Lightweight laptop with good performance under 65k

[crazyfreak316]

I am a web developer and a system administrator. I need a laptop generally for programming. Since I'll be running virtual machines all the times I'm looking for a laptop with 8GB ram and i7 2630 QM (or better). I want something which is lightweight (a must) , gives good battery life (3.5-4hrs) and performs nice and has a good resolution (1440x900 or above).

Recommend some good laptops, friends. Price - upto 65k or 70k if its really worth it.

Also, I see PassMark - CPU Benchmarks - List of Benchmarked CPUs for comparing CPUs, how reliable is it?

For people who'll suggest dell xps 15: from what it looks, its a very heavy laptop. Correct me if I'm wrong. Also, how long will a 6-cell battery last on it?

Thanks

 

[aroraanant]

Try Macbook Pro 13.3",u will be getting i5 and 4GB ram and not 8GB n i7.
But it is an awesome laptop but before u buy u have to see that u r comfortable with mac and can do ur work on it.It was available for 59K on ebay a couple of weeks back n now it is available for 64K.
Yes XPS 15 XPS is one of the best laptop available in the market but is not a light weight laptop(will weight more than 3Kgs)and its battery give a back up of hardly 3hrs where as battery of Macbook pro gives a backup of upto 7hrs.

 

[sandyqbg]

If you want a lightweight DON'T go for the XPS 15. It weighs in at above 2.7kg and becomes heavier as you add components. Though you might get a better bang for the buck with it. The 6 cell should last for at least 2hrs for your load.

The MacBook Pro 13" has an i5 @ 2.3 clock turbo-able to 2.9GHz and offers upto 4GB RAM. While Apple advertises a battery life of 7 hours, I think it might actually be around 4.5 to 5 hours under load, though I'm not sure about it. Also, if your not really a Mac OS guy, then you'll have problems with it. Comes at abt 70k. Weighs abt 2kg.
There is also a high end version of the 13" macBook, with Core i7 and 500GB HDD(against the 320 in the low ender) but that costs you about 85k.
I'm not sure about any deals on ebay.

Check the Sony Vaio S series
-Model VPCSB18GG/B: It's got an i7-2620(2.7GHz Turbo to 3.4), 4GB RAM and a 500GB(7200rpm). Has a low end gfx card which is probably unnecessary for you and might consume a little extra power. Cost: 70k
-Model VPCSB17GG/B: i5-2520(2.5GHz Turbo upto 3.2), 4GB RAM and a 500GB HDD(7200rpm). Cost: 63k
-Model VPCSB16FG/B: i5-2410(2.3GHz Turbo upto 2.9), 4GB RAM and a 320GB HDD(5400rpm). Cost: 57k

Do you really need an i7? I'm not very familiar with how your purpose will tax the system, so i can't be precise abt your needs.
If your purpose involves a lot of data handling(reads/writes) then better go for the HDD with the higher rpm. It will help you speed up in the long run.

All are 13 inchers, weigh around 1.8kg and should hold for at least 3 hours. Any lighter and your reqs wont be met.

All the above mentioned systems can be upgraded to 8GB. Check with the dealer for the upgrade or get it done at a reliable place. If you're gonna get the Sony laps you better make sure they ship it you with the upgraded RAM. If an unauthorized change is made, it will void your warranty and in case of fault charge you heavily.(Dunno abt the Apple)

 

[crazyfreak316]

Thanks a lot for your answers, friends. It seems like I don't have many options here. Why is it so difficult for manufacturers to make a sleek laptop. I really didn't want to move to Mac OS but its also really stupid to run Ubuntu on a Macbook Pro.

I don't really trust Sony in the laptop's department. That leaves me with just one option.

How's Apple's service in Bangalore if anyone knows?

 

[aroraanant]

I Apple advertises a battery life of 7 hours, I think it might actually be around 4.5 to 5 hours under load, though I'm not sure about it.

it gives a back up of 6-7 easily.
And also it doesnt decreases that much down the line as compared to Dell laptops whose battery back up start decreasing after some time.

Yes it will be a little difficult for u to get use to on a MAC but I assure u that u gonna love it.
if u dont want to go for a MAC then XPS is a really very good option

 

[sandyqbg]

I don't really trust Sony in the laptop's department. That leaves me with just one option.

That's surprising. I've heard complaints against Sony that their laps are overpriced and service is expensive. But reliability? Is there any specific reason you're suspicious of their laps?

 

[crazyfreak316]

That's surprising. I've heard complaints against Sony that their laps are overpriced and service is expensive. But reliability? Is there any specific reason you're suspicious of their laps?

A lot of my friends had problems with VAIOs. They advice me to stay away from Sony laptops.

