Buying a laptop - Need Suggestions (Sorry don't know where to post)

[Kaushik Dash]

This is a Windows based forum so I am sure most of you have a good knowledge on these stuff.

I will need a laptop for the next four years for my University work, so I thought of taking this opportunity and buy a laptop that can run games well. I will be buying the laptop from USA within 5 months (to avoid the various taxes imposed by Indian Government). I can buy it anytime, tomorrow, next month, after 5 months, whenever the time is suitable.

My budget is Rs. 50,000 ($817) (Could push to Rs. 55,000 ($897)). My budget is fixed in Indian Rupees instead of dollars as the Rupee value constant changes everyday.

I will be using the laptop mostly for my University and personal use. Presentations, Assignments, high level programming, engineering related stuff in the next four years, entertainment, a bit of photoshop and random usage and media and of course, gaming. What I want is it should be able to run all the latest games at decent FPS. Doesn't have to be 1080p or 4k maxed out yolo swag settings. Anything at moderate settings with decent FPS is good enough.
For specifications, I have come to know that a quad core i7 doesn't give any major performance boost over the dual core i5 (assuming both have everything else the same), so I can go with i5 and even choose i5 with a better GPU than an i7 with a weaker GPU. 8 GB of RAM and anything over 750 GB of HDD (doesn't have to be SSHD or SSD) is what I am looking for. I won't be able to play all games at 1080p with a low-mid level laptop GPU and processor so I can sacrifice a 1080p display for a 1336x768 display but I would of course prefer a 1080p if its possible with the price range.

Now, based on what I am looking for. I have found a few laptops.

• 
  [li]Lenovo Y40
  Everything in the Laptop is REALLY nice except that it has AMD R9275M. I have always heard about technical and heating issues related to AMD GPUs and in general under performing against their NVIDIA equivalents.
  There are two versions, 500 GB and 1 TB being sold for $800 and $840 respectively (after instant savings).
  
  4th Generation Intel Core i7-4510U Processor (2.00GHz 1600 MHz 4MB)
  Windows 8.1 64
  14.0" FHD LED AntiGlare Backlight (1920x1080)
  AMD Radeon R9 M275 2GB
  8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600 MHz
  Hybrid 1TB 5400 RPM+8GB SSHD[/li]
  
  [li]HP ENVY 15t
  On customising it with the mentioned specifications, it costs $820 (after discount) which I think is reasonable since it provides an optical drive, fingerprint sensor and NVIDIA graphics card.
  
  4th generation Intel? Core? i7-4510U Dual Core Processor
  Windows 8.1 64
  15.6-inch diagonal Full HD WLED-backlit Display (1920x1080)
  2GB NVIDIA GeForce 840M Graphics
  8GB DDR3L System Memory (1 Dimm)
  Free upgrade from 1TB to 1.5TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive ($90 savings)
  SuperMulti DVD burner
  Standard Keyboard with Fingerprint Reader
  [/li]

Now, that's all I could find reasonable at the price I want. I personally prefer HP since I find it gives better specs for the price but I have heard complaints of HP laptops HDD or heating issues.

If anybody has some better alternatives and opinions, you're most welcome to mention them. Thank you.

Sorry if its wrong section...

 

[Laura Knotek]

I've moved your thread to the Windows 8 forum.

Are you looking for a touchscreen capable device or just traditional keyboard and touchpad?

 

[xandros9]

I would personally avoid HP consumer-grade laptops. In my anecdotal experience they were built more cheaply (in exchange for specs IMO) and the brand has been tarnished in my eyes. However, I will probably have to reevaluate sometime, since many of my experiences are a couple years old at the least, but the premature CD drive death in a friend's computer (ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE, may not reflect their lineup as a whole) and higher repair statistics (there was some repair business that put out stats) doesn't inspire confidence.

A few of my friends have picked up the Lenovo IdeaPad Ysomething (maybe it was the Y50) and enjoy it. (it's weird actually, how they all have the same model) and of those two listed I'd take the Lenovo.

If you value tankier computers -- especially considering the likely 4 years of use/potential abuse -- I might recommend taking a look at Dell's and Lenovo's business-class computers. (Latitude, ThinkPad respectively, but they might be out of your budget and not offer enough graphics bang, but they're often built better and have easier repairs and easier to source parts)

But I can't speak for specific models having the horsepower to do fancy games, I'm personally stuck in the old age of integrated graphics with my laptop.

 

[badr0b0t]

Just a piece of advice. You cannot get away from tax even if you buy it from the US. Your local parcel service will hold your laptop until you paid for the duties and taxes that come with buying imported stuffs.



