Best laptop under $850.

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isosmama

92 posts

Master Geek

#177244 27-Jul-2015 17:47

Hi. I'm overwhelmed with specs and acronyms I don't understand. I want it for study and movies. I like the clamshell because it seems sturdier. I already have a phone with a cracked screen! I will be cycling with it in my backpack. I know anything under 4gbs of ram isn't good. Also heard something about ssd drives. I have never bought a computer before. Thank you, noob. :)

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#1352737 27-Jul-2015 17:51

IMHO there are no good laptops below NZD $850.

The "sweet spot" is $1,200.

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isosmama

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#1352755 27-Jul-2015 18:03

I'm using my course related costs money which is $1000.

timmmay

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#1352756 27-Jul-2015 18:05

Asus and Lenovo are good brands. Check out the E550, it will be fast enough. Beware, they're built like tanks, not always light. Don't have time to look for others right now.

What are you using it for?

isosmama

92 posts

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#1352762 27-Jul-2015 18:10

Polytech course (foundation I.T) movies, music etc.

lNomNoml

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#1352765 27-Jul-2015 18:12

Defiantly a Toshiba, if you are in Auckland there is a service centre in Penrose very helpful and excellent service.

We only sell Toshiba laptops to our clients, no issues what so ever.

I would recommend you this one: http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=NBKTOS2842024&name=Toshiba-SatPro-R50-B-Business-Notebook-15.6-Intel-

Use the rest to get yourself a external hard drive for more storage.

http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=HDDTRS16100&name=Transcend-1TB-StoreJet-25H3P-2.5-USB-3.0-External-

http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=HDDTRS16200&name=Transcend-2TB-StoreJet-25H3P-2.5-USB-3.0-External-

http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=NBGLKY69031&name=Solo-Notebook-Bag-Topload-15.6-LSM69030

Jase2985

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#1352767 27-Jul-2015 18:13

8GB and a SSD for under 850 would be pushing it by a long shot, not impossible but yea would have to wait for the right deal to come up.

you dont need a SSD for what you are doing, its a nice to have not a need to have.

shrub

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#1352775 27-Jul-2015 18:31

I got a acer aspire es1-512-p8na and put an kingston 120gb ssd in it and got the sales person to upgrade the ram to 8gb for free for $689 then purchased a 2.5" USB external caddy for $30 put the 1gb HDD in it. Under $750. Plays facebook games and movies fine.

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isosmama

92 posts

Master Geek

#1352779 27-Jul-2015 18:39

Thanks Shrub. That sounds encouraging. I'm in Dunedin and trying to rope my mate into helping me browse, bargain haggle etc. Thank you for the pointers :)

shrub

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#1352807 27-Jul-2015 19:15

Just remember sales people at big shops (PB Tech Powerstore smiths city and harvey norman) are mostly on commission so they don't like to see cash buyers walking out the door, use it to your advantage. Avoid noel leeming and warehouse stationary they don't really move on price much.

timmmay

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#1352838 27-Jul-2015 19:34

I have a Toshiba ultrabook at work, think it's around $2K but it's a nice machine. Is i3 enough for comp sci, with compilers and such?

Hammerer

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#1352886 27-Jul-2015 20:37

Pricespy is useful to give you a good idea of what you get for around $850 and you can select specific features or ranges. Here's an example where I've included laptops $600-$1,000 with the i3-i7 Intel processors and and at least 1GB dedicated graphics memory (so it doesn't share the main memory) but no Solid-State Drive (SSD). You can easily add an SSD later but it is much harder, if it is even possible on some laptops, to improve your CPU and graphics sub-system. As you can see you can also get 8GB of memory too.

I've found Warehouse Stationery is generally a good place to look as they have good sale prices particularly in the sub-$1,000 range.

isosmama

92 posts

Master Geek

#1352939 27-Jul-2015 22:24

Cool. Will do. Thanks guys :)