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jonathan18

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#245389 1-Feb-2019 14:33
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Sorry for another "recommend me a laptop" thread! (And I have searched for and read others before posting...)

 

My sister's after a laptop, ideally < $600; for the basics of MS Office and video (Netflix etc), the latter primarily via a monitor.

 

While I'm sure any cheap-as laptop will do the job, whether it'll do it well is another matter, so I'm trying to find her something that offers best bang for buck; ideally I'm looking for something ok that has an SSD (a must-have, I think; as low as 128GB should be fine) and a 1080 screen.

 

While I did suggest she may want to consider a Chromebook, given she's saying Excel is a must I think she's safer to stick to Windows (I've had issues with Excel on my Chromebook). Other considerations like battery life aren't big concerns.

 

Pricespy, unsurprisingly, shows few that match these conditions - https://pricespy.co.nz/category.php?k=s327979870&catId=353&sort=price - and some of them don't have 1080 screens anyway.

 

This Acer seems the closest to her budget ($798 down to $638) while meeting the above specs - Any thoughts on this model? 

 

https://www.jbhifi.co.nz/computers-tablets/laptops/acer/acer-swift-1-sf113-31-p4fh-13-3-laptop/338048/

 

Are there any other suitable laptops that anyone can recommend?  

 

Should I be more flexible on dropping back to a 768 screen to find more options closer to her budget?

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

 

 

 


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shk292
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  #2171308 1-Feb-2019 15:02
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I just went through this decision process for a BYOD for a kid starting secondary school, and ended up ordering the Swift 1 you've linked to, from JB Hifi.  Unfortunately it hasn't arrived yet so I can't comment first hand, but the few reviews I could find were very positive at its price point.  The one I nearly went for was a Asus Vivo at Mighty Ape which had 8GB/256GB, but that was $1100 and I'm not sure the better memory, storage and CPU justified the price.

 

I absolutely refuse to spend money on anything with a 768 resolution screen and am staggered that such rubbish is still being sold, sometimes for prices in excess of $1500.

 

I also searched on Amazon and what's available on there wasn't compelling by the time you've factored in GST, exchange rate and loss of CGA.

 

I'll update this when mine is delivered but it seems the best option right now




jonathan18

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  #2171453 1-Feb-2019 19:51
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Thanks for the reply. Interesting we both ended up identifying the same laptop, which does show the lack of 1080 screens at the lower end of the market. I’ll check in to see whether the local HN has the Acer in stock just to see if I can see it in the flesh, but will be interested in your views when yours has arrived.

I also noticed an Asus Vivo - this one for $800, also 8GB RAM, 128 SSD but also a 1TB hard drive.
https://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=4972501

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Ta...

shk292
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  #2171524 1-Feb-2019 21:30
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jonathan18: Thanks for the reply. Interesting we both ended up identifying the same laptop, which does show the lack of 1080 screens at the lower end of the market. I’ll check in to see whether the local HN has the Acer in stock just to see if I can see it in the flesh, but will be interested in your views when yours has arrived.

I also noticed an Asus Vivo - this one for $800, also 8GB RAM, 128 SSD but also a 1TB hard drive.
https://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=4972501

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Ta...

 

That looks good too.  A bit bigger than I wanted for a BYOD carried to school each day but if size/weight not so important, could be a good choice




amiga500
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  #2172553 4-Feb-2019 07:53
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If HP made HP Streams with the N4000 cpu, 4 gb ram, and 128 gb real ssd, I might be tempted.  It would run Windows 10 a lot better than the laptops with the N3060 cpu and would have enough storage to cope easily with the W10 updates.   And it would probably run a light linux distro very well indeed.


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