School Laptop Reccomendation

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Arnex

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Wannabe Geek

#141145 2-Mar-2014 19:26

So i am looking for a new laptop for school and a little bit of gaming and movies. I need it to be windows 7 and i would like to get a 14 or 15 inch which is medium to lightweight. My budget is 1500NZD and i dont mind ordering from overseas to get cheaper prices. Can anybody make me any reccomendations.

michaelmurfy

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#997754 2-Mar-2014 19:59

The HP Spectre series ultra books offer some bang for buck. Else you've got the HP Folio series too. I personally use the HP Folio 9470m which is a few months old now but can handle the odd game pretty well :)

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billgates

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#997786 2-Mar-2014 21:09

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro. Get it shipped via YouShop. Even after paying GST, it should be around the $1500 mark.

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Ultrabook-Convertible-Touch-Screen/dp/B00G5N04MU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1393747619&sr=8-3&keywords=lenovo+yoga+2+pro

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resurrect

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Master Geek

#998044 3-Mar-2014 11:36

alternatively if you'd rather spend about $500 look on TM for a 14+inch with at least a 2.5ghz dual core and a proper graphics card (an ATI or nVidia, not an intel graphics chip).

Arnex

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Wannabe Geek

#998286 3-Mar-2014 17:06

May i ask why not to get Intel graphics?

Sideface

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#998288 3-Mar-2014 17:13

$1,500 seems like a high budget for a school PC - overkill?

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Arnex

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Wannabe Geek

#998295 3-Mar-2014 17:22

1500 would be max but id be perfectly happy with an 800. i wasnt thinking straight when i wrote 1500.

jonb

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#998309 3-Mar-2014 17:59

Intel graphics will be the limiting factor for playing modern games. When looking for a laptop, one of your checks should be to look at the graphics chip and see how it benchmarks at www.notebookcheck.net.

This Samsung ultrabook is nice, with a fast SSD drive, but the graphics chip benchmarks are no better than the standard Intel graphics. This uses AMD shared graphics. Fine for school, not so great if you want to play modern shooters.

If you look for 15" laptops for gaming you will get more choice at this price range, but will be alot heavier to lug around. This HP meets the gaming requirements better with a faster graphics chip , but weights 2.4 kg, compared to 1.4 kg for the Samsung ultrabook.

I got my daughter an Asus T100 for school, mainly for portability but it can still play some games apparently.. http://www.transformerforums.com/forum/asus-transformer-book-t100/39536-gaming-transformer-book-t100-2.html

Sorry for not giving you a great answer on what to buy, but hopefully it helps deciding what compromises to make..

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#998345 3-Mar-2014 19:08

Sideface: $1,500 seems like a high budget for a school PC - overkill?

Another question: Why does the student need to play games? Do you want a tool or a toy?
This is not a sarcastic comment - gaming capability increases the price considerably - and any school PC is going to be lost or broken.
I vote for cheap, rugged, no-frills :)

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Arnex

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Wannabe Geek

#998364 3-Mar-2014 19:59

Its not heavy gaming it will just be like the odd minecraft game or something. Which i imagine most laptops these days can run. Nothin graphically intense