Best Laptop April 2015

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MrJmos

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Hi,

I bought my gf a macbook pro for R18k this weekend (including R1.1k for a mouse!!)
It wasn' the big screen or the 2015 spec either.
Its great, but absurdly overpriced IMO.

For myself, I would really like something really good for about R13k (max R15k incl. any software (MS Office I have to buy)).

I am a Mechanical Engineer, and am good with a computer (and want this laptop for mainly to work on becoming a
developer - Python, Django, etc - my new interest). It should also run a few big software packages - simulation and drawing (eg Inventor and CAESAR II).

Unfortunately, I have no idea what the current state laptops are, my current personal laptop is slow and crappy. Its a
5 year old i5 and I hate it.

I have looked at Dion Wired and Makro.
But I don't know what I should be going for. Im not a gamer, but dont want to upgrade next year, so something fast would be great.

Finally, after this long story, my questions are:
- Where do I get best value (Matirx, Makro, I have no idea)?
- What is a great, high performance laptop that I can be happy with for at least 2 years?
- Is R13k incl MS Offic Pro the right price range for a top end laptop? If not, what is?

Thank-you.
(I wil edit the fluffy story above if needed, just trying to give background on what Im looking for)
 
I came to the conclusion this weekend that if you want a decent laptop for development work, you either need to be willing to fork out ~R26k+ on a laptop, or get a R12k (excl software, mouse, keyboard & screen) desktop PC that will give you:
an i7 4790k, decent motherboard, 16GB RAM and 500GB SSD.

You can get cheaper laptops, but then they have the stupid dual core (low power) i7 CPU's with 8GB RAM and a HDD. Also, the cheaper ones don't have a 3 year warranty either.
 
For R13k, I'd recommend the ASUS X550JK with a SSD upgrade and Office 365, which you renew every year and gives you a hell of a lot more functionality and services than just outright buying a Office 2013 Pro license.

You can get a laptop with a quad-core Core i7 chip and a backlit keyboard, but it is very expensive. Getting that quad just pushes up the prices more than anything else.
 
Pada said:
I came to the conclusion this weekend that if you want a decent laptop for development work, you either need to be willing to fork out ~R26k+ on a laptop, or get a R12k (excl software, mouse, keyboard & screen) desktop PC that will give you:
an i7 4790k, decent motherboard, 16GB RAM and 500GB SSD.

You can get cheaper laptops, but then they have the stupid dual core (low power) i7 CPU's with 8GB RAM and a HDD. Also, the cheaper ones don't have a 3 year warranty either.
Click to expand...

Only paid 15k for my HP Envy 17 and it has i7 4700 mq, 16 gb ram and 2 gb HD which can be changed to SSD and 740m Nvidia.
 
ichigo said:
Only paid 15k for my HP Envy 17 and it has i7 4700 mq, 16 gb ram and 2 gb HD which can be changed to SSD and 740m Nvidia.
Click to expand...

yup, paid R13k for my Y50, 4710HQ i7, 8GB ram and has the GTX860.

Then add 2K for a 500gb SSD and maybe 1K for ram.
 
MrJmos said:
Hi,

I bought my gf a macbook pro for R18k this weekend (including R1.1k for a mouse!!)
It wasn' the big screen or the 2015 spec either.
Its great, but absurdly overpriced IMO.

For myself, I would really like something really good for about R13k (max R15k incl. any software (MS Office I have to buy)).

I am a Mechanical Engineer, and am good with a computer (and want this laptop for mainly to work on becoming a
developer - Python, Django, etc - my new interest). It should also run a few big software packages - simulation and drawing (eg Inventor and CAESAR II).

Unfortunately, I have no idea what the current state laptops are, my current personal laptop is slow and crappy. Its a
5 year old i5 and I hate it.

I have looked at Dion Wired and Makro.
But I don't know what I should be going for. Im not a gamer, but dont want to upgrade next year, so something fast would be great.

