Performance Laptop around 1 lakh (No Gaming)

[mohityadavx]

1) What is your budget? (INR or USD)
Max 1.2 lakh. Would prefer to spend 1 lakh. Would be buying an additional warranty for at least 3 years so that cost needs to be part of this figure.

2) What size & weight consideration (if any) would you prefer?
13-15 inch

3) What are the primary tasks you will be performing with this notebook?
Data Analysis (Very Large datasets in MySQL, CSV, and XLSX format)
Code Debugging (Assume using heavy IDEs like PyCharm, VSCode etc)

5) Any typical configuration in your mind you're eying for ?
Processor - Ryzen 7/Ryzen 9/i7/i9
RAM - Atleast 16 GB. Should be upgradable if default config comes with less.
Graphics - Entry to mid-level would be nice but not necessary.

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Like : Any brand that offers warranty extension and on site repair. Both of these are critical to my decision making.
Dislike : Avita, haven't heard of this brand before until today so not sure if I am willing to invest that much money on their products.

6) Anything else you would like to say?

1. Don't want a flimsy plastic build. Preferably metal build or metal finish. If that wont fit in the budget then overall sturdy build.
2. I don't mind if the laptop is too thick or too heavy.
3. Need Hybrid storage as 512 GB SSD doesn't cut my storage needs and need SSD for time-consuming processes.
4. Good speakers would be really great as I hate using headphones/earphones.

Also, selling another laptop, which is in warranty till 27 February 2022 (Dell Premium Support). Config is as below:-
Inspiron 15 5577

• i7 7700 HQ 2.8GHz
• 16 GB RAM
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050
• 128 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD
• Backlit keyboard, Windows 10, Great condition (Battery is gone and needs replacement. 74kwh battery will set back by around 5k, didn't replace because WFH)

How much realistically I can get for this?

Shortlisted these options, please guide

• ASUS ROG Strix G15 (2021) Ryzen 9 Octa Core R9-5900HX - (16 GB/1 TB SSD/Windows 10 Home/4 GB Graphics/NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050/144 Hz) G513QC-HN126T Gaming Laptop Rs.129990 Price in India - Buy ASUS ROG Strix G15 (2021) Ryzen 9 Octa Core R9-5900HX - (16 GB/1 TB SSD/Windows 10 Home/4 GB Graphics/NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050/144 Hz) G513QC-HN126T Gaming Laptop Eclipse Grey Online - ASUS : Flipkart.com
• *www.amazon.in/Lenovo-39-62cm-Refresh-Keyboard-82JK007WIN/dp/B09DMYZW5Q/
• *www.amazon.in/MSI-Katana-GF66-11UC-i7-11800H/dp/B09DZ6G32R/
• *www.amazon.in/Acer-i7-11800H-39-62cms-Graphics-AN515-57/dp/B09C8HZMW2/
• *www.amazon.in/ASUS-15-6-inch-i7-11370H-RTX-3050-Ti-FX516PEZ-HN105TS/dp/B09CCK8R2T/

 

[Deleted member 345628]

Lenovo

Out of stock but...

Note : Since you do programming , later some day you might do async programming that requires GPU .

 

[mohityadavx]

Lenovo

Out of stock but...

Note : Since you do programming , later some day you might do async programming that requires GPU .

With regard to your GPU point, yes, that is there, had trained some models using TensorFlow and the difference in TAT with and without GPU is tremendous even when I used my meek GTX 1050.

 

[Nerevarine]

Data Analysis (Very Large datasets in MySQL, CSV, and XLSX format) -> 32 GB Ram
Code Debugging (Assume using heavy IDEs like PyCharm, VSCode etc) -> Atleast a Ryzen 7 5800H

 

[mohityadavx]

Data Analysis (Very Large datasets in MySQL, CSV, and XLSX format) -> 32 GB Ram
Code Debugging (Assume using heavy IDEs like PyCharm, VSCode etc) -> Atleast a Ryzen 7 5800H

Can you suggest any model in my budget?

