[Traveler]

Originally Posted by Mr. Nobody

Need some advice everyone. I am looking to get a used compact FHD laptop for my use as i rarely need one so wasn't too inclined to buy a new one. Found on Olx a HP x360 13.3 inch with 7th gen i3, 1tb hdd, 4 gb ram. It is under 1.5 years old. Is 25k a good buying price considering new one with 8th gen i3 sells for 47k+ atleast online? I will need to spend 3k atleast to get a 240gb ssd as well as i 100% need lag free experience in using adwords and facebook business interface.

Another option is to get a new lenovo 14 inch one for 35k which already has a ssd and comes with newer 8th gen i3 but a lot of people are advising not to get a lenovo as quality apparently is poor and even screen isn't as good with frequent led screen bleeding issue in reviews that the company refuses to fix. What should i go for ?

Please go in for a new one. Look at Asus Netbooks, they offer great value for money. Also with a FHD screen you may want to go in for at least 14 inch size. 8GB RAM is a must for lag free experience.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by Mr. Nobody

Need some advice everyone. I am looking to get a used compact FHD laptop for my use as i rarely need one so wasn't too inclined to buy a new one.

One thing that you would want to check while buying a used laptop is to check whether it has the original parts intact (especially RAM chips, cooling fan, batery etc). Replacement battery, if present, should be from OEM or confirming to OEM standards. Check the battery life - the process varies with various laptop models. Also check for signs of spillage damage.

[Mr. Nobody]

Originally Posted by Traveler

Please go in for a new one. Look at Asus Netbooks, they offer great value for money. Also with a FHD screen you may want to go in for at least 14 inch size. 8GB RAM is a must for lag free experience.

An Asus 14 inch FHD is for 43k. Yeah 8gb ram too is essential for windows 10, That's another 2 grand. FHD works great even on 13.3 on consuming media which is an essential part of my intended use.

Originally Posted by blackasta

One thing that you would want to check while buying a used laptop is to check whether it has the original parts intact (especially RAM chips, cooling fan, batery etc). Replacement battery, if present, should be from OEM or confirming to OEM standards. Check the battery life - the process varies with various laptop models. Also check for signs of spillage damage.

Yes thanks but that is hard to do as nobody is going to let me check all that till i pay him. I can of-course check for the screw holes and if any has been unscrewed etc which hints at a repair job that. How does one check for spillage damage?

[The Rationalist]

Hi experts, I'm ignorant when it comes to computers. The requirement is for wifey. She is starting to work as a PHP programmer from home . Looking for a new laptop. What kind of a screen size is good for work ( does 14 Vs 15 really matter?)and which are the best brands and do you guys have any suggestions regarding particular models. My sister is in Canada , so can get one at a cheaper price.

[Jaggu]

Absolute spur of the moment purchase!

The old Thoshiba wifee was using, suddenly started showing issue with charging, seemed like something was loose inside charger with charging going on and off once the battery starts to discharge beyond 9x %. Apart from that, the native mouse was also dead.

Flipkart sale was on and fellow moderators Khan and Vidyut had shortlisted an Acer model. and specs were promising.

Processor And Memory Features
Processor Brand-Intel
Processor Name-Core i7
Processor Generation-8th Gen
SSD Capacity-512 GB
RAM-8 GB
RAM Type-DDR3
Processor Variant-8550U
Clock Speed-1.8 GHz with Turbo Boost Upto 4 GHz
Memory Slots-2 Slots
Cache-8 MB
Graphic Processor-Intel Integrated UHD 620
Number of Cores-4
Operating System
OS Architecture-64 bit
Operating System-Windows 10 Home

Port And Slot Features
Mic In-Yes
USB Port-2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB Type C
HDMI Port-1 x HDMI Port
Hardware Interface-SATA
Display And Audio Features-Touchscreen Yes
Screen Size- 35.56 cm (14 inch)
Screen Resolution-1920 x 1080 Pixel
Screen Type-Full HD LED Backlit IPS Display
Speakers-Built-in Dual Speakers
Internal Mic-Built-in Digital Microphone
Sound Properties-Stereo Speakers, Acer TrueHarmony Plus Technology, Optimized Dolby Audio Premium Sound Enhancement

I had forgotten that the mouse pad was not working on the Thoshiba and opted for exchange while placing order, and the final price after discount and exchange was 42,096 and with 6 months 0% Emi lol. Cashify was backup option and showing 12k INR as price for the old i5 Thoshiba Satellite C850.