Another thing is the warranty. It may get damaged during the shipment and you may not be able to take advantage of the warranty if you are living outside the US. And you may have to shoulder the one way cost of shipment. Buying from US seems like a good idea but it is not practical.



All the best!



Sent from my
Nokia Lumia 1520
using Tapatalk

 

[Kaushik Dash]

I've moved your thread to the Windows 8 forum.

Are you looking for a touchscreen capable device or just traditional keyboard and touchpad?

Traditional keyboard and touchpad.

@xandros9 - I have checked Dell and none of them really provide the bang for buck HP or Lenovo provides.

I have actually checked Y510p. It has the trust of Lenovo build quality and better performance than the 15t for the same price. But it seems they have either discontinued that line or temporarily pulled its page.

 

[Kaushik Dash]

Just a piece of advice. You cannot get away from tax even if you buy it from the US. Your local parcel service will hold your laptop until you paid for the duties and taxes that come with buying imported stuffs.



Another thing is the warranty. It may get damaged during the shipment and you may not be able to take advantage of the warranty if you are living outside the US. And you may have to shoulder the one way cost of shipment. Buying from US seems like a good idea but it is not practical.



All the best!



Sent from my
Nokia Lumia 1520
using Tapatalk

Yeah, I know about that. That's why I am getting my Aunt to bring it for me (completely unpacked). ^.^

Thanks for the advice.

 

[xandros9]

@xandros9 - I have checked Dell and none of them really provide the bang for buck HP or Lenovo provides.

I have actually checked Y510p. It has the trust of Lenovo build quality and better performance than the 15t for the same price. But it seems they have either discontinued that line or temporarily pulled its page.

I think that may be the model!
But yea, while it could handle enemy champions and minions, it couldn't stand up to the onslaught of the much feared Coke spill which killed it. Twice. (on the exceedingly rare chance you read this, you probably know who you are)

 

[badr0b0t]

Yeah, I know about that. That's why I am getting my Aunt to bring it for me (completely unpacked). ^.^



















Thanks for the advice.

Just don't forget to tell your aunt to charge it. If TSA agents can't turn it on, it's not going anywhere. and make sure it's not gonna open up on the initial setup screen. That will be caught as undeclared item. Haha.







Not all laptop models are available on every store in the US. Wherever your aunt is, go to the online site of the store accessible to her and check for specs and availability. You may come up with a model by asking here but it may not be available at the location where your aunt is.

Check out MSI CX61 laptop.

 

[Kaushik Dash]

@Xandros - I will take care of that. Thanks lol.

@Badrobot - Point noted, charge and initial setup already completed.

I will ask her to visit the page and then check the choices she has.

Msi laptop seems to be underpowered to be honest, especially at the GPU sector. But thanks.

 

[badr0b0t]

There's only so much power you can get with your budget. The model I pointed out suits your budget and falls under a gaming laptop category. There are powerful MSIs out there. But they come with a price.

Powerful graphics card are bundled with i7 CPU. Your wishlist only specifies i5. If you want a powerful one get a Dell Alienware for at least $1500.



Sent from my
Nokia Lumia 1520
using Tapatalk

 

[Kaushik Dash]

Yeah I know, but I was talking in comparison to the y40,y510p and the 15t

 

[JamesPTao]

Although most people aren't comfortable doing so I have bought many fujitus used on eBay off lease. 20+ between my friend and me. They are typically sold new on 1 year business lease, and then sold I bulk to resellers who inspect them and resell them. Ive never had a problem with one. The reason I say so is you can get a Fujitsu tablet PC that has monster specs, in great condition, with wacom plus touch for around 500-700 used and they are $2000-2500 new. Fantastic tablet PCs.

 

[JamesPTao]

Your range would easily get you an i7
Although i5 were the majority sold. They all have fingerprint scanners for unlocking/lockkng the computer, launching apps etc. A secondary bay that can be used for a second battery, disc drive, or pico projector. Some even have cellular built in. They are designed very well for convenience even little details like 9 foot power cord so you can plug in across the room if needed and sit on the couch. Best laptop I've ever owned.

 

[Zac Nguyen]

How core i7 is better than core i5. I don't know well?

 

[Zac Nguyen]

Thank you so much this is my question

 

[JamesPTao]

How core i7 is better than core i5. I don't know well?

For most users i5 is better as it gives a little better battery life and for most users the i5 has plenty of power. But I you need the extra power and the ability to realm crank through I tense usage, such as editing large raw files as a photographer then the i7 helps. Again for most users the i5 is perfect and the extra battery life ot affords the better tradeoff.

 

[EC Translating Services]

This is a Windows based forum so I am sure most of you have a good knowledge on these stuff.

