Best Laptop around 30k?

coldfire101

Right off the assembly line
Hi folks,

I need to buy a laptop in a coupla weeks and thought I'd ask here for some advice.
I mostly need it to program (using MS VS 2012) and run SQL,Oracle etc. but also play a few games (BF3,Gears etc) for around 3-4 hrs a week.
My budget is 30k...well give or take a coupla thousand.As I got some flipkart credit (Rs.1000) I can stretch it out an extra thousand but then it hits the ceiling. Anyway here're my answers for the Qnnaire

1) What is your budget?

30-34k (34k outer limit)

2) What size & weight consideration (if any) would you prefer?
15.6

3) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like:Samsung,ASUS
b. Dislike:Acer,Sony,....also to an extent Lenovo n HP

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

Program in .NET languages (wud be using VS2012/2010,SQL Server,Oracle)
Casual Gaming (3-4hr a week max of bf3,cod,gears and a coupla others like torchlight)

5) What screen resolution(s) & type (glossy/matte) would you prefer?

Not to particular but anti-glare would be good

6) Anything else you would like to say? (eg: local purchase, ASS,matte/glossy finish)

Prefer Black coloured laptops only...no silver,grey,beige or any other bright colours!!!



Based on my requirements I've already mentally set aside a few models:

Samsung NP300E5X-A01IN:
Samsung NP300E5X-A01IN Laptop (3rd Gen Ci5/ 4GB/ 500GB/ DOS) - Samsung: Flipkart.com

Samsung NP355V5C-S05IN:

Samsung NP355V5C-S05IN Laptop (APU Quad Core A8/ 6GB/ 1TB/ Win8/ 1GB Graph) - Samsung: Flipkart.com


The first models seems to be quite good but I'm not sure about the performance of the integrated HD 4000 grafix...however if I go fr ASUS and try the ones in the same price bracket I'm stuck with i3 models that come with the ultra low end nvidia gt610 which's actually slower than the integrated 4000 and probably consumes more battery life. Can I d ANY gaming on the first model cuz I like it and samsung laptops reputedly run cooler than others,which brings me to the second model the s05IN...Sure I don't game much and primarily need it for programming but need to know how hot(ter) it gets compared to the first one (A01IN). I really like it but the AMD brand keeps me puching away...does it get quite hot even while programming,surfing,watching movies,a bit of mutli-tasking or while gaming alone?? If it runs hot only while gaming,that's something I can live with as I also have a playstation that I could go for gaming. Asus is my favourite brand but it seems to have no models with the same config.Asus A55DR-SX102D doesn't seem to have dual grafix and I'm quite cautious concerning HP as I had experience with their products before (overheating,dead battery etc)so 2010ax is kind of a no-no.

So please help me and thanks for your patience in bearing with me.

Awaiting suggestions............
 

kickfury

Broken In
The Samsung NP355V5C-S05IN seems like the best choice as far as APU Quad Core A8 processors goes. I had a look at this model in the Samsung showroom last weekend, pretty decent build quality. Plus they were selling it for 37K, so flipkart is giving a good deal for this one. I was also able to run the Windows Experience index on this model, good all rounder if you ask me.

IMG_20130114_185158.jpg

The other option would be ASUS, but it has the same price with downsides - no OS, lower memory. You have pretty much ruled out any other manufacturer from the race.
 

ghost_z

Ghost From Hell !
I would say hp pavillion g5 2010ax is the better option, although it has dos and almost same hardware, it has better battery, touchpad and extra 512 mb vram while the hd 7670m in samsung mobile has supposedly 512 mb vram which is low by today's standards even though the gpu is weak !

see this
Samsung NP355V5C-S05IN Laptop (APU Quad Core A8/ 6GB/ 1TB/ Win8/ 1GB Graph) vs HP Pavilion G6-2010AX Laptop (APU Quad Core A8/ 6GB/ 1TB/ DOS/ 1.5GB Graph): Compare Computers: Flipkart.com
 
OP
C

coldfire101

Right off the assembly line
The Samsung NP355V5C-S05IN seems like the best choice as far as APU Quad Core A8 processors goes. I had a look at this model in the Samsung showroom last weekend, pretty decent build quality. Plus they were selling it for 37K, so flipkart is giving a good deal for this one. I was also able to run the Windows Experience index on this model, good all rounder if you ask me.

View attachment 8442

The other option would be ASUS, but it has the same price with downsides - no OS, lower memory. You have pretty much ruled out any other manufacturer from the race.

Thanks for the reply mate.Since you'd seen it in person i'd just like to ask: it does have usb ports right...no info abt the same. also,any info on the mic and card slot??...one more Q: what colour was the one u saw in...wud love it in black but it seems to come only in silver combos...atleast from the pix i saw online.Once again thanks for the reply and the scorecard.
 
