Hi all,
Did a quick deal search here but unfortunately can't find any active deals on cheap laptops.
Low budget being under $300 (but the lower the better) for a laptop for basic word, Excel, email use.
My last laptop was a Chinese brand Jumper Ezbook 3 pro which we got three years occasional use out of it so hoping for something similar.
Cheers.
+1 Look out on auction sites for ex-lease equipment.
Minimum 8gb RAM,
SSD
and 1080p screen.
I don't disagree with the sentiment of the comments above, but just to throw in another option we bought a Kogan Atlas laptop a few years back for our youngest child and it's actually still going pretty well all these years on. They are just over $300. Perfectly fine for emails, light web browsing (4Gb RAM and 64Gb eMMC memory + SD card), battery life is pretty good and now we also use the micro HDMI output to play Disney+ etc onto our TV in 4K where the TV doesn't support the app natively.
Consider if a Chromebook will meet your needs.
Being a novice, I prefer to purchase stuff on OzB to ensure I get good deals :)
Does this spec seem decent?
Windows 10
Intel Core i7-4510U
8gb Ram
15 inch full HD
1TB SATA hard drive
Asking $250
Looks about right. use the $50 saving to replace the HDD with a 250/240GB SSD and it would be as fast as a new one for what you plan do with it.
Check the battery and for any physical damage though.
Thanks I'm gonna offer 180 and see how I go :) any software test I can use to check condition of battery?
If the seller is willing you can ask them to do the following or you can do this yourself during pickup
In command prompt (Run as Admin) you can type powercfg /batteryreport and this will generate a detailed report about the battery. The three parameters you need to look for is the cycle count, design capacity and the full charge capacity. For a 4th gen i7 laptop which is around 6 years old I'd expect the charge count to be 500+ (lower the better) and if it is unusually low then they would have replaced the battery and that is a good thing. If the full charge capacity is drastically lower than the design capacity then you cannot expect the laptop to stay on for very long when on battery power.
@websterp: thanks mate. just ran the battery report, doesnt show cycle count (displaying a -) but design capacity is 31.2k mWh and full charge capacity at 30.7mWh so I guess thats a good sign.
Must admit, I would not buy a second hand laptop for myself. Unfortunately prices new are high. But for a general household PC , why not a desktop.
Much easier to repair, upgrade, etc. Heaps around 2nd hand even for $200 .
Check Ebay etc , Use your head, look for someone who has a heap to sell, obviously bought a heap from a business at auction.
Need one with decent storage HDD or SSD and RAM at least 4GB, CD/DVD maybe;not criticat .CPU 3.0 or more..
Need some kind of Warranty. You''ll have to sus out a non-dodgy seller. Go for good brand Dell or Asus, HP etc. If you haven't got screen, keyboard , Plenty around.
If you still want a laptop you'll need to watch for sales, but don't get one with eMMC, because the "e", means your C Drive is soldered in, and it's a bit tricky to change for larger. Good luck.
I've got my last few laptops from RENEWED.
There are some pretty good options there and they usually always have a discount code.
Most models are at least half the price of their brand new counterparts.
Quick delivery too, highly recommend.
And extra warranty!
I should add, i have 3 laptops from here and not one of them have had an issue over the 2 years i;ve had them (apart from a broken screen on the Surface Pro, but that was my sons fault).
Thanks all. Picking up a i3 6006u 8gb ram 500gb hd for $150 tomorrow. Should do the trick.
Bargain hunter in me got it down to $120. Looks in good condition, currently installing fresh copy of Windows. Thinks it definately needs an SSD so will keep an eye for a deal to come soon.
Thanks for the advice guys
Sounds like a bargain, what model is it?
HP 250 G6. Crappy 1366x768 resolution, but can live with it. Have ordered the EVO 500gb SSD this morning so should be a decent computer for well under $200.
With that budget you will do better with a second hand on Gumtree/FBM instead of looking to buy new.