Buying Advice : Laptop for Regular Use (Budget INR 35000)

[123hero]

Hi Digitians,

I am looking forward to buying a new laptop as my existing HP Pavilion G6 2301 AX has seen better days and stuttering with even basic tasks like CTRL C and CTRL V. . Also except for the RAM and ROM everypart part has been replaced due to periodic crashes and horrible service from HP (They burnt the entire motherboard )

Questionnaire is filled as below
1) What is your budget? (INR or USD)
INR 30000 - INR 35000


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

• Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen - I dont see myself carrying my personal laptop outside.

3) What are the primary tasks you will be performing with this notebook?

• Media Consumption : Movies, Broswsing, YouTube, etc.
• Gaming : Not So Graphic Intensive Ones.
• Professional Use : MS OFFICE, (Good Keyboard Preferred) Occasional and light usage of Illustrator, Photoshop or light editing softwares.

5) Any typical configuration in your mind you're eying for ?
Nothing in particular (any decent processor that can last for close 4-5 years is okay (Cool with either of Intel or AMD processors)

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like:
b. Dislike:
Nothing in particular

6) Anything else you would like to say?

• Screen resolution (Full HD is required
• Battery back up ( normal (3-4hrs)
  
• Purchase place ( Preferbaly offline / online if the deal is sweet enough) /
  
• Local / Abroad (do mention the country) ) - INDIA

 

[whitestar_999]

There are many games & same game at 720p may not be playable at 1080p with same graphics card so you have to be specific.

 

[omega44-xt]

1080p + even shit dedicated GPU like MX110/130 isn't available in India under 35k. If you want to play games, this seems to be the best bet:
Lenovo Ideapad 330 Core i5 8th Gen - (8 GB/1 TB HDD/DOS/2 GB Graphics) 330-15IKB Laptop Rs.56890 Price in India - Buy Lenovo Ideapad 330 Core i5 8th Gen - (8 GB/1 TB HDD/DOS/2 GB Graphics) 330-15IKB Laptop Onyx Black Online - Lenovo : Flipkart.com
MX150 is decent for that price, but it has a 768p TN display, which isn't good for sure. MX150 can barely run all the games, new ones at 720p low 25-30fps.

Another option is this one with MX130, but has a 1080p panel:
Acer Aspire 5 Core i5 7th Gen - (8 GB/1 TB HDD/Windows 10 Home/2 GB Graphics) A515-51G Laptop Rs.49212 Price in India - Buy Acer Aspire 5 Core i5 7th Gen - (8 GB/1 TB HDD/Windows 10 Home/2 GB Graphics) A515-51G Laptop Obsidian Black Online - Acer : Flipkart.com

There are other obvious differences like Lenovo has a much better CPU but Acer comes with Win10 pre-installed. Also Acer one might have a M.2 slot for SSD (not 100% sure). With ongoing HDFC offers, those will be 36.5k.

 

[123hero]

Would it be sensible if drop the idea of the laptop altogether and buy a desktop ?

 

[SaiyanGoku]

Would it be sensible if drop the idea of the laptop altogether and buy a desktop ?

In this budget, it would be okay for normal use, not so much for gaming unless you are open to searching/buying used parts mainly CPU, mobo, ram and GPU.

 

[omega44-xt]

Would it be sensible if drop the idea of the laptop altogether and buy a desktop ?

If you don't need portability, desktop can be cheaper & better.
Like this is a good build for 35k:
System Builder - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core, 100R ATX Mid Tower - PCPartPicker
That CPU has an integrated GPU which is equivalent to GT1030 or a bit better than MX150 found in laptops, so it can run a lot of new games at lowest settings.

*static.techspot.com/articles-info/1619/bench/iGPU.png

 

[123hero]

Hello people,

I have decided to up my budget by around INR 5000-INR 7000 , for a better deal.

