So many laptops in the $700 - $800 range still come with a 500 gb or 1 tb drive

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › So many laptops in the $700 - $800 range still come with a 500 gb or 1 tb drive - not a SSD

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20149 posts

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#2191565 5-Mar-2019 19:50

I thought there was a requirement of some schools these days to require ipads, and not laptops. I remember when I was at school, we had computer rooms, and one computer per classroom, where all the fundamentals of learning were done with paper and pen. I have seen the state of the writing of some students these days and it isn't great.

tehgerbil

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#2191630 5-Mar-2019 20:49

I was recently looking for a laptop for a colleague, she needed a pretty entry level 'Good' laptop -

Pref Full HD (720p if other specs were excellent)

Prefer 256GB SSD (or 128GB)

I5 (but I3 would be ok.)

Screen size - not a biggie.

She had spent around $800 and got a good (for the time) laptop.

This was the best I could find (from a quick 5 minute look at pricespy etc).

13.3" (1366x768)

I5 -8250u

256GB SSD

For $1,173!!

SSD's appear to be a real 'luxury' item in laptops they crank up the price for it would appear.

Even entry level SSD equipped laptop (128GB) are a few hundred over the equivalent HDD model.
Which is kinda even more ludicrous when you realise the price of SSD's vs HDD's have been on a collision course driven heavily by Samsung themselves.

Also if they pump more profit margin in SSD laptops, so they keep the upgrade cycle. You know when someones mechanical HDD possibly fails due to scratched disks, they probably tend to get a new laptop VS whacking a new HDD in it (beyond most peoples technical skills?).

And they also experience the HDD slowing down from corrupt sectors from the inevitable movement the laptop will experience even if it doesn't fail. The customer will come in to the store and realise the latest model feels 'much faster' and so spends more than she originally spent ($800) and forks out a little bit more for an SSD ($1200) model and walks away a happy customer.

Anyway, tin foil off now..

allstarnz

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#2192011 6-Mar-2019 10:32

I had to get a new laptop for a job that i started, and I was a bit tight on money, so I bought a C$750ish i5 laptop which had a 1TB 'spinning' drive in it.

Once I then had some cashflow, I upgraded to a 500GB SSD and moved everything across. The best C$90 or so I spent, the performance increase is really noticeable. After that experience I would def recommend getting a laptop with an SSD in it.

I guess to your average person it really doesn't make much difference, but with the pricing of storage, you're almost better off to have a smaller faster SSD, and then have an external drive to store your large files.

tripper1000

1617 posts

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#2192014 6-Mar-2019 10:44

Comparing a 240 or 500Gb SSD to Terabyte spinning drives isn't really comparing apples to apples in terms of user needs. Terabyte SSD's aren't yet an affordable option for the average citizen.

If you are truly mobile with a laptop then because streaming (via Cell networks) isn't really and option, large (spinning) drives become more important. I have (cheaply) upgraded a number of laptops to 2Tb drives for such people.

kobiak

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#2192017 6-Mar-2019 10:54

SSD are cheap almost as chips these days even at retail. $50-70 for 128-240GB. I'm sure manufactures could do better bulk deals.

I guess there's huge over supply of 2.5" HDD, so they put it everywhere.

helping others at evgenyk.nz

jonathan18

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#2192026 6-Mar-2019 11:13

mattwnz:

I thought there was a requirement of some schools these days to require ipads, and not laptops.

You'll find it depends on the age of the kids; iPads may be common at primary schools, but they are a pretty limited device for older kids. Without a decent physical keyboard, writing on an iPad is a slow and laborious process.

By intermediate it's often laptops (Chromebooks are common), and I'd be surprised if any high schools make anything other than occasional use of tablets.

jonathan18

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#2192034 6-Mar-2019 11:28

If you're not too fussy about screen resolution, there are a decent number of laptops under $800 with an SSD:

https://classic.pricespy.co.nz/category.php?m=s328341456

However, as I recently discovered, there are very limited options if you also want a 1080 screen:

https://classic.pricespy.co.nz/category.php?m=s328341477

And, of those six, only two are Windows (others are Chromebooks); my sister ended up getting this Acer Windows laptop with SSD and 1080 for $638. But such laptops also then have a b-grade processors and only 4GB RAM, so reflect the reality that you'll always need to be willing to compromise on something at this price point.

