Laptop with SSD under 1000$?

By Andre S.
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Grand Master

Andre S. Veteran

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Hi, first of all I'm buying in Canada! I'm looking for a laptop between 13" and 15" with the following requirements:

 

 - SSD >= 128GB

 - Resolution >= 1600x900

 - CPU at least as fast as an AMD Piledriver quad-core (i.e. A6 APUs for instance)

 - RAM >= 4GB

 - SD card reader

 

An ethernet port, and a DVD drive is a plus.

 

Looked at Dell and Lenovo so far, apparently SSDs are a luxury and only available on models above 1000$... Looking for something under that if possible. Thanks for the help.

 

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Grand Master

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surface pro. get the type cover.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/microsoft-surface-pro-with-128gb-memory/7952262.p?id=1218862422867&skuId=7952262

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/type-cover-for-surface/7411094.p?id=1218843725254&skuId=7411094&st=surface%20pro%20type%20cover&cp=1&lp=1

 

 

Usb ethernet port is easy to get, dvd drive easy as well. built in sd card reader. 

 

Other than that have you thought about a ultrabook?

http://www.amazon.com/ThinkPad-3444G7U-Ultrabook-i5-3337U-Processor/dp/B00BFFE7P8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1385608506&sr=8-4&keywords=x1+carbon

 

I don't know how these rate against the amd processor.

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primexx

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Surface Pro is always a good choice. If you're getting a conventional machine for the love of god don't buy one that comes with an SSD. Buy the cheapest hard drive option they have and buy your own SSD separately then swap it in yourself. Much higher quality drive for lower price than the OEM's.

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Praetor

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Surface Pro is always a good choice. If you're getting a conventional machine for the love of god don't buy one that comes with an SSD. Buy the cheapest hard drive option they have and buy your own SSD separately then swap it in yourself. Much higher quality drive for lower price than the OEM's.

 

yeah, that can be cheaper than getting an laptop with an SSD. also +1 for the Surface Pro.

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snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member

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Don't let the the SSD be the deciding factor here! Just buy it separately instead. I think you'll be able find a laptop within your spec range for a price $800 or lower if you do that

 

EDIT: Sorry, I just noticed other people said the same thing. Do it!

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COKid

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Don't let the the SSD be the deciding factor here! Just buy it separately instead. I think you'll be able find a laptop within your spec range for a price $800 or lower if you do that

 

 

Spot on. I spent about $700 on my laptop and upped the RAM to 16GB and the hard drive to a 240GB SSD. The drives can be had for about $150 US. I don't know the current exchange rate to Canada, however.

 

Everyone has their brand of choice for drives, but here's the one I bought:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/418182/530_Series_SSDSC2BW240A4K5_240GB_SATA_60Gb-s_25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_(SSD)

 

Have fun shopping for your new system!

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snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member

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Spot on. I spent about $700 on my laptop and upped the RAM to 16GB and the hard drive to a 240GB SSD. The drives can be had for about $150.

 

Everyone has their brand of choice, but here's the one I bought:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/418182/530_Series_SSDSC2BW240A4K5_240GB_SATA_60Gb-s_25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_(SSD)

 

I keep thinking about purchasing that because my 120GB 530 is filled up on my desktop... and everyone here keeps posting that deal today!

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Grand Master

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apparently SSDs are a luxury and only available on models above 1000$

 

You are absolutely right. I was in the same shoes.

 

imho, your best bet is to get the best deal on a laptop you want and then upgrade to SSD by yourself by purchasing it separately.

 

A few months ago I did just that. I bought a 17" Dell Inspiron laptop for around $550 and threw away its HDD as soon as I received it :)

 

You'll spend less than $1000 this way and you'll get to choose the SSD you want without paying a huge markup on it :)

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primexx

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Spot on. I spent about $700 on my laptop and upped the RAM to 16GB and the hard drive to a 240GB SSD. The drives can be had for about $150 US. I don't know the current exchange rate to Canada, however.

 

Everyone has their brand of choice for drives, but here's the one I bought:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/418182/530_Series_SSDSC2BW240A4K5_240GB_SATA_60Gb-s_25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_(SSD)

 

Have fun shopping for your new system!

 

I'd suggest the Samsung 840 Pro. Intel currently has the premium price but doesn't have the hardware to justify it. Once they put their new in-house controller onto consumer drives I would jump straight back to recommending Intel. Samsung's early drives were pretty shoddy but their 830 and now 840 drives have taken over as the most reliable (and very good performing too) ever since Intel switched to sandforce.

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T3X4S

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FWIW - A friend just bought an IdeaPad P500 that was from Lenovo's factory for $400.  (core i5 Ivy, 6GB, 750GB) - then paid another $100 for SSD 120GB.
So for $500 he has a nice laptop.

I would think a factory refurb could get you into something nice, well below $1000.  Then again, if you are looking @ $1000 range, you probably arent interested in anything but new.

A ThinkPad T-430 with SSD will cost you about $1500 - a refurb T420 with SSD will cost you about $500...

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Gary2MBz

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Another vote on getting a machine with a mechanical drive with met/exceeded specs to those you posted above. I got a Samsung 840 EVO fairly recently for my rig and the difference even without the "Magician" software Turbo mode, it feels snappier than the Crucial m4 SSD it replaces. You'll save plenty of $$$ and use some of it for a more powerful solid state than something the machine would ship with.

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Wannes

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I actually did the same to my 3-year old laptop. I threw out the normal old HDD and replaced it with an SSD. The memory got an upgrade to and now everything runs smoother then ever before.

 

PS. I see a lot of people recommending a Surface Pro. Is it that good of a laptop replacement for text processing and apps? 

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Grand Master

Andre S. Veteran

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That's an interesting thought, replacing the hard drive. Can you do it with any ordinary laptop? Can you just use any desktop SSD in there or do you need a special SSD?

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sc302 Veteran

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I haven't seen a ssd 3.5" only 2.5". That being said, laptop drives are 2.5" and they have a sata interface. So a ssd drive will fit into a laptop just fine, there is no difference between laptop and desktop on a ssd drive. Some laptops have a disk drive bay easily accessible others require a bit more disassembly

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snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member

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That's an interesting thought, replacing the hard drive. Can you do it with any ordinary laptop? Can you just use any desktop SSD in there or do you need a special SSD?

 

Yup, SSDs are 2.5" form factor and use standard sata so you can plug em into a laptop (or you use a 3.5" mounting bracket for ATX cases).

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_dandy_

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That's an interesting thought, replacing the hard drive. Can you do it with any ordinary laptop? Can you just use any desktop SSD in there or do you need a special SSD?

 

A 2.5" SSD drive with a SATA interface is all you need.  They're all the same.

 

Unless your laptop is so old it's got an IDE interface.  I'm still seeing some floating around.  :-)  There's no helping those...

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Arachno 1D

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You would also need to check the hard drive height fitted to the laptop as some are thinner than others.As to fitting one instead of the standard drive it will extend the battery life of the system due to less current draw.

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Gary2MBz

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But you do need to be careful because some laptops are starting to emulate Apple by removing the hard drive bay cover. Mostly ultrabooks I think

This x1000000000000 ! Be sure that you have drive access on the machine prior to ordering as a result of this.

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Grand Master

sc302 Veteran

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Ultra books are not what I would consider laptops. They are not upgradeable. the ones I have do not seem to be user accessible. There are two screws that cannot be removed with normal tools.

On normal laptops, they may not have a drive bay that is easily accessible but you can access it by taking out the keyboard and/or mouse pad.

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