 

[mohityadavx]

Shortlisted these options, please guide

• ASUS ROG Strix G15 (2021) Ryzen 9 Octa Core R9-5900HX - (16 GB/1 TB SSD/Windows 10 Home/4 GB Graphics/NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050/144 Hz) G513QC-HN126T Gaming Laptop Rs.129990 Price in India - Buy ASUS ROG Strix G15 (2021) Ryzen 9 Octa Core R9-5900HX - (16 GB/1 TB SSD/Windows 10 Home/4 GB Graphics/NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050/144 Hz) G513QC-HN126T Gaming Laptop Eclipse Grey Online - ASUS : Flipkart.com
• *www.amazon.in/Lenovo-39-62cm-Refresh-Keyboard-82JK007WIN/dp/B09DMYZW5Q/
• *www.amazon.in/MSI-Katana-GF66-11UC-i7-11800H/dp/B09DZ6G32R/
• *www.amazon.in/Acer-i7-11800H-39-62cms-Graphics-AN515-57/dp/B09C8HZMW2/
• *www.amazon.in/ASUS-15-6-inch-i7-11370H-RTX-3050-Ti-FX516PEZ-HN105TS/dp/B09CCK8R2T/

 

[omega44-xt]

IMO get that Asus G15 as R9 5900HX is one of the best laptop CPUs yet. Replace RAM sticks later down the road if you feel 16GB ain't enough. If you have the money, you can even add 2x32GB sticks.
*www.amazon.in/Crucial-Single-SODIMM-260-Pin-Memory/dp/B07ZLC7VNH/
1x16GB 3200MHz stick costs like 7-8k.

Avoid Asus F15 & MSI one. Get Nitro 5 if you want to save money, maybe for RAM upgrade.

Legion 5 is a great laptop as well, but prefer R7 model as it has a better display as well:
*www.amazon.in/Lenovo-39-62cm-Windows-Keyboard-82JW0052IN/dp/B09DMWJH96


R7 5800H vs i7 11800H - R7 is more efficient, hence better performance at say 45-60W power draw, which is what most laptops run at in CPU only load. At 80W or so, I think i7 11800H is better, but those will be in bulky machines. Also Ryzen 5000 provides better battery life & better CPU performance on battery. R9 5900HX is just a better binned R7 5800H, thus providing even higher performance while consuming same power as R7 5800H (like 10% better or so).

Check Jarrod Tech & Hardware Unboxed's videos.

 

[bssunilreddy]

ASUS AMD Ryzen7-5800U 13.3 inches FHD IPS OLED Zenbook13 2021

 

[mohityadavx]

IMO get that Asus G15 as R9 5900HX is one of the best laptop CPUs yet. Replace RAM sticks later down the road if you feel 16GB ain't enough. If you have the money, you can even add 2x32GB sticks.
*www.amazon.in/Crucial-Single-SODIMM-260-Pin-Memory/dp/B07ZLC7VNH/
1x16GB 3200MHz stick costs like 7-8k.

Avoid Asus F15 & MSI one. Get Nitro 5 if you want to save money, maybe for RAM upgrade.

Legion 5 is a great laptop as well, but prefer R7 model as it has a better display as well:
*www.amazon.in/Lenovo-39-62cm-Windows-Keyboard-82JW0052IN/dp/B09DMWJH96


R7 5800H vs i7 11800H - R7 is more efficient, hence better performance at say 45-60W power draw, which is what most laptops run at in CPU only load. At 80W or so, I think i7 11800H is better, but those will be in bulky machines. Also Ryzen 5000 provides better battery life & better CPU performance on battery. R9 5900HX is just a better binned R7 5800H, thus providing even higher performance while consuming same power as R7 5800H (like 10% better or so).

Check Jarrod Tech & Hardware Unboxed's videos.

Asus G15 went out of stock by the time I finalized upon it. It is back in stock now but the price exceeds my budget. Nitro 5 also had an 8k card discount too which made the price difference way too much.
Anyway, I ordered Nitro5, which left me with funds to purchase an additional warranty which in my experience so far has been pretty well worth the money. I read about the performance issue of this laptop due to 11800H's power requirement but what I understood was that performance drops on battery and it works as expected on power. Since I would be mainly using this for work that is not really much of an issue then, I could have even gotten a great desktop at this price but the only reason was that the laptop let me travel even when I am working so the performance drop on the move is a fair bargain on that front. Anyways, let's see how it goes, slightly concerned about the build quality as some of the reviewers have written about it.
Just curious as to why did you dislike Asus F15 and MSI one? Legion 5 would have been out of budget.

 

[omega44-xt]

Asus F15 & MSI GF series aren't worth it as Acer Nitro or Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 or HP Victus are better budget laptops. MSI has a bad reputation for bad after sales in India as well. MSI was giving a 3050 laptop for close to 60k on sale a few weeks back, 10k lower than the competition which I could have recommended.

