Poor Uni Student Needs to Update 9yr Old Laptop (Budget $500 to $700)

nettiee11 on 03/01/2019 - 00:13
Last edited 03/01/2019 - 09:01 by 1 other user

Hello there, I am a poor uni student who has been using a 9yr old laptop because I did not want to buy a new one. However, it has got soooo slow, it is driving me crazy so I have to update.

I need a laptop that can go all day with a long battery life and have a fair bit of RAM (at least 8gb) and 500gb hard drive grunt. Of course, I want all the bells and whistles for the lowest possible price :-) I am not adverse to buying a reconditioned laptop.

Could I please get some recommendations about what to buy and where to buy?

Thank you very much in advance.

Cheers,Nettie

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • jeffr on 03/01/2019 - 00:13

    What's your budget, what programs do you want to run and what city are you in

  • nettiee11 on 03/01/2019 - 00:27

    sorry I forgot to say that, as cheap as I can get. I would love to spend under $500 if possible but I will go up to $700 if it is a really great deal

  • mypantsaretight on 03/01/2019 - 00:44

    What do you plan to do with the old one after upgrading?

    • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2019 - 00:52
      +3

      r/ChoosingBeggars

  • nettiee11 on 03/01/2019 - 00:55

    I want to run Chrome (multiple pages open at once), adobe PDF (multiple PDF's open at once) and Word (multiple documents open at once) and play games such as Zuma's revenge (simple games) and I am in Melbourne. I haven't thought about what I will do with the old one yet. Do you have a recycle suggestion?

  • michaelpls on 03/01/2019 - 02:19
    +3

    Buy a used T series thinkpad. I got one for my Wife (uni student / mum) as an "upgrade" for her old MacBook pro which was dead. I would recommend a t440 or t450, you should be able to pick one up for under $450 in good condition. Put an SSD in if it doesn't come with one already and you'll have a very reliable, nice machine.

    • greatlamp on 04/01/2019 - 07:19
      +2

      Some tips for those looking for good deals

      • you don't need a 4k screen, but you do need an IPS screen. the non IPS Lenovo screens aren't very good. Touchscreen = IPS, but there is a non touchscreen IPS too which was an optional upgrade on older models.

      • You should aim to replace the included hard drive with an ssd. The included used one, even if an ssd, will be slower than a modern one. (assuming you purchase a decent brand)

      • buy a replacement battery, try to get a genuine one. It is likely a trashed battery is the reason they are selling the device.

      • Lenovo make a T,P, and X series. All are aimed at professionals. The X series are ultraportable. They are very thin and can suffer from long term heat damage (in particular the super thin x1)

      • P series are workstation models. 15 inch plus. if you don't mind the size they are excellent, but they are quite heavy.

      • make sure to check eBay USA and Amazon USA, you will have to pay import GST, but these laptops sell for much lower in the states. Used prices should also be lower

      • nettiee11 on 07/01/2019 - 15:40

        Thank you that is very helpful. I wil look at eBay us :-)

  • KanTakahashi on 03/01/2019 - 03:55
    +4

    Cheapest option is get a used one, i got a Thinkpad X220T i7 on Gumtree for 200 bucks, upgrade to SSD for extra 100 bucks and it runs smooth af. tbh can't find a decent one under 500$ .
    Keep an eye on Dell outlet or refurbish store if you want a near-new one with warranty.

    • Hansi on 03/01/2019 - 06:49
      +1

      My new laptop just broke….fired up my old x220i with Windows 10. (Core i3 from 2011). I installed an SSD and 8 GB RAM back in the day and it's actually running quite smooth.

      I'd recommend what KanTakahashi said.

      • KanTakahashi on 03/01/2019 - 16:40

        Yeah, i was surprised that it's really smooth on Windows 10, driver fully supported (even the crappy trackpad has multi-touch gestures lol) and even better connectivity/ports (VGA/DP/LAN/SD Card reader and even fingerprint reader) than my new laptops. Having a Surface Laptop for $1k6 and only got 1 USB-A ports.