I see promising reviews (online) and recommendations (here at Digit Forums) for the ASUS VIVOBOOK 15.6" - AMD Ryzen 3500U (2 Ghz) | 512 GB SSD | AMD Radeon Vega 8 | FHD Panel but TN and not IPS.
Flipkart Link Here -- > Currently at INR 42000 - Asus Vivobook 15 Ryzen 5 Quad Core - (8 GB/512 GB SSD/Windows 10 Home) X512DA-EJ501T Thin and Light Laptop Rs.49990 Price in India - Buy Asus Vivobook 15 Ryzen 5 Quad Core - (8 GB/512 GB SSD/Windows 10 Home) X512DA-EJ501T Thin and Light Laptop Transparent Silver Online - Asus : Flipkart.com

I have some questions and hopeful for answers.

1. One of the Moderators in above posts mentioned that some games may not be playable on a 1080p screen with certain graphics card - I wonder how is it possible since I am complete novice in that regard.

2. Is AMD Radeon Vega 8 a dedicated GPU or is it inbuilt GPU (like Intel Integrated Graphics). If its a dedicated GPU - how does it feature against other entry level GPU like Nvidia GeForce MX250 ? Will it suffice for running games / editing softwares ( I mostly play simulator based games like Euro Truck Simulator, MS Flight Simulator etc + light editing on Illustrator / Photoshop. ). I also watch movies in FHD or 2k, 4k resolutions - would this require a dedicated GPU ?

3. Do we have similar specs (AMD Ryzen 3500U) from other hardware makers like Dell or HP ? Not that I have anything against Asus in particular, but this is just considering Dell and HP are primarily laptop makers.

4. The ASUS laptop's online review do particular mention about its dull screen and poor color reproduction. What does digit forum have to say about it. Screen for me is decently important - since I do consume content like movies and games.

5. What do you think of some imports from China below.
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13.3 Price in India, Full Specs - 31st May 2020 | Digit ( It costed around INR 42K + Customs back in 2019 when I checked it)
Also Xiaomi announced the launch of their Redmibook variants in India -- > Xiaomi RedmiBook, Mi laptops expected to launch soon in India

Does it make sense waiting for these laptops ? I am not that much in a hurry to buy one and can wait upto 2 -3 months since some basic functions can be managed via phone and office laptop.

6. Though I would like to buy online (only for the lower pricing)- are these laptops available for viewing in showrooms. I maybe old school kinda person, but i would definitely like to have a look at the laptop before putting in the money.

Regards
Rahul

 

[whitestar_999]

1. One of the Moderators in above posts mentioned that some games may not be playable on a 1080p screen with certain graphics card - I wonder how is it possible since I am complete novice in that regard.

It was me & well it is like this, higher the resolution more the graphics processing power needed for same content(movies,games,anything). It is possible that a graphics card may be able to run a game at 720p but not at 1080p because at 720p the card can still handle the load but not at 1080p.

2. Is AMD Radeon Vega 8 a dedicated GPU or is it inbuilt GPU (like Intel Integrated Graphics). If its a dedicated GPU - how does it feature against other entry level GPU like Nvidia GeForce MX250 ? Will it suffice for running games / editing softwares ( I mostly play simulator based games like Euro Truck Simulator, MS Flight Simulator etc + light editing on Illustrator / Photoshop. ). I also watch movies in FHD or 2k, 4k resolutions - would this require a dedicated GPU ?

It is integrated graphics & is comparable to MX130. For full details check below link:

*www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-RX-Vega-8-GPU-Benchmarks-and-Specs.260180.0.html

Watching 2k or 4k movies on a full HD screen is pointless anyway but you don't compulsorily need dedicated gpu for watching 2k,4k content as long as your processor is powerful enough but Vega 8 is more than enough for any typical 2k,4k content.

3. Do we have similar specs (AMD Ryzen 3500U) from other hardware makers like Dell or HP ? Not that I have anything against Asus in particular, but this is just considering Dell and HP are primarily laptop makers.

Dell does not have any ryzen 3500u models.

