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Help me spend my money wisely!

Lilith

Hey guys I'm new to the forum! This is my first thread.  :)

 

So I'm deciding to buy a laptop or tablet to use for the following (please read everything before commenting):

- Inclass at school

- Write notes for subjects

- Music

- Movies

- Low-end graphic games such as Counter-Strike & Garry's Mod

- Take over friends houses to use for the day

 

I will not be using my laptop/tablet to play anything with intense high graphics.

Please pick one of the following and give me some feedback on which I should buy 

I am going to buy one of the following during the time or shortly after Christmas and hoping to claim Student Tax Returns on it in hope of getting close to 50% cash back in July next year (end of financial year)

Also if you want to, you could suggest another laptop/tablet for me (tell me why you suggested it) although I would prefer the below:

 

1) Acer Aspire S7-329 ($1700-$1900) (Ultrabook)

Specs: 13" Screen, Windows 8, 4th Gen Intel Core i5 Processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage

 

2) Acer Aspire S7-329 ($2000-$2100) (Ultrabook)

Specs: 13" Screen, Windows 8, 4th Gen Intel Core i7 Processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage

 

3) Surface Pro 2 ($1120 all together, $900 for the 64GB SSD version, although I'm going to upgrade to 128GB SSD for an extra $100 + the Type Cover which is a keyboard for the tablet which is + $120)

Specs: 128GB SSD but this leaves me with 97GB due to Windows 8 taking up space, 1920x1090 Resolution, 4GB RAM, Windows 8

 

The reason I like the Acer is because it's very thin, I love the design of simplicity and I feel I'm getting my moneys worth. Also please note that I will be claiming tax returns on this and purchasing it during or after the time of Christmas this year so the price may vary from now.

Let me know what you think, thank you! Also, do you think any of these items could run Skyrim?   :)  ;)  :P

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Ah, spend your money wisely huh? Get an alienware and quad titans

 

- Welcome to the forum

#LinusKitchenTips /// "Better than useless" - Linus Sebastian

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Ah, spend your money wisely huh? Get an alienware and quad titans

 

- Welcome to the forum

 

I would rather prefer something more simpler, like the Acer Aspire S7 design. Maybe even a Mac, but I feel as Macs are way to overpriced for what I'm getting. Also it's incompatibility with alot of things. & Don't judge me too much  :lol:, I'm not the wisest person when it comes to technology.

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I'd go with the highest spec laptop you can find. And in the case of some ultrabooks, they can act as tablets but usually have better I/O and battery life because of all the extra space.

I wouldn't run skyrim on intel integrated graphics. xD

My PC CPU: 2600K@4.5GHz 1.3v Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P SE2 MB: ASUS Maximus IV RAM: Kingston 1600MHz 8GB & Corsair 1600MHz 16GB GPU: 780Ti Storage: Samsung 850 Evo 500GB SSD, Samsung 830 256GB SSD, Kingston 128GB SSD, WD Black 1TB,WD Green 1TB. PSU: Corsair AX850 Case: CM HAF X. Optical drive: LG Bluray burner  MacBook Pro, Hackintosh

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If you want more indepth I have a review/overview about the Acer Aspire S7 in my sig. I have the i7 model and been using it almost every day. If you need anymore clarification or question about it just ask. I haven't tried gaming on it ( since this is for school work only) but I think that it would be able to play CSS and Garry's mod no problem. But don't think skyrim would be that great in performance.

 

 

 

Ah, spend your money wisely huh? Get an alienware and quad titans

 

- Welcome to the forum

Really?

CPU: Intel core i5 3570 Motherboard: Gigabyte-H77-DS3H Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB  GPU: MSI Radeon HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Cooler: CM Hyper 212 Evo RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB  PSU: Seasonic G Series 550W

 

Acer Aspire S7 Overview Sennheiser PC360

 

 

 

 

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Apple Macbook Pro 13" with Retina Display and student discount ....

 

.... no joke

 

 

why?

- better performance

- better gpu

- better casing

- better display

- better battery life

 

why not?

- a little bit heavier than the S7

- OS X ( if you don't like it)

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Apple Macbook Pro 13" with Retina Display and student discount ....

 

.... no joke

Agreed on this. Apple does some good stuff. Maybe even a 15" with GT 750M.

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Miscellaneous: Dell Optiplex 7060 Micro (i5-8500T/16GB/512GB), Lenovo ThinkCentre M715q Tiny (R5 2400GE/16GB/256GB), Dell Optiplex 7040 SFF (i5-6400/8GB/128GB)

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I would rather prefer something more simpler, like the Acer Aspire S7 design. Maybe even a Mac, but I feel as Macs are way to overpriced for what I'm getting. Also it's incompatibility with alot of things. & Don't judge me to much  :lol:, I'm not the wisest person when it comes to technology.

sorry, it was a bad joke. please dont buy alienware

#LinusKitchenTips /// "Better than useless" - Linus Sebastian

LTT Holy bible: Code Of Conduct

Project Toaster [My Silver NCASE M1 V2 Build-log] 

Main Rig
 Case: Fractal Design Define R5 CPU: INTEL 
i5 3570k Cooler: CM Hyper 212 Evo Mobo: Maximus V Gene Z77 GPU: Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming (w/ 0% fan mode) RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum 2x8GB 1600mHz Storage: OCZ VERTEX 4 256GB PSU: Corsair AX860 Monitor: ASUS PB278Q 1440p 27" Headphones: QPAD QH-90 Laptop
Macbook Pro Retina 13" i5 256Gb Early 2015
Phone
Oneplus One 64GB Sandstone Black
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If you want more indepth I have a review/overview about the Acer Aspire S7 in my sig. I have the i7 model and been using it almost every day. If you need anymore clarification or question about it just ask. I haven't tried gaming on it ( since this is for school work only) but I think that it would be able to play CSS and Garry's mod no problem. But don't think skyrim would be that great in performance.

