New Notebook (R15 000) Advice

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ddk1979

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New Notebook (R15 - R16 000) Advice

I need some help purchasing a new notebook.

I still have my HP Pavilion dv5284ea laptop I bought 11 years ago and I have NEVER had any problem with it - it's still running Windows XP SP3.
 
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My company just bought the Lenovo IdeaPad Z5170 (80K600YJSA) for me from Weable, R 12 495 inc delivery. It's 15k at LaptopDirect.

Lenovo IdeaPad Notebook Z51-70

I ordered an SSD from FirstShop and getting PartServe to install it (so I dont lose the warranty). It's a HUGE mission to change anything. They have to remove the keyboard and the whole back cover to get to the HDD and RAM. I watched a video on Youtube.
 
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ddk1979 said:
I need some help purchasing a new notebook.

I still have my HP Pavilion dv5284ea laptop I bought 11 years ago and I have NEVER had any problem with it - it's still running Windows XP SP3.

See webpages below for all the great features and that is for an 11 year old machine. (I upgraded it to 2GB RAM and it came standard with all the “on select models” features.)
1. http://support.hp.com/bg-en/document/c00726565
2. http://support.hp.com/us-en/product...ebook-PC-series/1831955/model/3223579/manuals - see either of the first 2 manuals

I never really appreciated the great features it had for that time (2005), especially the PC card slots and. EXTENSIVE ports until I started looking for a new laptop.

By now you have probably worked out my first problem with the latest notebooks – so few expansion features and ports compared to my old machine.

I will be doing EXTENSIVE research on the web, downloading multiple files, streaming video, multiple web pages and spreadsheets all open at the time, some photo editing, PowerPoint presentations using data projector and then normal leisure usage, e.g. watching movies, listening to music daily while I work (at home). I am NOT into gaming.

I was thinking of a notebook with AT LEAST the following specs:
1. FHD 15.6” screen (1920x1080)
2. Either an Intel i5 or i7 CPU - fifth or sixth generation
3. At least 8GB RAM, preferably 1 x 8192 DDR3L 1600 so that it can be easily upgraded with another 1 x 8192 to 16GB.
4. 500-1000GB HDD, preferably 7200rpm
5. DVD+/-RW Optical disk drive
6. HD webcam (720p)
7. Ports - 1 x HDMI,
- 1 x D-sub VGA out (for my data projector),
- at LEAST 2 x USB 3.0
- and 1 x USB 2.0,
(ABSOLUTE minimum 3 USB ports total, preferably 4)
- 1 x RJ45 Ethernet LAN,
- 1 x Headphone/Microphone Combo Jack,
8. Bluetooth / 802.11ac wireless LAN

My ADSL seems to go down when I need it the most (only about 2-3 times a year but extremely irritating) and I then use the RJ-11 (modem) jack to do a dial-up connection. So it would be great if I could somehow include that as well, as it is my current backup when all else fails even though it is sooooo slow – better than nothing at all.

My web searches have led me to the following:

1. Lenovo Idea Tab Z5170 (Product ID - 80K600X6SA)
http://www.laptopdirect.co.za/Lenovo-LENOVO-Z5170-80K600X6SA-lp-132980.php

2. HP ProBook 450 G2 (Product ID - N0Z05EA)
http://www.laptopdirect.co.za/HP-N0Z05EA-lp-131696.php

3. Acer TravelMate P257-MG-767S (Product ID - NX.VB6EA.003)
http://www.acer.com/ac/en/ZA/content/professional-model/NX.VB6EA.003

4. Acer Travelmate P257-MG (Product ID - TMP257-MG-55UG)
http://www.laptopdirect.co.za/Acer-ACER-TMP257-MG-55UG-lp-136948.php

5. I could not find Asus or Dell with the specs I am looking for, although there are HD (1366 x 768) options, e.g. Dell Inspiron 5559 (iS5559-I76500-81000#WIN10 or NBDEI55596200i74110S).

