Budget Year 12 laptop with some 2d/3d potential?

Ldclee12 on 19/01/2018 - 14:33

Need help for family in law.

Student going into year 12, his (out of date) laptop just got smashed (the dad dropped a heavy moving box on it).

So they are looking for a replacement, money is tight and budget is $600-$700.

But…the kid is really artistic (does amazing sculptures and drawings etc) so they are looking to get something that can handle a bit of graphical work for now and then upgrade when/if he goes to Uni/Tafe etc.

They've been to JB and been shown a laptop that will be "up to the job".
Essentially they've been offered whatever JB has within the price range , but looking at the specs it seems pretty inadequate for his needs.

Lenovo IdeaPad 320 15.6" Laptop [A9] for $600.
15.6" HD Display (1366x768)
AMD A9 9420 Dual Core Processor
1TB HDD Storage
8GB RAM
AMD R17M-M1-70 2GB Dedicated Graphics (I think its a R5?)
802.11 ac
Battery Cell Count - 2

Ive suggested they look at 2nd hand or refurbished to get something that will at least meet minimum requirements for graphics work.
Searching the current Ebay 20% PCTech sale the best i've found is-

Asus X541UJ-DM018T (Man refurb 1 year warranty)
$640 (20% included) Retails around $1000.

Intel 7th Gen Core i7 7500U 2.7~3.5GhzX4 Threads
8GB RAM (upgradable)
15.6" (16:9) LED backlit FHD (1920x1080) 60Hz Anti-Glare Panel with 45% NTSC
2GB NVidia Geforce GT920M & Integrated Intel HD620
1tb hdd
802.11 bgn
Battery - 3 Cell 36Whrs
2kg with batt

Seems the Asus has better screen and better processor. But no ac wireless.

Graphics card comparison i cant work out for sure.

920M is couple years old and was budget at time.
The AMD i think equates to an R5 which is newer but still budget, maybe its a bit better for gaming but im thinking screen and cpu are the main prorities?

Expecting both batteries to be a few hours max and neither laptop to be lightweight.

Any help or suggestions appreciated.

Thanks, Rich

Computing

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 19/01/2018 - 14:38

    For laptops: Avoid the AMD APU (A series) of processors. They are pretty weak CPU-wise and are architecturally very behind even 6th gen Intel CPU's.

    Also don't readily believe what the computer salesman at JB Hifi (and most brick mortar shops) tells you, they are there to sell you stuff and won't hesitate to squeeze in a few lies about what the machine can do in order to get you to buy from them.

  • Richardc on 19/01/2018 - 14:43
    +2

    whats the specs of the smashed one and is that able to do the job?

  • JMERC on 19/01/2018 - 14:53

    Check out the Dell Factory Outlet as well, they have refurbished laptops up to 40% off retail price.

    http://www.dell.com/learn/au/en/audhs1/campaigns/dell-outlet…

    You need to look at the list and then initiate a live chat to reserve/pay for the item. They list is refreshed randomly throughout the day and pretty common for the item to be gone by the time you engage a chat, so got to be quick.

    I was also looking at the eBay sale for a gaming laptop but found the outlet offered a much better deal. The thread on Whirlpool is highly positive with the refurbished laptops and they come with a warranty. Sorry don't know much about specs in your range/requirements.

  • dclee12 on 19/01/2018 - 14:54

    scrimshaw -
    Yeah I warned them not to go by what the salesman said, the reality is he wont be honest about requirements vs budget etc, it's just his job to sell you something before you leave the store.

    chenrenchun -
    I did consider a repair for the old one. I asked the specs but they just said it was 4-5 old and was struggling anyway.

    Jmerc-
    Thanks will have a look now.

  • FrugalFrella on 19/01/2018 - 16:06

    If they're able to stretch the budget to a tad under $1000 then you get a pretty damn solid laptop

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dell-Inspiron-13-5000-2-in-1-8th…

    8th gen CPU gives a solid bump in performance over older generations
    256gb SSD, faster but lacking a little in space if he needs more?
    1080p IPS display. Dell screens are pretty damn colour accurate
    Touchscreen might come in handy for him if he utilises it for artsy stuff
    No dedicated GPU but depending what kind of software he runs should be solid

  • SharedSugar on 19/01/2018 - 17:12

    I think the 2nd hand idea is a good one. I can think of rebootit and warehouse1 as places to look, but I couldn't see anything.
    Also laptops are difficult to upgrade.

  • grrrr on 19/01/2018 - 22:36

    Sorry but to get something decent it will cost more than $600.

    Last time I checked, Metaboxes offered excellent value when comparing the same specifications at jb or HN.
    link to Metabox

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