Help Me Choose a Laptop - Budget $1K (Reliable & fast)

pat0809 on 04/01/2016 - 16:35
Last edited 04/01/2016 - 17:52 by 1 other user

I know there are a lot of posts like this but I really need some help. I need to buy a new laptop, since I don't know much about computers it is a bit overwhelming comparing the specs of different laptops when I don't really understand it all that much.

I don't really play many games so it will mostly be used for web browsing, playing music, watching videos, skype, etc. I obviously don't need anything high end but I will be using it a lot, every day so I want to make sure I get a reliable, fast laptop. My budget is about $1000. Is getting an i7 laptop with 16gb ram overkill?

Here are some laptops I was looking at on Ebay. What do you guys think?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-TOSHIBA-S50-Slim-Laptop-CORE-…

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-2015-16GB-Toshiba-Satellite-L…

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HP-Pavilion-15-p233tu-i7-5500U-16…

Thanks for any help and sorry for being a noob.

Computing

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 04/01/2016 - 17:00
    +2

    Like buying a wand, the laptop chooses YOU.

  • scrimshaw on 04/01/2016 - 17:03
    +5

    eBay is probably not the best place to buy a laptop from. Many of them are grey imports and you'll also be dealing with smaller businesses, which is not so great when it comes to warranty and post-sales service.

    For many users yes, a Core i7 is probably overkill and is an expense in an area which you don't really need. Processor performance isn't super important unless you are gaming in which case, a $1000 laptop should ideally have both a Core i7 and a decent graphics card. Intel HD graphics are only mediocre and won't play much asides from older titles like Minecraft or DOTA.

    It would be wiser to buy a mid-range device and upgrade with an SSD later on.

    Some places to start from would be Lenovo - they've recently released Thinkpad E560 with 6th generation Skylake processor for $899
    http://www3.lenovo.com/au/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-edge/…
    which can be customized with FHD IPS display (highly recommended!) for an additional $55 dollars. That gets you close to $955.

    The older generation E550 is going at a pretty decent price - $699 for a Broadwell (5th gen). Again, customize it with a FHD display for a total of $754 and leave all the other options as-is. You can upgrade the laptop easily later on with SSD and more RAM.
    http://www3.lenovo.com/au/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-edge/…

  • burhanr on 04/01/2016 - 17:08
    +1

    None of the 3 choices has an SSD which what I think is the most important part to make your computer feels fast.
    Unfortunately a sub-1000 laptop that has SSD and decent processor are not that common.
    This is the closest i think would be ok: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-HP-Pavilion-i7-8GB-250GB-SSD-…

    If you are comfortable with opening up your laptop, you can get the 17 inch toshiba from your links, then grab this for 129 (or wait for dozens of SSD special here)
    http://www.msy.com.au/nswonline/hard-drive/14928-samsung-850…
    The spare drive you can use in conjunction with this and turn it into an external drive.
    http://www.msy.com.au/nswonline/enclosure-hard-drive-dock/14…

    Hopefully the others has some more insight to help ya.

  • ProjectZero on 04/01/2016 - 17:10
    +1

    Will you really need it to be portable? If not, getting a desktop is still the best bet. If you really need to take it with you on the go, than laptop is the only choice but if not, you can build a decent PC for web browsing, watching video and media server for around $600 (Personally looked into this many time as I was planning on building a media server tower).

    • pat0809 on 04/01/2016 - 17:22

      I don't really need it to be portable but I will probably move to Japan next year and will want to take it with me. Otherwise I would get a desktop pc.

      • ProjectZero on 04/01/2016 - 18:18

        Judging from what you will be using it for, a netbook would probably suffice.

        As you said that it doesn't need to be portable, I am going to assume battery life wouldn't be much of an issue, so that doesn't need to be considered. Will you be playing any games at all?

        Any preference on resolution?

        I reckon either of these two would be ok though…

        https://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers-tablets/laptops/asus/asu…

        https://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers-tablets/laptops/asus/asu…

        P.S. I'm generally biased towards ASUS, but other brands would be about that price too.

      • scrimshaw on 04/01/2016 - 19:00

        If you are moving to Japan you should probably buy it in japan… and get warranty there.

        Right now I would probably get a cheapo basic notebook for around $400 and then sell it off before you leave. You won't have to carry it as luggage.

        • pat0809 on 04/01/2016 - 19:13

          Problem is I don't know how long I will be living in Japan. I have been using my brothers laptop which is a budget HP one and was about $500 and it is frustratingly slow at times which made me think I should buy a higher spec one. Reading all the comments has been really helpful though.

        • ProjectZero on 05/01/2016 - 09:59

          @pat0809: Could you give the currect laptop's model and/or specs?

          Could just be that it has been cluttered so installing a SSD might help if the other hardware isn't bad.

  • O O on 04/01/2016 - 18:47
    +2

    Have a look at Dell Outlet, particular the Inspiron Series

    • pat0809 on 04/01/2016 - 19:25

      is a refurbished laptop worth looking at? Has anyone had any experience buying a refurbished laptop from Dell?

    • Tech5 on 05/01/2016 - 02:19
      +1

      Is good idea. Dell often has cashbacks and their laptops are generally quite good for price range. Also, 16GB ram not needed

      • SES on 06/01/2016 - 18:47

        @pat0809 take note :) unless you're gaming/video editing etc you should be able to get away with an i5 with 8 GB. This is coming who has 32 Gb and barely uses it.

  • white-rhino on 05/01/2016 - 01:54

    Same boat, how about Aspire V3-372-587T Ultrabook
    CPU:
    Intel 6th Generation Core i5-6200U 2.3GHz(Turbo 2.8GHz)
    OS:
    Windows 10 Home 64bit
    RAM:
    4GB
    DDR3
    HDD:
    256GB
    SSD SATA
    Graphic:
    Intel HD520 Graphics
    Integrated VGA
    Screen:
    13.3”FHD IPS(1920x1080)
    LED Screen
    1yr Warranty
    *USB3 *Bluetooth
    *802.11ac    Webcam,Spk,Mic
    HDMI
    *Card Reader    1.50kg
    $899.00 from msy http://cdn.msy.com.au/Parts/notebook.pdf

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