MSI Modern 14" FHD Laptop for $899 at JB Hi-Fi Clearance! Is it a Good Buy?
MSI Modern 14 14" FHD 60hz Laptop (Intel Core i7-1355U, 512GB) $899 + Delivery ($0 C&C / In-Store) @ JB Hi-Fi
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LPV1922 on 18/01/2025 - 21:52 jbhifi.com.au (1902 clicks)
Last edited 20/01/2025 - 10:34 by 2 other users
Last edited 20/01/2025 - 10:34 by 2 other users
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off $600 from RRP.
Well, this is the thing about Ozzy B, the item in question, while not a bargain itself for what it actually is, is at a bargain price for the make/model, but when it's measured comparatively isn't a bargain, if we had a rule about things not being a bargain and just being on sale we'd have much less posts, engagement, advertising money and Ozbargain would close.
Its OKAY for the price, with the new Intel ulta chipsets (basically 15th gen) this laptop is about 2 generations behind. If you want an office work style laptop this would do, but if you want gaming laptops there are other deals posted previously that come quite close to the price and specs.
What would you consider a good deal for gaming laptops?
Below $600
and is the only game you play minesweeper?
I got a new Intel ultra (125H) for just over $900, and that also came with a $90 Harvey Norman gift voucher, during Xmas sales…
I don't think this MSI is a very good deal considering that, but still if you are looking for a brand new, small 13th gen processor with 16gb ram, is there a better alternative right now? I think no…
39.3Wh battery and 16GB soldered RAM for those wondering. Battery capacity in particular is smaller than average and could be an issue.
39.3Wh battery is taking the absolute piss.
Similar model can be found cheaper here: https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/laptops-&-notebooks/lapt…
You can use this site for tech items to compare prices between stores and find one closest to your state or simply order online from any: https://www.staticice.com.au/
That model is the newer model, it has non-soldered RAM and a slightly better build quality.
Definitely a better deal than this one.
Correct. And slightly bigger battery too.
But still rubbish hdmi and camera
with MSI:
if you see them cheap in price, most likely they are cheap in quality/spec/build
otherwise, they will be overpriced compare with others similar spec from different brand.they will be overpriced compare with others similar spec from different brand.
Such as?
Google their top tier cant remember the model name… titan?
Mediocre screen
Maybe $499 then you can give it a go …
A lot of negs but not any replies…
I don't like macOS, but it makes sense to look out for one of the MacBook Air M2 deals where they're around $1250.
That's only $350 more, and if you go to sell it at any point, you will get a large portion of that back, just like with iPhones.
But, like with Realme or Motorola, if you decide to sell this MSI then you'll get little for it.
An M2 Air will also outperform this by a large amount…
Link?
Why the downvotes… I've literally never owned a Mac or even an iPhone, but nothing he said is incorrect.
The M2 chips are phenomenal with performance and efficiency…
Plus apple products do tend to hold their value, a 3 year old generic laptop like this? Good luck getting $200 for it. A 3 year old MacBook air You'd still get $800 or so.
I'm guessing it's just people who hate Apple. I get that, I also don't like Apple, but I'm trying to be helpful regardless of my biases.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
@besttechadvisor: I got the same mass negs for mentioning weak spots of iphones vs androids, which are also true. I don't know how it works here
¯(ツ)/¯@Ozzster: https://meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cunningham%27s_Law
(Wrong according to two different samples of people, who are more likely to let you know if they disagree than agree with you)
@besttechadvisor: I mostly just think the mac will reach e-waste first because the SSD and ram is soldered to the board. So once either of those fails you are screwed. Would never buy a pre-owned Mac for that reason, even if it was cheaper than an elite book or ThinkPad from the same era. If I was going to pay a premium price for new, I would get a framework laptop. Maybe I watch too much Louis Rossman.
@Dan24: I guess whoever's offended (Microsoft fanboys, Apple fanboys, etc) are more likely to neg en masse than reasonable people are to up vote en masse.
depends if you need to run Windows or MacOS, at work we run Windows, so at home I use windows …
I agree, I also run Windows. The lack of a native clipboard in macOS is incredibly frustrating for me and none of the app-based solutions are nearly as clean as Window's and Android's native clipboards.
Still, I did add the pretext of "If you're not married to an OS".
The people who are in the apple ecosystem won't be looking at this deal, and it's not a great deal to begin with anyway, lenovo usually have similar specced laptops for cheaper any day of the week.
Others don't look at resale value, every laptop I've had, Apple or Windows, I've kept it till they died/ were obsolete, so it's not a factor for me, I would rather spend a bit more and get a laptop that can last 5+ years
The people who are in the apple ecosystem won't be looking at this deal
Of course, but my comment is specifically for people are "not married to an OS"
Others don't look at resale value
I know, that's why I'm pointing it out as something that should be considered 😊
every laptop I've had, Apple or Windows, I've kept it till they died/ were obsolete, so it's not a factor for me, I would rather spend a bit more and get a laptop that can last 5+ years
Agreed, but the MSI in the ad isn't going to last 5+ years. Better to spend a bit more, get something that will retain value, then trade up until you can get something you want to keep for 5 years.