    • N1NJ4W4RR10R on 03/01/2019 - 17:47
      +1

      ^

      Those things are built to last.

  • Donaldhump on 03/01/2019 - 08:03

    I remember when I was in uni in the bronze ages, desktop computers cost 4K. Laptops even more…

  • daalinz on 03/01/2019 - 08:20
    +1

    You could upgrade the RAM and get a SSD hard drive in your existing laptop as the cheapest alternative. SSD will speed it up a lot. Though it being a 9 yr old laptop, it may be hard to get compatible parts.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2019 - 09:36
      +1

      9 year old laptop would mean ddr2 RAM and there’s plenty to be had for cheap on eBay, I just “upgraded” my old dell latitude D630 and treated it to 4gb (up from 2gb) and it was +/- $15, next to get a cheap ssd from umart for $25 and it’ll run like a bought one.
      Guess it depends if OPs original can take 8gb, what slots it has etc but can definitely be done for cheap(ish)

  • peterpeterpumpkin on 03/01/2019 - 10:30

    I'm actually using a 9 year old laptop myself (i5 T410), hacked together from another broken T410.

    And I've had to UNDERclock it to prevent the laptop from overheating! I knocked off 20% of the speed but that may have been overkill. Running an Android emulator and simultaneously processing files via Android Studio or VSCode are simply too much for the machine.

    The machine has an SSD and 8 GB of RAM so it handles office work and multi-tab browsing like a breeze. It's when it comes to hardware graphics acceleration that I dream of a better machine.

    • scotty on 03/01/2019 - 11:46
      +2

      I am still using my T410 i5 running Ubuntu. My kids' daily driver at the moment — runs everything they need beautifully (mostly Chrome & LibreOffice). Good old days of 7-row ThinkPad keyboard…

  • swapsey on 03/01/2019 - 11:26
    -1

    Get rid of Windows (bloatware) and install linux = it'll speed up.

    • KanTakahashi on 03/01/2019 - 15:28

      Not always true. My old HP was burning hot on Ubuntu (cpu fan problems) and some new laptops are not able to run Linux properly (big thanks to Secure Boot) due to driver problems.
      And speak from my own experience, Linux is not always faster than Windows.

      • swapsey on 03/01/2019 - 17:08

        Did you follow the link to the lite versions of linux which will always run faster than any version of windows? These distros have such small footprints! Check them out.

        • KanTakahashi on 03/01/2019 - 17:34

          i actually use MATE, Lubuntu and Arch and really need to work on Linux sometimes (Bash, Git, vim), but sometimes hardware accelerated is not working properly and create some weird glitches while browsing the web. The problem comes from drivers, so no matter what distros that i used, some drivers need to be manually compiled and not so stable (My HP G1 Bluetooth is not working and wifi dropouts constantly, audio drivers also worse than Windows - again, thanks HP for choosing IDT SRS Audio over Realtek). Side note, i am totally prefer MS Office over LibreOffice (and even iWorks), obviously; it's free for uni students too.
          From my experience, those cut-down distros are best for simple task, for more complex task you have to install tons of dependencies and it will not faster than standard Ubuntu distros.
          I honestly prefer Chromebook over cheap Windows machine for task such as web browsing and simple Word/Excel document editing.
          Stay away from Marvell, Broadcom chipset and IDP sound card if you want to install Linux later ¯_(ツ)_/¯

  • Kolkolnut on 03/01/2019 - 12:36

    If you don't mind a second hand one, sometimes you can find a good deal on a laptop that has hardly been used. I bought a nice HP Pavillion x360 for $500 which was only 2 months old (got their invoices and all) because the seller's family also got them another laptop! I bought an extra stick of RAM for it so I ended up with 8GB ram to make it run a little smoother. I would assume since Christmas time has just passed, that people will try to sell their older laptops and other unwanted gifts so have a look around?

  • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2019 - 17:18

    This laptop OP from ebay

    I own the i3 version, very happy with it.

  • tagniteroi on 03/01/2019 - 17:23

    I work at a second hand shop and we have heaaaaps of cheap laptops! Pm me if you want more details

    • nettiee11 on 04/01/2019 - 01:42

      How do I PM you?

      • nettiee11 on 04/01/2019 - 01:46

        I think I worked it out.

  • CartoonPizza on 04/01/2019 - 14:06

    I'm looking for one as well for school.

    I found a fairly decently priced laptop.
    Lenovo IdeaPad 510-15ISK (i5-7200, 8gb DDR4 ram, 1TB HDD, 15.6" IPS Display, Geforce GT940MX) - $329

    Should I get it?

    Or is there similar ones that are cheaper and have better specs?

    • jeffr on 04/01/2019 - 16:14
      +1

      these are nice specs especially the IPS display which allows good viewing across multiple angles.

  • thriftysach on 07/01/2019 - 14:16

    Dell Inspiron 15 3000 i3-7th Gen, 1TB HDD 5400rpm, 8GB-DDR3 RAM. Screen is anti-glare, nothing special, however price is.

    $496 off eBay from the Dell Store during the 20% Off Sales.

    Probably the best laptop you can get for under $500.

    I can browse multiple chrome tabs, use graphing programs.

    Rendered a 1080P Video off Sony Vegas and the laptop handled it pretty well, although render times were average.

    Its $699 at The Good Guys, you can go in-store and have a look, and wait around for one of those eBay sales.

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/382392

    • thriftysach on 07/01/2019 - 14:19

      I would like to add, this laptop is not easily modifiable and I have not really played any games on it, so dont know how bad the gaming is.

  • nettiee11 on 07/01/2019 - 17:17

    Hello again.
    Does this one sound good for $399? From Manly computers online
    Lenovo X1 carbon
    Intel Core i5-3427U 1.8GHz (TurboBoost up to 2.8 GHz) | 4GB RAM | 180GB SSD | 14" @ 1600 x 900 (HD+) | Intel HD 4000 Graphics | Card Reader | 1 x USB 3.0 | 1 x USB 2.0 | 1 x DisplayPort | Backlit Keyboard | Webcam | 3G | Bluetooth 4.0 | Windows 10 Pro
    When you talk about the long term heat damage with the x1 does that mean the fan would be going all the time? That is what my HP does at the moment and it gets really hot all the time.

  • nettiee11 on 07/01/2019 - 17:24

    Or this one?

    Lenovo ThinkPad T440p

    $449.99

    Description

    Intel Core i5-4300M 2.60Ghz | 8GB Ram | 240GB SSD Drive | 14.1" Screen | Bluetooth

    Operating System

    Windows 10 Pro

    Warranty

    1 Year Warranty

    Notes

    Brand New SSD Hard Drive!

  • vid_ghost on 11/01/2019 - 11:49
    +1

    Another option for that "little bit more" if you want to GAME and have lots of storage space :)

    https://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers-tablets/laptops/dell/del…

    Dell Inspiron 5575 15.6" Laptop - $664 @t JB Hi-Fi
    AMD Ryzen 5 stomps all over all intel laptops integrated iGPUs

    Key Features
15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) Anti-Glare LED-Backlit Display
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U Quad Core Processor 2GHz (3.6GHz 4MB)
1TB HDD Storage
8GB RAM
Integrated Graphics
SD Card Reader
DVD Super Multi Drive
1 x HDMI Port
1 x USB 2.0 Port
2 x USB 3.1 Ports
1 x USB C 3.1 Port
Windows 10 Home
  • vid_ghost on 11/01/2019 - 16:08
    +1

    Allot of people think this a great price.. :) made the front page wooo

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/431352#comment-6831313

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