Harvey Norman have 20% off Surface Laptops and Surface Pros but thought this deal looked the best.
Only the Platinum is this price.
For more casual users as the RAM and Hard Drive can't be upgraded
For those who want a tablet the Surface Pro with the same specs is also $878 but you will also need to dish out another couple hundred for the keyboard:
https://www.harveynorman.com.au/microsoft-surface-pro-i5-4gb…
Windows 10 S can be converted to Pro in Microsoft Store without charge.
Actually the latest Windows 10 update converts Windows 10 S to Windows 10 Pro in S Mode, which can be turned on or off anytime. Can be done to any up-to-date Windows 10 machines.
Yeah takes less than 2 minutes to convert. It's a non issue- although I admit I flipped out in disgust when I first got my surface Laptop haha
This is great news. Cheers for the info guys. So…. what's the point of 10 S?
@blergmonkeys: It's just a simpler environment with a lockdown on installs to only what is in the app store. Effectively for those that simply want a computer for its most basic needs.
Or for those of us that are setting up a computer for family and don’t want our relatives to go installing malware on there the moment we walk out the door.
idea is you can load anything from the Microsoft store so no issues with viruses ….idea was good for schools who want to lock down machines or corporates who want to build kiosks full off appas for staff so staff don't load crap but can self service if they need approved apps.
easily turned off ………….
You're comparing a refurbished consumer-grade tablet with 6th gen processor to a brand-new business-grade laptop with 7th gen processor?
It's refurb with an older CPU and worse screen.
I know it's a lot cheaper, but how is that better?
double hdd and double ram better value for money
You must be a it professional
I have both a surface pro 3 and mix510.
They are pretty similar and practically the same. The Microsoft keyboard is a bit nicer. I can see why you've put it as a better deal but for that price for a refurbished one I don't think it cuts it. I paid 720 early last year for a brand new one through a mad ozb deal.
I'm pretty happy with the miix as a backup and would opt for that over 128gb with a better processor.
Only 4gb of RAM? What is this, an Apple product?
Yeah, I legit can't understand how they even think it's ok to give anything less than 8gb ram anymore. Chrome with only like 4 tabs open uses up 1.5gb itself. let alone if you want to have a word document open.
There is definitely a market for 4GB RAM laptops. Plenty of business people don't open tens of tabs to browse the web, or 6 graphics-heavy Word documents at once. This is perfect for them. They just want to read their email, read the news, type some documents, print some PDFs, and that's it.
I'm on my work laptop with 4gb right now. I have Outlook open, excel, word and 2 tabs in chrome. My ram is currently running at 3.6gb ram usage. Introducing anything else to that starts to clunk it right up. It's not even suitable for a basic business environment.
The worst part for me is my laptop has 8gb of ram, but our systems are built for a 32bit OS, so it can't use it. It's infuriating.
yeah,I open win 10 64 bit, word, excel, outlook, and a few browser tabs and it barely makes it to towards 4 GB. I upgraded to 8GB as I also use Visio and Project now.
My ram is currently running at 3.6gb ram usage.
Modern operating systems are designed to cache data in RAM rather than leave it empty, which is a complete waste of high-speed storage.
https://www.howtogeek.com/128130/htg-explains-why-its-good-t…
The worst part for me is my laptop has 8gb of ram, but our systems are built for a 32bit OS, so it can't use it. It's infuriating.
I spec'ed all our work general-purpose PCs with 4GB RAM and SSDs. They're literally only used for web browsing, Word, Excel, some PPT, Outlook, and printing small PDFs.
They all run perfectly fine. They don't 'clunk' at all. You have to keep in mind that not everyone uses computers the same way you do, so they don't have the same requirements as you.
I have absolutely zero hesitation in recommending this 4GB Surface Laptop for any one of our staff members whom I know just uses it for everyday work tasks.
But I wouldn't get one for myself. I open lots of everything, so 4GB is definitely not enough for me.
