Laptop with ample of RAM

[Ricky]

1) What is your budget?
~50K INR

2) What size & weight consideration (if any) would you prefer?

• Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
• Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
• Larger the better

3) What are the primary tasks you will be performing with this notebook?
Work related multitasking where good CPU power and RAM is needed, generally coding and virtualization.


5) Any typical configuration in your mind you're eying for ?

• Ryzen 5+ or better proc,
• Provision to upgrade RAM as much possible in future.
• Ability to add more NVMe storage in future.

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Nothing specific, after sales warranty is important

6) Anything else you would like to say?

• Screen resolution Full HD
• Battery back up ( normal (3-4hrs) / extended (5-7hrs) ) - Not an issue, mostly will use with power plugged in
• Online Purchase is preferred
• Want a laptop which can be upgraded in future in terms of RAM and Storage
• Ability to support two external Display
  

 

[omega44-xt]

Sadly cheap 15" laptops have TN panels for some reasons, but there are exceptions & sale is starting soon on 4 May in both FK& amazon.

flipkart.com/asus-vivobook-k15-oled-ryzen-5-hexa-core-amd-r5-5500u-16-gb-512-gb-ssd-windows-11-home-km513ua-l512ws-thin-light-laptop/p/itma40e1d9d1a424
No major cons, but small cons are that you have to take care of the OLED panel by using screensaver feature in Win11 & autohide taskbar & another con is relatively low battery life as OLEDs draw more power (still should be 3-4 hrs based on usage).

amazon.in/HP-14-inches-Micro-Edge-14s-fy1003AU/dp/B0B58VN76J/
14" with IPS panel, its 15" variant has TN panel & lacks backlit KB. This laptop should last 6+ hrs on light usage.

Supporting 2 ext displays is not the case with many budget laptops. They will have an HDMI port, try to check if USB C port support display output, for some, it does.

 

[Ricky]

Thanks, however, TN panels and KB without backlit is fine, however, issues I am facing to figure out :
1. How much RAM can be upgraded in future, eg. for the Asus vivobook K15, its not clear how many slots it has for RAM and looks it has SO-DIMM ie. RAM is soldered to board.
2. How many M.2 / NVMe expansion ports are available for future upgrades.

I will not mind a cheaper laptop with powerful processor which can be upgraded like 32GB or more RAM and 2x2TB NVMe or more. However,

Further, most of the recent laptop seems to have USB-C 3.2 v1, but how to make sure it supports display port ?

 

[omega44-xt]

TN panels are not fine at all, it is shit, unless you will never use laptop's display (I prefer using the laptop screen as 2nd display with ext monitor).

1. I think that has 8GB soldered & another slot free which can take higher capacity RAM sticks as well. Like 24GB (8 + 16) is not bad to have if you really need the extra RAM.

2. 1x M.2 slot which will already have a SSD. That K15 has models with HDD + SSD, so maybe that will have a free 2.5" SATA slot.

3. You need to read the detailed specs, manual or service manual, if they don't mention DP, it likely doesn't support DP out. Laptops in this budget will mostly skip it.

I heard 4TB single sticks are thickers & usually doesn't fit all laptops. Didn't hear much about 2TB sticks, still do some research, ask Asus support maybe.

 

[omega44-xt]

amazon.in/HP-16-1-inch-Response-Graphics-16-e0650ax/dp/B0B2KGJ212

Maybe get a gaming laptop, 5800H is a faster CPU, you get 2x RAM slots & 2x M.2 SSD slots, also HDMI + type C with display out. So meets all your requirements, upgrade RAM & SSD later.

Cheaper laptop
amazon.in/HP-RX5500M-Graphics-Flicker-16-e0162AX/dp/B098QBT5KT

5600H performs better than 5500U, similar to R7 5700U or better.

 

[Ricky]

Thanks, looks like I need to spend about 60K to get things I need.

 

[omega44-xt]

Thanks, looks like I need to spend about 60K to get things I need.

Buy during this sale from FK or amazon, will get card discounts as well.