Finally, after this long story, my questions are:
- Where do I get best value (Matirx, Makro, I have no idea)?
- What is a great, high performance laptop that I can be happy with for at least 2 years?
- Is R13k incl MS Offic Pro the right price range for a top end laptop? If not, what is?

Thank-you.
(I wil edit the fluffy story above if needed, just trying to give background on what Im looking for)
Click to expand...

Can't go wrong with an Alienware M17,
 
ichigo said:
yep don't see why anyone needs a 26k+ laptop unless it is for bragging.

I use mine for GIS/CAD
Click to expand...

Paid more for mine and absolutely no regrets - it's the right tool for the job.
 
ichigo said:
oh ok how is it with graphics intensive games or programs?
Click to expand...

I was playing Starcraft Broodwar on it and it was fine.

I then installed bluestacks, installed Clash of Clans and I could hear the fans (for the first time ever).

This laptop is clearly not made for gaming.

As for programs, Visual Studio 2013, Visio and other apps open immediately, thanks to the Raid 0 SSDs.

The only thing that I find lacking in is that it does not have a SIM card port on it.

Are you thinking of buying one?

I actually wanted a Dell machine because of the docking station but then again, it is not worth all the extra money since I travel every now and then.
 
MrJmos said:
Hi,

I bought my gf a macbook pro for R18k this weekend (including R1.1k for a mouse!!)
It wasn' the big screen or the 2015 spec either.
Its great, but absurdly overpriced IMO.

For myself, I would really like something really good for about R13k (max R15k incl. any software (MS Office I have to buy)).

I am a Mechanical Engineer, and am good with a computer (and want this laptop for mainly to work on becoming a
developer - Python, Django, etc - my new interest). It should also run a few big software packages - simulation and drawing (eg Inventor and CAESAR II).

Unfortunately, I have no idea what the current state laptops are, my current personal laptop is slow and crappy. Its a
5 year old i5 and I hate it.

I have looked at Dion Wired and Makro.
But I don't know what I should be going for. Im not a gamer, but dont want to upgrade next year, so something fast would be great.

Finally, after this long story, my questions are:
- Where do I get best value (Matirx, Makro, I have no idea)?
- What is a great, high performance laptop that I can be happy with for at least 2 years?
- Is R13k incl MS Offic Pro the right price range for a top end laptop? If not, what is?

Thank-you.
(I wil edit the fluffy story above if needed, just trying to give background on what Im looking for)
Click to expand...

Where are you based?

I believe that any laptop under the 13k mark is rubbish
 
CamiKaze said:
I was playing Starcraft Broodwar on it and it was fine.

I then installed bluestacks, installed Clash of Clans and I could hear the fans (for the first time ever).

This laptop is clearly not made for gaming.

As for programs, Visual Studio 2013, Visio and other apps open immediately, thanks to the Raid 0 SSDs.

The only thing that I find lacking in is that it does not have a SIM card port on it.

Are you thinking of buying one?

I actually wanted a Dell machine because of the docking station but then again, it is not worth all the extra money since I travel every now and then.
Click to expand...

I have the HP envy 17 was just interested as to how the intel one performs as I can use it to save power instead of using my nvidia 740m when the power is out :D
 
ichigo said:
I have the HP envy 17 was just interested as to how the intel one performs as I can use it to save power instead of using my nvidia 740m when the power is out :D
Click to expand...

How long does it last on battery?
 
ichigo said:
2 hrs 30 with just browsing, but when gaming 1 hr 30 or less.

My 2ds/3ds gets more hours gaming :D
Click to expand...

Well our laptops were designed for completely different reasons. Yours for gaming and mine for work.
Mine last up to 8 hours on 1 charge where your GFX card chows your battery quite a bit.
 
CamiKaze said:
Well our laptops were designed for completely different reasons. Yours for gaming and mine for work.
Mine last up to 8 hours on 1 charge where your GFX card chows your battery quite a bit.
Click to expand...

yep I mostly use my tablet as my laptop on trips as the battery lasts for a few days and more portable
 
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