Help buying a laptop for school. Budget around $1000

Hi, I'm looking to purchase a laptop for school and not sure what to get as there are so many products available. My basic requirements are 8GB of ram, 256GB SSD, not heavy (less than 1.8kg), and the screen shouldn't be 15'6 but preferably less big. The laptop that I'm currently looking at is the "Acer Swift 5" from Harvey Normal and will be able to get a price beat from Officeworks for $948. If anyone has any advice or laptops that they've seen please let me know. My budget is $1000 but still wish to get something cheap as saving money never hurts.

Thank you so much for your help :)

Comments

  • If you want something with a bit nicer construction, you can often find good deals for Surface Laptop 2 with those specs and around the $1k mark. Not the most up to date specs but they're a nice machine.

    Got a link to the Acer you're looking at?

    Do you just want it for school work - eg power point, word. Would you benefit from a touch screen? Pen input?
    Do you need graphics?
    Do you plan to play any games on it?

    Would you consider a Mac or does it have to be windows? Macbook air starts around $1k.

    • +3

      Macbook air starts around $1k.

      USD not AUD.

      Your questions are on point though, OP needs to confirm what they want. Acer's are rarely a durable choice.

      saving money never hurts

      This is a fallacy. Sometimes saving money today leads to more headache/costs in the future.

      • Ah right you are. $1700 for a 2 generation old CPU (not that there's been astronomical development in the intel mobile CPU space since then), with slow ram and 128gb SSD. What a machine! Better than the old air though.

        The other thing to consider is if a chromebook would be viable.

      • I've had an Acer Swift 3 for 3 years now and it's still going strong!

    • Yep so this is the one at Harvey Norman https://www.harveynorman.com.au/acer-swift-5-14-inch-i5-1035…

      and this is the one at Officeworks https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/acer-swift…

      So I can get a price beat at Officeworks, which should get the laptop to $950

    • That looks like a cracker for the price.

  • I just saw a Dell Latitude E7270 selling for $450, albeit second hand.
    Such performance is more than capable for school projects?
    - Core i7 - 6600U @ 2.6GHz
    - 8gb Ram
    - 256 SSD
    - Windows 10 Pro
    - Battery good - 4 hours
    - Dell charger
    - 12.5 inch screen

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