Team-BHP - The Laptop Thread: Configs, deals & questions

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgiitk (Post 4211578)

I am looking for a i5 or higher Laptop

Have a look at the Surface Pro series. I had purchased this recently for my nephew and he says it is brilliant. It is available in the variants you mention i5, i7, 256 and 512 SSD, 8 and 16Gb RAM.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4211101)

Unbelievable, just unbelievable what an SSD can do to your laptop.

The hybrid hard-drive of my Latitude (4.xx years) was going to go soon. Some signs came up and a Dell checkup confirmed that it's on the way out. Rather than being stranded on a working day, I thought of replacing the drive. Ordered a 500 gig SSD on Amazon. .

Cost of a 500GB SSD? This will help. Also, the interface used by the system.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgiitk (Post 4212225)

Cost of a 500GB SSD? This will help. Also, the interface used by the system.

A 500GB SSD will start at around 11500Rs for the basic ones, which should definitely be sufficient. You can remove the internal hdd and use as an external hdd to avoid wastage. Also, if a disc drive is not needed, it can be replaced with an hdd/ssd.
Please do mention a budget, and target use case for the laptop, for me to be able to pin point a few available options

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkaile (Post 4206794)

I ordered the Asus Zenbook 3 for myself yesterday from Amazon -
Model - Asus ZenBook UX310UQ-GL477T (Core i5 7200-7th Gen), 4GB DDR4 2133, 128GB SSD+1TB HDD, NV GT 940MX 2G DDR3, 13,3 FHD IPS Screen, WIndows 10, Backlit Keyboard, USB Type C (3.1) and 3) 2 Year Warranty. 18mm thick, 1.4 kg with 9 hour battery life @71990/-

I also considered the new Dell Inspiron 7560 @80k (with ssd) but as I wanted a powerful ultrabook went with the ZenBook 3

Hello, i was planning to pick a ultrabook for myself and after comparing the specs, Inspiron 7560 (80k version) is a i7 processor 7500u and it has 8 GB out of box. A similar version in Asus Zenbook 3 costs close to 1 lakh (HDD is SSD). Now, if i check a i5 version similar to your Zenbook 3 (dell has this model but it does not have a 128gb SSD hdd.

+ Dell also provides, MS Office Home and Student version + Mcafee Antivirus for 15 months

Please correct me if i am wrong, In Asus Zenbook 1 Ram is Soldered on to the Motherboard, which means in future if there is a issue with faulty ram the entire motherboard has to be replaced:Shockked:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sri Vathsa (Post 4214241)

Hello, i was planning to pick a ultrabook for myself

Please correct me if i am wrong, In Asus Zenbook 1 Ram is Soldered on to the Motherboard, which means in future if there is a issue with faulty ram the entire motherboard has to be replaced:Shockked:

This model of ZenBook 3 has 4GB of on board ram, like most modern UltraBooks (Apple Air etc), and ALSO has a additional RAM port for adding more ram (upto 16 GB more). So you need not worry about faulty motherboards. That can happen to the best of laptops.

Also the similar model on Dell 7560 with a SSD costs about 90k. Additional 4GB ram (to take total ram to 8GB ) costs just 2k. Just the 128 GB m.2 SSD, that is installed on this ZenBook, costs around 8k in India. The SATA ones are cheaper. Also in the form factor and the all aluminum build and finish, the Dell lags far behind. These ZenBooks looks, feels and performs as a very premium UltraBook, hence putting Asus in World no. 2 slot this year.

Take the call according to your needs. I have installed additional 8 GB - DDR4 ram for just 4200 bucks, taking total ram upto 12GB, and now this ZenBook is a performance monster with a more than double the battery backup of what the Dell 7560 would have offered me, at nearly half the weight and form factor.

Cheers...

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkaile (Post 4206645)

Got original Windows 10 Pro from digitalcodes.in @1499/-. The machine is a beast now with boot up time in 25 seconds and that too without a SSD.
Cheers...

Thanks to your post, even i went and brought windows 10 from this website. Looks like this website is maintained by single person by name Siddarth. He is really helpful and was available for chat as well as on phone (any time). Initially I was not able to create bootable USB stick using microsoft tool. When i approached him, he asked me to use rufus and then it just worked fine. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to buy SW.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4212285)

I bought the highly-rated Samsung EVO from Amazon - link. Just under 15k.

I have the same one on my Macbook pro since 2 years now and it's a mindblowing difference.

My Macbook Pro is 2011 vintage so by 2015 I figured it's well past its age and slow speed is expected. When the HDD crashed, Jaggu suggested to try the SSD. Ordered Samsung EVO 500GB from US and did a DIY. Also upped the RAM from 4GG to 8GB.

And oh boy what a difference. In 2017, my 2011 Macbook is faster than most HDD laptops of today. This will easily work for a few more years.

Moreover Apple no longer allows upgrades to newer laptops so my old one which had RAM and SSD upgrade means there's no need to change anytime soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vid6639 (Post 4217721)

I have the same one on my Macbook pro since 2 years now and it's a mindblowing difference.

Two other advantages I noticed:

1. The weekly anti-virus scan takes only 45 minutes (used to be close to 3 hours before).

2. Full disk encryption takes less than an hour (6 hours before).

3. Having multiple programs open isn't noticeably slowing down the computer.

Getting an SSD is like adding a turbocharger to a naturally-aspirated diesel. Power & efficiency, both increase!

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4217914)

Try opening a dozen PDFs. It will open in a blink of an eye. Don't try that in a hard disk equipped PC. :p

Ditto for Photoshop and other similar apps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4217914)

Getting an SSD is like adding a turbocharger to a naturally-aspirated diesel. Power & efficiency, both increase!

You can say that again! I keep telling my friends and relatives to get an SSD when they ask me what is the single best upgrade they can get for 5-6k.

Please let me know any suggestion for a engineering student for the below specifications / usage and the budget of around 50K:

1. Intel i5 (5th Gen or later)
2. SSD (256GB)
3. 15", Full HD (Non Touch preferred)
4. 8GB Ram (or higher)
5. Usage will be mostly browsing, videos, occasional gaming and support for any heavy tools which may need later for the study

I am not getting good options in Amazon.in with SSD for this spec. Most of the models doesn't have SSD. I haven't checked any retail outlets (like Croma / brand stores). Can we order with specification like SSD instead of normal hard disk?

Also, how reliable on buying imported items like the below in eBay? This one matches most of the requirement and within the budge.

http://www.ebay.in/itm/Dell-5558-5th...25053#shpCntId

Quote:

Originally Posted by r_devakumar (Post 4218782)

HP 15-ay516TX 15.6-inch Laptop (6th Gen Core i5-6200U/4GB/1TB/FreeDOS 2.0/2GB Graphics), Turbo Silver https://www.amazon.in/dp/B06Y64D31X/..._NhTrzbYG21QBQ

This is on sale on Amazon for another 22 hours. Pick this up, along with the required RAM upgrade and SSD. All of it should fit well under 50k INR.

For SSD: Kingston UV400 or Samsung 850 Evo depending on your budget.
The internal HDD that you remove can be used as an extern al disk by purchasing an external casing for it.

Adding the RAM and SSD should be a simple 10 minute DIY.

Edit:
Crucial CT8G4SFS8213 8GB 2133MHz DDR4 260-Pin Laptop Memory https://www.amazon.in/dp/B01DUULCBM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_6pTrzb1M6PRGW
My pick for the RAM upgrade. In case the laptop has 2 RAM ports, you have 12GB RAM at disposal. Otherwise, 8 should be good enough.