 

[rajdeepsingh86]

Last month, I finally made the switch from Windows to Mac when I bought 13" Macbook Pro(i5 2.3GHz, 4GB 1333 MHz). Couldn't be happier with the decision. The battery life easily lasts upto 8 hours under normal operation, and even more if I lower the brightness when i really need to. OSX is a pleasure to work on, the multi-touch trackpad is simply superb. I haven't even felt the need to connect a mouse instead, though I use my joystick to play games.

Honestly, I've had enough of Windows in the past several years. I like XP the most. Vista was a big disappointment and I haven't wanted to use Windows 7 though I've heard a few good things about it. I'll install Windows 7 (using bootcamp) on my macbook beacuse, frankly, when you have everyone around you using windows, you can't live alone in your happy bubble, there are many applications, IDE's and other developer software that are built only for Windows .
But I'm not a big fan of virtual machine mainly because I want my system to utilize the resources available to the maximum without having to share them between multiple operating systems.

 

[crazyfreak316]

Last month, I finally made the switch from Windows to Mac when I bought 13" Macbook Pro(i5 2.3GHz, 4GB 1333 MHz). Couldn't be happier with the decision. The battery life easily lasts upto 8 hours under normal operation, and even more if I lower the brightness when i really need to. OSX is a pleasure to work on, the multi-touch trackpad is simply superb. I haven't even felt the need to connect a mouse instead, though I use my joystick to play games.

Honestly, I've had enough of Windows in the past several years. I like XP the most. Vista was a big disappointment and I haven't wanted to use Windows 7 though I've heard a few good things about it. I'll install Windows 7 (using bootcamp) on my macbook beacuse, frankly, when you have everyone around you using windows, you can't live alone in your happy bubble, there are many applications, IDE's and other developer software that are built only for Windows .
But I'm not a big fan of virtual machine mainly because I want my system to utilize the resources available to the maximum without having to share them between multiple operating systems.

Your points are valid. The machine is superb, though underpowered for its price.

Also, most people buy Mac because they want something that works and gets things done and OSX is great at that. Its stable as a rock with Unix/BSD being at its core. It rarely crashes. But in my area of work, I need to work with Linux distros.

So anyways I won't be using Mac OSX much. So there are very few advantages namely - lightweight and good battery life.

How much did you pay? How well does it perform? Multitasking? How good is Apple's service in India? Any quirks? Any advice if I am to buy MBP?

 

[rajdeepsingh86]

To each, his own. That's all I'll say.

Its actual price is 70k but after I showed them my sister's college ID, I got 6% student discount. Cost me Rs.65,700.

I bought it at Imagine store Noida sector 18. Apparently they are Apple premium resellers (whatever that means!).

I've heard that the service is pretty costly and spares too come at a premium, but there are sites like ifixit.com where you get step by step photographs of any repair you can think of and I'm willing to do that first before I take it to a store.

It rarely ever slows down, however I'm yet to test its limits, so far, I've only used multiple browsers, with multiple tabs at the same time and maybe a few ebooks in a pdf reader along with that but that's about it.

Yes, you may say that its underpowered for its price when I accounted the features it has got, like super sleek aluminium unibody, backlit keyboard with well spaced keys,
beautiful crystal clear display, and OSX goodness, I was willing to pay extra.

Plus, you can't take the battery out, but I've read that they usually last 4-5 years than the usual laptop batteries which start degrading after 2-3 years.

 

[crazyfreak316]

To each, his own. That's all I'll say.

Its actual price is 70k but after I showed them my sister's college ID, I got 6% student discount. Cost me Rs.65,700.

I bought it at Imagine store Noida sector 18. Apparently they are Apple premium resellers (whatever that means!).

I've heard that the service is pretty costly and spares too come at a premium, but there are sites like ifixit.com where you get step by step photographs of any repair you can think of and I'm willing to do that first before I take it to a store.

It rarely ever slows down, however I'm yet to test its limits, so far, I've only used multiple browsers, with multiple tabs at the same time and maybe a few ebooks in a pdf reader along with that but that's about it.

Yes, you may say that its underpowered for its price when I accounted the features it has got, like super sleek aluminium unibody, backlit keyboard with well spaced keys,
beautiful crystal clear display, and OSX goodness, I was willing to pay extra.

Plus, you can't take the battery out, but I've read that they usually last 4-5 years than the usual laptop batteries which start degrading after 2-3 years.

Thanks a lot. That'll help me decide.


Would anyone recommend this:
Vostro V130 Laptop Details | Dell India

 

[rajdeepsingh86]

Thanks a lot. That'll help me decide.


Would anyone recommend this:
Vostro V130 Laptop Details | Dell India

You're welcome.