Desktop, Laptop, or Tablet

My old laptop has died and I am looking for something to replace it. I have been back and forth between a desktop, laptop, and tablet.

I used it for surfing the internet, torrents, etc. I would like to have a system that can do the same, while not being too expensive. My first thought was a tablet since most of my use is media consumption, but it is nice to have the functionality of a laptop. The final consideration was that it largely sits in one room, and therefore could be hooked up to my TV, so a desktop is a possibility. Although I am not sure a desktop could be built for $400.

I am kind of at a loss as far as which route to go. Each could serve my needs but I cannot decide. As a result I figured I would get some opinions from others about what route they would go.

With a roughly $400 budget which option would you go for when looking for a browsing device that will see some downloading and very light gaming.
 
I'd say a tablet is out of the question. I still feel a tablet is more of a "supplement" to a PC. Even x86 tablets now (especially in that price range) are simply netbooks.

Laptop would be OK, but I doubt you'd get very decent gaming performance for $400. If you look around, though, I have seem some decent i3 Lenovo's for about that price.

But in the end, I think a desktop would suit you best. If you could supply a monitor, I've seen a few Acer or Lenovo desktops for around the $400 mark.

I'm sure you could find an AMD based machine within that price range... I still don't trust them too much but their graphics do tend to be a bit more capable. Desktops would probably be OK, but avoid laptops. I have seen WAY too many failures from AMD/heat issues
 
At best for $400 for mobile use you could get a lappy for $400 with a A8 which still are not very good. The best idea is to build your own desktop. Any pre built desktop in that price range is going to suck at gaming. $400 is a fine price range for building your own small HTPC gaming desktop.
 
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I will have to look into the second laptop a little more.

At this point it is probably that or a nexus. Don't think I can build a desktop for $400 that would do any better.
 
i3 ivy bridge
Lower end MSI board
Antec VP 450
GT 640 (look for quiet models) or Passive 7750
2 x 2 GB RAM
Silverstone HTPC case
Seagate 1 TB
For around $450.
 
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