Hi looking to grab a laptop asap for tax time !
Main usage is Microsoft office and programming applications for telecomms" stuff.
As title states budget is around 900.
Currently looking at may and dell refurb but a little lost on what to go for.
Tia!
Portability, battery life, power - which is your main concern?
Get one with a decent amount of ram (8gb or so) - also make sure if it has a SSD - but they can be upgraded fairly easily. Get an i<Something> not celeron.
Try to check one out in person if you can - because the most important thing for work is a good keyboard - also check out the screen if its ok - especially res and if you're a developer you might need more real estate space. Check the trackpads - but a mouse is easy enough to carry around.
In saying all that - I really like the Lenovo T series (started using it since the old t40p days), not sure if that's in your budget. If the E470/E570 have the same keyboard - would be a good place to start looking. A lot of developers also like Macbooks - just because of its unix like features, probably out of your price range - the screen is nice, but keyboard isn't that great. Very good trackpad though. In terms of productivity - the main thing is the lack of Visio on OSX (unless you want to run a VM of some sort, which works but is clunky - so if that's a big part of your job don't get a mac).
Above all else, make sure it has a SSD in it.
Sorry but this is just bad advice. Buy the laptop with the best Screen/Keyboard/CPU/GPU. You can always upgrade the RAM and HDD->SSD super easy and cheaply later. On RRP they like to spruce SSD/RAM and you pay a lot more up front.
They had one requirement and that was 'snappy' Screen/Keyboard/CPU/GPU will NOT improve the performance as much as just getting an SSD in it. Only other thing that matters for snappiness in an office context would be ram 8 or 16GB for multiple large spreadsheets at once.
Currently looking at may and dell refurb but a little lost on what to go for
Latitude E7XXX
Thanks for the replies ! The lenovos don't look too bad, in saying that how's dell's build quality on the inspirons if any one would happen to know ? They have some good spec models as well.
Inspiron 7000 series and Lenovo E-series have similar build quality. I rate them on the same tier — mostly plasticy exterior, decent keyboard and decent trackpad. Relatively easy to open up and repair.
Some of the Inspiron 5000 models are a mixed bag, Dell regularly cheaps out on these. No Gigabit ethernet. Very little metal framing used in the chassis. Keyboard that flexes too much.
For 'best in class' build quality look at the Lenovo T-series and Dell Latitude 5000 or 7000 series.
There is an active deal on the T470 for $1299, while the base configuration seems rather stingy, you can upgrade the RAM, LCD panel or SSD later on and it is still a very cheap way of getting a solid, enterprise-class laptop.
Currently leaning towards a Lenovo 470 with the i7 7500u etc.
Looking if I can have a look at one this arvo somewhere :/ but from what I can find it's said to be a sturdy laptop and easy to access ram and hdd (dell I think is accessed under keyboard).
Anyone think its worth pushing a little more for this compares to the lenovo 470 ?
Lenovo ThinkPad E570
Processor : Intel Core i5-7300HQ Processor (6M Cache, 2.5 GHz, 3.5 GHz max)
Operating System : Windows 10 Home 64
Operating System Language : Windows 10 Home 64 English
Display : 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080), IPS, anti-glare, Non-Touch
Display Panel : 15.6" FHD IPS (1920x1080) AntiGlare
Memory : 8GB DDR4 2400MHz SODIMM
Body Color : Silver
Graphics : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 2GB DDR5
Keyboard : Backlit Keyboard with Number Pad - English
Pointing Device : UltraNav (TrackPoint and ClickPad) without Fingerprint Reader
TPM Setting : Software TPM Enabled
Camera : 720p HD Camera with MIC
Second Hard Drive : 128 GB Solid State Drive, SATA3
Front Battery : 6-cell (47 Wh)
Power Cord : 135W AC Adapter (3pin) - Australia , New Zealand
Wireless : Realtek RTL8822BE, Wi-Fi 2x2 802.11ac + BT4.1
Language Pack : Publication - English
Warranty : 1 Year Depot
E470 and E570 is within your budget.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/315338