 

 

 

Really?

 

Hey thanks alot! Your review did help me. Although I have some questions: How long does the battery usually last you during the day? Like from the 1st class to the 2nd class, etc, to the end of the day? Also, you spoke about the backlight not turning on straight away for the keys and when it is turned on you don't need it anymore. Is there anyway to have the key backlight permanently on or turn it on manually?

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Apple Macbook Pro 13" with Retina Display and student discount ....

 

.... no joke

 

 

why?

- better performance

- better gpu

- better casing

- better display

- better battery life

 

why note?

- a little bit heavier than the S7

- OS X ( if you don't like it)

- the price to performance ratio

#LinusKitchenTips /// "Better than useless" - Linus Sebastian

LTT Holy bible: Code Of Conduct

Project Toaster [My Silver NCASE M1 V2 Build-log] 

Main Rig
 Case: Fractal Design Define R5 CPU: INTEL 
i5 3570k Cooler: CM Hyper 212 Evo Mobo: Maximus V Gene Z77 GPU: Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming (w/ 0% fan mode) RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum 2x8GB 1600mHz Storage: OCZ VERTEX 4 256GB PSU: Corsair AX860 Monitor: ASUS PB278Q 1440p 27" Headphones: QPAD QH-90 Laptop
Macbook Pro Retina 13" i5 256Gb Early 2015
Phone
Oneplus One 64GB Sandstone Black
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Hey thanks alot! Your review did help me. Although I have some questions: How long does the battery usually last you during the day? Like from the 1st class to the 2nd class, etc, to the end of the day? Also, you spoke about the backlight not turning on straight away for the keys and when it is turned on you don't need it anymore. Is there anyway to have the key backlight permanently on or turn it on manually?

I didn't judge it from class to class but from the beginning of the day to the end of the day it still has ~50% battery left on my heavy computer day. Also the back light on the keyboard for some reason has become more responsive that when I first got it. It actually lights up faster than before and it is very helpful and it has a nice blue-green hue on it. I usually have they backlight off but when the teacher turns off the light or it's dark it actually turns on the backlight automatically which is really nice.

CPU: Intel core i5 3570 Motherboard: Gigabyte-H77-DS3H Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB  GPU: MSI Radeon HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Cooler: CM Hyper 212 Evo RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB  PSU: Seasonic G Series 550W

 

Acer Aspire S7 Overview Sennheiser PC360

 

 

 

 

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Please dont get acer,their quality is bad.Owned an aspire and SX and they are really bad.

The best bang for buck imo will be the Lenovo Y series with an i7 Quad Core processor.Also slap a Samsung 840 EVO 1TB and you get a mini powerhouse.

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macbook pro would be great. If your budget will allow they are really good for more professional types of things, and the performance is really great. With new haswell cpu's in them now they are a great buy.

This is my opinion, it doesn't mean I'm right and is liable to change at any time. I may offend of which I apologize in advance.


(Our lord and savior: GabeN)

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Apple Macbook Pro 13" with Retina Display and student discount ....

 

.... no joke

 

 

why?

- better performance

- better gpu

- better casing

- better display

- better battery life

 

why note?

- a little bit heavier than the S7

- OS X ( if you don't like

but you can always install windows with bootcamp  ;)

"You can get more of what you want with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word." -- Al Capone.

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What if I told you everything was 50% off, which would you recommend?

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Please dont get acer,their quality is bad.Owned an aspire and SX and they are really bad.

The best bang for buck imo will be the Lenovo Y series with an i7 Quad Core processor.Also slap a Samsung 840 EVO 1TB and you get a mini powerhouse.

 

I checked out the Lenovo, not my liking but thankyou for the suggestion.

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I'm honestly looking for a fast, thin and portable laptop to do work with & general activities such as music & movies. I will definitely consider adding Macs to the list.

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I wouldn't recommend any Mac if you plan to use solely Windows ;)

 

Yes I would prefer using Windows.

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I'm honestly looking for a fast, thin and portable laptop to do work with & general activities such as music & movies. I will definitely consider adding Macs to the list.

Then the larger inch MacBook Pro.And a 840 EVO 1TB Upgrade.

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Please dont get acer,their quality is bad.Owned an aspire

Which Aspire?

CPU: Intel core i5 3570 Motherboard: Gigabyte-H77-DS3H Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB  GPU: MSI Radeon HD 7950 Twin Frozr III Cooler: CM Hyper 212 Evo RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB  PSU: Seasonic G Series 550W

 

Acer Aspire S7 Overview Sennheiser PC360

 

 

 

 

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Which Aspire?

Embarrassing to say,but it is the SA90 Pentium D with 512MB RAM runnin Vista.It is thrown already.

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-puts hand up-

Scuse me but I had a graphics card blow up because Garrys mod was to much. As you get to bigger "inventions" it will eat at your gpu.

Have a look at some APUs lappys an amd a8 or a10 would suffice.

That is all.

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What is your budget.  You listed some prices but how much would you LIKE to spend, and how much are you WILLING to spend?

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