 

[Ricky]

This thing is still not finalized as was busy in other things and its not urgent.
For me, as @omega44-xt said, HP victus series has everything I need but couldn't confirm if they have 2x M.2 ssd slots. Further, if I go for 16GB model, they have 2x8GB sticks, so upgrade would mean discarding those existing rams sticks.

 

[omega44-xt]

This thing is still not finalized as was busy in other things and its not urgent.
For me, as @omega44-xt said, HP victus series has everything I need but couldn't confirm if they have 2x M.2 ssd slots. Further, if I go for 16GB model, they have 2x8GB sticks, so upgrade would mean discarding those existing rams sticks.

Victus has 2x M.2 slots, very easy to confirm. I mentioned that earlier as well. I added a 2nd SSD to my friend's Victus with 5600H + 5500M. Just check its review by Jarrod Tech or other good reviewers like notebookcheck or ultrabookreview.

RAM - yes will have to sell those off. Use Techenclave forum.

 

[Ricky]

Heard that Govt is going to curb laptop, tablets import, so ordered one. Settled with : *www.amazon.in/gp/product/B09RX2S3C8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00
Now have to spend about 14K more to get more RAM and extra 1TB NVMe

 

[omega44-xt]

Heard that Govt is going to curb laptop, tablets import, so ordered one. Settled with : *www.amazon.in/gp/product/B09RX2S3C8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00
Now have to spend about 14K more to get more RAM and extra 1TB NVMe

Cost?

14k for RAM & SSD sounds absurd. It should be 1.8k + 5k.

 

[Ricky]

58.9K with CC discount.

 

[omega44-xt]

58.9K with CC discount.

Good price.

But check RAM & SSD prices.

 

[Ricky]

14k for RAM & SSD sounds absurd. It should be 1.8k + 5k.

Looking for some 1TB or 2TB disk like WD blue SN570, 2 TB is preferred as don't want to upgrade later, if needed then will upgrade primary drive. But looking for DRAM based drive.

Then RAM, 32GB will cost around 6K.

 

[Ricky]

Btw, @omega44-xt, I was wondering that although this laptop (16-E0350AX ) listing on Amazon says its support upto 32 GB,on HP page, nothing much is given (*support.hp.com/in-en/document/c08301418) while if I look around, other SOCs using this processor ie.R5 5600H can support 32GB ram per slot. So, can we have 32GB RAM in single slot for this Laptop ?

 

[omega44-xt]

Btw, @omega44-xt, I was wondering that although this laptop (16-E0350AX ) listing on Amazon says its support upto 32 GB,on HP page, nothing much is given (*support.hp.com/in-en/document/c08301418) while if I look around, other SOCs using this processor ie.R5 5600H can support 32GB ram per slot. So, can we have 32GB RAM in single slot for this Laptop ?

32GB stick in single slot should be possible, just cross check in reddit. I mean, if it wasn't supported in last DDR4 supporting AMD CPUs, why will manufacturers release it?

Do you need 64GB RAM? 32GB is more than enough for most, so with dual channel, 2x16GB is ideal.

I found 2TB options to be limited or expensive, so bought 1TB SN570 for myself few months ago for about 4k after discounts. Wait for Diwali sales in Oct if you can, else just buy 1TB now. 1.5TB should be good for most, use an ext HDD for more storage.

www.flipkart.com/western-digital-wd-blue-nvme-sn570-1-tb-laptop-desktop-internal-solid-state-drive-ssd-wds100t3b0c/p/itm60a138eb7f55a

 

[Ricky]

Ended up spending 5180 (samsung evo plus 1 TB) + 2600 (crucial 16 GB 3200 DDR4 CL22) = 7780 for upgrade
So, now my laptop is Rs. 67680 with 1.5TB storage and 24GB RAM (as of now) .
RAM and NVMe still awaiting delivery, hopefully there are no surprises at time of upgrade.

 

[omega44-xt]

Just to let you know, you won't get full advantage of dual channel with unequal RAM, so some of the 1% low fps that you see might not improve with 24GB RAM.

 

[Ricky]

Yap, will replace with another 16GB stick some other time, meanwhile I am not gaming on it at all, purely work thing.

 

[invisiblebond]

So, now my laptop is Rs. 67680

What about extended warranty