hi Guys
needing to buy my son a new laptop for home and uni and have settled on this due to the specs but was hoping around the
$1000-$1100 mark
http://www.harveynorman.com.au/computers-tablets/computers/l…
was $1478 on special for $1247 , got them down to $1182 .
any good , worth paying the extra or is there something better out there that I am missing ?
appreciate any help
thanks
L-series is aimed at business but it doesn't have business grade build quality (nor warranty), like Dell's Vostro series. X(ultraportable), T(14-15 inch) and W(15.6+ desktop replacement) only if you want a good Thinkpad.
I second scrimshaw's comments. 15.6 is terrible to carry around. Wouldn't go above 14 inch. Asus Zenbook are nice or a Dell Latitude. Have a look at the Australian Dell Factory Outlet. A four cell battery or higher is nice to have otherwise he'll be looking for a power outlet all the time.
Good luck!
Don't buy laptops off the big 3, its almost never worth it, unless your negotiation game is top tier
Acers are generally terrible
It probably has a 1366x768 screen and a 4 cell battery…. on a laptop above $600
If you want to buy new, check out the Thinkpad deal, or the top voted LG deal. Second hand, look for a Surface, or a Thinkpad. Business laptops like HP Elitebook, Dell Latitude (E6xxx or 7000 series, the 5000 series isn't great) are also great due to their solid build quality and abundance in spare parts
thanks guys, i think the Thinkpad deals have all finished having a quick scan then (just missed them) .
will check out the other recommendations and perhaps hope something else fab comes up in the next week
If you are thinking of spending that much money, Surface Pro 4 Core M or the basic i5 version might be worth looking into given following:
The reason I am saying this is that if you need to do things I've mentioned a lot more than typing, I think Surface Pro and Windows tablets with a stylus support is better. Surface Pro can definitely be used like a laptop, even though it's hard to do so on the move (it's uncomfortable to type without a flat surface). I think Core M version would be nice if s/he's planning on using it in library (fanless design).
If he/she is planning on doing something that requires a lot of typing, conventional ThinkPad and other clamshell laptop in my opinion have the upper hand. They tend to have better keyboard (depends on models), better heat dissipation, and better value if you don't use the features like stylus, etc.
Lenovo thinkpad T series take a beating well. I've roughed up my T430 and it's still running strong after 3 years.
What is he studying? It makes a bit of a difference. For many courses, I'd suggest getting a desktop for home and a cheap portable for out and about. An $800 desktop should be much more powerful than an $1100 laptop in terms of graphics. And a cheap laptop can be upgraded in 1-2 years, and less risk of getting stolen.
That being said, a solid laptop can still be a decent purchase that will last through uni. If relying on public transportation, I'd suggest 13" or 14" can give a bit better portability. If he's driving, then a 15" would be fine.
Things to look for would be a recent processor (e.g. i5-5xxx or i5-6xxx where xxx can be any number, I'd say don't get a processor numbered before i5-4xxx which is 2 years old already.) I'd also like to see SSD and a FHD screen (full high definition at least 1920x1080). I'd steer away from a graphics card like 920M, but I'd aim for 940M if still near your price range.
The Microsoft Surface 4 mentioned by @Oversimplified above could meet your criteria. Until Feb 29 I think there's 15% off via the Student portal, but they often have deals for education. http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msaus/en_AU/edu
Asus ZenBook UX303LN around $1195 right now. This one is very light, good battery.
http://www.computeralliance.com.au/parts?id=17712
If you want to make him extremely ready for uni, the 13" Alienware i7-5500U 860M 256GB SSD (Refurbished) is a great deal at $1279 (normal price is around $1800, maybe more due to the SSD). With Dell Outlet you need to chat with them to give them the "bundle reference", pay by CC, then they mail the laptop by courier, takes 1-2 days to receive it I think.
http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/product…
If you don't mind a lack of customer service, MSY has quite good prices. Any of these 5 different models that are in in stock seem good to me: http://www.msy.com.au/vic/northmelbourne/36-notebooks#/price…
TERRIBLE laptop. Firstly Acer. LOL brand. 2ndly HN have got a lot of balls asking $1.5k for this trash.
Reviews says 3-4hrs max. No good at all. 2,5kg so I wouldnt buy it an I drive everywhere.
HN get special builds from Acer so I cant tell what screen res. is and HN are so worthless they dont even list it but I assume its 768p.
I wouldnt pee pee on this laptop or HN if they were burning.
You ideally want something in the 12-13" class FHD with battery power from 6hrs up and I'd want weight down around the 1.5kg class.
How about the Macbook Air 13"? They generally got for around 1300 if you wait for a 10% discount. They are very light, and have a very good battery life (around 7hours). However, it has subpar specs….so if you plan to use it for photoshop or video editing, probably not the ideal candidate.
Macbook Air are not light. 13.3 inch model is 1.34 kg.
XPS 13 is 1.2kg, Surface Pro 4 is 766 grams + 292 grams, so around 1kg. LG released few laptops under name Gram (including the latest 15 inch model), which are below 1kg. 14 inch, ThinkPad X1 Carbon is 1.31 kg (2K resolution model).
I don't dismiss it as a bad device though. It was on my laptop recommendation list when people ask me what laptop to get for awhile. It just needs a refresh.
What is your son studying?
Alot of great points above thanks for taking the time .
He is studying mechanical engineering and does already have a great desktop set up for his gaming .
This will be used mainly for uni and watching shows etc . Doesnt like the small screens or not interested in a Mac like my eldest has for uni
thanks again
Mechanical engineering? What would be his use of the laptop in the university? Would he write down notes on his laptop or would he just want something that could be used for typing in university?
If he wants something that can do tasks that are CPU intensive, I'd say Surface series or windows tablets or ultrabooks are bad for those. Their design usually makes it harder to use them for intensive tasks due to heat build up; he'd be better off getting something big and bulky.
If he wants to type more than anything, clamshell ultrabooks would be better because they'd be light and keyboard on those are better than many Windows tablets.
If he plans to take notes from lectures using the laptop, I'd say Surface Pro or any Windows tablet with a stylus would be better. Anything mathematical is annoying to type with MS word, especially those greek letters. It's better to just jot it down using a stylus.
I assume he has been in lecturers for a bit, ask him what he thinks he needs the laptop for?
The most desirable features in a laptop for uni is usually:
I would be looking at the Surface Pro 3 which is now discounted since the newer gen SP4 Pro is out. Students are eligible for a discount. Search on OZbargain for best prices. It is within your price range (around $800~900). Remember to include $60 budget for the keyboard — you can't type well on the Surface without the keyboard accessory.