Help with buying a laptop (yeah, I know, sorry)

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Help with buying a laptop (yeah, I know, sorry)

BlackGlove

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Master Geek
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#235978 12-May-2018 10:55

Hey crew, I know these posts are a dime a dozen and I'm sorry to add to that but I'm hella struggling with the myriad options when it come to buying a laptop. (I've never owned one before - who knew there were so many iterations of each model type?! - especially for mid-range pricing and specs)

I'd like to buy it tomorrow (Sunday) and it's probably going to be from PB Tech because they are close to my shop, have a fairly decent range and are open on Sundays (I can't imagine going to Noel Leeming or one of those generic homewares stores but feel free to tell me I'm a fool).

The laptop will primarily be for business use, won't get much travel other than work <> home, and won't need to be portable while at work. I'm mostly going to do general admin stuff and a little bit of design work (once I can convince myself to join Adobe's infernal subscription scheme). The kids (or I) will probably pop a game or two on there but we have consoles for more intense gaming. Can't think of any reason I would need an optical drive. Not interested in an Apple product and probably couldn't afford one anyway.

Budget is a pretty meagre $1500(ish) because I have other stuff I need to buy. Super strapped for time so don't want to have to do upgrades myself right now.

Nearly everything I have read suggests Lenovo or Dell as preferred brands, although obviously individual models differ, and those brands seem to be more expensive, which I guess makes sense. Avoiding Acer after reading comments in this forum.

I reckon ideal minimum specs along the lines of: i5, 8gb ram, 256gb SSD, 15inch screen

So far I'm looking at something along these lines:

Lenovo ThinkPad 13 Business Laptop 13.3" Intel i5-7200U 8GB DDR4 256GB SSD $1,219.00 [Small screen and older processor but reflected in price]

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBKLEN132010/Lenovo-ThinkPad-13-Business-Laptop-133-Intel-i5-72

ASUS VivoBook X405UQ-BM190T in Grey Colour 14" 1080p FullHD Intel i7-7500U 8GB 256GB SSD NO-DVD GT940MX 2GB Graphics Win10Home $1,444.00

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBKASU74872/ASUS-VivoBook-X405UQ-BM190T-in-Grey-Colour-14-1080

Lenovo ThinkPad L470 14" 1080p FullHD Intel i5-7200U 8GB 256GB PCIe SSD NO-DVD Win10Pro $1,479.19 [I heard the T series is way better build quality but out of my price range]

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBKLEN3676843/Lenovo-ThinkPad-L470-14-1080p-FullHD-Intel-i5-7200

HP 15-bs516TX Laptop 15.6" 1080p FullHD Intel i7-7500U 8GB 256GB M.2 SSD Radeon R530 2GB Graphics NO-DVD $1,263.85 [Does HP have reliability issues? Can easily upgrade Win10 to pro if necessary]

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBKHNB15516/HP-15-bs516TX-Laptop-156-1080p-FullHD-Intel-i7-750

HP Probook 450 G5 Business Laptop 15.6" 1080p FullHD Intel i7-8550U 8GB 256GB SSD NO-DVD GT930MX 2GB Graphics Win10Pro $1,552.50

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBKHNB3944677/HP-Probook-450-G5-Business-Laptop-156-1080p-FullHD

Apologies again for the novella. I totally understand if no one reads or replies :) but HUGE THANKS if you do.

timmay556

98 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 32
Inactive user

#2014554 12-May-2018 11:12

I don't have much advice for you however I have just spent the better part of a week looking at laptops online, make sure you get a laptop with a 8250u or higher CPU, these are the new 4 core 8 thread intel processors vs the ones you are looking at 7200/7500 which are 2 core 4 thread.

I just bought a zenbook ux430nu 8250 8gb 256gb SSD no gpu for $1430 from pbtech, it arrives Monday. I think the one with the gpu runs you about 150$ more.

The dell xps 13 gets good reviews but is 200 more for slightly less specs than the one I got.

gzt

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#2014870 12-May-2018 18:38

I have a preference for solid business laptops that have been through a few revisions. Some of the consumer stuff can be one-off. There are exceptions, both ways.

BlackGlove

59 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 34

#2015138 13-May-2018 14:42

Hey thanks you two - I took both of your advice on board and ended up getting the 15" HP Probook 450 GS with i5 8250 and GT930MX graphics card. Came with 8gb ram and bought another 8 to put in. I figure getting newer chipset is a good idea and difference between new i5 and new i7 isn't worth the price for the sort of work I will be doing. SUPER easy to open up the unit so will be a cinch to upgrade SSD etc later if I need to. Reviews are good for it too, and performance is as fast as I'd expect for a new computer. Decent sound and good screen also. Keypad helpful for work stuff. Cheers.

gzt

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#2015278 13-May-2018 18:00

You're welcome. I hope it works out.

When you're feeling slightly richer a second power supply will cut down the stuff to transport.

A cheap laptop stand + mouse keyboard at home will save it from being hammered by the kids and drinks etc.

BlackGlove

59 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 34

#2015299 13-May-2018 18:44

When you're feeling slightly richer a second power supply will cut down the stuff to transport.

Genius! I bet I could probably find one second hand for such a common (or as my mother would correct me - "popular") brand. Surely the power supply is pretty standard across models. Really good idea.

pgs2050

282 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#2015325 13-May-2018 19:55

I have the Probook 470 at work. The power supply is a new model, probably used across the current HP range, but compared to previous Probooks it has a narrower connection port, slightly different voltage. PB Tech have the specific part in stock (at least they did 2 weeks ago when I checked).

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Andib

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#2015357 13-May-2018 20:38

pgs2050:

I have the Probook 470 at work. The power supply is a new model, probably used across the current HP range, but compared to previous Probooks it has a narrower connection port, slightly different voltage. PB Tech have the specific part in stock (at least they did 2 weeks ago when I checked).

Of the top of my head, The same one has been used on the last few generations of the Elitebooks.

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Coil

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#2015361 13-May-2018 20:47

Get something with a MX150 or 10 series graphics with an 8th gen core.

timmay556

98 posts

Master Geek
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Inactive user

#2016472 15-May-2018 19:40

BlackGlove:

Hey thanks you two - I took both of your advice on board and ended up getting the 15" HP Probook 450 GS with i5 8250 and GT930MX graphics card. Came with 8gb ram and bought another 8 to put in. I figure getting newer chipset is a good idea and difference between new i5 and new i7 isn't worth the price for the sort of work I will be doing. SUPER easy to open up the unit so will be a cinch to upgrade SSD etc later if I need to. Reviews are good for it too, and performance is as fast as I'd expect for a new computer. Decent sound and good screen also. Keypad helpful for work stuff. Cheers.

You are welcome. Enjoy the new laptop. I'm liking my Zenbook, Im superglad I got the quad core as everything is very snappy.

Laptops have come a long long way with battery life... Im sitting in the Lazyboy browsing the net and apparently have a 9ish hour battery life!!! Amazing.