I will need a laptop for the next four years for my University work, so I thought of taking this opportunity and buy a laptop that can run games well. I will be buying the laptop from USA within 5 months (to avoid the various taxes imposed by Indian Government). I can buy it anytime, tomorrow, next month, after 5 months, whenever the time is suitable.

My budget is Rs. 50,000 ($817) (Could push to Rs. 55,000 ($897)). My budget is fixed in Indian Rupees instead of dollars as the Rupee value constant changes everyday.

I will be using the laptop mostly for my University and personal use. Presentations, Assignments, high level programming, engineering related stuff in the next four years, entertainment, a bit of photoshop and random usage and media and of course, gaming. What I want is it should be able to run all the latest games at decent FPS. Doesn't have to be 1080p or 4k maxed out yolo swag settings. Anything at moderate settings with decent FPS is good enough.
For specifications, I have come to know that a quad core i7 doesn't give any major performance boost over the dual core i5 (assuming both have everything else the same), so I can go with i5 and even choose i5 with a better GPU than an i7 with a weaker GPU. 8 GB of RAM and anything over 750 GB of HDD (doesn't have to be SSHD or SSD) is what I am looking for. I won't be able to play all games at 1080p with a low-mid level laptop GPU and processor so I can sacrifice a 1080p display for a 1336x768 display but I would of course prefer a 1080p if its possible with the price range.

Now, based on what I am looking for. I have found a few laptops.

• 
  [li]Lenovo Y40
  Everything in the Laptop is REALLY nice except that it has AMD R9275M. I have always heard about technical and heating issues related to AMD GPUs and in general under performing against their NVIDIA equivalents.
  There are two versions, 500 GB and 1 TB being sold for $800 and $840 respectively (after instant savings).
  
  4th Generation Intel Core i7-4510U Processor (2.00GHz 1600 MHz 4MB)
  Windows 8.1 64
  14.0" FHD LED AntiGlare Backlight (1920x1080)
  AMD Radeon R9 M275 2GB
  8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600 MHz
  Hybrid 1TB 5400 RPM+8GB SSHD[/li]
  
  [li]HP ENVY 15t
  On customising it with the mentioned specifications, it costs $820 (after discount) which I think is reasonable since it provides an optical drive, fingerprint sensor and NVIDIA graphics card.
  
  4th generation Intel? Core? i7-4510U Dual Core Processor
  Windows 8.1 64
  15.6-inch diagonal Full HD WLED-backlit Display (1920x1080)
  2GB NVIDIA GeForce 840M Graphics
  8GB DDR3L System Memory (1 Dimm)
  Free upgrade from 1TB to 1.5TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive ($90 savings)
  SuperMulti DVD burner
  Standard Keyboard with Fingerprint Reader
  [/li]

Now, that's all I could find reasonable at the price I want. I personally prefer HP since I find it gives better specs for the price but I have heard complaints of HP laptops HDD or heating issues.

If anybody has some better alternatives and opinions, you're most welcome to mention them. Thank you.

Sorry if its wrong section...

I don't know the price in the US but i got an Acer V7 i7 (code is 582PG) as a second machine to carry around for emergency jobs and i am extremely happy (except for some materials that make it look worse than it actually is).
It has an Nvidia 750M. I play battlefield 3 and Tropico regularly and it works pretty good. Photoshop/Gimp occasionally, use a variety of very heavy translating software (Trados, MemoQ or localization suites like Catalyst) and handles everything very very well. Display is a joy for the eyes. 1080p, touchscreen (i actually use the touch controls more than i had thought when i bought it). It's light for its class and very very thin. I carry it everywhere and it can also take a beat (and a shower too sometimes). Substantially, i am a happy customer. I paid it just a bit above your price range in Taipei (

If your choice is limited to that budget buy the HP. I am not fond of any of those two models to be honest but in that segments HP may offer more quality. Lenovos lower mid range are not so good. I think acer also sells the V5 in your price range and with both i5 and i7. Your theory on i7 vs i5 is right.

 

[Great deal]

If you can wait 5 months then no point in looking at what you can buy today as you will get a better spec for a better price in 5 months. Start looking in 4 months time, that gives you a month to see whats what.

 

[unstoppablekem]

Have you seen what Dell offers? They have pretty good cheap PCs.

 

[AlastorX50]

You should look into what ASUS has to offer they provide high quality laptops and desktops with the biggest bang for little money, their warranty is worldwide so you don't have to worry about that.

Edit: I've found one for you.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231960

This is from ASUS's Pro Series, they go though stricter testing then the consumer models:
https://forums.windowscentral.com/e....aspx%3FItem%3DN82E16834231806&token=oJdQWsMp (even has a finger print reader and business card holder)

ASUS 360 Notebook Service Program