Help Me Choosing a Laptop Please: ) Budget $1,500

donny donny on 27/09/2018 - 20:51
Last edited 28/09/2018 - 09:39 by 1 other user

Hi OZ Bargainers!

I am currently using a 5 year old laptop the speed of this laptop is really killing me. In some instances, I really want to break the laptop into two pieces or simply throw it into the wall.

Before any of the above really happen, please help me in choosing a new laptop……

Budget: $1,500 ish

Weight: don't have to be very light, but not looking to purchase a backbone-breaking laptop.

Size: my current laptop is 13 inch, more likely will go with 15" or 13" again, but 17" would be okay too if it is not too heavy..

Performance/ram/cpu/etc: I dont know much about laptop. I need a laptop that is capable of running 4-5 tabs on Google Chrome without having me to punch my laptop's screen. 3 out of those 5 tabs will be a 750 - 1,000 pages long of Google docs/Google spreadsheet. 1 for Facebook, 1 for YouTube. Plus 1 cloud-based software. no CAD, no video editing, just an ordinary laptop user here…

Screen quality/speaker quality/webcam quality/other fancy features: any will do

Battery life: somewhat important

Warranty: must be Australian warranty, I am not a risk taker :)

Games: would be good if i can play car racing game. e.g. Nfs, Gran Turismo, etc with a basic/std screen quality. however this would be at the very bottom on my requirement lists (it's a bonus if I can play those games on my laptop)

Am I missing any other things to consider..?

Thanks :)

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • ShortyX on 27/09/2018 - 21:15
    +2

    It's probably the hard drive that is slowing down your current laptop. You could try installing an SSD.

    • HighAndDry on 27/09/2018 - 21:27
      +4

      More likely RAM tbh:

      3 out of those 5 tabs will be a 750 - 1,000 pages long of google docs/google spreadsheet.

      He's probably hitting the pagefile every time he changes tabs…

      • donny donny on 27/09/2018 - 21:39

        Would it be worth it to install an SSD or RAM into my 5 year old laptop? My laptop is toshiba portege T130…

        • HighAndDry on 27/09/2018 - 21:46
          +3

          Honestly no. 5 years is about a reasonable life-cycle for a piece of PC hardware - you could add in something only to find that something else breaks very soon.

          • donny donny on 27/09/2018 - 21:48

            @HighAndDry: yeah, thats what i thought too..plus the screen's hinge is a bit loose due to the most recent slap to the laptop's screen -_-

          • GangGang on 27/09/2018 - 22:16

            @HighAndDry: It could be worth it. For a $50 ssd that frequently goes on sale here. Might save the $1,500.

            • HighAndDry on 27/09/2018 - 22:20
              +2

              @GangGang: I very much doubt it's only the SSD bottlenecking OP here. Plus - OP's laptop might be 5yrs old but the model is 8yrs old with a 1.3Ghz Pentium Dual-core CPU and 2GB of DDR3 RAM. That's not something you can throw an SSD into and get decent performance, and really not something you'd want to put more money into anyway.

              • GangGang on 27/09/2018 - 22:23
                +1

                @HighAndDry: I probably should of read the post in detail. I'm at work and didn't do that.

                Yeah the 2gb doesn't sound too go as well.

                Whenever I hear my laptop is slow. I always say chuck in a ssd. It's helped so far.

  • HighAndDry on 27/09/2018 - 21:48
    +3

    Very quick search, but Lenovo is having a "Flash Sale" (don't know how much actual savings), but this one looks good and in the ballpark of what you need:

    Legion Y530 (15)

    $1,419.00
    inc. GST & delivery

    CPU: Intel Core i7-8750H (6C, 2.2 / 4.1GHz, 9MB)
    Screen: 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, Anti-Glare, 250 nits, 60 Hz
    RAM: 16GBx1 (hopefully this means you can add another 16GB later - useful for dealing with huge spreadsheets)
    SSD: 128GB Solid State Drive M.2 2242 PCIe
    HDD: 1TB 5400rpm
    Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 4GB GDDR5 (good for moderate gaming)

    Check online for cheaper prices for this model (or another model), but what you need are these:

    1. A lot of RAM (at least 16GB)
    2. An SSD (most will have this anyway); and
    3. Okay (no need for great) discrete graphics.

