Poly Laptop

[zeblues]

Looking for laptop for my son as he going poly this year. Recommended laptops for Poly 2020? Should get from the Poly vendor or buy outside myself? Anyone buy Asus from poly before? Is the warranty ok?
Currently they selling the Asus S412 with i7. Processor and 12gb RAM, 256gb ssd + 1Tb HDD. Price is $1500. WOndering is it a good deal? But seems to be old model, cant find it on Asus website?

 

[trenzterra]

The Asus you quoted seems like a very entry model for a very high price.

I would also not consider any laptop without USB-C power delivery support these days. Power delivery means you can potentially charge your laptop using a mobile power bank. Really convenient when doing long projects etc and you don't have access to a power supply nearby. Unfortunately, despite how aesthetic looking many of the Asus laptops are, none of their current laptops support USB Power Delivery.

Can consider some of Lenovo's ThinkPad options on their website now. AMD models are quite cheap right now and they have power delivery support on all ThinkPad devices

Alternatively, can consider the Acer Swift 3, which is an entry level model with lots of features. 1.2k and you get Thunderbolt 3 support, 1TB SSD and 8GB RAM. You also get the latest Wifi6 support which may come in useful if the laptop is meant to be used over the long term.

Can also look at the recent Dells which support Power Delivery. The Inspiron 7000 series seem quite good, it has a Full HD screen with 100% sRGB (meaning that the colours are better), thunderbolt 3 and 16gb ram. The LG older models are also currently clearing stock and you should be able to get a good price.

HP envy x360 (Ryzen processor) also quite a good option, it comes with pen support.

I recommend either Best Denki, courts or Harvey Norman. Compared to Challenger, usually, if it's an older model, you can try to negotiate with them for a better price (eg 150, 200 off). I will tell them, don't need to give me the free gifts, just give me a discount off the price. I also won't get their extended warranty.

Warranty wise, I think both Lenovo and Dell offer on-site warranty upgrade options on higher end models, with the possibility for accidental damage protection. This means, even if you drop the laptop and it spoils, or you spill coffee on your keyboard, you will be covered under warranty. I don't think the other brands offer this in Singapore right now.

 

[trenzterra]

Forgot to add, Dell also has some offers right now on their website. You can contact their sales agent and negotiate for further discount and accidental damage protection from them based on my experience.

Challenger is having some sale on 5th March, might also want to look out for them.

 

[gilcrest]

Anyone had a child in Ngee Ann recently whom required Win base laptops. I am not sure what programs they run but currently have a Macbook and not sure if Parallel is sufficent rather than buying a new system just for the course.

 

[Anything_Whatever]

Anyone had a child in Ngee Ann recently whom required Win base laptops. I am not sure what programs they run but currently have a Macbook and not sure if Parallel is sufficent rather than buying a new system just for the course.

Poly don’t recommend Apple OS. Yeah if you die die want to use Apple laptops, you have to run Parallel ...
however do take note of the hardware requirements such as minimum 8gb ram, storage and for some courses, they might state the minimum GPUs requirements as well.

You can actually find these information from Ngee Ann Poly website.

For Apple laptops, I only know of one school using it.... RGS

 

[gilcrest]

Thank you! Very insightful

Poly don’t recommend Apple OS. Yeah if you die die want to use Apple laptops, you have to run Parallel ...
however do take note of the hardware requirements such as minimum 8gb ram, storage and for some courses, they might state the minimum GPUs requirements as well.

You can actually find these information from Ngee Ann Poly website.

For Apple laptops, I only know of one school using it.... RGS

 

[tutonic]

Just get a Lenovo E495. Fully decked out in specs + 3 years on site warranty (meaning they come down to your house to fix, not you go send to service centre) costs under 1.5k..

 

[Cryophoenix]

Weight is probably the most important factor if he will be bringing to school daily, can consider ultrabooks such as Swift 5, Zenbook, XPS13, HP Envy.

 

[Anything_Whatever]

Just get a Lenovo E495. Fully decked out in specs + 3 years on site warranty (meaning they come down to your house to fix, not you go send to service centre) costs under 1.5k..

Hahaha... on-site warranty...

Sounds beautiful but my experience is ... it never seem to fix ... not really a reliable solution.
Either end up ... either temporary fix or the service engineer need to bring back the notebook for repair/parts replacement.

Ps note - I will agree that Lenovo service is reasonably good and the follow up is there and quite responsive though.

 

[zeblues]

Idk though, currently considering dell and Lenovo. Also seeing the poly vendor models but have mixed feeling about their models and warranty. As it seems to be old model. Anyone familiar with Asus here? The S412 is it old model? Can’t seem to find the specs for it on Asus website

 

[bitsoffish]

ThinkPad T495s

 

[tutonic]

Hahaha... on-site warranty...

Sounds beautiful but my experience is ... it never seem to fix ... not really a reliable solution.
Either end up ... either temporary fix or the service engineer need to bring back the notebook for repair/parts replacement.

That might be true to some degree, but at least you don't need to travel to service centre to drop off and pick up.

To OP: The Lenovo E495 is about 1.75kg (decently light, but not as light as those expensive ultrabook ah).

Specs-wise, Ryzen 5 3500U, 16GB (8+8) ram, 1 TB SSD + 256GB SSD, with the 1080p screen + 60W USB-C fast charger & 3 years on-site warranty comes up to $999.14 on Lenovo official website after the website discounts. And still can earn 5% cashback on that, so total only around $950 bucks, and you'll have peace of mind, 3 years no need worry if laptop spoilt or whatever.

