Budget Laptops I Should Watch for Black Friday?

MatrixM on 21/11/2020 - 16:50
Last edited 21/11/2020 - 18:50

So I'm really sick of my old Chromebook, dislike the restrictive chrome os and poor memory not letting me run multiple tabs if I have a Google doc open and such.
Hoping to get a real laptop soon, one that'll let me run things like SPSS, light gaming (talking like torchlight II, CIV VI..) and just generally run smoothly for a few years.
The Acer Aspire 5 that flashed by a couple months ago seemed like a great deal, so hoping something else will pop up under $500 soon. But I'm also not computer literate so hoping for
1. recommendations of what to watch for discounted to <$500
2. Any sources I should give a quick read through so I know what I'm looking for. (Haven't done so in ten or more years so..)

Thanks.

Edit: probably going overseas to USA for work within a year so local warranty isn't a priority.

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 21/11/2020 - 17:22
    +4

    a sub $500 notebook will have pretty much the specifications of a Chromebook. Like Intel Pentium 'Gold' and slow-as-molasses eMMC storage and the even bigger downside is that they tend to have 1366 x 768 displays.

    Which is just borderline unusable in this day and age.

    The cheapest laptop that I'd consider buying is this $550 Acer from amazon which has Ryzen 3 3200U / 4GB RAM (upgradable), 128GB SSD, FHD display and a backlit keyboard. It still has a few compromises, mainly it's a USA imported product (no local warranty with Acer) plus that paltry amount of RAM, but it's easy enough to upgrade.

    Lenovo is already clearing some of their older laptops, there is a IdeaPad L3 (15) for $549 with 1080p display, Intel Celeron 5205U, and 4+4GB of RAM in dual channel config.

    It unfortunately has Windows running on a 1tb 5400RPM mechanical HDD so the first thing I would do is install an M.2 drive into the machine and have Windows boot of it.

    It's probably already obvious but buying second hand, or buying a desktop, might get you a better system for the money.

    • MatrixM on 21/11/2020 - 18:47

      Lots of good stuff to consider here.
      Yeah that Acer is the one I missed on sale a couple months back. I plan to go overseas for work within a year to the usa so no local warranty is fine. (I should put that in my OP). Whenever I do choose to upgrade the ram, that's void warranty, right?

      5400rpm, I'm a bit surprised they're still selling stuff with those drives, I guess I'd have to switch that out, too, if I went Lenovo instead.

      Any recommendations for where I should do my research on modern specs and the like if I pursue second hand?

      • scrimshaw on 21/11/2020 - 18:53
        +2

        Upgrading RAm doesn't void warranty, those stupid "warranty void if removed" stickers are not legal in the USA as of 2 years ago.

        Any recommendations for where I should do my research on modern specs

        Notebookcheck.com has a searchable database of Laptops and processors and even mobile graphics cards
        https://www.notebookcheck.net/Benchmarks-Tech.123.0.html

        Geekbench browser can be used to lookup the name of CPU's and their scores based on benchmark performance.

        While the benchmark numbers themselves are Greek and meaningless to most people, you can use the side by side comparisons to make judgements on which CPU's are better.

  • Iluvfreebies on 21/11/2020 - 17:33
    +2

    At your price point, it is better to buy a good second hand laptop from facebook marketplace or gumtree or even ebay. You would need to do some good research and negotiate on price with some sellers.

    • MatrixM on 21/11/2020 - 18:49

      I'll definitely consider it. Tbh as I'm in the middle of studies the lazy tax is kinda tempting but I can spare some hours on research I'm sure. Are there any absolute minimums spec-wose/red flags I should be aware of? Or know of a place I can read up on such things?
      Thanks.

      • Iluvfreebies on 21/11/2020 - 20:32
        +1

        Minimum specs I would look for
        14-15" full HD screen
        Windows 10
        4GB to 8GB Ram
        intel i5 7th or 8th gen processor
        SSD ( 128-256GB)
        HDMI and USB-C port.

        I am not sure if you could get all of this for $500 but you can try.

        • MatrixM on 21/11/2020 - 22:14

          ok, thanks, man.
          Found something like that on ebay but a friend told me the E series of thinkpads aren't anything like the T or X and besides its 2kg.
          I shall keep looking

  • pitiek on 21/11/2020 - 18:58

    OP, I'm the opposite..

    Looking for a chromebook for my year 3 son who is been using my macbook air for school work and game.
    O365, Roblox, Minecraft, study ladder and some other Web apps via browser.

    I assume chromebook would be ideal for this use case?

    • MatrixM on 21/11/2020 - 19:04

      If he just needs web apps then yeah should be fine provided you get one that's better memory wise than mine (mine is years old so shouldn't be hard.)

  • cwongtech on 21/11/2020 - 19:04

    Wait for monday, if you can stretch your budget to $600, might have a few options..

    • MatrixM on 21/11/2020 - 19:05

      Kind of worried that I'll miss the price drops, so was hoping for some suggestions of which to put on the watchlist.

  • cooperdog on 23/11/2020 - 14:13

    Are these worth considering? Guess most would need a replacement battery, but an ex business machine should have better build quality. And be about $300-$400 (most are on eBay for a bit less). Also at least a short warranty if buying from a business.

    https://www.australiancomputertraders.com.au/Refurbished-Lap…

    Looking for a school laptop, and worried a cheaper new one might be more fragile (and $550+)

  • scrimshaw on 24/11/2020 - 16:32
    +1

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/583963 $557.06 delivered

    AMD Ryzen 5 3450U CPU(amd.com) + Radeon Vega 8 GPU
    8GB RAM (2x SODIMM)
    256GB NVMe SSD (1x 2.5" bay + 1x M.2 slot)
    15.6" FHD WVA display
    1.83kg

    • MatrixM on 24/11/2020 - 17:01

      Hey, thanks man I just saw this too and figured i'd pull the trigger and can always return it if i find something better. Wish I could've used that $100 back from shopback but in the end $500 is better than $620 (as it requires a $800 minimum)

      I want to thank all you guys for doing what you can to help me out. It's majorly appreciated, i'm prone to freezing up with major purchases.

  • OlBoozeroony on 25/11/2020 - 11:42

    Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm after a budget one for my son for year 7. The school said 8gb ram, 256gb hdd and dual core recommended. This is about the best price I've seen but if anyone's seen a better bargain I'd love to know about it

    • cwongtech on 25/11/2020 - 11:56

      Personally I'd get a latitude (can handle knocks way better than Scrimshaw's Inspiron, different line) and extended warranty as well
      But of course my suggestions are more pricier as well

      What's the budget?

      Scrimshaw's one is exception in terms of specs (for the price)

      For me, build quality and warranty is important as well :)

  • OlBoozeroony on 25/11/2020 - 12:05

    Sorry, just realised I forgot to add a link to the laptop I saw in jb's catalogue

    https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/hp-14s-cf1053tu-14-hd-lap…

    HP 14" Laptop
    Pentium Gold 5405U 2.3ghz
    8gb ram
    256gb ssd

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