Decided to give the laptop a DIY fix as a last try, before the exchange. Checked cable below the keyboard for mouse and it was kinda displaced, so put it back and tried powering on. Still the mouse was not working, damn! Yes I had tried driver updates earlier (multiple instances) but did not work. As finishing touch decided to clean the shell using some comp cleaning fluid and it was looking really refreshed. I power On and the mouse starts working!! so my guess it is a combo of cable plus driver updates, during previous windows upgrade that was causing the mouse issues.

As a last step went for windows 10 reset (for cleaning up data) and now the charging is also back to normal! Anyways the deed was done at buying, and the laptop was more than 5 years old running on a replacement battery, so decided not to cancel the order. I was prepared for a fail in exchange process and ready to pay cash, just in case. But surprisingly the guy did not raise any concerns and handed over the new laptop at 6 pm yesterday

First impression of the lappie and am really impressed by it, short Pros Vs Cons list...

Pro's

- SSD is superfast
- Super light to carry around
- Great sound effects from those small speaker!
- Very good screen and the resolution gives you lot of sq feet area with the web pages Vs the old laptop
- Super small charger, easy for carrying

Con's

- The light build somehow feels very delicate and scary to use, (worry of damaging with even moderate force)
- Sound effects though great, speaker volume is not the best and feels strained at max volume
- No idea about Acer support

But at 42k for a 1.1 lakh launch MRP machine I feel is super awesome.

[Mr. Nobody]

I too got a laptop in the flipkart sale @38.5k for this 14 inch FHD vivobook on 0% emi. Specs are quite good and since i had seen it at a store i was convinced for its screen and size. There was extended warranty too on offer at a price in the sale initially but later there was no such option.

https://www.flipkart.com/asus-vivobo...01557936448479

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by GTO

How is the after-sales rating?

While I have been a happy HP customer since 2006, have found their service constantly improving.

Recently had a chance to experience it again. HP ships all its laptops with a recovery partition, and they recommend you to create recovery media(USB or DVD) as soon as possible. I had made it, but the discs were at my hometown. I don't know what went bad, but it looked like a virus infection, where Kaspersky had failed to do its job.

I was in a different city, and even with priority shipping, the discs were at least 3 days away. Also my issues were weird:

1. I was not in a position to avail their office/home visit service.

2. Didn't have enough bandwidth or time to opt for Cloud recovery.

It looked like waiting for the discs was the only feasible solution. The Customer service executive on Whatsapp(Yes HP runs a dedicated Whatsapp Chat option too) asked for my address. I was perplexed and made him clear that I won't be available during the working hours. He then asked if I need the recovery in USB or DVD format. Upon getting my confirmation, he ordered a USB recovery drive at my address which reached in less than a day. Mind blowing service indeed.

Some pics of the USB recovery drive:





I'm more than happy with the resolution provided.

Regards,
Shashi

[boniver]

So, my October 2015 Dell Inspiron 3542 randomly shut off last evening and showed this error on startup. Now it's running as long as it's plugged in, but as soon as the plug's taken out, it turns off. Can anyone suggest a fix? If nothing works I'll have to replace the battery and see, but it beats me how a battery can die suddenly. Last morning itself I got about 2.5 hours of use on a full battery.



