Looking for a good Laptop <$1500

Hi Guys,

Looking for a good laptop for everyday use. Will be used mainly for internet browsing and microsoft word and excel related usage.

Good graphics card for gaming would also be good but not preferable.

Comments

  • http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/39414

    Make sure you use Moneyback Co for further 10% off.

    • +1 that offer is very very good

  • Howdy there.
    good luck with the search for the laptop.
    just dont go for the new Intel Sandy Bridge as it got lots of flows and some faults.
    check it here:

    http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20030070-64.html

    CHEERS

  • (After 20 years of comparatively poorly designed top-end pc notebooks) I love the beautiful Mac Airs.

    Almost light as a feather … you can almost toss them around like a magazine :)

    I bought the first one 2 years ago for my son when he was 9 and he loved it, and my 17 year old now takes it to school - we all use it.

    From $1,199 before any discount.

    http://www.apple.com/au/macbookair/

    • They are very expensive for what you are getting. You are paying alot for the apple brand and to have a small laptop

      You could get the same components in a non apple laptop for probably $200-300 less

      • True … but a lot less pleasure too. I agree, on a tight budget … PCs are better.

        My last PC-notebooks were by Dell & Toshiba, and by comparison I thought they were CR*P. Poor Battery life, all the problems and deficiencies associated with Microsoft … eg. Windows Vista etc etc. Frankly I thought in comparison how amazing it was that after 20 years Toshiba (I've bought quite a few of them over that time) still came up with machines that were extremely ugly, generally poorly designed, and had poor battery life. (rather like comparing Nokias with iPhones).

        In contrast my experience with the Air led me to a larger Apple laptop … 2 similarly beautifully-designed desktops … then the iPhones and iPad …. expensive indeed … but quite frankly a relatively 'beautiful' experience.

        I agree Apples are not cheap but I noticed the Airs were within the budget mentioned … and with the Air, for me, the smallness and lightness are a plus. I have the 17" Macbook Pro too :)

        • +1

          I agree Apples are not cheap but I noticed the Airs were within the budget mentioned

          Yea they do fit but certainly not the best value for money when looking at computing power.

          Poor Battery life, all the problems and deficiencies associated with Microsoft

          I dont know about vista as i went from XP to 7 however running windows 7 my Sony laptop (Not a netbook, not something which was sold as having a great battery life and the laptop is 3 years old) a single charge easily lasts 5 hours.

          rather like comparing Nokias with iPhones

          I have to say I have never had an issue with any nokia, i have always had the higher end business phones and the build quality of them is great. My current E52 has been dropped numerous times and has no marks to show (I would be scared to even put the iphone 4 down too heavily). Then there is the battery life, i originally signed up for a free iphone and ended up with a phone which would not even last a full day on a charge making only voice calls, the E52 will last nearly a week. The iphone went straight to ebay.

          PCs are better.

          PC = Personal Computer, thats Apple computers too :)

  • Looking for a good laptop for everyday use. Will be used mainly for internet browsing and microsoft word and excel related usage.

    You should be able to get something for well under $1,000.

    If you are only using word processing and internet then an Intel i3 would be perfect, for a little extra speed when starting up then an i5

    Good graphics card for gaming would also be good but not preferable.

    Do you want something that is portable?

    If you want portability it does not go well with high powered video cards to play modern games to their full potential.

    • Yep, for everyday use + a bit of gaming + medium portability for a laptop, you you should be fine with something 1000 or under. Also what level of gaming are you looking at? (i.e. are you looking to play crysis or just peggle?)

      • Thanks, you posted that right before i edited my post and i lost the edit :(

        The other thing to consider is how far the screen can til backwards. I have noticed that on some laptops the screen design and the battery can prevent the battery tilting back a long way.

        The further back a screen can tilt the easier it is to use when you are sitting on a lounge or at desk/table which is too low.

        • lol sorry :(
          I've had it happen to me quite a few times :P

          ed: maybe this is a better way to say sorry again, just in case you want to edit that one :P

        • You did it again too :P (It is annoying, especially as you cannot get your edit back)

          I think this is the last thing i can think of to add.

          I would go into a store and play with the laptops.

          Touch them, type on them (You want a keyboard which feels good to use. Some keyboards have spaced keys like Apple laptops, you might not like this and prefer the keys to be touching or you might prefer it), see what the build quality feels like and see what you think of them when they are in front of you and not on a computer screen.