In 5 years the world will be different. Optimal is to renew for an average one every 3 years. This one is below average, so not recommended anyway.
Screen is a bit dim with poor colour accuracy, and the battery is small.
It's an okay laptop, but this is just a regular sale price — you'd be absolutely out of your mind to pay $1500 for it
Is it a Good Buy?
You obviously think so, that's why you listed it as a bargain.
13th gen is from 2023
U CPUs are typically the worst from performance perspective. But less overheating, and, therefore, longer life.
As someone who uses a laptop witth a 13th gen U-series CPU, it's absolutely more than adequate for everyday basic tasks and office work
Battery, screen, gpu and ram are more likely to fall than cpu especially an intel.
especially an intel is actually notorious with the last generations, but with H CPUs, U are fine.
I agree that the rest dies earlier, and performance is sufficient. But the H CPUs can die nearly new.
60hz isn’t very modern of them.
Such a lame comment
FHD 🤮
This is 2025.
But 14"..
I dont think my old eyes can read text on 4k in 14"….Yeah at high resolutions, Windows will scale the text. It looks clearer because the height of each character has more pixels, rather than blocky at FHD. On my 4K monitor, text looks clear and sharp like it’s printed on paper.
If you don't use legacy apps, which don't scale an look super tiny.
On my 4K monitor, text looks clear and sharp
Is it a 14" monitor?
Nice little pocket rocket. IPS screen and battery life may take away the shine from the fact it’s an 13th gen i7 with 16gb ram (ok for being soldered on provided no issues occur for the time of the product) and 512gb ssd (assuming that’s interchangeable) for being $900.
Maybe material wise if it’s not aluminium might create heating issues but for something portable and to do your everyday tasks, not too bad, considering it’s from JB.Lesson for new members: don't ever post a deal, ever. The clique will downvote you with reasons like this regardless, despite them lording over their own deals and reporting downvotes like this on their own precious deals as unhelpful to the community. Because at the end of the day all this is about is dictating what the community is and what the community wants, for the clique that is to be seen as the true lords of bargain and in a roundabout way to validate their own buying decisions. Essentially getting the best bang for buck with their numbers at the expense of the majority that form the community. True OzBargainers!
Tip for those jaded with this toxic community: don't vote, positive or negative. Search by new deals only. Find the coupons or broad offers here and apply them to your own search for what works for you. Do not afford this community any kind of feedback loop. Sign up only to see the deleted post titles in case the poster is on the wrong side of the clique/mods for generally uninituative reasons. Laugh at the comments that decide you're the leech and bane of this community because they're too uppity to realise they are the cause of it..
Actually I find the post informative, also probably gets more attention than forum which invites more constructive discussions and other people including myself gets to learn a bit more about laptop deals.
User avatar check out.
Ok just my 2c, have a few of these at home but older version (both 10th gen), the ones we have in the hands of highschoolers fell apart in about 18 months i basically kept one going by using bits not bent or broken from the other one, battery life with an intel chip is terrible so i don't see how a 40wh + 13th gen will be better. IMO this is not worth $899, also consider that 13th gen is now 3 or so years old and there were some really nice deals for the last gen AMD and Intel towards the end of last year which were around this price.
This is a good deal 4 years ago
Is it a Good Buy?
No
FHD 45% NTSC screen is unacceptable for a new $900 laptop in 2025
Current Moderns are only deals around $600 and even then, MSI's reuse of old chassis designs and obvious penny pinching like the tiny battery make them borderline choices for desperate buyers
Yep 100% right.
If 500ish maybe good…
Just going to throw this out there but we purchased three MSI Modern 15 laptops just over 3 years ago for work purposes. About 4 months ago, and within the space of about 3 months, all three laptops had issues with the keyboards. Button presses not recognised, some odd glitches here and there. Now all three are practically unusable without having to attach a USB keyboard, and or do a complete software reinstall. I've put these now in the same "bin" as Acer laptops… Last for a short while and then die in some way. Wont be buying MSI again.
And they will not be cheap and easy to repair, as the problem is not in the keyboard itself, but with its connector on the mobo. Its a known mass issue with them. Yep, use an external one as the only workaround. If you have one still working, disable backlid.
Any good 300-400 sub laptop? Ideally for browsing and some CAD or photo editing?
Imo you can get some good value going secondhand. I just purchased a Dell Latitude with 12 series intel chip for that much.
The battery report was solid & I have one as a work laptop that's fine. It's running windows 11 and all the work applications without issue.
From FB marketplace or some sites to share?
Yeah on FB, sometimes you get lucky and there's a bargain nearby. Otherwise look on ebay for refurbished. There are lots of ex business laptops. Most businesses use Dell.
I was searching for the processor I wanted instead of a specific laptop as yielded more hits since you see multiple brands. i5-1245U & i5-1345u. Both these gen chips are very close in performance. I avoided the i7 chips such as those in this deal (i7-1255u) as they could sometimes have thermal throttling issues.
you can get some bargains on marketplace.. my son and I both got laptops for $1000. mine was 8 months old and was $3300 new, his was 2 weeks old and was $2300 new.
Is this a deal? If not why post it here