OP
C

coldfire101

Right off the assembly line
I would say hp pavillion g5 2010ax is the better option, although it has dos and almost same hardware, it has better battery, touchpad and extra 512 mb vram while the hd 7670m in samsung mobile has supposedly 512 mb vram which is low by today's standards even though the gpu is weak !

see this
Samsung NP355V5C-S05IN Laptop (APU Quad Core A8/ 6GB/ 1TB/ Win8/ 1GB Graph) vs HP Pavilion G6-2010AX Laptop (APU Quad Core A8/ 6GB/ 1TB/ DOS/ 1.5GB Graph): Compare Computers: Flipkart.com

Thanks for pointing out the vram issue mate. I didn't notice it. I just read in the desc "1 GB AMD Radeon HD 7670M Dedicated 512 MB AMD Radeon HD 7640G Graphics Integrated" for HP and "AMD Radeon HD 7640G and HD 7670M Dual Graphics" in samsung model and assumed that for samsung, it was a 1gb + 512mb integrated...the inherent difference flew past me.

Regarding the battery, both seem to come with a 6-cell battery and merely the adapter seems to be 90w in the HP model as opposed to the 65w one in Samsung...please enlighten me on this.

One last query: what about the heating???.....does it(the AMD samsung one) overheat during gaming alone or even during video playback,surfing,coding or a bit of multitasking. I repeatedly pose this cuz my old HP was horrible in terms of heating issue right from the start. It was a fossil though and recent models cud've improved. As i said before I don't game much (3-4hrs a week) so if it gets hot only during gaming,I'll probably go for the Samsung one..I just don't wanna regret is all. Thanks :)
 

ghost_z

Ghost From Hell !
That i can't exactly tell you but rest assured many of my freinds have taken the HP model and haven't reported any issues till now !
 

kickfury

Broken In
Thanks for the reply mate.Since you'd seen it in person i'd just like to ask: it does have usb ports right...no info abt the same. also,any info on the mic and card slot??...one more Q: what colour was the one u saw in...wud love it in black but it seems to come only in silver combos...atleast from the pix i saw online.Once again thanks for the reply and the scorecard.

there were definitely some USB ports, but I didn't explicitly note it down, maybe I should have taken more screenshots. Usual stuff like mic and headphone slots will be there, no idea about SD card reader. I saw the silver variant, looked quite good to me. I can't recollect now, but I think the laptop cover is a fingerprint magnet.

My suggestion is that if you are keen on this laptop, head over to your nearest Samsung showroom and see it for yourself to clear all doubts :)
 

nithinmohantk

Hostage Negotiator
I feel you guys have seriously mistaken about Samsung, as per FLIPKART listings - they have mentioned as ' 1 GB Dedicated memory' and assume that since it is using 7640G - integrated - it by default gives you 512MB integrated/shared memory as well.



Thanks for pointing out the vram issue mate. I didn't notice it. I just read in the desc "1 GB AMD Radeon HD 7670M Dedicated 512 MB AMD Radeon HD 7640G Graphics Integrated" for HP and "AMD Radeon HD 7640G and HD 7670M Dual Graphics" in samsung model and assumed that for samsung, it was a 1gb + 512mb integrated...the inherent difference flew past me.

Regarding the battery, both seem to come with a 6-cell battery and merely the adapter seems to be 90w in the HP model as opposed to the 65w one in Samsung...please enlighten me on this.

One last query: what about the heating???.....does it(the AMD samsung one) overheat during gaming alone or even during video playback,surfing,coding or a bit of multitasking. I repeatedly pose this cuz my old HP was horrible in terms of heating issue right from the start. It was a fossil though and recent models cud've improved. As i said before I don't game much (3-4hrs a week) so if it gets hot only during gaming,I'll probably go for the Samsung one..I just don't wanna regret is all. Thanks :)

I feel you guys have seriously mistaken about Samsung, as per FLIPKART listings - they have mentioned as ' 1 GB Dedicated memory' and assume that since it is using 7640G - integrated - it by default gives you 512MB integrated/shared memory as well.



Thanks for pointing out the vram issue mate. I didn't notice it. I just read in the desc "1 GB AMD Radeon HD 7670M Dedicated 512 MB AMD Radeon HD 7640G Graphics Integrated" for HP and "AMD Radeon HD 7640G and HD 7670M Dual Graphics" in samsung model and assumed that for samsung, it was a 1gb + 512mb integrated...the inherent difference flew past me.

Regarding the battery, both seem to come with a 6-cell battery and merely the adapter seems to be 90w in the HP model as opposed to the 65w one in Samsung...please enlighten me on this.

One last query: what about the heating???.....does it(the AMD samsung one) overheat during gaming alone or even during video playback,surfing,coding or a bit of multitasking. I repeatedly pose this cuz my old HP was horrible in terms of heating issue right from the start. It was a fossil though and recent models cud've improved. As i said before I don't game much (3-4hrs a week) so if it gets hot only during gaming,I'll probably go for the Samsung one..I just don't wanna regret is all. Thanks :)
 
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