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

I have a Lenovo Ideapad 330s i3, 7th generation with 4 gb ram,1 tb hard disk purchased over a year ago. I find it slow changing screens etc. No real heavy usage - emails, excel work, some surfing and movie downloads from time to time. No gaming at all.

Will upgrading the ram, another 4 or 8 gb make the laptop snappy to use in everyday tasks? I am quoted 3800 rupees for an additional 8gb and 2700 rupees for 4gb by a tech person who will do the work at my residence.

Does the above make any sense to you folks? What do I need to do to make the laptop fast. Please help me with your suggestions.

Thanks a lot.

Cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyborg (Post 4665490)

Will upgrading the ram, another 4 or 8 gb make the laptop snappy to use in everyday tasks?

Most noticeable change shall be to swap the HDD for a SSD.

Go for a 256GB or higher variant. Maybe you could grab one in the upcoming online sell, and install it either DIY, or get someone to install the same and clone the SSD to the HDD for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharktale (Post 4665513)

Most noticeable change shall be to swap the HDD for a SSD.

Seconded.
When I got a new laptop with a SSD, I realized what I've been missing in the first 18 years spend interacting with computers.

Check this post: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadge...ml#post4211101

Thanks a lot sharktale and landcruiser!

Swapping the HDD for a SSD and cloning the SSD to the HDD - bouncer :D

Does this mean the HDD will be removed and the SSD put in its place? Or, can both exist on the same laptop. I have a 1 TB HDD so I will lose the extra storage capacity, right?

Please explain in as much detail as you can as I am "very knowledgeable" in these things as you may have guessed.

DIY is out of the question for me, will get someone to do this.

Thanks once again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharktale (Post 4665513)

Most noticeable change shall
be to swap the HDD for a SSD.

Go for a 256GB or higher variant. Maybe you could grab one in the upcoming online sell, and install it either DIY, or get someone to install the same and clone the SSD to the HDD for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by landcruiser123 (Post 4665515)

Seconded.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyborg (Post 4665667)

Swapping the HDD for a SSD and cloning the SSD to the HDD - bouncer :D

Since your laptop does not have a CD ROM drive, you could just buy a normal 2.5 inch SSD for Laptop (Eg:WD 250GB),
replace it with your existing HDD.

Yes, You will lose space, but then you can decide your budget and preferences and buy the SSD accordingly, or else, buy an adapter (Sample Product Link) to use your existing HDD as an external drive.

Tutorial to replace HDD with SSD and cloning : Tutorial

My 2 cents is that, since you don't have much idea about the system, go to a local nearby shop, and ask the person to do it for you at a charge of maybe 500 or just buy the SSD from them with free cloning service.

However, make sure that the entire process happens infront of your eyes, so that they don't steal any crucial data. Also, keep the old HDD with you if it contains any confidential files, don't discard/sell/exchange it.

Can someone help me decide between these 2 choices that I have finalised.
1) HP 14 cr1005tu or 2) Dell New Inspiron 14 5490.
Fortunately, I just glanced about the benefits of SSD in this very thread.
I was leaning more towards the HP due to 1 TB HDD + 256 GB SSD against the Dell which has 512GB SSD, but then Dell has a 10th Gen i5 against 8th Gen i5 on HP.
Both are 8 GB RAM'd, similar weight and dimensions, Win 10 Home free on both, MS Home and Student free with both.
But but but, what is winning Dell is a free (at 99) Sennheiser BT headphones offer.

Usage is largely email usage + Word processing + Spreadsheets.

P.S.: Couldn't resist. Purchased the Dell online.

Just realised this is priced half than my (to-be) next purchase @ iPhone 11 Pro 256 GB :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharktale (Post 4665752)

My 2 cents is that, since you don't have much idea about the system, go to a local nearby shop, and ask the person to do it for you at a charge of maybe 500 or just buy the SSD from them with free cloning service.

However, make sure that the entire process happens infront of your eyes, so that they don't steal any crucial data. Also, keep the old HDD with you if it contains any confidential files, don't discard/sell/exchange it.

Thanks lot once again sharktale!

I will do this in sometime and will ensure it's done in my presence. I will also try to pick up a WD SSD as you say.

Cheers

Guys,

What do you think about Lenovo Ideapad S340?
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops.../p/88IPS301219

AMD Ryzen™ 5 3500U Processor (2.10GHz, up to 3.70GHz Max Boost, 4MB Cache)
15.6” FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare
8 GB DDR4 2400 MHz (1 Onboard, 1 DIMM)
256 GB PCIe SSD
Integrated AMD Radeon™ Vega 8 Graphics
Dolby Audio™ 2 x 2W speakers
14.1” x 9.6” x 0.7” / 358 x 245 x 17.9 (mm) - (1.79 kg)
Backlit Keyboard with Numeric pad

Heard the screen isn't all that great but found the price pretty reasonable for the specs. Purchased it yesterday from their US website :D.

Hello people,

I have ordered the below laptop for 36k.

Asus VivoBook S Series Core i5 8th Gen - (8 GB/1 TB HDD/256 GB SSD/Windows 10 Home) S430FA-EB039T Thin and Light Laptop (14 inch, Icicle Gold, 1.40 kg)

I needed SSD for faster response time and hybrid storage also takes care of the big files. Only concern is the build quality and battery life.

Anyone using the above laptop or something from Asus?

I too have ordered similar one, but at Rs.40, 090.

You got it even better rate - hope you have purchased using ICICI or Axis Bank credit card and got that 10% additional discount??

I don't have none of these cards, but managed to get No cost EMI using Citi Bank Credit card.

Asus Vivobook S430FA-EB006T

Price: Rs 40,090
Payment: 6 equal instalments under 'No Cost EMI' scheme

Hope to get it delivered within 6/7 days

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Beat (Post 4667014)

Quote:

Originally Posted by nairrk (Post 4667208)

Is this the one you'll have ordered?

https://www.flipkart.com/asus-vivobo...FLIPKART&sattr[]=color&st=color

I am looking for a 14inch laptop with ssd and i5 as well. I was confused between the above model and the following one https://www.flipkart.com/asus-vivobo...FLIPKART&sattr[]=color&st=color

Is the seller "retailnet" reliable? How is the after sales for Asus and Acer?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayjaycleoful (Post 4667573)

Retailnet is the seller arm of Flipkart , its not a independent seller .

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayjaycleoful (Post 4667573)

They have the same model in 4 different model numbers - 006T,026T, 039T and one more. My seller also RetailNet and was told by someone who dealt with these guys previously, that he has been very reliable (one of the leading seller of laptops in flipkart.)

After sales service - I heard Asus have service centres in most of the places (all over India). I have been using the Asus x200CA model (11.5''display, 2GB RAM and 500GB HDD) since last 6 years and all these years only problem I faced was the battery dead after 3 years. Since then I have been using only main power. No experience with Acer, but heard their products also good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgiitk (Post 4666147)

I am reading that i9 processor is here. what laptops have it. Many years back when I bought an i7 laptop I was disappointed. Slow disk access and no real speed gain.

Quite a few laptops have the Core i9 processor now, including the XPS 15, the Macbook Pro, and various gaming laptops from MSI, Acer, Asus.

The issue with core i9 in thin and light laptops is thermal throttling, making it no better than an i7 in such a machine, especially for sustained workloads.
We have come a long way from the old and slow mechanical drives and with the new PCIe based NVME SSD's, even an old system feels fast.