Recommend a refurbished/new 13.3" laptop <1.8kg i3 or i5 $250 - $650

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  Astro551 on 30/12/2013 - 15:35

  Gratz on finishing high school! hope it was a blast.

  Out of those I would probably go for the Aspire S3, I actually quite liked the design when it first released.

  The Aldi Medion branded ones seem like a gamble. I've heard people say they were fine and others with the worst experiences. Personally, I would steer clear - despite the price point being pretty attractive, but save yourself the hassle and spend a bit more to get something reliable.

  E330 is a tank! Not as solid as the T series, but not bad nonetheless. It's built pretty well but as you said is quite heavy and not the prettiest looking thing, still not a bad choice either.

  Not too familiar with the other models though. For uni I guess your priority would be weight, nothing like carrying around ~2.0kg of goodness to ruin your day. Being tied to a powerpoint isn't great either if you have to scour around the library or classrooms looking for one and they're all taken. But these are really cosmetic things tbh, no point having all of this if you can't get work done.

  As long as you're just doing basic office stuff/web browsing these are fine. Although my only concern may possibly be resolution. If you want to do a lot of multi tasking when I'm suing 1366x768 it really gives me a headache and slows me down cause I can't really do too many things at once. The side by side window display is just simply too small with that res for me.

  Keep an eye out for some deals here (if you can wait), something like this seemed to fit the book for you perfectly.

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    jacknthebeanstalk on 30/12/2013 - 21:32

    Thanks for the response! Thought nobody was going to reply.

    About the Medion. I too read mixed reviews on the whirlpool forums. Definitely off my list. Better safe than sorry. The specs are great though :(

    HP - folio isn't sold anywhere - not a lot of support and the other one looks pretty ugly and outdated. Off list.

    E330 - I'd get it in a heartbeat if it wasn't so ugly looking. Off my list.

    Found another one:
    Acer Travelmate P633
    - 1.7kg
    - i5 3rd gen
    - don't think I'll get it, but someone reading this might consider it.
    http://www.centrecom.com.au/acer-p633-m-53214g32mikk-win-7-p…

    Acer s3:
    - I like everything about it. The only thing I'm worried about is the battery life which seems to be an issue amongst users. Apparently it gets 3 hours (not idle). This makes me think whether or not it's suffice during a lecture assuming most of them go for an hour or two? I can always take our the AC adapter.

    The ASUS you linked me is perfect! Only problem is how long do I wait and if it's worth waiting for. When it was on sale, it was only $11 cheaper.
    It's AMD A8 processor equates to S3's i3 anyway.

    • 

      Astro551 on 02/01/2014 - 17:22

      Oh wow didn't even realise it was at the price when I linked haha. Still a fine piece of kit for that price, hopefully it goes well for you!

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  Hambake on 31/12/2013 - 09:31

  I've had great experiences with Medion in the past and Aldi's 60 day return policy means you can test the product out and return it if your not happy.

  Btw where did you find that Medion model for that price because I've only been able to find models with an i3 with 4gb ram and a price point of close to $600 and I would like to take advantage of that deal.

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    jacknthebeanstalk on 31/12/2013 - 14:28

    The medion is actually not from Aldi, so you won't get the 60 day trial. However you do receive a 3 month warranty. It's a refurbished one sold by a guy who sells laptops on gumtree located in Highett, Melbourne.
    Here's the link
    http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-seller/Tony/63351806

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  1bug on 01/01/2014 - 18:20

  You can get a NEW Dell Latitude E6230 12.5" with 1 year warranty for $518 inc. i5-3320M, 4GB RAM, 320GB 7200rpm HDD, Windows 7 Professional, 1.4+kg at the Dell OUTLET (Bundle#: DFO-2331458LT)
  http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/product…

  Latitude E6230 specs here…
  http://www.dell.com/au/business/p/latitude-e6230/pd

  Alternatively, you can get various reburbished 12.5" or 13.3" Latitude laptops with 1 year warranty for less than $500 (see 1st link above).

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    jacknthebeanstalk on 02/01/2014 - 02:46

    +1

    Thanks, but I think Dell laptops are generally bulky looking. I've already purchased the asus u38n!

    • 

      Astro551 on 02/01/2014 - 17:23

      Glad you could make a decision on that, all the best with your university studies! :)