As to whether 128GB is enough on a Windows machine will depend on what it's used for. For many users it'll be fine - software often only extends to Office, a browser, Netflix and not much more! Photos/videos are probably the biggest storage hog, and as mentioned earlier many will have these in the cloud anyway...

Sharesies kids

Free kids accounts - trade shares and funds (NZ, US) with Sharesies (affiliate link).

Coil

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#2192064 6-Mar-2019 12:11

Tzoi:

PB had a 1tb 860 evo for $170 or so in the weekend

Sounds like im off to PB Tech to see lovely ol Yvonne and get me a cheap SSD!

Coil

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#2192087 6-Mar-2019 12:23

Recently helped a friend buy a new laptop and we had no HDD when we were expecting one! My oversight!
He has this: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBKASU510371/ASUS-Vivobook-S510UF-BQ371T-Slim-Light-Entertainme

1080P, I7, M.2 SSD, Mx130 and under $1500, good deal!

Just fully forgot that not all laptops with a SSD come with a HDD.... Luckily the chassis has a 2.5" spot free so will add one..

So if you spend more, You get less!

amiga500

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#2192174 6-Mar-2019 13:32

kobiak:

SSD are cheap almost as chips these days even at retail. $50-70 for 128-240GB. I'm sure manufactures could do better bulk deals.

I guess there's huge over supply of 2.5" HDD, so they put it everywhere.

And very recently Dragon PC in Christchurch had a Sandisk 120 gb SSD on special at $36 or $37 dollars. Not the fastest SSD but still three or four times speedier than a 2.5 inch 5400 rpm drive.

Coil

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#2192179 6-Mar-2019 13:41

amiga500:

And very recently Dragon PC in Christchurch had a Sandisk 120 gb SSD on special at $36 or $37 dollars.

That is cheaper than a 128GB Flash drive???

nzkc

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#2192192 6-Mar-2019 14:05

Coil:

amiga500:

And very recently Dragon PC in Christchurch had a Sandisk 120 gb SSD on special at $36 or $37 dollars.

That is cheaper than a 128GB Flash drive???

Sandisk seem to be on sale quite a bit lately. Playtech had them a bit off...not today though. Currently $45 for 120GB: https://www.playtech.co.nz/sandisk-ssd-plus-120gb-2-5-sata3-ssd-sdssda-120g-g27.html

Not the only place I have noticed discounting them. Seems Sandisk are clearing their stock! SSD prices are dropping quite a lot at the moment, which is great for us as consumers.

Varkk

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Ultimate Geek

#2192207 6-Mar-2019 14:21

For these it is all about the marketing numbers and what people think looks good in a store display. e.g BLAZING FAST i7, 8GB RAM, MASSIVE 1TB hard drive. On a shiny starburst display in Noel Leemings. Not mentioned is often the disk is a 5400RPM spinner to keep the price down and the storage available up because that is all regular consumers think matters with a hard disk.

lNomNoml

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#2192213 6-Mar-2019 14:26

Yeah there is a big lag with the manufacturers and putting SSD's at low price points, I guess it all comes down to cost to manufacture and profit margins, they will rather keep SSD's at the higher price points to give consumers a grater sense of accomplishment of buying a $800+ laptop with roughly the same specs as a $600 - $800 laptop but with the SSD included.

*Numbers are not anywhere near the truth just trying to emphasize my point

1cloud

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Master Geek

#2192244 6-Mar-2019 14:58

amiga500:

For starters every laptop intended for school use should have eMMc or SSD so they have some chance of survival in the classroom.

However, it's the number of laptops right up to around $800.00 that come with a 500 gb or 1 tb spinning hard drive that really puzzle me. Every one of these modestly specified machines would run infinitely better with a real 128 or 240 gb ssd. People who buy these would be far better off to buy a laptop with a small SSD and either a portable hard drive or a couple of good quality flash drives.

err... $700-800 for a reason

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