Budget 51-70k or $1000.. Should I buy from India or US ?? Please suggest relevant models/specs..

[HoliC]

Hi all,

Will be going to US [IN 2 WEEKS] for my masters, so need your inputs on which Laptop to select and from where to buy it..

hope these answers will help you with the suggestions..


-What's your Budget?
50k -60k or around $1000 lesser the better


-What will be your primary usage for the notebook be?
Ill use it as a student, so most probably NO heavy gaming.. may be CS and Fifa.. HD movies and study programs
So I was thinking i5 core 2nd gen should be good enough right ?? is 4 gb ram enough or should I go with6/8 gb ??


-What size and weight considerations do you have?
Weight doesnt matter.. Lookin for 13' -15' screen..


-Any brand that you prefer, or any brand that you detest?
I have no idea which are the best laptop brands so no preference..


-Any other considerations? (e.g Battery life; Widescreen/non-widescreen; Glossy/Matte screen etc.)
I guess most of the laptops these days are 720p, so I assume they are all widescreen.. please suggest me a screen which fits my budget best..
Also looking for a SSD instead of HDD as ill be using 2TB hdd via esata dock for storage.. are SSD laptops available ??
Backlit keyboard.. decent web cam (not sure what MP cam is decent enough for skyping)..

I guess that covers all the basics necessary..
Please suggest me the relevant models !! TIA !!

 

[fragpic]

Buy it in USA only
Get a Dell XPS 15 online.
Search for coupons on the net.....

 

[red dragon]

Get a 13inch Macbook Pro or Air from US.

 

[HoliC]

Hey I prefer windows and mac might be a lil too costly..

BTW I will be using the Laptop majorly for Internet + HD Movies + Music.. So heres the config Im thinking of getting..

Processor - Core i5 3rd gen [ Not sure if this uses up more battery compared to i3]
Ram - 4gb or more
GFx - Any model good enough for Fifa and Cs
HDD - 64gb to 128 gb for OS drive...
Screen - 14 or 15.6 - currently leaning towards 15.6 and Im not sure whether to go for 1080 or 900 or 768
Will be spending long hours on it.. so I guess I should go with matte screen
Ethernet port + esata port +hdmi if possible.
Good battery life.

So is there any company which offers a similar config ??
Also are people actually facing problems with Dell ?? is it not advisable ??

TIA

 

[vivek.krishnan]

Hey I prefer windows and mac might be a lil too costly..

BTW I will be using the Laptop majorly for Internet + HD Movies + Music.. So heres the config Im thinking of getting..

Processor - Core i5 3rd gen [ Not sure if this uses up more battery compared to i3]
Ram - 4gb or more
GFx - Any model good enough for Fifa and Cs
HDD - 64gb to 128 gb for OS drive...
Screen - 14 or 15.6 - currently leaning towards 15.6 and Im not sure whether to go for 1080 or 900 or 768
Will be spending long hours on it.. so I guess I should go with matte screen
Ethernet port + esata port +hdmi if possible.
Good battery life.

So is there any company which offers a similar config ??
Also are people actually facing problems with Dell ?? is it not advisable ??

TIA

You could also look for a good deal on trinity laptops since your requirements are not very taxing. However, if you do plan to use this for some heavy duty stuff then go with core i5 3rd gen. HD4000 is good, comes almost neck to neck with a 610M, so look for a 630M frm the green side. If you are getting a laptop with AMD graphics, try to get one with 77XX model or higher (based on 28nm GCN vs 40nm for the rest)

 

[JuGGa]

@HoliC : Vaio SVS13112 suits your need perfectly. A super light laptop with absolutely fine config for you.

 

[HoliC]

Ok Thanks JuGGa and vivek.krishnan

In my previous post the HDD should be SSD.. Ill go to some stores and personally check out the sizes but after taking some more inputs I think I might be going with a 14' Laptop.
Can you guys think of any Laptops with above or similar config ??
I have also been told not to go with Vaio laptops..

PS : I have read raksrules' similar thread but it couldnt help me finalize anything..

 

[anu0512]

Look into Samsung.

 

[JuGGa]

Ok Thanks JuGGa and vivek.krishnan

In my previous post the HDD should be SSD.. Ill go to some stores and personally check out the sizes but after taking some more inputs I think I might be going with a 14' Laptop.
Can you guys think of any Laptops with above or similar config ??
I have also been told not to go with Vaio laptops..

PS : I have read raksrules' similar thread but it couldnt help me finalize anything..

Personally I also favour 14" over 15"6. You won't get SSD as only option, rather MLC for cache, or you can replace the HDD/ODD with SSD.
Check out this model. There was a similarly configured vaio with backlit keyboard, but I'm not able to find that. Still its good enough. A 120GB SSD can be had with the rest money.

 

[HoliC]

Hey Thanks @JuGGa

BTW one of my friends suggested tthat I should not buy VAIO laptops.. possibly due to bad After Sales Service..
In terms of quality(build, performance, design etc) how are VAIO laptops compared to say Dell ??

