Solved! Need advice laptop under $500 AUD

[benikens]

A friend of mine needs a laptop under $500, essentially it's for uni work/web browsing. Priorities are budget and battery life.

1. What is your budget? $500

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15"

3. What screen resolution do you want? doesn't matter

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? portable

5. How much battery life do you need? 6-8 hours

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? no

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) word processing, reading pdf's, web browsing

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? ~500gb

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. N/A

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 3 years min

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? dvd

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons. as long as its good brand doesnt matter

13. What country do you live in? Australia

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

 

[Pyree]

Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E320:

http/shopap.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/auweb/LenovoPortal/en_AU/builder.workflow:Enter?sb=%3A000000AD%3A00000479%3A&smid=4FFC389990BA9DF28C892DE12A51EB47

Select the 64 bit Window 7 Home Premium option for free. Buy it online and use coupon code BULKONE15, click apply when you check out. Price: $466.65AUD

Use the left over money for a RAM upgrade from umart or MSY.

I don't think you can get a better deal in terms of performance and quality.

 

[benikens]

With laptops can you install extra RAM without voiding the warranty? I've built PC's before an all but I don't know what you can get away with as far as laptops are concerned.

 

[Pyree]

I am pretty sure there is no sticker on the RAM slot. RAM and HDD are user serviceable components.

Even if you have to return for warranty, you can always put the old RAM back. I did that, they never noticed.

Just make sure it is put back to the same slot, because the RAM in the Lenovo only occupy 1 slot.