Help with Buying a Basic Laptop

avitherock on 31/10/2014 - 20:07

Hi Guys,

Need your expert advice.

I am looking for a brand new cheap and basic laptop. Basically, I want the best specs for the lowest price. It is going overseas for my cousin:

After doing some research, I can see 3 options:

1) Dell Inspiron 15 for $549 : http://www.dell.com/au/p/inspiron-15-3542-laptop/pd?oc=dx510…

2) Lenovo G50-70 for $499 : http://shopap.lenovo.com/au/en/laptops/lenovo/g-series/g50-7…

3) Acer Aspire V5 for $527 : http://www.onlinecomputer.com.au/product_info.php?products_i… ( this one had $79 cashback which is now gone, hopefully it will come back)

I spoke to Dell online chat and they said that warranty can be transferred to overseas country by just calling them. I think Lenovo have their International Warranty Service (IWS) too.

What do you guys suggest? Are there some other gud options?

Thanks.

Avi

Poll Options expired

  • 4
    Dell
  • 3
    Lenovo
  • 1
    Acer
Computing

Comments

    • avitherock on 31/10/2014 - 21:10
      -1

      M looking for a laptop

      • mikelp on 31/10/2014 - 21:25

        This is truly a laptop

        • avitherock on 31/10/2014 - 21:40
          -1

          But above my budget of $500

  • ozAzn on 31/10/2014 - 22:05

    you could always go with the chromebook line. https://www.google.com.au/chrome/devices/

    • avitherock on 31/10/2014 - 22:08
      -1

      chromebooks need internet connectionn…therefore prefer windows

  • Davo1111 on 31/10/2014 - 22:20

    Fairly sure asus has an international warranty. I wouldnt touch dell

    • avitherock on 31/10/2014 - 22:48

      I think you are right. Know of any good Asus laptop around $500?

      • Davo1111 on 01/11/2014 - 00:41

        I just had a look at the MSY notebook pdf, they've got Asus laptops starting at 379$.

        Just make sure you double check they're international warranty. I can't remember if it was lenovo or asus, but one had a local warranty only for certain models. This was in the US, but you can't be too careful.

    • scrimshaw on 31/10/2014 - 22:53
      +1

      Dell isn't bad, their Inspiron series are crappy but Vostro and Latitude series are great.

      Have a look at the Acer V5 series
      http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=acer+v5+pri…

      • Davo1111 on 01/11/2014 - 00:41

        I got stung with dell, never again. never ever.

        • mrmarkau67 on 01/11/2014 - 10:41

          What model was it? Latitude and Precision have worked well for me. Others, not so much.

        • Davo1111 on 01/11/2014 - 11:03

          @mrmarkau67: XPS

  • bradsmrbetty on 01/11/2014 - 08:20

    I bought a Acer Aspire about 5 months ago. I can't remember the exact model number.
    Overall I am happy with it.
    You get what you pay for though.
    I got mine for $560ish overnight sale ( the price now is around $700 +

    The good points,
    Light weight.
    Good battery life
    Good specs for the price
    Good looks

    The bad
    Intergrated battery.
    Touchpad was really bad when I bought it. Updating the driver made it alot better. Still not great though!

    Screen is reasonable for the price but cheaper laptops have lower resolution screens. I deal with it.

    Also with the cash backs you have only 14 days from the day of purchase to send the cashback claim in. So if the laptop takes a week to get shipped to you, then you have 7 days to send acer the claim form in the mail. Check their website about it for more details.

    Dells, I supported them in several schools the latitude series was great a hundred laptops only a few had to be fixed. Same with their desktops

    I can't comment on the inspiron series.

    HP I have had mixed results with.

    • avitherock on 01/11/2014 - 08:40

      What abt lenovo?

      • bradsmrbetty on 01/11/2014 - 09:08

        Never had,or worked on one.

  • mrmarkau67 on 01/11/2014 - 10:49

    Fact 1: Low end Windows laptops are usually plastic crap.
    Fact 2: Windows laptops have terrible resale value.

    Conclusion:

    A: Buy second hand or from a refurbisher to get better quality at a great price.
    or
    B: Save a little more and buy a Macbook Air

    This is a tank-like Dell Latitude, $400. Would have been $1500+ 3 years ago. You could spend another $100 or so to put in an SSD and you have a great machine.
    http://www.recompute.com.au/customise.php?pid=2972

    You'll gain build quality, you'll lose battery life and gaming performance.

    Note: Lenovo, Dell, Asus, Acer, HP all have several ranges. They all have the same Intel processors, but the less prominent components, engineering and design is wildly variable. When people say they have had an awful experience with their Dell or Lenovo, its usually in the low end range.

    • avitherock on 01/11/2014 - 11:02

      I understand all that…but it is not for me..its for my cousin who is overseas. I just have to buy it and send it off with my dad who is going there in 2wks.

      And he doesn't want refurbished. So has to be in new.

      Therefore, from the above 3…which own would u recommend?

    • cypher67 on 01/11/2014 - 13:01

      Fact 1: When you have a budget of $500, don't expect the build quality
      Fact 2: If you are buying a laptop for resell value, then you're doing it wrong

      • avitherock on 01/11/2014 - 13:53

        I am not expecting any high quality laptop and I am not buying it to resell it. I wanted ppl's advice on the 3 laptops I have listed above. If given a choice, which one should i go for?

        • scrimshaw on 01/11/2014 - 14:40
          +1

          Warranty being a concern you should probably buy Dell or Lenovo with Int. Wrty Service.

  • Rorschach on 02/11/2014 - 19:18
    +1

    Take a look here:
    http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/product…
    These will last a while, and even though they're 'refurbished', they have very very minor cosmetic defects!
    I'm not sure of the warranty, but I'm positive you wouldn't face any issue with it.

    • PVA on 02/11/2014 - 19:34
      +1

      I have read plenty of times that there isnt even a scratch, the only thing sometimes is finger prints.

      • mrmarkau67 on 04/11/2014 - 09:49

        I guess they are fixed up returns. Anything too banged up would be gutted for spares and sent to recycling

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