    Edit: Definitely always check for cheaper prices. E.g.

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Lenovo-Legion-Y530-15-6-FHD-Core…

    $1,329.05

    • N1NJ4W4RR10R on 29/09/2018 - 12:45
      +2

      The Lenovo site has some very nice deals right now for sure. The e485 (thinkpad) is 800~ if OP wanted a good laptop for a fair chunk left (it's a great feal when even Ozbargainers can't think of reasons it isn't, lol).

      The a485 also launched recently. Runs for 1,200-1,500~ from memory.

      Of course also the Legion line right on that 1,500~ budget.

      I'd recommend Lenovo (specifically ThinkPads) because of their keyboards. They are noice. With these sale's they're definitely great value right now (unless I'm missing something).

      Not sure on the Legions keyboards and/or value. You could probably get something better (not for 1300, but for 1500 I'm pretty surr you can). So couldn't advise on that. Though from what I've seen they seem pretty good as well.

      Best part is you can customise them somewhat. They aren't the "what's that? Need 16gb RAM? Okay…but you'll have to take this i7, 1060 and 768p screen.

      I probably sound like I'm affiliated with them, lol. I'm not, just a customer that recently bought the thinkpad e485 for $755 after searching for a while for a decent laptop in that range and is incredibly happy with it. Not sure how kuch I'd recommend them without the big deals, but it's an easy recommendation with them.

    • donny donny on 01/10/2018 - 20:50

      Thanks, it seems that both of the products have good review :)

      Out of curiosity, is my work requirements require me to get a gaming laptop? as in the spec on gaming laptop is spot on for my workload?

      • N1NJ4W4RR10R on 01/10/2018 - 21:58
        +1

        Just took another looks at the pricing and such. The a485 probably isn't ideal, a lot more expensive than I thought it was.

        The e485 might also not be ideal. It skips on a few of the comforts. Though if you wanted to spend less it should still be fine. Just customise it to have 16 (4x8) gb of RAM and potentially a ryzen 7. Will come out $500~ cheaper than the Legion I'll mention below.

        The legion's "gaming" title (tmk) is just marketing thanks to it's graphics card.

        Anyway. Out of the ones I mentioned, the Legion y530 is the ideal. Go to the basic version, use the i7, 16 (2x8) gb of RAM, switch to the 1050ti (or just stick with the 1050 to keep under budget, if you don't need the graphics power)

        Link (no idea if it'll stay customised)
        https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/laptops/ideapad/lenovo-legion-y…?

        Add your own HDD, they're to expensive there. SSD adjust to your needs.

        Hopefully I'm accurate with all this stuff, and ideally someone more knowledgeable can pop up and fact check. Can't say much on other laptops, but I've bought from Lenovo and used their products so I'm comfortable recommending them. Be aware that shipping feels a bit long, and I've heard that customising it from the base specs adds some time to that. Also, if it wasn't obvious, I'm talking about Lenovo's actual site.

  • FireRunner on 27/09/2018 - 22:05

    Adding extra memory and an ssd might fix your issues. It might be hard sourcing compatible memory though.
    You might consider the Dell inspiron gaming. eBay regularly has 20% off selected sellers which often includes Dell, it shouldn't be too long until the next. Alternatively you can check the Dell Outlet for a cheap refurbished model. It would suffice requirements and will easily play modern games.

    • N1NJ4W4RR10R on 29/09/2018 - 12:46
      +1

      You probably didn't see it, but another post here says the OP has a 8 y/o ~ laptop with a Pentium processor.

      Doubt an SSD/RAM'll save it.

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