Every Laptop Deal Seems to Have a Deal Breaker - Too Paralyzed to Buy

sertse on 06/01/2024 - 15:56
Last edited 06/01/2024 - 16:05 by 1 other user

I've been monitoring the laptop deals here for a long while, and I have to admit that I've become too paralyzed at buying anything there are always replies criticizing some aspect as a deal maker.

Things I usually see:

Screen brightness (low nits!)
Screen quality/colour/burn in.
Resolution
Battery life
Noise
Thermals, throttling
"x generation is bad"
Memory
Build quality: e,g case or hinges.

How does anyone buy anything and not feel buyer's remorse? Or are OzBargainers just being overly picky?

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • bobbified on 06/01/2024 - 16:13
    +6

    Well, you just have to decide which issues are the least or not important for your usage.

    If you rarely take your laptop outside, low screen brightness may not bother you.
    If you usually always keep your laptop plugged in, a shorter battery life isn't going to matter so much.
    If you only do word processing on the laptop, you don't need a super high resolution screen.

    etc
    etc

    If you want "everything", then you might just have to fork out more money.

  • ihbh on 06/01/2024 - 16:15
    +1

    Why don't you go in store and check out a few yourself and see if the criticisms are valid for you. E.g. too loud, but you might be hard of hearing or their ears might be too sensitive.

  • rumblytangara on 06/01/2024 - 16:18
    +1

    Or are OzBargainers just being overly picky?

    It's just you applying every single factor as a potential deal breaker. Other people prioritise some factors, might have a couple deal breakers, and get on with it.

    e.g. battery life. A huge chunk of laptops are just left plugged into walls 24x7, but other owners might use them for school and not be able to plug them in.

    It's like a car- there is something wrong with every car ever made, but people still buy cars.

  • zoombie on 06/01/2024 - 16:29
    +2

    Let me guess, the ozbargain mentality. Best quality at cheapest price? Most people on here want to buy highest specs/quality at everything but don't want to pay the price for it. You can have either cheap or quality, pick one.

  • GardenGnome on 06/01/2024 - 16:38

    If you don't make a informed decision now, then in a month another 100 new models will be released. You will never be happy with the laptops you buy.

    Only time you will get a decent discount on quality models is BF/EOFY/BOXING DAY. Only those 3 events.

    The best discounts are for last year's models on any sale event or when shops try and clear not sold stock or when new CPU's/GPUs are released.

    Hell you could pick up the beast of a laptop @ Legion 7 with 13900HX, 32 DDR, 2TB HDD & 4090 RTX for $4500. $1500 off retail, great value.

  • Mokr on 06/01/2024 - 16:40
    +1

    I bought a expensive laptop

    and its not perfect, the battery doesn't last

    I'd rather id saved 1k

    • GardenGnome on 06/01/2024 - 16:42

      This I don't understand. Why would you buy a gaming laptop and use battery power? They need to be plugged in all the time, easy though huh?

      • meong on 06/01/2024 - 16:57
        +1

        FYI, in 2016 I bought a Dell XPS which was expensive and the battery didnt last because the screen was 4K… i regretted picking the best spec with 4K because the cheaper model with 1080p model the battery lasted nearly twice as long as the 4K model.

        it wasn't even a gaming laptop, and more expensive does not necessarily mean it gets you what you were looking for… some people however wouldnt mind getting the 4K while sacrificing battery life…

        • GardenGnome on 06/01/2024 - 17:39

          Ahhh gotcha I didn't think about high resolution screens on other non-gaming laptops sucking power. When people say expensive laptop usually it's a gaming one. If you need long lasting battery and mobility, then you should consider a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon or Yoga or an Apple Air or Pro.

          • meong on 06/01/2024 - 17:52

            @GardenGnome: Too late, I got myself a Legion 5i last year l😂

    • MS Paint on 06/01/2024 - 16:53

      Didn't come with 12 months free grammarly either. Ripped off.

  • JIMB0 on 06/01/2024 - 17:02

    If money is no object and you can live without Windows then Apple Macs have the fewest compromises. Otherwise you're going to have to sort through the endless number of windows based machines and find something in your price range that ticks most of the boxes.

  • 7ekn00 on 06/01/2024 - 17:04
    +2

    Work out your priorities and go from there!

    You are not going to get the most powerful CPU with bright screen with best battery life and the most RAM and HDD space for $499 :/

    "Gaming" is just a marketing term to sell for more $$ - plenty of non "Gaming" specs that will be as good or better …

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 06/01/2024 - 17:34
    +2

    Buy a MacBook

    *ducks *

    • Namesareapain on 07/01/2024 - 07:19

      The OP clearly said memory is a deal breaker.

  • CyberMurning on 06/01/2024 - 17:49

    Every Laptop Deal Seems to Have a Deal Breaker - Too Paralyzed to Buy

    Next we have a similar thread:

    Every Human I dated Seems to Have a Deal Breaker - Too Paralyzed to commit into relationship.

  • dtc on 06/01/2024 - 18:22
    +1

    What you will find is that a lot of the complaints are keyboard warriors who just jump on anything that is slightly less than the highest standard but without any real world or practical rationale for the criticism. As said above, super bright screens aren’t much benefit unless you are working in very bright conditions. Hi res screen for office work isn’t needed or are thermals or throttling likely to be an issue.

  • Darude Sandstorm on 06/01/2024 - 18:34

    I've been paralysed for about 3 years now on purchasing a laptop.
    Because of this I got a steam deck and haven't worried since

  • icanconfirm on 06/01/2024 - 19:55

    Probably a personality issue

    Maybe you're just recognising it in laptop purchasing, but probably spills over in other aspects of your life that you may/may not have recognised

    Any of these resonate with you- fear of making mistakes, feeling you'll get looked down from others, perfectionism, not knowing what you want or need, overthinking, low self-confidence?

    • meong on 06/01/2024 - 20:11

      That or a wallet issue…

      My wallet has a very low self-esteem…

  • bobokingdom on 06/01/2024 - 22:03

    Buy the MacBook Air M1 for Edu Price $1349 with Apple GC from Coles + $240 Apple GC rebate! Bargain for less than $1000

    Good screen (High Nits), light weight, no noise (fanless), low heat, good build quality (great hinge, don't drop it and you will be golden), Apple 2 years ACL warranty*

    Note: RAM is only 8GB but most likely OK for everyday use.

    *Without limiting consumers rights, Apple will provide its own remedies equivalent to those remedies in the consumer guarantee provisions of the Australian Consumer Law at any time within 24 months of the date of purchase. For the avoidance of doubt, Apple acknowledges that the Australian Consumer Law may provide for remedies beyond 24 months for a number of its products.

  • bobokingdom on 09/01/2024 - 14:44

    so, it is more like Apple: $1349 - $260 (GC later) or JB: $1278 now

    BTW, Apple GC will be on sale (20x) in Woolworths from tomorrow.

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