Which business people are these? Are they hiring at the fish and chip shop?
My work machine at any time has at least:
2 Excel workbooks open
1 Word doc open
7 chrome tabs (home pages) ++
2 software packages interacting with SQL server
8 outlook emails (genrally many more)
My work machine at any time has at least:
Guess what, not everyone uses their computers the same way as you. There are lots of other people in this world apart from yourself, and they can have different requirements to you.
@eug: I feel like my entire position was built around the concept that this would be for very specific niche needs, and that most people would not find it useful for very long. It's honestly better to save that extra few hundred bucks get an 8gb set up and get 2-3 times the life span out of it. It's bizarre that you're even defending this.
I feel like my entire position was built around the concept that this would be for very specific niche needs
Maybe you just don't work in an office where people don't need to open 7 Chrome windows and 4 Word documents all the time.
There are plenty of workplaces where staff members literally - and I mean literally just need to read emails, type and print some Word docs, and open some webpages. 4GB is absolutely fine for them for the next 3-4 years.
At my workplace there are still staff members using computers with 3rd-gen i5 processors and 4GB of RAM. They're at least 5 years old now, and they run absolutely fine. And as I mentioned in another post, a few months ago I just retired a ThinkPad X61 - it came out 11 years ago and still works - it just gets sluggish with a certain Excel document.
A sales rep might only need their laptop to create and display powerpoint presentations, check emails, and browse some websites. Literally nothing else. 4GB is absolutely fine for that. Even in 4 years time.
A home user might want a laptop to browse Facebook, check emails, and watch YouTube or Netflix. 4GB is totally sufficient for that as well. Not everyone wants to open 5 different sites at once.
Some people don't live and breathe computers; once their job is done they go home and not touch their computer again till the next time they need to display a PPT presentation.
There's a whole heap of users out there in the world who simply are not heavy users. Lots of non-technical jobs do not require heavy computing power.
It's honestly better to save that extra few hundred bucks get an 8gb set up
The 8GB model is $716 more. That is a lot of money for zero benefit, for those light users.
It's bizarre that you're even defending this.
It's because I understand that some users simply do not need high-spec laptops. I would never get one for myself, but I realize that not everyone uses computers the way I do.
@eug:
EUG, like usual, is correct.
Those who are saying you are using 4GB when you only have a few things open should have read the link he provided that states exactly what he said. Your system is caching things in RAM that are not even open, it's predicting what you will be opening and having them ready in RAM
This is the whole Spectre/Meltdown issue with branch prediction, but very few people here seem to have any clue how Windows allocates RAM. OSX does the exact same thing, they call it 'inactive ram' when loading up the activity monitor and it's counted towards allocated RAM, not free RAM, even though it can be freed up by the OS if needed.
I own many systems, one of which is a Surface Pro 3 with 4GB RAM. I'll open chrome with 3 tabs and all of the 4GB gets allocated. Yet I'm still able to open Premiere Pro and do some light editing and tab between a youtube video playing in the background without anything going to a page file. Why? Because of exactly what Eug linked to above and what is common knowledge between those who have beyond a basic understanding of how RAM get allocated.
Anyone who downvoted EUG for providing correct information, or because they disagree that 4GB is fine for basic use (and even a little more) is legit inept at understanding tech, and even when source material is linked to explaining what he is saying - you still use your own incorrect anecdotes as though it should trump actual factual information and then the lot of you circle jerk upvote eachother, making everyone who reads your comments stupider for having allocated some of their memory to incorrect anecdotes as though they were facts.
Just google 'Windows pre allocating RAM' and learn something new.
You don't have use chrome, if you using other web browsers I seen reviews that it is fine to leave 15 to 20 tabs open and won't crash.
