactly what I'm looking for, and the price is awesome. Do you think the CPU is a major factor in being able to play games like MC and Warframe?
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Post by ThatOneFox »

Yes, the CPU is vital for that. The CPU does all the calculations on a computer.
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Post by tta »

Gateway. That is all.
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Post by Wowfunhappy »

StreetLights wrote:Yes, the CPU is vital for that. The CPU does all the calculations on a computer.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AWPF8G4
...it actually ISN'T that important for games though. The GPU (graphics card) matters a lot more.

That said, you probably want the cpu to be at least 2 ghz...
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Post by Swords761 »

People will hate me for suggesting this, but I use a Surface Pro, which aside from its higher price point and smaller hard drive space compared to modern laptops is basically exactly what you're looking for. Has the touchscreen/penwriting/keyboard hybrid you are desiring, a decent processor and while integrated graphics, Intel HD 4000 can run some AAA games at decent speeds and modest graphics settings.
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