PC reviews
Here are new desktop PCs sold in Sydney shops. For the comparison, similar configurations were selected. Speeds are by PassMark benchmarks software. It seems HP offers better deals at the moment.
| model | CPU speed | disk | memory | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo IdeaCentre 3 Tower Athlon | 3151 | 512 GB SSD | 8GB | 597 |
| Lenovo IdeaCentre 3 Core i5 | 12377 | 825 | ||
| HP Pavilion TP01-2005a Core i7 | 21135 | 16GB | 1300 | |
| Lenovo V50s customised | 17230 | 1700 | ||
| Acer Aspire TC-1660 | 17508 | 8GB | 999 | |
| MSI Cubi 5 10M-035BAU Core i5 | 6750 | 897 | ||
| HP Slim S01-aF0134z | 4119 | 256 GB SSD | 400 | |
| Dell Inspiron Compact | 17508 | 1249 |
You can save on a performance or gaming PC from a local computer guy. The price of the brand PCs with a faster i7 CPU exceeds the cost of OEM parts up to $500. For example, the i7 CPU as a part is only $230 more expensive than a i5, but a popular brand PC based on i7 is $800 more expensive than i5 of the same brand. Why? Gaming PCs are not the best seller. Brands need to assemble the PC as you order. Hence extra costs.
PC for sale
Here are PC configurations we offer. Note gaming PCs have a graphics card, while none of the ones mentioned above do.
| model | CPU speed | GPU speed | disk | memory | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office i5 | 12300 | 1300 | 500GB SSD | 8GB ram | 880 |
| Intel i7 + GeForce GTX | 32000 | 13000 | 1Tb SSD | 16GB ram | 1630 |
| AMD 5600X + Radeon | 22000 | 9000 |
Surprisingly, AMD is slower for the same price or more expensive for the same speed. Even more, popular mid range AMD Radeon graphics are faster in G2D performance - 900 via 650 benchmark. 2D performance is more important in Office applications and usualy overlooked.
You may save even more on a refurbished PC. Although you have to know what you are buying. Computers have not changed much for the last five years. A used PC with an upgraded disk and a new operating system is just as good as a brand new one. Manly Electronics also sells factory seconds PCs. Those PCs were assembled from never used spare parts.
| model | CPU speed | disk | memory | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Veriton i7 | 7034 | 500 GB SSD | 8GB | 700 |
| Acer Veriton i5 | 4684 | 550 |
Laptops review
The following table is a comparison of some popular laptops below $1000 sold in Sydney shops.
| screen size | resolution | CPU speed | Disk | memory | price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex | 2-in-1 | 11.6 | Full HD | 1593 | 64GB SSD | 4GB | 399 |
| HP Pavilion X360 | 2-in-1 | 14 | HD | 5425 | 128GB SSD | 8GB | 679 |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i | 2-in-1 | 14 | Full HD | 5425 | 4GB | 799 | |
| HP 14" HD Laptop | 14 | HD | 1593 | 423 | |||
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-56-3061 | 15.6 | Full HD | 5256 | 799 | |||
| Asus VivoBook F512 | 15.6 | 5256 | 8GB | 898 | |||
| ASUS 15.6" Notebook Ryzen 5 | 15.6 | 7935 | 256GB SSD | 797 | |||
| Acer Swift 3 SF314 | 14 | 8070 | 997 | ||||
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15ITL6 | 15.6 | 10086 | 512GB SSD | 897 | |||
| Acer Aspire 5 Core i7 | 15.6 | 10663 | 996 | ||||
| Lenovo IdeaPad 5 AMD Ryzen 5 | 15.6 | 13343 | 897 |
The most critical features affecting the price is the screen size and resolution. Laptops with screens 15.6 inches start from $800. All large screen laptops have Full HD 1920x1080 resolution, the same as your TV.
CPU speed is often overlooked but is essential for performance. Extra $200 will get you a twice faster laptop. To show the difference, I specified not CPU names but a benchmark speed from Passmark - one of the many popular benchmarking software.
Most office applications require space of less than 128GB. You may need a 500Gb disk only for work on pictures.
If you are editing movies on a laptop, you may need a more expensive one. Although performance increase for office work is marginal. I omitted differences in design, battery and connections, such as USB or USB-C ports, as it is not substantial across models in the same price range.
Laptops for sale
Here are a few laptops we bundle with IT services. Note, they are not sold separately.
| screen size | resolution | CPU speed | Disk | memory | price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer TravelMate | 11.6 | HD | 1217 | 128GB SSD | 4GB | 200 | |
| Acer Aspire Switch | 2-in-1 | 11.6 | Full HD | 1743 | 4GB | 250 | |
| Acer Aspire | 2-in-1 | 13 | Full HD | 3024 | 8GB | 330 |
Updated 18 Sep 2021
How to buy our computers ?
Call us for a service such as computer repairs, data recovery or slow WiFi fix. We will discuss whether you need a new computer or just repairs. Computers sold with the IT services only.