Buying a Laptop

[RickSanchez]

Hey all,

So I'm helping a mate out who's laptop just died recently and he wants to spend max $800.
I'm gonna go through Dick Smith as they have some decent prices and it's very close.
I saw one for $799 and I was wondering if people know if it would be a good choice.
He uses it mainly for gaming (more casual type so doesn't need the best of the best), general use and I guess some video editing as well.
I then saw an email from Dick Smith which has another laptop that is usually $799 for $679.

ACER Aspire 15.6" V3-572G-55FT W8.1 Notebook $799

Key Features

• 15.6" HD Widescreen LED Display
• 4th gen Intel® Core™ i5-4210U Processor, Dual Core (Up to 2.7GHz)
• 8GB (DDR3) RAM
• 1TB HDD
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 840M 2GB Graphics
• Windows® 8.1

• Other Features
  
  • DVD-Super Multi Drive (Dual Layer)
  • Integrated Bluetooth 4.0
  • Wireless 802.11 a/g/n
  • HD Camera
  • SD Card Reader
  • Connections:
  • 1 x USB 3.0 Ports
  • 2x USB 2.0 Ports
  • 1 x HDMI Port
  • 1 x VGA Port
  • 1 x RJ45 Port
  • Stereo Speakers/Analogue Mic
  • Battery: Up to 7 hours (based on MobileMark® 2012 test results)
  • Dimensions 381.6 (W) x 256 (D) x 25.3/30.3 (H) mm
  • Weight 2.55kg

ASUS 15.6" F550DP-XX178H W8 Notebook $679

Key Features

• 15.6" HD LED Display
• AMD Dual Core A6-5350M APU (2.9GHz)
• 8GB RAM
• 1TB HDD
• AMD Radeon HD 8670M (Sun-XT) 2GB Graphics
• Windows® 8

Other Features

• HDMI 1.4
• 8X Super Multi Optical Drive with Double Layer
• 802.11bgn (Single band)
• 10/100 Mbps
• SD Card Slot
• 1x USB 2.0
• 2x USB 3.0
• 1x Line-in Jack
• 1x Headphone-out & Audio-in Combo Jack
• 1x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
• 1x VGA Port (D-Sub)
• 1x HDMI
• Sonic Master Speakers
• 2.40 KG (with 4 cell battery)
• 38.0(W) x 25.1(D) x 2.64 ~ 3.36 (H) cm
• 37WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion Battery Pack

I know a lot of that doesn't really matter/generic kind of stuff, but I just thought I'd post all the information.
I'm planning on trying to get a better price as well but I've never really done it before but my mate knows little about computers and wouldn't barter that well. Although I don't know heaps about laptops, hence why I thought I'd get some advice.

Thanks in advance.

 

[floodbuster]

I got an HP with pretty much the same specs but with 16GB of Ram for under $700 on EBAY almost a year ago.

 

[badbeats]

If you just want a laptop but no service from where you buy it then check out MSY


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[RickSanchez]

Yeah been through MSY and that's pretty much on right, they are pretty rude etc but its the best items at good prices.
He ended up getting that $679 one as he didn't wanna spend heaps and wanted to go through Dick Smith.
It's pretty piss poor so far, games like CS:GO and TF2 ran better on his 2 year old laptop.
Tried to get the latest drives but hasn't really made a difference. The guy at Dick Smith had no clue either.

 

[dav3]

Yeah been through MSY and that's pretty much on right, they are pretty rude etc but its the best items at good prices.
He ended up getting that $679 one as he didn't wanna spend heaps and wanted to go through Dick Smith.
It's pretty piss poor so far, games like CS:GO and TF2 ran better on his 2 year old laptop.
Tried to get the latest drives but hasn't really made a difference. The guy at Dick Smith had no clue either.

That's because it's an incredibly average system, the only way you're going to get decent performance out of it is to start turning down in-game settings.

Dick Smith lost all credibility years when they went from an electronics store to a poor mans Harvey Norman, most of their employees are just dis-interested salesmen with little knowledge beyond what's on the label. MSY........ well......... you don't go there expecting customer service or advice because it's a waste of their time, about the only way you'll have a positive experience in there is by walking in knowing exactly what you want (and have a backup option or two in case they're out of stock), handing them money, and walking out.

 

[RickSanchez]

That's because it's an incredibly average system, the only way you're going to get decent performance out of it is to start turning down in-game settings.

Dick Smith lost all credibility years when they went from an electronics store to a poor mans Harvey Norman, most of their employees are just dis-interested salesmen with little knowledge beyond what's on the label. MSY........ well......... you don't go there expecting customer service or advice because it's a waste of their time, about the only way you'll have a positive experience in there is by walking in knowing exactly what you want (and have a backup option or two in case they're out of stock), handing them money, and walking out.

Yeah I think you are right, I just don't get how a laptop he got from the same place, around the same cost 2 years ago seems a lot better than the one he got recently. You would think there would be some progress but if you're right about the decline of Dick Smith that probably explains it. I'm not sure what he intends to do but I should try encourage him to try other sources and maybe spend a bit more. No point of getting a system that's already outdated and will need to be upgraded much sooner rather than later.

 

[Zim^zuM]

Im thinking of getting a new lap top. If im spending around 1000-1200ish then what specs should be with that at minimum?

 

[dav3]

*shrug* Intel i5/i7, 8GB RAM, some form of "external" display adapter (eg. not built in Intel HD)

 

[Quadzilla]

Hi ... are dell any good?

TIA

 

[dav3]

Hi ... are dell any good?

TIA

Probably as good as anything else out there. Most of our fleet are Dell machines and there aren't really any standout issues that I've seen, although I'm not overly impressed with the new Lattitude E7240 so far.

 

[Quadzilla]

Probably as good as anything else out there. Most of our fleet are Dell machines and there aren't really any standout issues that I've seen, although I'm not overly impressed with the new Lattitude E7240 so far.

Cheers