Buy New Laptop in Aus or USA?

dammitjay on 07/06/2024 - 17:25
Last edited 07/06/2024 - 17:28

Hey all,
My laptop is on its last legs and I'm looking to upgrade. I've got a trip to the USA in August and I'm just wondering if I'm better off buying something now in Aus at one of the EOFY deals, or if things are much cheaper over there. (I can get delivered to New Hampshire with 0% sales tax).

What I'm looking for is advice on the specs to focus on if I want to get a long lifespan out of my laptop again. I'm happy to do research on specific models.

Budget is as close to $1k AUD as possible.

To give you an indication I bought my current laptop 7 years ago: intel Core i7-7700HQ, 4GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 15.6” Full HD IPS Display 512GB SSD + 16GB DDR4 RAM and have still been playing pretty much most of the year or two old AAA titles on low to medium quality. All that to say I don't need top of the line and don't really care about running things at the best graphics settings. I don't really care about having an amazing screen either. Just want to play games and squeeze the most value out of my purchase.

Should I go 4050 or try to find 4060. Or different GPU altogether?
What is the lowest quality I should go on CPU - I always find these most confusing to pick.

Thanks in advance!

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • Hoosein 786 on 07/06/2024 - 17:46
    +6

    Just be aware of any warranty claims if you are buying in the US.

    • dammitjay on 07/06/2024 - 18:47

      Good shout!

  • Hybroid on 07/06/2024 - 17:46
    +2

    What do you propose to do in the event of a warranty claim?

    • dammitjay on 07/06/2024 - 18:47

      Didn't consider that! Thanks.

    • rumblytangara on 07/06/2024 - 19:22
      +1

      Some brands will provide global warranty, typically business-line models.

  • 87percent on 07/06/2024 - 17:53
    +1

    US dollar is not favourable for Aussies right now

    • Browsers on 07/06/2024 - 19:39

      About 1.50 AUD:USD, not much within budget. As an example of something with a 4060, Acer Nitro from Best Buy is AUD $1275, delivered to any of their stores https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-nitro-v-anv15-51-789j-15-6….

      • Browsers on 07/06/2024 - 19:58

        And for comparison Harvey Norman sell similar specs model (but rtx4050) for $1388. Not that I'd send anyone to Harvey Norman…

      • Cronium on 08/06/2024 - 00:22

        $1275 without tax. So in many states it would actually be cheaper in Australia.

  • jv on 07/06/2024 - 19:40
    +3

    Don't get a USA one.

    Someone told me the keys are on the right hand side…

  • Broke-Ken on 07/06/2024 - 22:52
    +1

    If your budget is $1k, then I would suggest getting it local here, within 60 days of your flight so you can claim TRS

    • Buying local means local warranty
    • TRS means an additional 10% off
    • for a 1K laptop, when you return, it can be declared as less than the limit of $900, since it's considered "used" and has depreciated.
    • Ozbfan on 07/06/2024 - 23:22

      I experienced the deprecation many years ago from trs staff, however it is not a thing any more, they now go purely off the receipt price and not a dollar less.

      • Broke-Ken on 07/06/2024 - 23:32

        Thanks for the updated info and good to know, as you can tell, it's been a while since I've done this.

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