(Photograph taken from the internet)

[lordvader]

Originally Posted by boniver

So, my October 2015 Dell Inspiron 3542 randomly shut off last evening and showed this error on startup

Four years is a long time for battery to go kaput. I too have a 2011 Dell which behaves the same way and I use it with charger plugged in.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by boniver

So, my October 2015 Dell Inspiron 3542 randomly shut off last evening and showed this error on startup. Now it's running as long as it's plugged in, but as soon as the plug's taken out, it turns off. Can anyone suggest a fix? If nothing works I'll have to replace the battery and see, but it beats me how a battery can die suddenly. Last morning itself I got about 2.5 hours of use on a full battery.

Attachment 1886434

(Photograph taken from the internet)

Most of the time it is the battery controller chip that packs up, not the battery. I have faced similar situation, where the battery suddenly packs up and the computer refuses to recognize that the battery is there. That chip is what keeps track of the battery charge and reports on the state of charge displayed by the computer.

I have heard that there are a few places in Delhi that open the battery up and replace the chip, but I have never tried it.

[sharktale]

Refurbished Laptops - Should one go for it?

I am seeing pretty mouth watering deals on Amazon and Flipkart, on refurbished laptops by Dell and Lenovo Thinkpad.

1. Anyone who's actually bought these refurbished laptops? What are your views?

2. Can I manufacturer sell me an extended warranty plan, like they do for a new laptop?

[$tar_boy]

Hey guys! I am in the first year of Mechanical engineering and I am looking to buy a decent laptop sub 60k segment, primarily used for designing software like AUTOCAD, CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, AUTODESK, ProE Etc.

Please give me your suggestions. Also if you could give me links of sites/ tutorials to learn these softwares would be highly appreciated.

[Oxy]

Originally Posted by $tar_boy

Hey guys! I am in the first year of Mechanical engineering and I am looking to buy a decent laptop sub 60k segment, primarily used for designing software like AUTOCAD, CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, AUTODESK, ProE Etc.

Please give me your suggestions. Also if you could give me links of sites/ tutorials to learn these softwares would be highly appreciated.

Check out the recently launched Asus ROG series of gaming laptops on Flipkart. You may find it interesting.

[Rohit_Quad]

Originally Posted by boniver

So, my October 2015 Dell Inspiron 3542 randomly shut off last evening and showed this error on startup. Now it's running as long as it's plugged in, but as soon as the plug's taken out, it turns off. Can anyone suggest a fix? If nothing works I'll have to replace the battery and see, but it beats me how a battery can die suddenly. Last morning itself I got about 2.5 hours of use on a full battery.

Try this - HWmonitor - https://cpuid.com/downloads/hwmonito...nitor_1.40.zip
As you can see in the below image, it reports my battery is worn 32%. Btw, my friends similar Dell laptop, bought a couple of months before mine (May 2017), had the same problem as your laptop and needed a battery change. His laptop reported 98% wear level in HW Monitor. Why did his battery last so less? Mostly dependent on battery charging methods, etc.

[Rohit_Quad]

Originally Posted by $tar_boy

Hey guys! I am in the first year of Mechanical engineering and I am looking to buy a decent laptop sub 60k segment, primarily used for designing software like AUTOCAD, CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, AUTODESK, ProE Etc.

Things you should look for -
1. SSD or Intel Optane is a must, along with 1TB HDD storage.
2. A dedicated graphic card,GTX 1050 and above.
3. A non power saving processor, processor numbers ending with 'U' (power saving), may be avoided, as they are more suitable for thin an light laptops.
4. 8Gb Ram.
Gaming laptops are your best bet, as they have some decent cooling and big batteries with high watt chargers.
https://www.amazon.in/Lenovo-81FK00C...729479&sr=1-18

A bit more than 60K, but should go down during the Prime Day Sale
https://www.amazon.in/HP-Pavilion-15...RC68GR6TZMMFHQ

One from the AMD family -
https://www.amazon.in/FX505DD-Graphi...RC68GR6TZMMFHQ