Looking at a cheap sub $300 laptop for my son for xmas.
I have seen a few for about $279 before but they seem to have disappeared.
Sub $300 laptop for son for X'mas
macfanboy on 25/10/2012 - 15:01
Comments
speaking from experience? haha
Ok, much lower than your asking budget but it's not too bad:
http://www.logicalblueone.com.au/store/479-horize-w246-noteb…
Just found it yesterday. Sure, the processor is single core but I imagine it will run quite smoothly just for basic office and web browsing.
Other than that I think if you want the best bang for your buck I'd be searching ebay and gumtree for second hand laptops. Most of the time you can get ones for about $300 that are quite recent and have many of the bells and whistles albeit with a few wear and tear marks.
Good luck.
Hey that looks ok.
I like the fact that it is from MSY as it is about 3 kms from my house.
What do you think is the best $250-$350 laptop that MSY sells and why?Thanks !
any comments on the best sub $350 laptop from MSY for mine craft?
These are your three best choices
http://imgur.com/a/YK9tqThe third one (Acer) is a special from Slacks Creek. The other two ASUS are available at any branch.
I have used these AMD laptops before and they are terrible. Can be slow and unresponsive even for normal web browsing and office style use.
Centrecom have an Acer 2nd gen i3 laptop with 10GB ram for $400 after cash back. The extra $100 would be well worth the extra longevity and experience of using a better laptop.
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/nxryfsa003-optional-upgr…Depending on usage the AMD versions may be a better choice. If his son plays games the integrated AMD graphics found in some AMD Llano series processors will do better than the i3's 2000HD series.
No he doesn't play a lot of pc game except of course mine craft…which hardly needs grunt power.
Minecraft needs a fair bit of GPU. Although it doesn't use complex stuff likes shaders, a surface that other games would render in a few dozen polygons needs hundreds of cubes in Minecraft. According to the minecraft wiki, even the HD 3000 may give only 5 fps (some people have posted higher scores, e.g. 23 fps on the wiki, so it probably depends on the settings. I understand the 6310 on the AMD would give a playable 40 fps on low settings).
Yeah, Minecraft is not very playable on my Core i5 2410m proccessor. The AMD APU will have much better performance.
Had a bad experience buying from Centrecom recently, waited around 5 weeks to receive a laptop I was told was 'at the warehouse'.
How about this $359 after cashback ($408)
Acer AS5750Z-B944G50Mnkk
Sandy Bridge B940 2GHz + 4GB RAMhttp://www.topbuy.com.au/computers-office/computers-systems/…
Looks quite good how is topbuy for service, returns & delivery ?
The same model is cheaper at OnLine Computer:
http://www.onlinecomputer.com.au/product_info.php?products_i…You get free delivery or you might even get this for less if you go to their store and ask nicely.
I have bought from these guys before. They are good. I have also claimed warranty on the ASUS I bought from them and didn't have any issues.
Here is a list of all their specials ordered by price just in case you wanted more options:
http://www.onlinecomputer.com.au/index.php?sortcol=1&sortdir…Thank you.
Sydney is a bit far from adelaide.
MSY looks ok because they have a branch 3kms from my house.
Honestly I would rather an iPod Touch over all of the listed ones above.
Or even a tablet - of any shape or form. You can get tablets cheaper than $300 that will do the same thing.yes i know, but he has an ipod touch and access to two iPads.
I have the samsung 522, just needs a replacement keyboard from ebay. Bought for $1200 from JBHIFI a while ago
definitely new google chromebook series 3 - amazing for $249 - just get a free www.shipito.com account if you need to ship it to USA first then Australia. Will cost $8.50 plus shipping so right around/under $300. He will be envy of friends. I'm closing to getting one..
http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/chrome-os-devices/XE303C1…
Great reviews from the verge slashgear etc Same processor from ARM as latest in Galaxy Note II.
http://www.slashgear.com/samsung-series-3-chromebook-late-20…
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/24/3549368/samsung-chromeboo…
Amazing for price… only problem is if using programs like Microsoft office is key.. Of course Google have Google docs a browser based equivalent and their App playstore but obviously its web centric :)
Update: I am closing to getting new Chromebook myself and checked that of the 4 online sellers recommended by Google that they/one would accept paypal etc
Tigers Direct quoted $111 shipping to Australia so too much but $5.43 shipping and accepting paypal/credit to ship to www.shipito.com which costs $8.50 per package.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-det…
So cost would be $249 plus $5.43 to Shipito = $254.43USD / $245.6AUD (+paypal/card charge) + $8.50 forwarding charge =
$254AUD PLUS the cost to ship from there to Australia.
They or similar mail forwarding companies provide 6-8 quotes for each item though not sure what price for this would be. I'd guess in the $40 range (plus or minus 50% based on quotes)
Not sure if this helps but im close to getting myself. Its got HDMI out and USB 3.0 so keen to get for Samsung monitor that came up on OzB last week that I get this week… Damn this post is going to make me buy a Chromebook 3!
My guess is this will come in right at/just under $300 and your son will have a new shiny machine under XMAS tree that will be the envy of friends and any geek/family member plus not grabbing their computer!As cool as the Chromebook is, it is only suited for web browsing, a bit of work, and not much else.
Minecraft won't run on it
Neither will Office 2010 — but Office 365 might work in-browser.
Apps require an internet connectionChromebook is also very reliant on a constant internet connection because it's cloud based — without internet, you can't access the apps online. That's fine for people in the USA where free wifi is abundant, but it's a different case in AU.
Remember this notebook is for a child, not for a grownup who understands the limitations of the chromebook.
Have you used http://www.shipito.com/ ? Some of these company's are reputed to be unreliable to AU, not high on their priority I suppose.
Make sure that redtube, xhamster etc work well before you give it to him. Low end laptops aren't that good with flash videos, especially on multiple tabs.