*www.amazon.in/HP-15-6-inch-Windows-Graphics-15-DB1061AU/dp/B081GVH212/

Costlier with inferior looks & no ssd but it does come with ips screen as per one comment. Btw just because Dell & HP are primarily laptop makers does not make their laptops better. In fact you can say that Asus being the top mobo maker in the world their laptops should have the best quality because neither dell nor HP makes their own motherboards for use in their laptops. Point is, as long as it is one of the major/established names in laptops brand does not matter as much.

5. What do you think of some imports from China below.
Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13.3 Price in India, Full Specs - 31st May 2020 | Digit ( It costed around INR 42K + Customs back in 2019 when I checked it)
Also Xiaomi announced the launch of their Redmibook variants in India -- > Xiaomi RedmiBook, Mi laptops expected to launch soon in India

Forget about importing expensive electronics items from any country(that customs duty alone will cost an additional 30-40%). Xiaomi is good for mobile phones so better avoid unless you want to be a test case/example for others to see how good(or bad) the redmi laptops are.

Does it make sense waiting for these laptops ? I am not that much in a hurry to buy one and can wait upto 2 -3 months since some basic functions can be managed via phone and office laptop.

You should wait anyway for Oct sales of flipkart & amazon in which you will get the lowest prices & best deals of the year.

6. Though I would like to buy online (only for the lower pricing)- are these laptops available for viewing in showrooms. I maybe old school kinda person, but i would definitely like to have a look at the laptop before putting in the money.

For intel models it is not an issue but for ryzen models it will be difficult as I found out while checking laptop models for a friend. Apparently offline stores prefer to keep intel models because they get more commission on selling them compared to amd/ryzen models but similar models with only difference being intel/amd should have similar screen & build quality.

 

[123hero]

Thanks a lot for long post and for the patient reply. _/\_

It is integrated graphics & is comparable to MX130. For full details check below link:

*www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-RX-Vega-8-GPU-Benchmarks-and-Specs.260180.0.html

Watching 2k or 4k movies on a full HD screen is pointless anyway but you don't compulsorily need dedicated gpu for watching 2k,4k content as long as your processor is powerful enough but Vega 8 is more than enough for any typical 2k,4k content.

Thank you for the clarity. I presume my requirements (the simulator based games i mentioned above + light editing work on the Illustrator / Photoshop can be done easily on the AMD Radeon Vega 8 and with this combination - I can easily pull through the requirements for atleast 4-5 years since I am looking forward to use it atleast that long.

Point is, as long as it is one of the major/established names in laptops brand does not matter as much.

I asked that question since ASUS is a relatively newer player in the laptop market as compared "established brands" like HP and Dell.

Forget about importing expensive electronics items from any country(that customs duty alone will cost an additional 30-40%). Xiaomi is good for mobile phones so better avoid unless you want to be a test case/example for others to see how good(or bad) the redmi laptops are.

Just discussed this issue with a friend who used to import from China and has warned against importing due to the unnecessary hassles and extra custom duties.

For intel models it is not an issue but for ryzen models it will be difficult as I found out while checking laptop models for a friend. Apparently offline stores prefer to keep intel models because they get more commission on selling them compared to amd/ryzen models but similar models with only difference being intel/amd should have similar screen & build quality.

Thanks for highlighting this. My previous (now dead) laptop was an AMD one and the dealer simply did not show it unless I asked whether there were any AMD laptops. This "heating issue" is being massively propagated by many folks, including dealers and retailers, though in 7 years of usage I never found any unreasonable heating issues on the AMD A8 CPU. Maybe the "heating issue" concern has been "invented" by them for selling the Intel powered laptops.

4. The ASUS laptop's online review do particular mention about its dull screen and poor color reproduction. What does digit forum have to say about it. Screen for me is decently important - since I do consume content like movies and games.

I am not sure why you left out the above point, would like to know your thoughts on the same.

