Budget 51-70k Choosing between Lenovo Thinkpad and Dell Vostro

[gourav]

I am trying to select between these 2 laptops. I have been looking to buy for a few months and have finally found a couple models which have all the features I want.

I want:

• 14" screen
• <1.5kg weight
• Excellent build quality so that it can last me 5 years
• Mid range processor (i5 or equivalent)
• USB-C charging and display support to avoid having to carry multiple chargers while traveling (which is not often though)

My usage is mostly coding and browsing, so don't need a beast. Willing to pay the premium for build quality.

Dell Vostro 3420: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0BQJ7WR2R

Lenovo Thinkpad E14: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0C7J16NYC

The Dell is slightly cheaper here, but the Lenovo's processor seems to be more powerful overall (i5 1235u Vs. Ryzen 7530u respectively). Lenovo also has 16:10 screen, which suits my needs better. However, Thinkpads are just ugly (which I'm willing to live with, but it does make the choice harder).

Anyone have experience with these models? What's your feedback? Is Lenovo worth the premium? Would Dell be the better long term choice in term of after sales service? Help me choose.

Budget is around 50k, 2-3k here and there is fine. Hoping for decent card discount during upcoming sale.

 

[tech.monk]

I will go with ThinkPad against Vostro - Using E14 Gen 2 (11th gen) provided by office last year and it still works like a champ.

Plus, for me - Lenovo Vantage - allows Software updates + Battery Mgmt. (despite running it 24x7 connected) I still get the 4.5 to 5 hours backup with development/multiple office calls.

 

[greenhorn]

Are you open to buying used?

 

[Heisen]

My recommendation would be to buy from lenovo site and with i5-1235u you get Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics but those graphics only get fully enabled when it is paired with 16gb of RAM.

If you buy it with 8gb of RAM the Xe graphics is shown as intel UHD graphics in device manager, I think then its not working at its full potential, for this reason alone just get it with 16gb ram, on lenovo site you might be able to customize it.

I have i5-1235u and its very efficient but also very snappy.

Edit- I think it is more to do with RAM being dual channel rather than it being exactly 16gb. Not sure though.

 

[gourav]

I will go with ThinkPad against Vostro

Thanks. I've used ThinkPad provided by my office in the past and it wad definitely built like a tank.

Are you open to buying used?

Could definitely check it out if it's a good deal.

Edit- I think it is more to do with RAM being dual channel

Yes, Iris Xe requires dual channel memory. Most laptops have 8 GB soldered these days, so that's only possible with 16 GB config.

Lenovo's i5 models are really expensive, not worth it.

 

[greenhorn]

Could definitely check it out if it's a good deal.

Just have a look at your local classifieds for ThinkPad and elitebook (my personal favourite) or latitude 7 series

Some examples

Facebook मध्‍ये लॉग इन करा

तुमचे मित्र, कुटुंब आणि तुमच्या ओळखीच्या लोकांशी शेअर करण्यासाठी आणि कनेक्ट होण्यासाठी Facebook मध्ये लॉग इन करा.

www.facebook.com

www.olx.in/item/lenovo-thinkpad-t480-core-i7-iid-1746886726
www.olx.in/item/hp-elitebook-840-g6-i7-8th-gen-16gb-512gb-brand-new-condition-iid-1746007992

Facebook मध्‍ये लॉग इन करा

तुमचे मित्र, कुटुंब आणि तुमच्या ओळखीच्या लोकांशी शेअर करण्यासाठी आणि कनेक्ट होण्यासाठी Facebook मध्ये लॉग इन करा.

www.facebook.com

www.olx.in/item/dell-latitude-7490-i7-8th-gen-16gb-512gb-touch-screen-laptop-iid-1744831427

No funny business here. Plenty of corporates lease laptops for 3-5 years and then sell them off at the end of it. Non tech savvy buyers prefer new laptops with warranty. So these have excess supply and very little demand. Only catch is no warranty. But these are generally reliable workhorses, parts shouldn't be an issue, and these local sellers are usually supportive.
I have bought an elitebook, a zbook, a latitude 7480 for different family members and they're all running fine.

While you will have to compromise a bit on the age/processor generation, you'll get absolutely the top models with the best build quality and great configuration (touch screens, fhd, i5-i7 proccys) and these sellers will be happy to upgrade Ram and SSD for you ( but watch out for generic ssd's and mismatched ram)

8th gens are what you get mostly these days, though occasionally a 9/10gen or a ryzen slips through
www.olx.in/item/hp-elitebook-ryzen-5-pro-metal-body-laptop-iid-1747227102

 

[tech.monk]

Yes, Iris Xe requires dual channel memory. Most laptops have 8 GB soldered these days, so that's only possible with 16 GB config.

not sure of this - though I'm slated to receive the latest gen for the E14 this month. I am running my current one with 32gb single stick (due to workload constraints) and Gen 2 which I have has proper 2 slots (nothing soldered) with one slot available for upgrade.

However, I didn't like Iris Xe (especially when running Python V dev) - I used to notice lot of screen freeze (it had one more reason - faulty NVME - which is sorted) still at times I get screen freeze and in event viewer it reports the GPU driver related events. IT maybe the case that my system has this issue and with others - GPU drivers working well.

 

[calvin1719]

not sure of this - though I'm slated to receive the latest gen for the E14 this month. I am running my current one with 32gb single stick (due to workload constraints) and Gen 2 which I have has proper 2 slots (nothing soldered) with one slot available for upgrade.

However, I didn't like Iris Xe (especially when running Python V dev) - I used to notice lot of screen freeze (it had one more reason - faulty NVME - which is sorted) still at times I get screen freeze and in event viewer it reports the GPU driver related events. IT maybe the case that my system has this issue and with others - GPU drivers working well.

btw, is the e14 you have a metal chassis? I had an e series earlier and I was under the impression these were mostly plastic builds and not really up to the mark of say the t series. Wondering if this has changed over the years.

 

[oprime05]

Instead of the Dell, I would suggest the HP Pavilion 14. You will find it on FK with Ryzen processor.
The build quality is very good. But processor may be a generation older (though the way AMD is naming its processors, it is very hard to tell). I got the 16GB version of it for about 46k in July of this year.

 

[gourav]

I would suggest the HP Pavilion 14

I don't mind one generation old processor. Both the models I have listed have older gen processor. However, my recent experience with Flipkart hasn't been great, and there are way too many reports of people being scammed and Flipkart customer care not doing anything. So not gonna order an expensive laptop from them.

 

[tech.monk]

btw, is the e14 you have a metal chassis? I had an e series earlier and I was under the impression these were mostly plastic builds and not really up to the mark of say the t series. Wondering if this has changed over the years.

I guess it is anodized aluminum - doesn't feel like plastic.

 

[gourav]

am running my current one with 32gb single stick (due to workload constraints) and Gen 2 which I have has proper 2 slots (nothing soldered) with one slot available for upgrade.

The Lenovo model I have posted above has listed RAM as upgradable to 40 GB. 40 is only possible with 32+8. So it's reasonable to assume that it has 8 GB soldered and one DIMM slot which will support a 32 GB module. However, this is not a concern for AMD as Radeon doesn't require dual channel. The Dell does have 2 DIMM slots.

Speaking of which, it's interesting how AMD seems to be borrowing all the worst practices from Intel and Nvidia. They call their newest iGPU just radeon graphics, no Vega 7, Vega 8 or anything. Their latest gen laptop CPUs are a complete mess. 7330U is basically a slightly faster 5625u. 7320U uses even older architecture. They've put everything in the same series.

Looking up benchmarks is getting really difficult, especially for iGPUs.