Nitro 5 is good for the price. Do get the 2 years of additional warranty, cost 8k for Helios 300, should be less for Nitro 5. I think it also comes with 1x16GB RAM like Helios 300, so get a 16GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM for it.
*www.amazon.in/ADATA-SO-DIMM-DDR4-3200MHZ-Premier-3200MHZ/dp/B08CDTWJ5R
Great deal at under 5.8k.

It has a 2nd M.2 slot as well, I think.

 

[mohityadavx]

Asus F15 & MSI GF series aren't worth it as Acer Nitro or Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 or HP Victus are better budget laptops. MSI has a bad reputation for bad after sales in India as well. MSI was giving a 3050 laptop for close to 60k on sale a few weeks back, 10k lower than the competition which I could have recommended.

Nitro 5 is good for the price. Do get the 2 years of additional warranty, cost 8k for Helios 300, should be less for Nitro 5. I think it also comes with 1x16GB RAM like Helios 300, so get a 16GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM for it.
*www.amazon.in/ADATA-SO-DIMM-DDR4-3200MHZ-Premier-3200MHZ/dp/B08CDTWJ5R
Great deal at under 5.8k.

It has a 2nd M.2 slot as well, I think.

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation!

 

[mohityadavx]

Asus F15 & MSI GF series aren't worth it as Acer Nitro or Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 or HP Victus are better budget laptops. MSI has a bad reputation for bad after sales in India as well. MSI was giving a 3050 laptop for close to 60k on sale a few weeks back, 10k lower than the competition which I could have recommended.

Nitro 5 is good for the price. Do get the 2 years of additional warranty, cost 8k for Helios 300, should be less for Nitro 5. I think it also comes with 1x16GB RAM like Helios 300, so get a 16GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM for it.
*www.amazon.in/ADATA-SO-DIMM-DDR4-3200MHZ-Premier-3200MHZ/dp/B08CDTWJ5R
Great deal at under 5.8k.

It has a 2nd M.2 slot as well, I think.

Yes, it has a 2nd M2 slot too.
Anyways, it's a great laptop and the build quality is great too.
I have a question, the laptop even at idle state with just few browser window being open runs at 49C hot and fans are bit loud too. Is this normal?
Update
Edge alone is taking 60% of memory with 11 tabs open and temperature reaching 90'C

 

[omega44-xt]

Yes, it has a 2nd M2 slot too.
Anyways, it's a great laptop and the build quality is great too.
I have a question, the laptop even at idle state with just few browser window being open runs at 49C hot and fans are bit loud too. Is this normal?
Update
Edge alone is taking 60% of memory with 11 tabs open and temperature reaching 90'C

50C idling isn't too bad considering Intel CPUs generally sip more power & run bit hotter. Even momentary spikes to 90C for running edge isn't good. I use HWInfo for check temp readings because it can give average numbers & I can reset its counter. My laptop's CPU does hit 70C momentarily when I open say Chrome which has 10+ tabs, but later stays under 55C. 90C momentary spike when the laptop is resting on a table might be possible though.

Note: I use a cooling pad, Deepcool Multicore X6 & even on that have the laptop prop'ed up by 1cm. For something cheap, use a thick book or something to raise laptop's back by at least 3-4cm. IMO this is required for almost all gaming laptops, esp while gaming.

Also, check Bob of all trades' guide to use Throttlestop for undervolting. See if you can undervolt the CPU, if not limit power draw to 30-35W, see how hot your laptop gets. Loop the new Cinebench R23 for CPU only stress test, use some CPU intensive games like new Ubisoft ones to test realistic gaming experience. Take some readings & post SS of HWinfo. Don't forget to reset its clock, say just after you start gaming.

 

[mohityadavx]

Hey
I should have clarified. The 90C spike may be one time thing but just with browser (edge with 5-6 tabs open) and nothing else running in background it reaches to 75C in less than half an hour of usage with CPU fan at 3000+ RPM and GPU fan at 3600+ RPM and CPU usage being less than 10% and ram usage being around 40%. This is when I am keeping it elevated with a thick book.
My keyboard feels like a heat pad which seems nice right now in Delhi winters but is making me worrisome about the impending Delhi heat and also what will happen to my CPU when I really push it for performance.