Need a new laptop

Cius

Cius

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So I have been using a handmedown laptop for the last 2 years that is starting to die. Have finally scraped together some savings to get a new one. Found that I have no idea where to find good value and which brands I should go with. I want something predominantly for gaming, so looking for value for money entry level gaming machine that will last me a few years. I have between 12 and 15K to spend I would guess.

I know I like Dell machines as the work ones I have had are rock solid but I also have the impression you pay a bit of a premium for the same spec Dell laptop as opposed to say Asus.

So what brands should I be looking at, and where do you guys find have the best deals? I am not pressed for time that much so I can also wait for black monday for instance if that is when the best deals come.

Also the hardware trade offs seem to be confusing. Do you go from i5 to i7 or include that SSD? 12GB RAM instead of 8GB or a slightly better graphics card? These are the kinds of trade offs I am really not sure about. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
IMO it would be more cost effective to try get a second hand / demo laptop through FlashGear. He usually has good deals, you can find them here: https://mybroadband.co.za/vb/forumdisplay.php/172-Hardware-and-Software-Dealers

You say you'll be using it for gaming, but 12 - 15 puts you right at the bottom when it comes to laptops with a dedicated GPU.

If it were me in your position, I'd go for the best mobile GPU laptop I could find for the money, and upgrade things like RAM and add an SSD later when I have some extra cash.

Saying that, I'd find it very hard to get by using any laptop or PC without an SSD. Once you go SSD, it's difficult to go back.

15k puts you in the region of one of these (for a new laptop):

- i5 with a 1050, but less RAM than the others
- i5 with a GTX 1050
- i7 with a GTX 1050, but no OS

You can check this site to see how the 1050 compares to other GPU's, and how it is in current games.
 
mr_norris said:
You say you'll be using it for gaming, but 12 - 15 puts you right at the bottom when it comes to laptops with a dedicated GPU.
Click to expand...


^ This.

Maybe try to get a 2nd hand ROG ASUS model on Carbonite or on the local classifieds.
 
Cius said:
So I have been using a handmedown laptop for the last 2 years that is starting to die. Have finally scraped together some savings to get a new one. Found that I have no idea where to find good value and which brands I should go with. I want something predominantly for gaming, so looking for value for money entry level gaming machine that will last me a few years. I have between 12 and 15K to spend I would guess.

I know I like Dell machines as the work ones I have had are rock solid but I also have the impression you pay a bit of a premium for the same spec Dell laptop as opposed to say Asus.

So what brands should I be looking at, and where do you guys find have the best deals? I am not pressed for time that much so I can also wait for black monday for instance if that is when the best deals come.

Also the hardware trade offs seem to be confusing. Do you go from i5 to i7 or include that SSD? 12GB RAM instead of 8GB or a slightly better graphics card? These are the kinds of trade offs I am really not sure about. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Throw your money at him and take it!
https://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showth...chine-(i7-6700HQ-16GB-RAM-128GB-1TB-GTX-960M)
 
Firstly when it comes to Windows laptops, Dell and nothing else, you won't go wrong.
Secondly I can also recommend Flashgear, you can get a very good demo Dell in mint condition from him for that budget of yours. I'm not so much clued on the gaming side and exactly what you expect, but for that budget he often has i7 16 GB RAM 512 SSD machines for sale.
 
Thanks. Ordered and paid for the one linked above. Hopefully getting today or tomorrow. Thanks for all the advice people and to flashgear fo the amazing deal. So much more machine than I ever hoped to get for my budget!
 
Cius said:
Thanks. Ordered and paid for the one linked above. Hopefully getting today or tomorrow. Thanks for all the advice people and to flashgear fo the amazing deal. So much more machine than I ever hoped to get for my budget!
Click to expand...

So jealous :p enjoy the machine
 
Flashgear is the bomb, just bought a precision 5510 from him. Had never considered 2nd hand before either, but at those prices, with Dell’s onsite support, you can’t go wrong
 
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