Need a new laptop - R8000

Zomosa

Zomosa

New member
I need a laptop for University next year and I have a budget of R8000 to work with. I never had a laptop before so I am clueless when it comes to suppliers, brands and specifications.

Wouldl like to use it for light gaming as well.

I am currently looking at something along the lines of this :

Intel® Core™ i5 2410M 2.30GHz Processor
4GB DDR3 1333MHz Memory (2x 2GB - 2 Slots)
640GB 5400RPM 2.5" SATA HDD
8x DVD Super Multi Writer
15.6" HD Ready 1366x768 LCD Widescreen
1.3 Megapixel Webcam
Intel® HM65 Express Mobile Chipset
nVidia Optimus Technology
Integrated Gigabit LAN
Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g/n @ 300Mbps
nVidia Optimus Technology: nVidia GeForce GT540M 1GB Graphics (Performance) / Intel HD Graphics 3000 (Power Saver)

The above product is from prophecy's website (just under R8000) , again I do not know if they are the cheapest/best. This is going to be my christmas present so if you guys could help me out so that I can start comparing prices and reading reviews. :)

Thank you
 
Whooops, should have added the link.

Asus K53E-SX815V 15.6" Intel Core i5-2430M 2.4GHz 4GB DDR3

Looks like it is the same one but a R100 cheaper. I will probably play games like Counter-Strike : Source and the new Counter-Strike : Global Offensive that is releasing early next year. Another thing that I want to look at is the screen on the laptop itself but these specifications are usually just limited to resolution and never state response time or contrast ratio.

I am aware of the numerous specials but they tend to focus on the standard home user that really just uses the laptop for adminstrative purposes, I am yet to see high-end laptop specials.
 
Well the Gigabyte has USB 3.0, windows 7 pro compared to home and from what I know they have a very good solid build on their laptops so I would probably go with the Gigabyte one.
Plus free delivery or you can pick it up yourself from their warehouse.
 
Have a look at Makro and Game as well, although I doubt they will sell such high end laptops. They often have laptop specials every week. Those specs are good.
 
I am in Cape Town and that price is pretty competitive. Maybe I will skip that one and buy one that is more powerful/expensive. Is that a special offer?
 
yes, its a special... specs are a bit less than the other one... will check again if theres anything similar to your specs above.
 
Really strong laptop but it only has three USB ports, one 2.0 and two 3.0, I will probably then have to buy an USB multi-plug because I am going to use wireless Internet next year (8ta) and that coupled with my headset/mouse is already three ports.

Is it possible to use a 3.0 port for a 2.0 device? I know the 2.0 device will not benefit from it but is the 3.0 port backward compatible? If I buy a USB multi-plug will that in anyway decrease the performance of the peripherals attached to the multi-plug? Then I will need ports for the printer and for the external hard drive too.
 
Zomosa said:
Really strong laptop but it only has three USB ports, one 2.0 and two 3.0, I will probably then have to buy an USB multi-plug because I am going to use wireless Internet next year (8ta) and that coupled with my headset/mouse is already three ports.

Is it possible to use a 3.0 port for a 2.0 device? I know the 2.0 device will not benefit from it but is the 3.0 port backward compatible? If I buy a USB multi-plug will that in anyway decrease the performance of the peripherals attached to the multi-plug? Then I will need ports for the printer and for the external hard drive too.
Click to expand...

yes it is backward compatible. But that is why I would recommend using the Gigabyte one as it 4 usb ports and a 640gb hdd.
 
Well I also received a pamphlet from the university and my parents do not mind forking out the extra money for an Acer Aspire 5750G. R8600

I am not sure how reliable Acer is though?
 
Zomosa said:
Well I also received a pamphlet from the university and my parents do not mind forking out the extra money for an Acer Aspire 5750G. R8600

I am not sure how reliable Acer is though?
Click to expand...

Hands down the best laptop out of the bunch and I am actually shocked at that price, pretty good.
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...tbooks/acer-aspire-5750g-956703/specification

I would say Acer is a pretty good brand, considering I only buy and use Acer Monitors :D and I have never had any issues with any of them. Easiest would be to go google and check for any issues relating to this laptop.
 
Yeah, according to the University the prices are less for students, we just need to provide our student number when we purchase a laptop. Now I just need to convince my parents that their money will not magically disappear and if we deposit the money at a bank that the suppliers will deliver the laptop. :cry:

Otherwise I will be forced to buy from a local computer hardware store. :(
 
Just keep in mind that Acer do not have local support in Cape Town. That means if it breaks, they send it to JHB and it will take approximately 3 weeks to get your laptop back. HP has support in Cape Town, though.
 
mercurial said:
Just keep in mind that Acer do not have local support in Cape Town. That means if it breaks, they send it to JHB and it will take approximately 3 weeks to get your laptop back. HP has support in Cape Town, though.
Click to expand...

Thank you will keep that in mind.

Incredible Connection, NGR Computers and Chaos Computers probably have higher prices than online stores?
 
Zomosa said:
Thank you will keep that in mind.

Incredible Connection, NGR Computers and Chaos Computers probably have higher prices than online stores?
Click to expand...


I've had 2 not so great dealings with NGR in the past, about 5 months ago they were advertising 5870's at damn good prices (like seriously insane prices) but they never seemed to have stock as in ever, even the day the special went up, then after digging a bit I found out its happened in the past. So that I really don't like. Other than that I have never heard any horror stories. I would avoid Incredibly connection like the plague.

Pm me you're contact details bud, let me see if I can one of my suppliers to ship down to you.
 
Well at the moment I will probably work through the University and go for the Acer Aspire 5750g. Jeepers, I see what you mean about Incredible Connection, that same laptop is being sold for R10 000.
 
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