What is MLC that you spoke of.. can you explain it in simpler terms ?? The above laptop comes with 750gb hdd so what should i do here ??
I only wanted SSD as the OS drive so that the windows and programs run much faster..
BTW that Laptop looks really good but is it worth 900 including the freebies ?? Can I get it cheaper without freebies ??
How does typing on 14' laptop compare to desktop keyboard typing ??

Also I can spend $1k if needed but Id prefer it if i can do it in a lesser amount..

 

[JuGGa]

@HoliC

BTW one of my friends suggested tthat I should not buy VAIO laptops.. possibly due to bad After Sales Service..
In terms of quality(build, performance, design etc) how are VAIO laptops compared to say Dell ??

Of course Dell's ASS is much better than Sony, but Vaio is not bad either. I personally haven't experienced the service of Vaio so can't vouch for it but can say this on the basis of feedbacks.

But build quality is much better of Vaio than Dell. For design, Sony in arguably unbeatable. Performance wise, Dell takes a leap due to better configs available. Vaio charges more for similar config.

PS: Vaio uses Toshiba HDDs which are a bit slow (cost cutting). In vague terms 7200rpm of Vaio = 5400rpm of others. (my experience)

What is MLC that you spoke of.. can you explain it in simpler terms ?? The above laptop comes with 750gb hdd so what should i do here ??
I only wanted SSD as the OS drive so that the windows and programs run much faster..

MLCs are basically flash drives (SSDs are also flash drives) used as a "cache" to boost system performance by using as system drive (installing OS and critical programs). You may see them like 500GB + 32GB SSD. Some Vaios do have but I can't pinpoint the models exactly now due to my ultra slow connection (20kbps ). The basic idea of using these "cached" SSDs are to cut costs without comprising with their main gain, i.e., start up boost + faster loading times.

As I said you can all together swap your current HDD with a new SSD, or with ODD. Replacing ODD requires a HDD caddy and is a bit technical. AFAIK Vaios don't provide the option of "only SSD".

BTW that Laptop looks really good but is it worth 900 including the freebies ?? Can I get it cheaper without freebies ??

Pretty much. Just try to spot on any deal hovering around (US baby).

How does typing on 14' laptop compare to desktop keyboard typing ??

It depends on the keyboard. Some companies provide cramped keyboard like Dell, but Vaios don't. (personal POV). Do check it out locally if you want to be so sure.

 

[raksrules]

Ok Thanks JuGGa and vivek.krishnan

In my previous post the HDD should be SSD.. Ill go to some stores and personally check out the sizes but after taking some more inputs I think I might be going with a 14' Laptop.
Can you guys think of any Laptops with above or similar config ??
I have also been told not to go with Vaio laptops..

PS : I have read raksrules' similar thread but it couldnt help me finalize anything..

I am not 100% sure but i am mostly going for the Sony Vaio S15 (SVS15XXXXX) but i am going for a lower end model without dedicated GPU.

 

[HoliC]

Thanks JuGGa and raksrules

Now the only details im stuck on is between 14 and 15.6 screen size.

Will make a decision to buy 1 from 7 of Dell XPS[14 + 15] or Special Edition Inspiron[14 +15] and Vaio SVE[14+15] or SVS[only 15i available].

BTW can I have your opinion on other brands which 'might' offer similar configs ??
HP, Asus, MSI, Sager ?? Are they better than Dell or Vaio ??

TIA.

 

[JuGGa]

@HoliC Sager is out as it wouldn't provide int'l warranty. Regarding size, 14 >> 15"6, at least for your use. I'm still regretting for buying a 15"6. (Its too heavy, 2.84kg )

 

[HoliC]

Hey @JuGGa Forgot to ask some important questions..

How good is HD4000 gfx card ??

Now Dell offers i5 3rd in New inspiron, Inspiron Special ed and XPS[HM77 mobo] laptops with differences in screen quality/HDD/body finish and other external features..

So I want to know will all offer the same performance if all were on same amount Ram ??

TIA.

 

[JuGGa]

HD4000 is pretty good in the lines of 520MX>HD4000>525M. You can expect a good level of gaming experience up to low or medium settings for games based on DX9 or 10. It will be more than enough for all other GPU based tasks. Intel has made a great leap in graphics department from HD3000 to HD4000.

New Inspiron lineup is pretty VFM in its bracket with the combo of i5+7730M, but I don't like it (personal POV).

So I want to know will all offer the same performance if all were on same amount Ram ??

Of course. For general tasks, there will be hardly be any noticeable difference from i3 to i7. But if the tasks is CPU intensive, then it will matter.

 

[crashnburn]

Sorry I was away. Get a Windows Surface Pro or similar when they come out now.. You'll thank yourself for the ability to use OneNote & scribble notes on your PPTs, (Research papers)PDFs etc in Uni.
I've posted in detail about this on another post for a fellow going to US for MS etc.

Forget about getting time to Game or even browse this forum. You will get super busy.

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