Laptop for High School - Can You Please Critique This MSI 14" Laptop $699

wilko23 on 17/12/2022 - 17:36
Last edited 17/12/2022 - 17:43 by 1 other user

Hi I was looking at getting this for my son for High School next year…

MSI Modern 14 B5M 14in FHD Ryzen 5 5500U AMD Radeon 512GB SSD 8GB RAM W11H Laptop - Carbon Grey (MODERN 14 B5M-241AU) $699.00

To me it seems to be a pretty good deal based on specs but I'm definitely no expert…
From what i can see the major draw backs are: Poor speakers & screen colour reproduction. Both of which I don't think will be an issue for his use.

I'm after any feedback on this deal or other recommendations… I'm trying to keep to a budget of $650 max. He'll likely want to be able to play some Fortnite and other lower demand type games such as Roblox. I'm kind of hoping he'll get at least 3 years out of it??

thanks in advance for any help!

cheers

Related Stores

Umart

• 

  MS Paint on 17/12/2022 - 17:39

  +3

  I had an MSI modern 14 A10M for a few years (10th gen i5).

  It was a perfectly capable machine. Light weight. Aluminium chassis. Backlit keyboard was nice with good key travel. The screen was fine (IPS) but not awesome.

  I DIY upgraded to 16gb RAM which requires the motherboard to come out. I never gamed on the machine.

  Definitely perfectly fine for high school. Great value at that price. Only negative I can think of is street cred if all of his mates have MacBooks or similar.

  • 

    thatonethere on 17/12/2022 - 18:58

    +1

    Yeah you need to figure out what the teachers/IT supports as primary - rather than swim upstream. If it is Mac then get macbook air m1.

• 

  Look Up on 17/12/2022 - 19:30

  +2

  Laptops with a 5500U + upgradeable RAM are a sweet sport for school laptops

  Wait until after Christmas, sub $600 deals will appear like here

  • 

    wilko23 on 17/12/2022 - 19:46

    I forgot to add that I'll be getting it for $649 with the AMEX cash back for Umart… Looking at that one you linked its heavier and slightly smaller battery… Perhaps not worth waiting?

    • 

      Look Up on 17/12/2022 - 20:25

      -1

      Your call, spending $50 extra now to lock in peace of mind seems a reasonable "deal"

      • 

        wilko23 on 17/12/2022 - 21:19

        All depends whether you think you are comparing apples… there are many 15.6" deals around with similar specs… These understandably come in a heavier package, the one you linked also has a smaller battery, both of these things are generally important when it comes to choosing a school laptop. Those 2 things alone are perhaps worth that $50? The deal you linked isn't exactly the kind of earth shattering deal that would make me wait it out and hope…

        • 

          BLAIL on 17/12/2022 - 22:44

          +1

          @wilko23: Get the MSI

        • 

          Look Up on 17/12/2022 - 23:30

          +1

          @wilko23: You stipulated max $650 in your original post

          I gave you an example - not a recommendation - of a laptop with similar specs under this budget and cheaper than the MSI

          No one knows if a blockbuster ~$600-700 deal for a higher spec 5625U or 5700U with better build, bigger battery and less weight than the MSI will appear between now and start of the school year

          Therefore the comment re: locking in peace of mind stands - if you absolutely need to buy right now, the MSI is a reasonable choice

          If you can wait, there will be deals from Boxing Day onwards - it's the nature of the laptop market

          • 

            wilko23 on 18/12/2022 - 10:07

            @Look Up: Thanks, I interpreted your linked one as an example of a better deal I should wait for and when I compared them imo thought it was not as good so missed your point. Your comment above sums it up well.

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  Associatednotaccel @ Umart on 19/12/2022 - 00:18

  +1

  It runs a little hot that unit, at least the 4K model does. The FHD unit should run a little cooler under load since it's going to be pushing less pixels.

  Shouldn't be an issue for Fortnite or Roblox, but something to keep in mind.

• 

  Look Up on 24/12/2022 - 11:51

  +1

  @wilko23 If you didn't buy a machine yet, get this - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/747288

  • 

    wilko23 on 24/12/2022 - 15:06

    +1

    thanks mate, I got the other one… this one is a great deal!