 

[whitestar_999]

Thank you for the clarity. I presume my requirements (the simulator based games i mentioned above + light editing work on the Illustrator / Photoshop can be done easily on the AMD Radeon Vega 8 and with this combination - I can easily pull through the requirements for atleast 4-5 years since I am looking forward to use it atleast that long.

I am not a gamer & adobe user so can't say for sure but @SaiyanGoku @omega44-xt should know better about this. I think simulator games depend more on processor & as for Illustrator/PS it depends on type of filter/processing you use.

I asked that question since ASUS is a relatively newer player in the laptop market as compared "established brands" like HP and Dell.

Comparatively yes but asus is selling laptops in India for at least 10 years(cousin got an asus laptop in 2011 which still works with some expected minor issues expected after such long time).

Thanks for highlighting this. My previous (now dead) laptop was an AMD one and the dealer simply did not show it unless I asked whether there were any AMD laptops. This "heating issue" is being massively propagated by many folks, including dealers and retailers, though in 7 years of usage I never found any unreasonable heating issues on the AMD A8 CPU. Maybe the "heating issue" concern has been "invented" by them for selling the Intel powered laptops.

Actually pre-ryzen amd laptop processors were not recommended because they were just not good enough compared to intel processors available at similar/a bit lesser price. Only with ryzen processors AMD started leaving intel behind both in laptop & desktop market.

4. The ASUS laptop's online review do particular mention about its dull screen and poor color reproduction. What does digit forum have to say about it. Screen for me is decently important - since I do consume content like movies and games.

I am not sure why you left out the above point, would like to know your thoughts on the same.

Actually screen quality is quite subjective in nature & what one likes may not be liked by other. On this matter I always suggest to check in person similar models from same brand in a showroom to get an idea of screen quality. A good TN panel is not so bad especially if watch directly in front & centre of screen. This is why I gave link of a HP laptop model with similar configuration which supposedly comes with ips screen. In my opinion it is better to just buy a 22" monitor(good ones cost ~9k) & connect it via laptop to watch any multimedia content because no matter how good a laptop screen is it will never be able to match a dedicated monitor(unless price difference is huge). Of course this is assuming you can follow this setup but if you plan to watch multimedia content on the go(say while traveling daily) or live in a shared room then obviously this can't work.

 

[omega44-xt]

Vega 8 of R5 3500U might be the best bet for under 40k. So it will work fine for light games, nothing intensive like RDR2.

 

[123hero]

I am not a gamer & adobe user so can't say for sure but @SaiyanGoku @omega44-xt should know better about this. I think simulator games depend more on processor & as for Illustrator/PS it depends on type of filter/processing you use.


Comparatively yes but asus is selling laptops in India for at least 10 years(cousin got an asus laptop in 2011 which still works with some expected minor issues expected after such long time).


Actually pre-ryzen amd laptop processors were not recommended because they were just not good enough compared to intel processors available at similar/a bit lesser price. Only with ryzen processors AMD started leaving intel behind both in laptop & desktop market.


Actually screen quality is quite subjective in nature & what one likes may not be liked by other. On this matter I always suggest to check in person similar models from same brand in a showroom to get an idea of screen quality. A good TN panel is not so bad especially if watch directly in front & centre of screen. This is why I gave link of a HP laptop model with similar configuration which supposedly comes with ips screen. In my opinion it is better to just buy a 22" monitor(good ones cost ~9k) & connect it via laptop to watch any multimedia content because no matter how good a laptop screen is it will never be able to match a dedicated monitor(unless price difference is huge). Of course this is assuming you can follow this setup but if you plan to watch multimedia content on the go(say while traveling daily) or live in a shared room then obviously this can't work.

Thanks a lot for the reply. I think I should head out to a ASUS showroom to have a look at the laptop, before finalising on it.

Requesting @SaiyanGoku @omega44-xt for their feedback on the simulator based games.

 

[omega44-xt]

Vega 8 of R5 3500U will run some not so demanding games well, like FIFA. ETS2 will definitely work fine, so will older F1 & Project Cars 1. Even F1 2019 will works at 40+ fps at 720p low. Other sims like Farming Simulator 19 should work ok as well. Do mention which games you intend to play exactly.