Considering most of the ultrabooks are $1500, this deal is not bad under $1000, just ram is the main issue (lack of usb ports), other parts are really up to scratch. Not not bad at all
I haven't used anything with less than 8GB for a while, but recently acquired and been experimenting with a couple of refurbs with 4GB (a yogabook yb1 and Samsung tab s pro - I was looking for mobile machines that could easily charge via a power bank, as I'm travelling between and located at several different offices). Essentially couldn't say no to the prices, despite the low specs, and they ticked the charge-via-external-battery box for me.
With the yogabook I initially was very hesitant to use anything other than store apps due to the memory (and processor) limitations -> e.g. Mail instead of outlook; mobile Windows instead of desktop Word. Didn't push it, and it worked fine. Mobile Word is a pain as can't open more than one doc simultaneously though.
Then I got and now I'm mostly using the TabSpro. With the faster processor, I felt a bit more confident -> today ended up with Edge open with about 4-5 tabs, Desktop Word 2016 with two docs, Outlook 2016, Mail, Xodo pdf reader with about 3 docs open, and hooked up via USB 3.0 to a displaylink dock driving two external displays -> it was all working well. (I was hesitant about the displaylink dock, as previous experience with a 8gb i5 Surface Pro 3 lead to overheating and throttling - but no problems with the TabSPro).
Would I run my Steam games on this? Of course not - that's what I do with my (old but surpisingly durable second gen i7 + GTX1050) desktop at home. But for a work platform, it does everything I need it to, no problem.
I did nervously check task manager a few times on the TabSPro to see what memory usage was, and it was hovering at around 3.7gb at times - but I didn't ever notice any stutters or slow downs - so very much c/w EUG's note on how Windows uses/allocates RAM.
So yes, for a typical office user, who is mostly using Office and web-based applications, 4gb is actually quite workable.
Honestly 4GB is not that bad, especially for the price. Get a desktop if you care about performance anyway.
This is great for YouTube, Netflix, O365, etc.
there are in between options, not just 4gb ram lappy, or get a pc if you want performance.
I travel alot and need to get work done for instance. getting a laptop is not an answer to that. 4gb of ram is literally only useful for the most basic of tasks. Having more than a couple tabs open with excel and outlook open maxes it's capabilities out. 8gb is minimum if you do more than just check the occasional email, or sometimes look at ozbargain/reddit/newsite of choice. Especially if you want to get a good 3-4 years+ out of it.
Yeah man 8GB is required for browsing reddit. You serious?
@ozbargainer88:
Them r/aww tabs take a lot of my geebees.
Also I got to keep all my price movements of them 80k high yield investments open at the same time.
@ozbargainer88: That's some quality reading skills there, champ. I said if you are going to do more than just browsing reddit. More. Key word there.
It’s worse all Apple laptops come with 8gb min
Apple is kind of understandable as the OS is optimized wonderfully for their hardware (doesn't excuse them though) but windows is so much more demanding.
Thanks OP, this is a good deal,for those interested at ultrabooks, Kogan has got XPS13 refurbished at a similar price, might be worth checking.
Why would you pick a refurbished laptop over a brand new one with a better screen that's $21 cheaper?
The build quality of XPS13 is good, the specs are averagely better too.
So you would pick a refurbished XPS13 over a brand new Surface Laptop with the same specs and $21 cheaper?
XPS13 has a bad battery swelling issue that Dell refuses to cover under warranty.
Sorry guys, it might be worthwhile to give this surface laptop a try, I think the other issue with XPS13 is fan noise issue.
Cracker of a deal if you've got the $50 AMEX deal and you're able to claim TRS refund in the next 60 days!!
thanks for the suggestion of TRS. i wouldn't have thought about it and have a holiday planned next month.
Is this sale one day only?
If I don't already have Surface Pro 4 I will buy this.
I've been using an iPad with keyboard for uni note taking - any recommendations whether I should upgrade to this?
iPad battery last pretty much a whole week so I'm very satisfied with that regard.
is it going to be your main laptop, or is its only purpose going to be for note taking?
