Where to purchase a new laptop?

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-15-6-Inch-Lapt...

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-E5-571P-36LU-Touchscree...

http://www.amazon.com/HP-15-f019dx-i3-4030U-Proces...

should all be more then enough for her needs. The cpu/gpu (integrated graphics) are enough to flawlessly play lesser demanding games like maplestory, or the sims 3/4 and etc type games.

the "brand" doesnt really matter. All laptop manfacturers have 1 thing in mind. Maximize profits and keep costs down. So they will always use the lowest bidder for hardware and over-price the hardware.

Dell has good and bad models, acer has good and bad models, hp has good and bad models, etc etc

If anything its best to find specific laptop models when you search how good/bad it is.

You can choose other laptops, but id try to look for something with a core i3/i5 (4xxx model numbers). You probably wont find that for under $400.

I would recommend buying a used laptop if all she is going to do is web browse and basic tasks. I would happily help you find something off of Craigslist if you wouldn't mind sharing your location.

Otherwise, support local shops where you live and find a nice laptop for your wife!

eBay has lots of good user/manufacturer refurbished laptops, they work really well and it's for a fraction of the price they would be if they were new. Also good for school

Why don't you try a store?