 

[123hero]

Vega 8 of R5 3500U will run some not so demanding games well, like FIFA. ETS2 will definitely work fine, so will older F1 & Project Cars 1. Even F1 2019 will works at 40+ fps at 720p low. Other sims like Farming Simulator 19 should work ok as well. Do mention which games you intend to play exactly.

It will mostly be a mixture of ETS 2, Bus Simulator, MS Train Simulator, MS Flight Simulator, X Plane.

I dont play other simulator games like Farming Simulator / Cooking Simulator / F1

 

[omega44-xt]

It will mostly be a mixture of ETS 2, Bus Simulator, MS Train Simulator, MS Flight Simulator, X Plane.

I dont play other simulator games like Farming Simulator / Cooking Simulator / F1

Forget playing the upcoming Flight Simulator, that has pretty high system requirements, Xbox One X level (need a laptop with at least GTX 1650Ti). Rest of the older games should work.

 

[123hero]

Hello Guys.

Considering that ASUS Vivobook 15 X512DA-EJ501T is unavailable online since a lot of time.

I just made a trip to some shops in my locality looking for similar spec laptop

1. Lenovo Y540 81SY002 PIN - INR 69990/ - (i5 9th GEN, 8GB RAM, 1 TB HDD + 128GB SSD, NVIDA GTX1650 -4 GB, 15.6 FHD Screen, WIN 10 + MS OFFICE H&S)
2. Lenovo L340 81LK017LIN - INR 67990/- ( i5 9th GEN, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD + 256GB SSD, NVDIA GTX1650- 4GB, 15.6 FHD Screen)
3.Lenovo - 81LG00TGIN - INR 61990/ - (i7 8th GEN, 8GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, Graphics -(2GB), 15.6 FHD Screen, WIN 10)
4. Dell Inspiron15 3593 - INR 66500/- (i5 10th GEN, 8GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, 256GB SSD, 15.6 FHD Screen, WIN 10 + MS Office H&S + McAfee Anti Virus 15 month subscription (multi device)

I know that these laptops are out of the budget i have mentioned, however I would like to know the below.

1. How similar will be the ASUS Vivobook 15 X512DA-EJ501T when pitted against the above ones.
2. Is it worth spending upwards of 60K on the aforementioned Lenovo and Dell Laptops as opposed to around 45K on the ASUS model
3. I plan doing editing tasks. (mainly editing of travel videos and that sort of stuff - hopefully low to medium level editing) - in that case will the ASUS suffice or should I up my budget and go for the expensive ones.
4. Are there AMD models that are similar to specs of above laptops.

Apologies for confusion

Reg

 

[omega44-xt]

1. How similar will be the ASUS Vivobook 15 X512DA-EJ501T when pitted against the above ones.
2. Is it worth spending upwards of 60K on the aforementioned Lenovo and Dell Laptops as opposed to around 45K on the ASUS model
3. I plan doing editing tasks. (mainly editing of travel videos and that sort of stuff - hopefully low to medium level editing) - in that case will the ASUS suffice or should I up my budget and go for the expensive ones.
4. Are there AMD models that are similar to specs of above laptops.

1. I'm not sure about 3rd laptop because of lack of info but 1st & 2nd will outperform it easily as they are proper gaming laptops. Y540 is better because L340 is just a bad laptop, not worth buying unless at say under 50k. 4th option performs similar to R5 3500U CPU wise but with weaker GPU, assuming that i5 is i5 10210U.

2. Those will run games & editing softwares better, only 1st & 2nd.

3. Y540 is in a different class & it will be better for video editing.

4. Yes, newer Ryzen 4000 laptops are available. Say a gaming laptop like Asus TUF A15 with R5 4600H + GTX 1650 for 63k or so, has much better CPU than Y540, so even better for video editing, while performing similar in games. Intel Quicksync gives Intel CPUs some advantage, don't ask me too much about it as I don't edit videos. Research about it, if interested. Acer's Swift 3 with R5 4500U was sold for some time for 60k, performs much better than R5 3500U, close to Y540 level but inferior to A15. Covid has created stock issues & R5 3500U laptops are almost out of stock everywhere.