If you're going to upgrade from an ipad and use it for more than simply note taking, I'd personally recommend saving a bit more and opting for something with 8gb ram instead.
Thanks, I understand that 4Gb can be limiting but I have an actual computer with ample resources but I don't really want to take to uni (15" so it's too big and too expensive to carry around).
Regarding this one, I would be more interested in battery life and keyboard, if you have any insights to that?
I think it would be used mainly for note taking, word editing, browsing, reading research papers, so 4Gb would be more than enough.
(Also, my whole ecosystem is Apple, so I'm a bit hesitant to introduce a Win item to it, but the Mac Air is way more expensive than this one)
BTW this laptop also supports the Surface Pen, so you can annotate PDFs, jot down formulas, draw diagrams, that sorta thing. It won't be as comfortable as a Surface Pro for that, but it'll work great in a pinch.
I've seen the Surface Pen at cash converters for $30 before.
Also, I think 4GB is enough for that kind of usage.
Yeah 4gb should be enough for your purposes then.
The keyboard and track pad are every bit as good as a macbooks too (I've got both a Macbook Pro and a surface laptop myself). So you'll have no problems there at all. Battery life is excellent too, I get through a work day no problems, and my mate is currently smashing his masters and says the same thing of his. Gets through a whole day no problem.
the only thing to consider is the weird choice of material they used. I'd personally suggest choosing one of the darker colours like the blue or burgandy, as it gets dirty and shows up way less on those colours.
The new iPad with pen functionality is extremely useful for uni students. But it depends on your style if you like pen and paper/writing on screen/typing notes
But it depends on your style if you like pen and paper/writing on screen/typing notes
You can also write on this laptop screen, which supports the Surface Pen.
I probably wouldn't be writing too much on it though, since it doesn't fold flat. It's fine for quick annotations or formulas though.
That's why I'm reluctant to get rid of my SP3. Opening the hinge all the way out is the perfect angle for writing (Like the really old benches at school). Its just not the same floating your hand in mid-air to write on a screen, or have the keyboard sticking into your gut.
different league to an ipad, and with that will come shorter battery life than you get on your ipad.
Ipad is designed to run all day without a power point, the laptop isn't.
4gb ram. What is this? A phone?
NO, a phone has 6GB RAM.
Phones generally have more than 2 cores.
RRP is a joke. the RRP should be what the deal is for which makes this thing worth around $600 at best
These are beautifully designed devices, much like Apple gear. I'm very impressed with the Surface Laptop I have, although I have the 8GB version, that is also 20% off.
I would definitely recommend these devices if you like really nice looking tech gear :)
Admittedly Microsoft got their act together with these ones.
The only beef I have is Windows, which I left about 7 years ago, feels very cluttered compared to a Mac. I genuinely needed to ask for help the last time I tried to log off (but not shut down) the machine as it's not in the same menu as shutdown. It might be just me though… :)
They had a laptop line before the Surface, did they?
Sounds like your beef is with learning basic functions, not Windows itself. As a fellow OSX user myself, there has been no real changes to the GUI since 10.5 released in 2009, 8 years ago - it sounds like you are calling that a feature.
DW man, my grandpa hasn't upgraded from Windows XP and never will. Some people just have trouble adapting to better things, you know.
Knows nothing about me, still compares me to grandpa.
What a moron :D
Knows nothing about me
We know you can't log out of a computer..
What a moron :D
We're trying to be polite here and not call names..
Seems a bit odd to call others a 'moron' when you were the one making comments that show how little you know about computing and tech in general. Wouldn't it have been better to come up with something of substance rather than get all emotionally defensive and triggered into name calling?
