Best Reasonably Priced Future-Proof Laptop: Metabox? $1800 and under

LBargain Seeker on 24/05/2019 - 15:58

So, my MSI is getting a little old and warranty is about to expire. I will sell it on and looking at getting a Metabox

Went to Metabox website and then Kong and Kong is a little cheaper and includes free shipping. I called Kong and didn't get through and so called Metabox and was told all warranty is handled through Metabox, so a win win. Save $50.

I went with this: https://www.kongcomputers.com/product-detail/gamers/metabox-…

I increased the RAM and I can buy my own windows 10 and install my own 2nd 2.5inch SSD.

Metabox Alpha-X NH58RA Free Shipping in Australia

No operating system - Drivers disk supplied only ($0), 15.6" FHD 1920x1080 IPS-like Edge-to-Edge Matte 60Hz LED ($0), Intel 6 Core i7-9750H (12M Cache 2.6 - 4.5GHz) ($0), NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 4GB GDDR5 VRAM ($0), 32GB DDR4 2666Mhz (2x16) ($249), Intel 660P 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD ($59), Not Installed ($0), Not Installed ($0), Intel 9560 AC Dual Band WIFI/BTv5 (up to 1.73 Gbps) ($29), No external optical drive required ($0), Microsoft Office - not required ($0), No Carry bag - not required ($0), No Spare AC Adaptor Required ($0), Sale 3 Year Platinum Metabox Onsite Pickup ($75), Free Startrack Express Insured Air Delivery ($0)

$1741.00

This has a 3 year warranty. Windows will cost under $30 and I can get a 2TB SSD when prices drop for $300 or so.

What are your thoughts? This or something else?

Key point is I DO NOT GAME. So upgrading the graphics card isn't worth it for me. My MSI has a 1060 6GB and it has been used more, in 2017, for mining ETH than playing any game.

Thoughts and opinions, let them flow.

Cheers all

Also, Metabox has an EOFY sale on now and I think it is competitive enough to take me away from looking at Aftershockpc

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Comments

  • Ryanek on 24/05/2019 - 16:30

    So what will you use it for?

    • Bargain Seeker on 24/05/2019 - 23:06

      I find a gaming laptop is often a good way to go for a laptop to last 2+ years. Some may lack Thunderbolt 3 but have everything else. They tend to have fast wireless chips, good SSDs, fast ram, good screens etc etc.

      What will I use it for? Mostly just browsing the net, downloading things, microsoft office stuff etc. I know it may initially sound like overkill but it's not really as webpages use more memory these days and with my MSI it can run a touch slow from time to time. It has 16GB RAM, overclockable processor(though the heat is 90+ degrees with fans on 6000rpm), PCI SSD etc.

      Occasionally, I may use it for some light video-editing- but dont need to get a much better card for it.

      Also, these apparently have much better battery life than my current MSI GE72VR which has less than 1.5 hours at best.
      15inch is much better to carry around at 2.2kg than my 17.2 inch 2.99kg beast at the moment.

  • spackbace on 24/05/2019 - 16:45
    +1

    Future-Proof Laptop

    Nice oxymoron there…

    • Bargain Seeker on 24/05/2019 - 23:08

      Well, you know what I mean I imagine. A laptop with 8GB of ram is a little silly. 32GB seems excessive yet Chrome will happily suck up much of that and will operate faster. A new 9gen processor will be good for a few more years too.

  • N1NJ4W4RR10R on 24/05/2019 - 18:41

    Depends on your use case. If RAM beat a good GPU that's not to shabby. If it doesn't (gaming), then a 2060 will be vastly superior to that 1650.

    Generally though, I wouldn't go lower then a 1660. 1050, 1050ti and 1650 don't even slightly work with future proofing for anything GPU wise. The 1050/1050ti were already awful choices for their price range (and quite frankly were only not awful laptop wise because AMDs GPUs are worse…) And the 1650 hasn't improved there.

    • Bargain Seeker on 24/05/2019 - 23:11

      Well I hear what you are saying but do you recommend any other brand?

      I really dont need the graphics card. My Macbook Pro with it's integrated card would be good enough if it had more ram and an i7.

      I am largely after something I can expand and that will keep me going for a while. Metabox allow the user to upgrade ram and also the SSDs so if I needed to I could.

      • N1NJ4W4RR10R on 24/05/2019 - 23:14

        Nah, Metabox is the best I know 'round Aus for this price point.

        If the GPU doesn't matter the 1650'll do fine. I'll continue mumbling about how much I hate it but it does fine enough compared to other GPUs around this price.

        Yeah, Metabox seems real good for upgrade ability.

  • AlienC on 25/05/2019 - 14:37
    +1

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/tag/gaming-laptop

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/tag/laptop

    Imho better to go for a better GPU as that is not replaceable but ram you can modify after purchase easily same goes for HDD and SSD heck even the LCD panel can be replaced if you have the know how.

    But yeah aim for good CPU/GPU don't worry about ram and storage as you can improve them after purchase.

    Oh just read you don't game well then in that case why bother with a GPU at all just pimp out the CPU and ram and storage then.

    The GTX 1650 will be more than enough for you though if you decide to stream 4K content or even light gaming/mining some processes use the GPU funnily enough and gives your CPU more breathing room chrome.exe / discord.exe / skype.exe / skypeapp.exe / viber.exe all benefit from a faster GPU believe it or not but yeah the 1650 will suffice for most normal average GPU tasks.

    Anyways you seem to know what you are doing so godspeed with your new build looks really good honestly just make sure to try get something lightweight imho or great ventilation.

    Also don't skimp on the network card.. your wireless connectivity is actually the cheapest thing to upgrade after peripherals and really affects your overall performance imho.

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