          Some laptops have switches on the front/side of the laptop to control wifi and sound. I would avoid these are you can easily knock the switch when carrying the laptop and then have no idea why your wifi/sound has stopped working.

          ed: maybe this is a better way to say sorry again, just in case you want to edit that one :P

          We have reached the reply limit so you cant reply to my new posts. It is replying to a comment which stops the ability to edit it.

        • didn't notice we'd capped it :P

  • This one should suit your needs quite well if you're buying purely on specs: http://9289.com.au/products/15.6%22-HP-Pavilion-DV6-%28WW961…
    But the pre-orders are apparently taking a while (according to Ozbargainers) and as anthony has said, you might want to have a play around with a laptop in person before buying it (not a necessity, but recommended)

    • you might want to have a play around with a laptop in person before buying it

      +1 to that

      these DV6 HP keyboards are quite spacey, you will get use to it in a while
      you can test this laptop at basically any store with a HP DV6-3xxx

  • I personally would never touch a HP product ever again. The wireless connection is no longer working and the disc player is not functioning properly. You can forget about their technical support. Waited over 1 hour over the phone only to be told by Indians to fix it at an additional cost.

    • is yours out-of-warranty

      i had no troubles at all having mine fixed

      • Yes it was out of warranty. However, they should at least give me info on how to fix them. I've had no problem dealing with Acer when my laptop was out of warranty. Since then I've had no problem whatsoever.

  • +1

    If you're not very techy, I would suggest a Mac too. I know you can get laptops with better specs but I don't think it'll make much obvious difference with just everyday use. The usereability is so easy and it's not hard to learn to use at all. And you can always run windows on it if you need it for some programs. Initally I only got a Mac for the look but once you go Mac you'll never go back. XD

    • I know you can get laptops with better specs but I don’t think it’ll make much obvious difference with just everyday use.

      yeah a $1500 PC = $2000+ Mac

      Initally I only got a Mac for the look

      i have to admit, Macs look better than most laptops on the market

      • I went Mac, and i did go back. Haven't used one for a while, but i've never really liked the operating system. Plus the various restrictions on software, games and hardware, not sure what it's like these days.
        Generally Mac's are 25% more expensive for what you get, sometimes even more than that.

        I don't like the comparison between iphone's and nokia. I admit that Nokia have made some ugly handsets, but they've also made some very attractive ones, and ones that have great build and functionality.
        The iPhone's have had many problems of it's own with functionality and build.

        I admit that i thought the Nokia N8 was a bit ugly when i first saw the image, but in the flesh it looks good. I've got a blue one, anodised aluminum, gorilla glass screen, it looks pretty hot. Whereas so many people these days are carrying around a black rectangle, everyone looking the same (except when they've got one of those ugly rubber or plastic covers for it, making it even bigger still).
        Nokia N8 has great functionality and battery life.

        • I admit that Nokia have made some ugly handsets

          I dont know what nokia was thinking when they made the 7600 or the other model with a U shaped keypad.

          except when they’ve got one of those ugly rubber or plastic covers for it, making it even bigger still

          Which they could actually need if they are left handed and want to be able to make calls.

        • Hm, maybe you should give Macbooks another shot. :P The trackpad it really good now. Four finger swipe is similar to alt+tab. Three finger swipe to go back and forward on browsers. Two finger swipe to scroll. And whole trackpad area is basically the left click button. So you can do heaps of stuff without lifting a finger off the trackpad.

        • LOL, my mum had that 7600 phone. It was the only Nokia phone available on 3mobile at the time. It was a steep learning curve in order to text on it. I wouldn't call it ugly though, looked pretty cool, just not as functional.

          Also i had a circle shaped keypad Nokia (kinda like the old dialing phones), the 3650. Only had it for 2 weeks, cause i returned it (due to contract issues, not cause i didn't like the phone).
          Nokia later came out with a newer version, the 3660 which had a normal keypad.

    • +1

      If you’re not very techy, I would suggest a Mac too

      I am not sure where that comes from, i personally think windows is easier to use than MacOS.

      Most people have grown up using windows so changing to a Mac requires learning another new OS. You might use windows at work so when you come home to use your Mac there is an adjustment you need to make.

      • +1

        I meant if you don't use many heavy-CPU-using programs then the lower specs won't affect you that much. I grew up using windows and only started using Macs last year. It only took me a week or two to get the hang of it. Or maybe I just pick things up quick. I find the MacBooks trackpad very well designed and you can do everything really quickly once you've customized the settings a little.

  • I do not know how this will handle games but it is cheap

    http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/40000

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