So please,
(a) Your advice on the 5 options above (Lenovo and HP seem best to me regarding the specs I have mentioned).
(b) Any other options I can look at around R15 - R16 000
(c) I've heard that Acer and Asus have pulled out of SA ???
(d) Also, your opinion regarding the RJ-11 (modem) jack issue mentioned above.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Check out the Lenovo Y5070 from Evetech.co.za
 
ddk1979 said:
So please,
(a) Your advice on the 5 options above (Lenovo and HP seem best to me regarding the specs I have mentioned).
(b) Any other options I can look at around R15 - R16 000
(c) I've heard that Acer and Asus have pulled out of SA ???
(d) Also, your opinion regarding the RJ-11 (modem) jack issue mentioned above.
Click to expand...

A) Out of the options you've listed, the Lenovo Z5170 has a good setup and a backlit keyboard, which I think is crucial for a work laptop that's going to be moving around with you. Battery life won't be as good as other options because Intel and AMD graphics switching is kind of meh, and driver support is also still kind of meh in this regard, but constantly improving. The Travelmate is a good option as well, though I don't know if you need or want the fingerprint reader on the Probook 450 (it does support Windows Hello, apparently).

Cheaper price on the Probook 450: http://raru.co.za/electronics/3039518-hp-450-g2-probook-i7-5500u-8gb-ram-1tb-hdd-15-6-inch-notebook

B) I'll list some alternatives below.

C) Not true. Acer has a locally staffed repair centre and they're doing great work in improving customer service, and ASUS has the same as well, located in Johannesburg. MSI is also taking the same steps to improving their after-sales service, so they're also a brand you can look at.

D) Use a USB modem, or internet connection sharing via your old Pavilion. It's not ideal, but few people use dial-up, if ever. 3G/HSDPA and EDGE has become a more robust backup solution if your landline is borked.

Alternative options:

Lenovo Y5070 @ R15,999 (good all-rounder, proper quad-core)

Acer Aspire F5-572 @ R15,158 (Skylake, has an open M.2 SATA port for SSD upgrades)

Dell Latitude 3550 @ R14,999 (matte IPS, backlit keyboard, best warranty, heat vents out underneath the laptop though, no M.2 support)

And then the obligatory Macbook link. It's not in the same league as the other notebooks here but hey, why not, these things literally last you years, and the MD101 is the last fully upgradeable Macbook.
 
$m@Rt@$$ said:
Check out the Lenovo Y5070 from Evetech.co.za
Click to expand...

Looks like a great deal with all the free stuff - FREE EXTERNAL DVD WRITER / FREE Lenovo Gaming Backpack / FREE Gaming Mousepad
Appears to be a real gaming laptop.

But, should I be buying 4th gen cpu when we already have 6th gen (skylake) processors on the market ???
Also, no VGA port
 
CataclysmZA said:
A) Alternative options:

Lenovo Y5070 @ R15,999 (good all-rounder, proper quad-core)

Acer Aspire F5-572 @ R15,158 (Skylake, has an open M.2 SATA port for SSD upgrades)

Dell Latitude 3550 @ R14,999 (matte IPS, backlit keyboard, best warranty, heat vents out underneath the laptop though, no M.2 support)

And then the obligatory Macbook link. It's not in the same league as the other notebooks here but hey, why not, these things literally last you years, and the MD101 is the last fully upgradeable Macbook.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the info - definitely food for thought - MUCH APPRECIATED
 
ddk1979 said:
But, should I be buying 4th gen cpu when we already have 6th gen (skylake) processors on the market ???
Click to expand...

The answer to this depends if you needed Skylake in the first place for something specifically. Battery life on Haswell notebooks is already pretty decent, and the drivers are by now very mature and stable. A lot of older notebooks based on Haswell are also cheaper, and a lot of brands are dumping the quad-core options at relatively low prices, which is why Lenovo is still churning out Y5070s into the market. I can tell you that web browsing on Skylake is smoother, though.
 
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