Moderators at OzBargain have decided to run yearly polls to decide the best products in popular categories that get asked repeatedly in the forum. Our aim is to have a central thread where users can vote on the items, suggest options and also change their vote throughout the year. The polls will end once the year is over.
Question
What is the best laptop or ultrabook for 2018 under $1000?
Once again we'll discuss the best value-for-money laptops under $1000. Last time we had a poll for laptops for primarily school or university students but this time around we'll make the poll slightly more general, and take suggestions for anything that you consider great value for under the $1000 mark.
The poll winners for 2017's best laptops are:
With new CPU's and chipsets having arrived this year, I will be interested to see what products Ozbargain will recommend.
🔋 One of the most important features for a uni / school device is an all-day battery life, saving you the hassle of having to charge in the middle of your day and also not have to carry around a charger;
💪 Consider the trade-offs between performance over portability. Larger laptops are easier to type on, have a range of storage expansion options and graphics card options, while smaller laptops are more portable and easier to carry around, but usually aren't as powerful.
💻 Some devices have different form factors, ranging from a traditional clamshell, to a two in one detachable form factor or convertible.
Tips: Found a device you liked? You can click on the 'Related Products' section to view current or active deals, and see forum discussions related to it.
- Don’t see a device that you like in the poll options? Make a (sensible) suggestion that fits the $1000 budget and we’ll add it to the list
- You are allowed to change your vote.
How to make a Poll suggestion: Fill out this little box which appears on the top of your usual commenting textbox.
The new Thinkpad E480 by Lenovo is the new successor to the much loved Thinkpad E470. It generally costs around $1k, with specifications ranging from a 8th Generation Intel Core i3-7130U (dual core), i5-8250U (Quad core) to a Core i7 8550U (Quad core, Hyperthreading).
It also can be fitted with an optional 2GB AMD RX550 discrete GPU, has new USB Type C charging ports, an updated design that looks sleeker and with less bezels, an additional M.2 PCIE based storage option that can be used alongside an ordinary SATA based 2.5" drive, and finally — optional backlit keyboard.
The display is either an IPS panel with 1080p resolution or a horrible TN-based 1366 x 768 panel which you should absolutely should not pick.
Weight starts at 1.75 kg and with a decent selection of 1 x USB 3.0 Type-C port, two USB 3.1 ports, one USB 2 port, HDMI, MicroSD, Audio jack and Ethernet networking.
Notes:
- Traditional clamshell laptop with a good keyboard and good amount of IO ports
- Long battery life, up to 13 hours claimed
- Semi-lightweight 14 inch laptop suitable for most people, with the exception of content creators requiring high gamut displays and gamers needing powerful graphics cards