EDIT: If you were to go for T495 instead, then similar specs will run you about $1385.50 on Lenovo official store. This one is more expensive than E495 since it's slightly lighter at 1.5kg approximately.

Moral of the story is basically, these 2 models are ridiculously cheap for the specs and peace of mind.

 

[Anything_Whatever]

Idk though, currently considering dell and Lenovo. Also seeing the poly vendor models but have mixed feeling about their models and warranty. As it seems to be old model. Anyone familiar with Asus here? The S412 is it old model? Can’t seem to find the specs for it on Asus website

Don’t look at the link provided in the poly website.... those are pretty outdated exclusive models... some of them yr2018 models.

I understand poly will have coming IT roadshow on 24-March (this is what I saw in SPICE) where you will probably see newer models.

Anyway you can visit Dell or Lenovo direct websites for student packages.

 

[zeblues]

Would prefer something with an i5 or i7. Budget around less than 1.5k

That might be true to some degree, but at least you don't need to travel to service centre to drop off and pick up.

To OP: The Lenovo E495 is about 1.75kg (decently light, but not as light as those expensive ultrabook ah).

Specs-wise, Ryzen 5 3500U, 16GB (8+8) ram, 1 TB SSD + 256GB SSD, with the 1080p screen + 60W USB-C fast charger & 3 years on-site warranty comes up to $999.14 on Lenovo official website after the website discounts. And still can earn 5% cashback on that, so total only around $950 bucks, and you'll have peace of mind, 3 years no need worry if laptop spoilt or whatever.

 

[tutonic]

Would prefer something with an i5 or i7. Budget around less than 1.5k

Why would you want an i5 or i7? The newer Ryzen AMDs are more power efficient and significantly cheaper. Also, regardless of whatever you end up purchasing, don't waste money get i7. The newer gen processors (8th gen onwards) all got same core count for i5 and i7, so in a laptop setting, no discernible difference between i5 and i7 in daily use. Most manufacturers only lock 16gb ram option behind i7, so they force you to get it instead of the cheaper and equally capable i5.


Reposting from below, and also to correct a previous error.

EDIT: If you were to go for T495 instead, then similar specs will run you about $1385.50 on Lenovo official store. This one is more expensive than E495 since it's slightly lighter at 1.5kg approximately.

Moral of the story is basically, these 2 models are ridiculously cheap for the specs and peace of mind.

Basically, no reason to get T495. Just go for T495s instead. I misread bitsoffish's comment. T495s is only 1.3kg, so it's more or less as light as any other thin and light ultrabook out there.

A similarly spec-ed T495s costs around the same, at about 1.4k so it's a much better buy than T495. So basically, if you wanna save money, get E495. If you willing to spend close to 1.5k, then T495s is your best bet.

 

[zeblues]

Oh I see. No lah it’s cos I saw the minimum requirement stated for the course as i5 and above

Why would you want an i5 or i7? The newer Ryzen AMDs are more power efficient and significantly cheaper. Also, regardless of whatever you end up purchasing, don't waste money get i7. The newer gen processors (8th gen onwards) all got same core count for i5 and i7, so in a laptop setting, no discernible difference between i5 and i7 in daily use. Most manufacturers only lock 16gb ram option behind i7, so they force you to get it instead of the cheaper and equally capable i5.

 

[tutonic]

Oh I see. No lah it’s cos I saw the minimum requirement stated for the course as i5 and above

That's because Intel is the more mainstream processor, so course requirements all usually state in Intel processors, but Ryzen 5 are equivalent to i5, and Ryzen 7 are equivalent to i7 (for the layman non-computer enthusiast to understand better). Look at my previous post below, since I edited and added in some extra info.

 

[zeblues]

Thank you so much for your help!

That's because Intel is the more mainstream processor, so course requirements all usually state in Intel processors, but Ryzen 5 are equivalent to i5, and Ryzen 7 are equivalent to i7 (for the layman non-computer enthusiast to understand better). Look at my previous post below, since I edited and added in some extra info.

 

[tutonic]

Thank you so much for your help!

If you do decide to go with the T495S, then on the lenovo website for T495s, select the Build Your Own. Then select these options:

AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
Windows 10 Home 64
16GB DDR4 2666MHz Onboard
512GB SSD
14.0" FHD (1920 x 1080), IPS, Anti-Glare, 300nits, Multi-touch (no point get the highest option display since that one will come with an front camera that cannot be hidden by a shutter)
ThinkPad Precision Backlit Keyboard Black English with Fingerprint Reader
720P HD Camera with Mic
65W AC Adapter (3pin)-UK (USB Type C)


After that, go to the Warranty Tab on the top, click it and Select 3 year on-site for $72.50.

Total will be $1,423.22 before the 5% cashback through ShopBack app (if you have either the app or the browser extension)

Recommend you order ASAP if you decide to go with this one, as the laptop is made-to-order, so it'll take 6-8 weeks to be delivered.

 

[Anything_Whatever]

Let me throw in the spanner ....

You are buying for your son... have you discuss with your son and is he comfortable with your choice considering that he will be the one using it for next 2 years?

Me and my wife was actually considering Lenovo too but end up buying him Aftershock Vapor 15....