Laptop around $500 ~ $600 for Girlfriend

LSilverwood on 24/11/2015 - 13:29

Hi there,

My gf laptop is dying so I'm on the market for one at the moment. She's a teacher so mostly doing basic software on the thing (Microsoft Office or education software etc), occasionally YouTube and such.

I've had a look and this one seems okay but the Internet says HP isn't the best brand when it comes to reliability
https://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers-tablets/laptops/hp/hp-15…

Is there any other one you can suggest? I'd prefer to come to the store and buy it rather than online since it's meant to be surprise gift for her

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

Thanks heaps!

Computing

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 24/11/2015 - 13:36

    http://www.pcworld.com/article/251341/whats_the_better_buy_a…

    There are generally two different classes of notebooks — consumer grade vs business-grade. Consumer grade stuff is what most general eletronics stores peddle — JB Hifi, Dicks Smith and Myer etc all mostly sell the consumer grade stuff, so if you want business / enterprise grade notebooks you should buy from the manufacturer themselves or source from a specialist notebook dealer (or a computer shop).

    There's a better line of HP laptops called the Elitebook and ProBook series, which are more reliable but also a tad more expensive.

    Then there's Dell Latitudes, Toshiba Kirabook, Acer Travelmates, and Lenovo Thinkpad Edge / T / L series.

    Teachers can get Education discounts, and Apple / Lenovo can provide discounts for anybody with a .edu email.

    This Probook should be an OK choice
    https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/hp-probook-450-g2-business-note…

    for something lighter and smaller try Lenovo E450. Starts @ 499 but the Core i3 version is $599.

    Students / teachers get it for $484 (Celeron) or $581 (Core i3)
    http://www3.lenovo.com/au/en/education/

    Another I'd highly recommend is the Surface Pro 3. Most teachers will appreciate the ability to write notes using a stylus, especially if they teach things like science and math, where writing mathematical equations is faster than typing it out and they can draw diagrams.

    • Silverwood on 24/11/2015 - 13:59

      Is there any concerns on the HP laptops in term of build and reliability?

      • scrimshaw on 24/11/2015 - 14:01

        You would need a very large sample size to draw a conclusion. There are sites that rated brands in terms of quality but as to whether they are statistically accurate or significant is another question.
        http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/laptop-brand-ratings

        But the reviews on the Probook is Good.
        http://www.notebookcheck.net/HP-ProBook-450-G2-Notebook-Revi…

        The only downside with this budget laptop is the rather dull display but this is a compromise of many budget notebooks.

        • Silverwood on 25/11/2015 - 08:21

          Those are good sites. One thing that bug me about review sites is that they might not be able to use those laptop often and for a long period of time compares to normal folks who buy the laptop and actually use it on daily basis. But I'll look into it, I don't think display is something she'd (gf) be worried about though

      • momov3 on 25/11/2015 - 14:45

        Oh HP! Bought a $600+ one from Officeworks brand new for son, broke within few days. The screen broke away from the frame behind it, cheapy plastic. Got replaced and the second did the same within 1 week. We then got an ASUS and it has been great since, I believe that model was at the high end $700+ but probably obsolete by now as that was 3 years ago. That HP could have been a once off bad design and it pains me to say this because I worked for HP and they were known (before) for quality.

        • scrimshaw on 25/11/2015 - 15:05

          It depends on which product line you bought.

          If you bought the Pavillion DV6 series… well, jokes on you. If you bought a Probook, then you've got a semi-decent machine.
          If you bought an Elitebook, then you've got something that's built to last for at least a few years.

          Every laptop manufacturer produces stuff suited for different markets. There's a reason why business-grade notebooks are usually two times more expensive than the domestic grade stuff. Particularly if you have ever worked as a laptop technician and repair laptops as your job, you can tell right away.

          Apple has a reputation for making good stuff because that's all they make. They don't produce any low-end end stuff, they don't cater for frugal spenders because they want the image and reputation of producing good reliable machines. That's why they sell for so much and people buy them for that much… even used-second hand machines hold their value well.

  • Randxyz123 on 24/11/2015 - 14:12

    Do you know any of her colleagues? The reason I ask is that there are usually recommended laptops for teachers and they get a discount and they are tax deductible.

    I agree on a surface pro 3.

    • Silverwood on 24/11/2015 - 14:27

      I don't know any of them personally.. My budget is around $600 max at the mean time. She's a primary school teacher so I'm not sure if she really need the surface pro features

      • dasher86 on 24/11/2015 - 15:31

        Doesn't the school provide a lap top for the teachers?

        • chriskq on 24/11/2015 - 15:40

          This ^ Seems a bit dodge that she would have to provide her own.

