Budget Laptop for R3k

[I.am.Sam]

Hey guys

A friend is looking for a laptop that he can use at campus and at home for studying

So most likely only use it for office and internet browsing

Whats the best that we can get ?

 

[ColonelJAck]

Take a look at Bid or Buy.
Some good deals there.

 

[ColonelJAck]

Or Gumtree.
I've bought 2 laptops an Xbox and a printer on Gumtree.
The advantage is that you can have the seller show you the item is functioning.

The risk is, arguably, higher on BoB, but there you can view the sellers ratings and feedback from buyers.
I've bought a shyteload of goodies on BoB.

PS. I'm assuming your looking at 2nd, judging by your budget.

 

[I.am.Sam]

he told me he has 3k and since he will be 1st year i want to stay away from a 2nd hand laptop ..

rather get new that can last 3 years

gumtree has quite a few though but thought maybe we can get someething around that price or ask him to up the bduget to around 4k

 

[Pooky]

If you are looking for a new one, if you pay 3.5k there are a few options.

 

[I.am.Sam]

If you are looking for a new one, if you pay 3.5k there are a few options.

link me my friend

 

[I.am.Sam]

bump

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

bump

Based on his needs, he is most likely better off getting a tablet with an external bluetooth keyboard.

http://www.guzzle.co.za/specials/view/516683/

R999

 

[I.am.Sam]

how are those tablets ? and i think a tablet with a keyboard isnt a bad buy as well

 

[NomNom]

If you are looking for a new one, if you pay 3.5k there are a few options.

Sadly the poor rand has made things more expensive, the cheapest I saw was for R3799


Makro:





Game: (personally I would go for this one due to the 3 year warranty)

 

[Pooky]

Damn those laptops were cheaper just before Christmas. I was waiting till after for the price drops. Aaaargh

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

Damn those laptops were cheaper just before Christmas. I was waiting till after for the price drops. Aaaargh

But I don't recall them including the keyboard, so think the R1K deal is good

 

[D4N]

Damn those laptops were cheaper just before Christmas. I was waiting till after for the price drops. Aaaargh

But I don't recall them including the keyboard, so think the R1K deal is good

Anyway, what happened to netbooks?

 

[Pooky]

If your friend is still looking, Takealot have a decent special on today:

http://www.takealot.com/computers/lenovo-ideapad-g500-intel-celeron-1005m-laptop-black,29924663

Mom bought one.

 

[NomNom]

If your friend is still looking, Takealot have a decent special on today:

http://www.takealot.com/computers/lenovo-ideapad-g500-intel-celeron-1005m-laptop-black,29924663

Mom bought one.

This one is also pretty good: http://www.takealot.com/computers/lenovo-ideapad-g580-celeron-black,29926541

 

[Yotch]

@Pooky: I was recently given a secondhand Dell Latitude E6410 i5 540M similar to the models that sell on Bidorbuy for about R3000~R3500. The battery life is down to about 45 minutes but I will probably purchase a Chinese replacement for ~R250. The machine came preloaded with Windows 7 Professional and Office 2007.
http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/1303...ILTIN_3G_BTOOTH_DVD_RW_LIC_WIN_7_PRO_CAM.html
http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/1263..._DDR3_500GIG_HDD_DVD_RW_14_1_LED_WEB_CAM.html
i7 machine ...
http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/1297...GB_RAM_250_GB_Hard_Drive_NVIDIA_GRAPHICS.html
Here is the result of the online ray tracing benchmark from silver.urih.com (click on the Benchmark button - 4 threads) for comparison purposes with your new machine. A current generation i5-3337U 1.80GHz, nVidia Geforce 630M 2GB, 8GB Ram Win 8 laptop should score around P5556 (new price ~R7000-R8000).
http://mybroadband.co.za/photos/showfull.php?photo=35194
These are the HDDScan S.M.A.R.T. Results (the drive has been bumped a few times but most laptops usually have been).
http://mybroadband.co.za/photos/showfull.php?photo=35196
Comparison benchmarks with Celeron 1005M (click on the Benchmarks tab) ...
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/66..._vs_Intel_Mobile_Celeron_Dual-Core_1005M.html

 

[ponder]

The battery life is down to about 45 minutes but I will probably purchase a Chinese replacement for ~R250.

Rather have it repacked with decent cells I reckon.

 

[Yotch]

@ponder: Thanks for the suggestion. I just had another look at Akita's website. It seems that it will cost around R600 for a repack which is probably a good price for a much better quality battery. Are there any cheaper repacking options? I'm not really going to be using this laptop for any serious work and may have to donate it to another family member shortly so I am still leaning towards the cheaper option. I might even consider attempting to repack the Chinese battery myself if it doesn't last for more than a few months. I am still deciding whether the money might be better spent on a cheap tablet rather than on a good quality battery for this laptop.
http://www.akita.co.za/ComputerBatteries/default.htm

Have you bought any batteries from this Durban North company?
http://www.batteryexperts.co.za/shop/laptop-batteries/dell/results,19-18

 

[ponder]

Yotch,

There's thread here somewhere with a list of companies doing repacking. You could always buy the cells and try to repack yourself, the welding of the contacts to the cells is an issue though without the right tools.

Never used battery experts although I have phoned them before and referred another person to them.