That comment really hurt though man.. Owwwwwwwwww, I don't know how to go ahead with myself! I'd use google to check how to log out of life, but I think your insult turned me into such a grandpa than I can't use a search engine anymore :(
Seems a bit odd to call other's a moron
Grammar is not for you but otherwise you are a genius, right? This is getting funnier with every post…
Keep diggin' grandpa, surely you'll find the point where convince others you have an idea about computing.. I mean it's going great for you so far! With every post you make it becomes increasingly obvious to everyone just how much of a tech sage you are! People have much to learn from you, tech Yoda.
How's the blood pressure?
That was a big word for a Friday, apparently.
A case of the fat fingers on a small phone unfortunately.
Grammar is not for you but otherwise you are a genius, right? This is getting funnier with every post..
7 years ago, Windows 7 had become quite popular, being released in July 2009. I have it right in front of me now. The log out function is located next to shutdown button, with an arrow box to the right that allows you to select other options, including:
- Switch user
- Log off
- Lock
- Restart
- Sleep
Wasn't so hard, was it?
Logging out is not for you but otherwise you are a genius, right?
surely you'll find the point where convince others you have an idea about computing
I hope you are well because you are getting a bit incoherent.
sigh On Windows 10 Shutdown/Restart are under Power and Logoff is under a different menu, while on Win 7 they were in the same menu. That's why I didn't find it on a Windows 10. That's what I was trying to explain originally…
Comprendo?
(EDIT: and that's why I feel that the current Win 10 layout is cluttered)
@ocoolio:
You were not explicit in specifying windows 10, nor did you imply or mention it.
The only beef I have is Windows, which I left about 7 years ago, feels very cluttered compared to a Mac. I genuinely needed to ask for help the last time I tried to log off
Windows 10 was not released seven years ago.
On Windows 10 Shutdown/Restart are under Power and Logoff is under a different menu
Yeah.. You just gota click the person avatar and click sign out. Really not that hard.
I appreciate your concern, however don't worry about me for omitting a word or making a spelling error, as I really don't care if I make those mistakes when replying to you as long as I don't spread misinformation like you.
A doc would be a lot more worried about someone who make comments like yours, then continues to dig a hole using personal insults and defensive posturing rather than just say "yeah, don't know how I made that mistake, live and learn yeah?". I'm pretty sure they would be worried about how set in stone you are when you know you were wrong but rather than make any admission, you try and turn the conversion towards personal insults. It's worrying.
Be humble or be humbled by those who know more.
Yeah.. You just gota click the person avatar and click sign out. Really not that hard.
Would you find your toothbrush if I moved if from your bathroom to the kitchen? Is it your ineptitude or putting somewhere where it's not generally found? Or not that hard, you would say?
EDIT: I was not explicit as we are talking about this Microsoft notebook and not anything else, so I presumed, naively, that you would understand that I'm finding the OS that is currently on this device, cluttered. And also spelled out, that it's in a different menu, which is only true for Win10, not Win7.
Look, your last post is very disorganised and full of grammatical errors, which makes it very difficult to take you seriously. Maybe you have felt this throughout your life and that is why you are trying so eagerly, but these posts have the opposite effect. To be honest, I'm not even sure what you are trying to convey with your incoherent rambling.
In any case, I genuinely don't care about what you think.
@ocoolio:
Are we still talking about your inability to log out of a computer? Because it seems you are trying to change the subject as a grammar nazi.
Would you find your toothbrush if I moved if from your bathroom to the kitchen
I would be able to find the toilet roll if someone put it on the cistern, instead of in the toilet roll dispenser.. looks like you won't be able to though..
"Sign out" has been moved 5 buttons up.
You're really exaggerating with moving a toothbrush to an entirely different room.
genuinely needed to ask for help the last time I tried to log off (but not shut down) the machine as it's not in the same menu as shutdown. It might be just me though… :)
It's just you not being familiar with something. Nothing to do with the OS itself. e.g. if you've never done it before, how do you create a shortcut to a network folder on the Mac desktop? It's not intuitive at all - nobody would be able to figure out you have to click-cmd-option-drag the folder, unless someone tells them first. Or ctrl-click-make alias instead of simply right-clicking.
