Laptop recommendations from $1200 up to $2500 - March '19

passwordistaco on 10/03/2019 - 11:07

Hi all,

So I currently own a Dell XPS, and am looking to upgrade/go for something newer.

What I am after:
- Windows or Mac: no preference…
- Minimum 8GB ram
- Minimum 128GB SSD
- Would prefer touchscreen but understand that's a no-go on Mac
- Relatively lightweight (happy to forgo a GPU)
- Thunderbolt port
- Known to not overheat under any basic load
- Good battery life (8 hours of basic use minimum)

Pretty much every spec I'm after can point me towards a large range of laptops.. What I'm not aware of is the last 2 points - heating/battery life. Reviews online are really mixed and vague, so hoping there's personal experience.

I use my laptop for general web browsing, few spreadsheets, and movies/tv shows when on a plane. I'd love the option of being able to game.. but I'm aware that comes with sacrifices (battery life?).

So far I've looked at:
- Macbook Air 13 New
- Macbook 12
- Macbook Pro 13
- Huawei Matebook
- Microsoft Surface 2 (but no thunderbolt.. grrr)

Let me know your thoughts!

Computing

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 10/03/2019 - 11:22

    Get the best mac for your budget for resale value alone. Write it off on tax, sell in 3 years and you'll end up with a free laptop. Just wait for a JB Hifi 10% off sale, and if you're going overseas soon, take it with you and claim the TRS.

    • passwordistaco on 10/03/2019 - 11:36

      Yeah, this is why I'm thinking a Macbook. I'm not overly fond of Mac OS, but not really against it. Have had a MBP in the past - and I have never experienced issues, let alone the ones I'm having at the moment with my XPS.

      I suppose this thread can reach out to any owners of the MB Pro, New MB Air, and MB 12" - I've read a few threads online re: overheating, but that seemed to be more of a one-off issue. Has anyone experienced other issues?

      • [Deactivated] on 10/03/2019 - 11:51
        +2

        I must say, I've had nothing but trouble with all my Dell laptops. I've currently got a Macbook Pro, a Lenovo Yoga and an Acer ultrabook. The Macbook Pro is used for 90% of my workload, out of choice. The Lenovo is the best PC laptop I've owned, but it's not as good as the Mac.

        • passwordistaco on 10/03/2019 - 11:58

          Thank you for the insight! Macbook Pro definitely looks tempting as it's only slightly heavier than the new MBA. Shame the base model didn't have its CPU updated.

    • dave999 on 10/03/2019 - 15:31
      +1

      Write it off on tax, sell in 3 years and you'll end up with a free laptop

      How is that not tax fraud? If you write it off then sell it you have to pay tax on the sale price. If you are going to do that you may as well lie at every point on your tax return

      • [Deactivated] on 10/03/2019 - 17:56
        +1

        Good point, Lying on your tax return means more money to spend on ozbargains. +1.

  • conservative on 10/03/2019 - 11:24

    dell latitude 14 inch 7490

  • crumbo85 on 11/03/2019 - 13:49

    Just bought a Gigabyte AERO 15.6 for $2157.30 delivered from JW.com.au eBay store using the 10% off code from Student Edge.
    Thin-bezel, i7-8750H, GTX1060 6G, 16GB RAM,512GB SSD.

    Reviews here for the slightly older model (i7-7700HQ): https://www.notebookcheck.net/Gigabyte-Aero-15-7700HQ-GTX-10…

    Retail is about $2397 from most stores. I needed the dedicated graphics card for work but the battery life was the other main factor.

    Here's their eBay page for it: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Gigabyte-AERO-15-6Thin-bezel-Lap…

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