Laptop purchase review

Forums › Off topic › Laptop purchase review

sep11guy

660 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#177370 31-Jul-2015 10:32

Hi ,

I am considering a laptop purchase, and was wondering if i can get some feedback on my shortlist. its not a "list", but i have narrowed down to :

https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/shop/computers/computers/laptops/pc-notebook-computers/hp-15-ae004tx-15-6-envy-silver-touchscreen-notebook/prod138856.html

I want to know what are your thoughts, is it worth the investment, brand, price, spec, if you can throw some light.

Thanks,

Inphinity

2780 posts

Uber Geek

#1355790 31-Jul-2015 10:34

What will it be used for?

lxsw20

3552 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1355791 31-Jul-2015 10:35

Extremely slow HDD and a consumer HP. No thank you.

sep11guy

660 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1355793 31-Jul-2015 10:36

It will be used for :

heavily for : web surfing, listening to music, youtube videos, streaming hd video onto tv's , basic ms office work ( word excel )

medium usage : graphic work , photoshop etc

light usage : gaming NFS

sep11guy

660 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1355795 31-Jul-2015 10:37

lxsw20: Extremely slow HDD and a consumer HP. No thank you.

Thanks for your input, can u pls recommend me a similar spec / price laptop what you would chose , thanks

sep11guy

660 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1355801 31-Jul-2015 10:43

please disregard given price of 2k $, warehouse stationary has same model for $1.5k ( talk about margins ! ) so please recommend me something in that region , what best would u chose,

Lias

5589 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1355842 31-Jul-2015 11:17

If you want to play games (and to some degree photoshop) you really want something more like this:

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/notebooks/componentview.asp?partid=24802

or

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/notebooks/componentview.asp?partid=24259

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup.

timmmay

20574 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1355846 31-Jul-2015 11:18

The key factors for a good laptop for your uses are:
- i5 processor is fine, i7 is maybe a bit faster but could be overkill
- solid state disk is really important
- 4GB RAM MINIMUM, 8GB is better

Lenovo and Asus are both good brands. I also have a Toshiba at work which is around that price and does a great job.

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

sep11guy

660 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1355856 31-Jul-2015 11:23

Lias: If you want to play games (and to some degree photoshop) you really want something more like this:

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/notebooks/componentview.asp?partid=24802

or

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/notebooks/componentview.asp?partid=24259

Hmmmm , appreciate your input.

but the budget it also a factor ( wish i could have a bigger budget :) ) . I am kinda hovering around the $1-$1.5k at the moment.

any thing you can recommend in this range, please?

timmmay

20574 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1355861 31-Jul-2015 11:27

You can also add an SSD to a computer after you buy it, but it can be a little tricky. I'm going to do that with my wife's computer soon.

sep11guy

660 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1355862 31-Jul-2015 11:28

timmmay: The key factors for a good laptop for your uses are:
- i5 processor is fine, i7 is maybe a bit faster but could be overkill
- solid state disk is really important
- 4GB RAM MINIMUM, 8GB is better

Lenovo and Asus are both good brands. I also have a Toshiba at work which is around that price and does a great job.

Good points, thanks for that

The one i have listed here has got i7 and 8gb ram, so both positives.

Can these 2 compensate for not having SSD ?

2 most imp things also to consider :

1) yes, i have a budget :-)

and

2) i am not purchasing this laptop for official / business use, so it doesnt have to be " i-am-best-in the market speeds" kinda laptop. yes it has to be fast, but not expecting to be super fast.

also just realized - i would want to upgrade it to windows 10 - hope i can do this out of the box ? pls advice,

reven

3743 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1355869 31-Jul-2015 11:31

GTX850m or GTX950m or above for graphics at that price range
SSD 240GB or bigger would be better, but can easily be upgraded afterwards if needed
i5 or i7.
8GB of RAM is preferred, upgrading ram will likely result in requiring you to buy a full 16GB of RAM though as 8GB is probably 2 x 4GB sticks.

I bought a i7 (2.4ghz), GTX840m, 6GB Ram with 1TB hdd off trademe a couple of weeks ago for $500 from a laptop repair place. Ill upgrade the hdd to an SSD (around 500GB model) in a month or two. I was originally look at spending close to 3k on a gaming laptop :)

lxsw20

3552 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1355900 31-Jul-2015 11:49

With a $1500 budget I think it will be hard to get something with a good size SSD, screen that isn't 1366x768, good brand and a decent graphics card, but ymmv. There are a few good options if you drop the gaming requirement and the screen size. Like the Surface Pro 3 or Lenovo Yoga 3.

sep11guy

660 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1355908 31-Jul-2015 11:57

lxsw20: With a $1500 budget I think it will be hard to get something with a good size SSD, screen that isn't 1366x768, good brand and a decent graphics card, but ymmv. There are a few good options if you drop the gaming requirement and the screen size. Like the Surface Pro 3 or Lenovo Yoga 3.

my gaming requirement is not major. its like once in a bluemoon .

infact ps3 is just $200, i think i could be better of not doing any gaming on the laptop

lxsw20

3552 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1355962 31-Jul-2015 12:38

Probably not a silly option.

nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1356007 31-Jul-2015 13:20

its not just a spinning rust HDD but a 5400rpm spinning rust. seems expensive for what it is IMHO