Agreed, there are really awkward things on Mac. I mostly use the terminal so not too worried, but I would have no idea how to create that shortcut :) I would go Go, Connect to Folder, and drag that link to the desktop? I don't know, never tried…
On the flipside, whatever basic few features I need from an OS can be easily found on OSX. The new Win start menu with the gazillions icons and tiles just look weird and hard to use for me. But again, it may as well be due to not using it for the past 7 years ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The new Win start menu with the gazillions icons and tiles just look weird and hard to use for me. But again, it may as well be due to not using it for the past 7 years ¯_(ツ)_/¯
I've never actually bothered using the start menu since Vista, because it's sooooo quick to simply press winkey and type the first few letters of the program I'm looking for. Navigating any start/apps menu on any OS with a mouse is much slower than simply pressing a few keys on the keyboard.
Of course if you only have a few programs then you can just pin them to the taskbar or click on the dock, but if you have a whole bunch of them, typing is so much quicker.
this is bizarre, I find the mac ecosystem cluttered and a mess compared to windows now. With the combination of the tile system on the start menu and the easy search function. As well as the light years ahead file explorer system compared to the finder system. Mac has fallen far behind in recent years
What do you like about file explorer that is missing from OSX?
That's interesting - on Win I always used Total Commander as I didn't find Explorer that usable. On the other hand I use Finder quite a bit, but I give you that, it took quite a while to get used to it.
Do you know about some Explorer features that are missing / not as good on OSX perhaps?
@ocoolio: It's not so much any features, I wouldn't say there are any features are missing or different between the two at all. It's primarily around how the folder views are set up. Could very well simply be a personal preference, which I'm happy to admit. I've had my macbook pro for a good 7 years now, but when i need to recalibrate my server, and move files around properly. I'll always go straight to my PC and simply stick to using my macbook for music/photo production.
I genuinely needed to ask for help the last time I tried to log off (but not shut down) the machine as it's not in the same menu as shutdown
Yeah, Apple suits you better.
How do you rate them compared to Thinkpad X1 Yoga or X1 carbon which is almost similar design. I know little different product and expensive, but I am thinking if these things are good enough and save money.
I simply love X1 Yoga. light, elegant and yet so powerful and can be converted to tablet mode.
Well if you consider an X1 Yoga powerful when it contains a U series dual core, then you will consider this one powerful too.
The newer ones with 8 series quad cores are decent though.
Yea, they all are U series in Ultrabooks these days. I wont be playing games on it and getting i7 U is ok. U cant have both elegance and power at same time.
How do you rate them compared to Thinkpad X1 Yoga or X1 carbon which is almost similar design.
The screen on this looks much better - brighter, sharper, more vibrant. The screen also feels more solid.
However, you can service just about anything on the ThinkPads.
get the asus transformer or lenovo pad which has better specs similar price
You're comparing consumer-grade stuff with this business-grade laptop.
opinion on the "Microsoft’s signature Alcantara fabric-covered keyboard allows for an enhanced, natural typing experience." anyone ?! I really like the look and feel of this, but wondering about dirt/sweat/and wear. Anyone with opinion on this?
How much you can get that for?
Cheapest I could see was from. AMAZON US 126 USD
isn't it part of this laptop ! The keyboard is a fabric covered keyboard.
It is. 777 is likely thinking of the Surface Pro Signature Type Cover which needs to be bought separately to the base device.
@Sevenofnine: I know… I agreed with you. I was stating what and why 777 said what he said - not that he was right.
I love the feel - much better than metal. I use mine for work so at least 39 hours a week and I have a minor mark where I rest my left wrist when not typing. I've heard it's really easy to remove the mark but I haven't bothered as the mark doesn't worry me visually and I can't feel it.
I also love the trackpad and don't use a mouse with this laptop.
blergmonkeys on 08/06/2018 - 09:09 Comment score below threshold.