Advice on new laptop $1500 budget

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ChristineNZL

242 posts

Master Geek

#286081 4-Jun-2021 11:00

Hi all, we're looking at replacing our old laptop.

The budget is around $1500 (can go a bit higher if it's worth it).

Would like a minimum of 14" screen (not matte), i5, 8GB, 512 SSD.

It will be used in the house so portability and battery life is not that important.

It won't be used for anything heavy duty. We'd like it to look good and have a really good screen display.

We've mainly had HP computers and laptops in the past but we're open to other brands. I love the look of the ASUS laptops but wonder if a lot of what you're paying for there is the portability.

Thanks.

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meow
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#2718175 4-Jun-2021 11:22

To be honest the M1 Apple MacBook Air comes in that price range and has everything you're asking for. I have the M1 MacBook Pro and love it - it is very fast, has great battery life (around 15hrs with my use) and a very good screen / speakers / microphone. Runs everything with ease (Photoshop, Lightroom, Firefox, Microsoft Office etc).

https://www.apple.com/nz/macbook-air/

There are Queens Birthday sales which will bring it closer within your price range also.

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ChristineNZL

242 posts

Master Geek

#2718185 4-Jun-2021 11:28

michaelmurfy:
To be honest the M1 Apple MacBook Air comes in that price range and has everything you're asking for. I have the M1 MacBook Pro and love it - it is very fast, has great battery life (around 15hrs with my use) and a very good screen / speakers / microphone. Runs everything with ease (Photoshop, Lightroom, Firefox, Microsoft Office etc).

https://www.apple.com/nz/macbook-air/

There are Queens Birthday sales which will bring it closer within your price range also.

Thanks. That's about the only brand we hadn't considered. Other than iPads we've never bought Apple although my daughter has MacBook Air and loves it.

timmmay

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#2718217 4-Jun-2021 12:41

HP Probook are generally solid, reliable machines. Their fans are a bit loud if you do intensive work, Surface are quieter. Apple M1 would be a good choice, and can be near silent, if mac works for you.

ChristineNZL

242 posts

Master Geek

#2718221 4-Jun-2021 12:47

timmmay:

HP Probook are generally solid, reliable machines. Their fans are a bit loud if you do intensive work, Surface are quieter. Apple M1 would be a good choice, and can be near silent, if mac works for you.

Thanks. I just checked and our current laptop is a HP Envy.

michaelmurfy

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#2718308 4-Jun-2021 14:26

timmmay:

and can be near silent, if mac works for you.

The M1 MacBook Air is fanless so totally silent :)

ChristineNZL

242 posts

Master Geek

#2718342 4-Jun-2021 15:34

michaelmurfy:
timmmay:

and can be near silent, if mac works for you.

The M1 MacBook Air is fanless so totally silent :)

Having never used a MacBook, is it easy to get used to navigating around it?

michaelmurfy

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#2718376 4-Jun-2021 16:44

ChristineNZL:

Having never used a MacBook, is it easy to get used to navigating around it?

Very easy. They're designed to be very user friendly. Also integrate well if you've got other Apple products.

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1024kb

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#2718382 4-Jun-2021 16:55

The biggest advantage buying a Mac has over any other brand - & it's a fairly compelling one - is the resale value. You'll still fetch a healthy sum in resale value in 5,6,7,8 years time. No other brand - no matter how comparatively superior their machines are. Apple's marketing machine works very well in conjunction with great build quality for the resale market.

I've not attempted BootCamp on an M1 processor, but certainly on Intel Macs, Windows runs very, very well. You don't need to be restricted to the MacOS environment if you'd prefer not to be.

ChristineNZL

242 posts

Master Geek

#2718384 4-Jun-2021 16:59

michaelmurfy:
ChristineNZL:

Having never used a MacBook, is it easy to get used to navigating around it?

Very easy. They're designed to be very user friendly. Also integrate well if you've got other Apple products.

Thanks. We'll be looking at some this weekend.

michaelmurfy

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#2718387 4-Jun-2021 17:04

1024kb:
I've not attempted BootCamp on an M1 processor, but certainly on Intel Macs, Windows runs very, very well. You don't need to be restricted to the MacOS environment if you'd prefer not to be.

The M1 MacBooks are ARM based. They're superior for most people if you like MacOS and can also run many iPadOS + iPhone apps but you can't run regular Windows on them anymore. I don't personally see this as a drawback.

GSManiac

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Ultimate Geek

#2718388 4-Jun-2021 17:10

+1 for M1 MacBook Air.
My 57 year old Mother recently bought it after only ever using windows computers (along with IPad and IPhone) and for the first few days she was asking me questions every 5 minutes but after a week she figured everything out and is now a MacBook whizz.

It’s definitely a no brainer choice IMO

ChristineNZL

242 posts

Master Geek

#2718391 4-Jun-2021 17:19

GSManiac: +1 for M1 MacBook Air.
My 57 year old Mother recently bought it after only ever using windows computers (along with IPad and IPhone) and for the first few days she was asking me questions every 5 minutes but after a week she figured everything out and is now a MacBook whizz.

It’s definitely a no brainer choice IMO

I feel old now haha! We're not much younger than your mum. I guess the first thing to do would be to get my 20 year old daughter to show us hers and warn her that we may need assistance. 😆

GSManiac

489 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2718398 4-Jun-2021 17:35

My 10 year old MacBook Pro has finally gotten to a point where it needs to be replaced because as of today it no longer works off battery power. I’m most likely going to replace with a M1 Air although I’m holding off 3 days just to see what Apple announce for the Pro line at WWDC in 3 days.

ChristineNZL

242 posts

Master Geek

#2718407 4-Jun-2021 17:53

PBTech have MacBook Air with 256GB SSD for $1649. For $1999 you get 512GB. Is it worth paying the extra?

Handle9

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#2718416 4-Jun-2021 18:15

GSManiac: +1 for M1 MacBook Air.
My 57 year old Mother recently bought it after only ever using windows computers (along with IPad and IPhone) and for the first few days she was asking me questions every 5 minutes but after a week she figured everything out and is now a MacBook whizz.

It’s definitely a no brainer choice IMO

My 74 year old mother bought an M1 Macbook Air this year. It's the first time she's had a Mac. She loves it.

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