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-   -   The Laptop Thread: Configs, deals & questions (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadgets-computers-software/67390-laptop-thread-configs-deals-questions-450.html)

Last year we had got link for 55K from Appario Retail at Amazon.
ASUS TUF Gaming F15 Laptop 15.6" (39.62 cms) FHD 144Hz, Intel Core i5-10300H 10th Gen, GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR6 Graphics (8GB RAM/512GB NVMe SSD/Windows 10/Fortress Gray/2.30 Kg), FX566LH-HN257T

Subsequently added 8GB RAM and another NVMe.

All new buyers of 50K+ range should avoid GTX 1650 like a plague. Try to get the 3050 at least or the newly launched 2050.

https://youtu.be/lDWEKYA2zU0

Each device needs to be chosen for fitness of purpose at the price point for the value it offers. We had considered every model on the table including higher GPUs but did not find those worth the premium. Our goal was to use the machine for school work, and the machine is performing to expectations.

If somebody is a serious gamer, a very specialized setup is needed, and a desktop is an answer, or a really high-end laptop going into x times pricing. And that is likely to be complemented with a specialized wired mouse, special mousepad, external monitor, specific type of mechanical keyboards, and other accessories.

For extracting better performance, just one component upgrade is not an answer, you need to look at the entire configuration including processor clock speed, RAM speed, storage speed, motherboard, even the screen refresh rate, resolution, and peripherals, and how they would work together. You even need to look at the side effects of your choice, for example, battery minutes may get impacted by the GPU/CPU choice. I would be very careful with such videos that compare just one component and go gaga over it.

The choice of GPU/CPU may also impact battery minutes, and the heat generation could throttle performance and/or reduce component life.

I will rest my case here.

Be careful while buying online.

After a lot of research I found that in most of the cases deep discounts are given for laptops that have been returned and have some defects. This is true of all but reputed dealers (who any way do not have such high discounts).

The best method is to go to a physical shop if you are living in a Metro.

I recently boiught a Lenovo Thinkpad E14. My version is Ryzen 5500U, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD. All told 58K. Microsoft Office is bundled

Not always the case, I got a bargain for my LG Gram during a sale, got it for 40k whereas its price is still around 80k

Have you bought this from Amazon/Flipkart or from LG website.

覧覧覧覧覧覧覧覧覧

I guess it痴 safe to buy electronics from official websites like LG, Samsung, Dell, HP, Acer, Asus to name a few.

Absolutely. And many a time, prices at physical shops are better than those you get at the brand's website. I bought my Dell from Reliance Digital at around 7-8% cheaper than what Dell's website was offering. However, extended warranty was cheaper at Dell, so after I bought the laptop, I got the extended warranty directly from Dell. Also that makes sure that extended warranty is not from a 3rd party.

I bought it from Croma online, they have really good deals. you could also buy from the website and pickup from the store too.

Usually popular models/ products are available at offline retail outlets, but niche items are harder to get at offline shops. For example, I required to get an Asus NVME enclosure, which is a bit hard to find at retail stores, so I got it from Amazon. So I do my mix and match, the key thing being the due diligence of the seller (avoiding dubiuos sellers). As Mr Aroy said, there are a lot of dubious sellers, but key thing is to identify the genuine sellers.

These days manufacturers are offering online exclusive online models in partnership with the e-commerce sites. One example is the samsung F series mobiles available only on Flipkart.

Can you give some tips on how to check whether the seller is reliable/genuine or not.

Is it by looking at the seller ratings & reviews?

It can be a very unstructured approach, a look at the bestseller products (example top 100 ranked products in a given category, find out the seller's, look for patterns, validate in Google research and or news. Here's one example.
Link
This article calls out big sellers on Flipkart: SuperComNet, OmniTech Retail and RetailNet.

On Amazon, very big sellers will have lakhs of reviews ( eg Appario Retail on Amazon has about 6 lakh reviews). If you look at the top 100 products in a category like laptop, then you will find two or 3 large sellers selling most of the top 100 laptops.

These are just a couple of examples, but one can usually narrow down to big sellers in each category. If you go to the big sellers storefront on amazon, you will find that big sellers will have many thousands of products.

It is hard to describe how to research, but hope you get the drift that it is a combination of portal and internet research.

Another link
top-amazon-india-sellers

Guys, need help in deciding a laptop for my dad. It is not for gaming purpose at all. He needs a sturdy laptop with good screen quality. SSD is a must. He liked big screens so 15.6 to 17 inches. Most of the time this laptop would sit on his desk and he would bring it home only to work on a very few days. Budget is around 60k. This will be used for general browsing/videos/youtube etc.
I was thinking of either LG GRAM 17 inch or ASUS Oled laptop.
Any one using laptops with OLED screen, little concerned about screen burning. Any other options that I should look at?

Get a compact - 14"/15" Laptop and use one or two external monitors, keyboard and mouse.

I have done exctly that - Laptop + 2 external monitors+mouse+usbC hub+SATA Dock.

Laptop is Lenovo E14, 512GB SSD, 8+16GB RAM.

I am using Asus Zenbook Flip 14 with 2.8K OLED (Samsung panel). Screen burning is not an issue at all, atleast not in the Windows if you keep the Asus pixel shift feature turned on.

But the issue with the OLEDs is their brightness is controlled using PWM instead of DC which causes headache or eye burning during prolonged use. better to avoid them if they are being used as primary device. Although Asus provides a software controlled brightness feature as well to keep the brightness at comfortable level without reducing it by PWM. So the key is to reduce the brightness by 3 notches using the keyboard shortcut (after that PWM starts), then reduce it using the Asus software.


I got the OLED laptop knowing all this since this is not my primary device, its mostly used for conceptual sketching, some mobile computing and colour accurate presentations to my clients. Going by my past experience with the laptops, this time I wanted a rigid yet lightweight laptop. So the MIL grade Zenbook flip came out as top scoring device for me for my use case.

My primary working device is a computer with an eye friendly IPS panel which I use for long duration without any eye fatigue.

If your father is going to use the laptop as primary device for prolonged sessions then better to get something with the IPS LCD panel. And get something with the Ryzen CPU, those things last forever on the battery with excellent performance. The Ryzen Zenbook is providing me easy 10-12 hours of backup on a full charge (kind of beats my Pixel 6 in mobility which provides less than half of screen time than the Zenbook :D).

So practically if you want to prolong the battery life and limit your charge cycles between 20-80% then still its going to last 5-6 hours easily or even more depending your usage pattern. Avoid the inefficient 12th gen intels.

My Dell Inspiron has now finished 4 years & it's still on it's first battery - which in my experience is excellent because of my Thinkpad T series batteries rarely lasted beyond 3 years.

Now it's showing as 43.4% wear as per my battery bar widget.

As per Windows Battery Output report, Design Capacity of the battery was 37,996 mWh. And now the full charge capacity is 21,500 mWh

So how long can I estimate the battery to work till I have to replace it? Is there some threshold value, when I should replace it? Most of the time, the laptop is attached to the charger.