        • dasher86 on 24/11/2015 - 15:43
          +1

          @chriskq:
          I know recently at least in VIC a ruling is making the education dept pay back teachers for putting them on compulsory operating leases that was deducted out of their pay.

        • Silverwood on 24/11/2015 - 17:33

          @dasher86: any laptop recommendations would be great guys

  • GordonR on 24/11/2015 - 17:53

    I've been looking around this price range, and you have to make some compromises to get it down to $600, but for $700 things are better…

    My current candidates are the Asus F302L which is a 13" i5 4Gb HD (not FHD) 1Tb job which is a bit hard to get, but is on-sale at the Coop Bookshop for $699, or the Lenovo E450 which is about the same specs and same cost.

    • Silverwood on 25/11/2015 - 08:19

      I know it'd be hard to find. I don't want to keep adding on top of the budget and ended up with ~1000 laptop. It's not like she's going to use it for gaming, just office work so I guess my price range is good enough for that
      But I'll look into the Asus, thank you

  • Baysew on 24/11/2015 - 21:16
    +3

    Laptop around $500 ~ $600 for Girlfriend

    Seems like a good swap.

    • Silverwood on 25/11/2015 - 08:16

      What do you mean? :)

  • ravski on 25/11/2015 - 06:54

    Mate i was in same budget i got acer with i5 4gb ram and 1tb for 579 from msy.

    • Silverwood on 25/11/2015 - 08:16

      Do you think the one I listed above is a tad better in specs? I'm not so good when it comes to computer specs, beside looking at RAM and such.. 8GB should be efficient doing most things

      • ATangk on 25/11/2015 - 20:44

        The Internet has made it such that 8Gb is the required amount of RAM. 4Gb is plenty for what you have described.
        More important things to look out for are:
        Keyboard/trackpad. - Lenovo typically has good keyboards
        Battery life - is this plugged in all day?
        Weight - lugging around a large laptop may not be a good idea, on top of whatever books she may have
        Size - larger screen = more weight, but easier to use.
        Ports - prob won't be an issue with this price range, but smaller, more expensive laptops tend to do away with some ports to save space
        Build quality - again, won't be looking at anything fancy with this price. But check the hinges especially, does it feel too flimsy?

  • ravski on 25/11/2015 - 10:40

    The things you need i think 4gb should be enough but if you want then they did have one with 2gb dedicated graphics card for 599

  • scrimshaw on 25/11/2015 - 12:01

    Check out Shopping Express 3 day sale.
    They have some budget sub 600 laptops on sale. The Lenovo looks decent.
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/221366

    • GordonR on 25/11/2015 - 12:44

      I am very tempted by the Asus Zenbook for just $699 - to get the FHD screen AND the SSD for this price is amazing.

      UX305FA (http://www.shoppingexpress.com.au/buy/asus-zenbook-ux305fa-1…

      But I am still concerned about the Core M chip - it just seems as though they've tried too hard for low power (to enable fanless designs) leaving mediocre performance and a laptop that heats up fast.

      • Silverwood on 25/11/2015 - 19:11

        Very tempted, but then I'm trying to stick to my budget :(

        • GordonR on 25/11/2015 - 19:56

          If you are happy with 15.6" and willing to forgo the SSD, then you have heaps of choice.

  • chriskq on 25/11/2015 - 15:25

    Just got this email from lenovo and though it might be right up your ally so im posting here… aren't i nice :)
    https://enews.lenovo.com/pub/sf/FormLink?ri=X0Gzc2X%3DYQpglLjHJlTQGozeAHbizgbor6mofzbMzeYb4Tva9zajIl9czcwjBYr9IzaJLkslzbIeVXMtX%3DYQpglLjHJlTQGkoPsm9dIYYsAzgHCqleuzfhlKOejgWiL8BPAUEzfnJr0YG8iq8&ei=EolaGGF4SNMvxFF7KucKuWNdIG2evem3l4LRqSdJO7QVfO_cVXi7Vgu1H13fNcnZc1qYR4NIzG1TA3FSJveZXTHo.

    Updated online version of email with tiny url below
    http://tinyurl.com/puqzj3w

    • Silverwood on 25/11/2015 - 19:12

      Thank you chriskq. I think it's starting from 699 though..

  • Cheap Steve on 25/11/2015 - 21:04

    Your girlfriend should be giving you a lap dance for free. $500-$600 is outrageous!

  • alankami on 25/11/2015 - 23:53

    $699

    http://www.shoppingexpress.com.au/buy/asus-zenbook-ux305fa-1…

    Laptop deal ends in 7 minutes. GOOD LUCK!

  • inherentchoice on 27/11/2015 - 10:07

    Are there any good deals on laptops to be had on eBay with their 20% off deal?

    Edit: Is this one any good for $363.40? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Asus-F553MA-Notebook-PC-Pentium-2…

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