 

[123hero]

1. I'm not sure about 3rd laptop because of lack of info but 1st & 2nd will outperform it easily as they are proper gaming laptops. Y540 is better because L340 is just a bad laptop, not worth buying unless at say under 50k. 4th option performs similar to R5 3500U CPU wise but with weaker GPU, assuming that i5 is i5 10210U.

2. Those will run games & editing softwares better, only 1st & 2nd.

3. Y540 is in a different class & it will be better for video editing.

4. Yes, newer Ryzen 4000 laptops are available. Say a gaming laptop like Asus TUF A15 with R5 4600H + GTX 1650 for 63k or so, has much better CPU than Y540, so even better for video editing, while performing similar in games. Intel Quicksync gives Intel CPUs some advantage, don't ask me too much about it as I don't edit videos. Research about it, if interested. Acer's Swift 3 with R5 4500U was sold for some time for 60k, performs much better than R5 3500U, close to Y540 level but inferior to A15. Covid has created stock issues & R5 3500U laptops are almost out of stock everywhere.

How does the laptops in the slightly higher range fare (approx INR 50K)

 

[omega44-xt]

How does the laptops in the slightly higher range fare (approx INR 50K)

There are some listings with R5 3550H + GTX1650 for 50k, like a HP pavilion gaming model, but they never went on sale I think. That would be pretty good, but even R5 3550H + 1050/560X would be better than anything cheaper. Obviously these are gaming laptops. Look during Amazon Prime Day & any FK sale near Independence day.

HP Pavilion Gaming Ryzen 5 Quad Core - (8 GB/1 TB HDD/Windows 10 Home/4 GB Graphics/NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1650) 15-ec0101AX Gaming Laptop Rs.56145 Price in India - Buy HP Pavilion Gaming Ryzen 5 Quad Core - (8 GB/1 TB HDD/Windows 10 Home/4 GB Graphics/NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1650) 15-ec0101AX Gaming Laptop Black Online - HP : Flipkart.com

 

[123hero]

1. I'm not sure about 3rd laptop because of lack of info but 1st & 2nd will outperform it easily as they are proper gaming laptops. Y540 is better because L340 is just a bad laptop, not worth buying unless at say under 50k. 4th option performs similar to R5 3500U CPU wise but with weaker GPU, assuming that i5 is i5 10210U.

2. Those will run games & editing softwares better, only 1st & 2nd.

3. Y540 is in a different class & it will be better for video editing.

4. Yes, newer Ryzen 4000 laptops are available. Say a gaming laptop like Asus TUF A15 with R5 4600H + GTX 1650 for 63k or so, has much better CPU than Y540, so even better for video editing, while performing similar in games. Intel Quicksync gives Intel CPUs some advantage, don't ask me too much about it as I don't edit videos. Research about it, if interested. Acer's Swift 3 with R5 4500U was sold for some time for 60k, performs much better than R5 3500U, close to Y540 level but inferior to A15. Covid has created stock issues & R5 3500U laptops are almost out of stock everywhere.

**Update**

ASUS VIVOBOOK 15 X512DA EJ501T is not available online. Offline stores in my area don't stock any AMD models. Hence will need to look for alternative options.

Further could gather from someone who uses Adobe Premier that 8GB RAM would be needed to run it smoothly. Vivobook RAMs do split it between chipset and the graphics hence slightly apprehensive whether it would work on a 6GB RAM. Also understand that its possible to remove one of the 4GB RAM and upgrade to an 8GB RAM making it a total of 12GB RAM. But I am not technically sound and wonder whether it would void the warranty as well.

What will be some Intel models / models with 8GB RAM in the range of upto 55K.

Reg
Rahul