Upgrading from a first gen i5 laptop - moderate gaming required - budget 35k

[2kool2btrue]

Hello everyone!
I'm new here at TD.
I currently have an Acer Aspire 5745 (i5 variant) with onboard graphics. Lately, I have been playing FIFA 13 on my laptop and find the laptop incapable of coping with the game at even low settings. Running the game at very low settings is no fun. Also, I'd like to play other games as well so the incompetence of the current graphics chip will really get on my nerves.

Okay, so here go the nitty gritties -
What's your Budget? - 30-35k
What will be your primary usage for the notebook be? Moderate Gaming, Multimedia, office apps, spss, some photoshop
What size and weight considerations do you have? Mainstream - 15.6"
Any brand that you prefer, or any brand that you detest? HP ( service issues), Acer(already using)
Any other considerations? Decent Battery life; a 900p display would really stretch the wishful thinking I guess but the display(even if 1366x768) needs to be good[vibrant, very good contrast ratio, decent brigtness levels], USB 3 ports, Good sound. Chicklet keyboard
I've considered the following laptops -
1. Samsung NP350E5C-S02IN Laptop (3rd Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 750GB/ Win8/ 2GB Graph) - Samsung: Flipkart.com NP350E5C-S02IN Laptop (3rd Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 750GB/ Win8/ 2GB Graph)&as=on&as-show=on&otracker=start&as-pos=p_1&pid=COMDK6Y9SZNHJ7EX
2. *www.flipkart.com/samsung-np3...MDK6Y9DTZKRQHK&icmpid=reco_pp_same_computer_1 - If only this had USB 3!
3. Samsung NP370R5E-S06IN Notebook ( Intel Core i3-3120M/4 GB /750 GB HDD/ Win8/ 2 GB Graphics-AMD-8750M /15.6 Inch) - Buy Online @ Best Price | Snapdeal.com - weak 3 cell battery, no dvd drive.
4. *www.flipkart.com/lenovo-idea...z500&ref=3befee81-54d2-45ce-b232-1416666acb3d - is this available cheaper locally?
Also, please advice if it would be better to wait for the 4th gen processors to arrive so that I get better choice or at least expect the prices of these laptops to fall further. Richland should also be making its way into most laptops so I'd like to see some manufacturer come up with 8650G+8750M variant with the A10-5750 processor.
PS - would also like to add an SSD in addition to the existing hard drive in the near future.
Any suggestions folks?

 

[RON28]

Go for this one.

 

[omega44-xt]

Go for this one.

Yeah that one is good for your budget. That GPU can handle all games for next 2 years, maybe.....

 

[2kool2btrue]

Thanks mates. I've heard a lot about the service issues with hp so am doubtful. How about those samsung laptops? they have a better graphics card - 8750m.
isn't that better?

Go for this one.

Yeah that one is good for your budget. That GPU can handle all games for next 2 years, maybe.....

 

[2kool2btrue]

Also, how is this laptop? - Sony VAIO Fit 15E F15213SN/W Laptop (3rd Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8/ 1GB Graph) - Sony: Flipkart.com

 

[RON28]

actually you heard wrong, Samsung laptops have bad after sales service than HP in laptop department. AMD 8750M is good but i saw a laptop at croma with 64bit bus width. so highly doubt that graphic is better than 7670M

 

[2kool2btrue]

actually you heard wrong, Samsung laptops have bad after sales service than HP in laptop department. AMD 8750M is good but i saw a laptop at croma with 64bit bus width. so highly doubt that graphic is better than 7670M

Are you sure about the 8750m on the Samsung np370? I read a review where the reviewer specifically mentioned that it comes with a directx 11.1 128bit 8750.. I think I googled Samsung series 3 370 review.. A YouTube link came up which pointed to a text review in some other language..
PS what about the Vaio I mentioned? Any other suggestions?

 

[2kool2btrue]

actually you heard wrong, Samsung laptops have bad after sales service than HP in laptop department. AMD 8750M is good but i saw a laptop at croma with 64bit bus width. so highly doubt that graphic is better than 7670M

I found the link to the review – *bit.ly/YwVSF1

 

[omega44-xt]

actually you heard wrong, Samsung laptops have bad after sales service than HP in laptop department. AMD 8750M is good but i saw a laptop at croma with 64bit bus width. so highly doubt that graphic is better than 7670M

No doubt, 8750M > 7670M........ That Samsung one has no DVD drive, that's why I suggested HP + it has better A.S.S. than Samsung.
If u have Samsung service centre nearby, and u r ok without DVD drive, then get Samsung one......

Are you sure about the 8750m on the Samsung np370? I read a review where the reviewer specifically mentioned that it comes with a directx 11.1 128bit 8750.. I think I googled Samsung series 3 370 review.. A YouTube link came up which pointed to a text review in some other language..
PS what about the Vaio I mentioned? Any other suggestions?

Vaio has i3-3xxxU processor i.e Ultra Low Voltage processor, so performance less than i3-3110M.

I found the link to the review – *bit.ly/YwVSF1

Good review, 3.5 hr+ in light usage is good enough battery backup.

 

[2kool2btrue]

Okay i've confirmed this.. 8750m does not come in a 64 bit variant.. perhaps what you saw might have been the 8570m?

actually you heard wrong, Samsung laptops have bad after sales service than HP in laptop department. AMD 8750M is good but i saw a laptop at croma with 64bit bus width. so highly doubt that graphic is better than 7670M

Samsung has worse A.S.S than HP? This sucks.. Are you aware if the NP370 has overheating and throttling issues as well? Vaio has a very weak processor else the sound quality is fantastic and the build and display is pretty good too.. even if it had a 64 bit GT740m, it would still perform well I believe(seeing lenovo z500 benchmarks).. now what is left? any other laptop in this price range?
PS - should I wait for 4th gen systems to arrive? how long will they take?

No doubt, 8750M > 7670M........ That Samsung one has no DVD drive, that's why I suggested HP + it has better A.S.S. than Samsung.
If u have Samsung service centre nearby, and u r ok without DVD drive, then get Samsung one......



Vaio has i3-3xxxU processor i.e Ultra Low Voltage processor, so performance less than i3-3110M.



Good review, 3.5 hr+ in light usage is good enough battery backup.

 

[Harsh Pranami]

Okay i've confirmed this.. 8750m does not come in a 64 bit variant.. perhaps what you saw might have been the 8570m?


Samsung has worse A.S.S than HP? This sucks.. Are you aware if the NP370 has overheating and throttling issues as well? Vaio has a very weak processor else the sound quality is fantastic and the build and display is pretty good too.. even if it had a 64 bit GT740m, it would still perform well I believe(seeing lenovo z500 benchmarks).. now what is left? any other laptop in this price range?
PS - should I wait for 4th gen systems to arrive? how long will they take?

4th gen under 45k is not possible for the next 1-2 months. Better go with samsung with 8750.

 

[2kool2btrue]

what about 1gb vs 2gb 8750m versions? there's a price difference of 850 rs only.. however, is 2gb really needed? I plan to game at native 1366x768 resolution only..

 

[2kool2btrue]

also, I'd like to know if the samsung np370 has throttling and/or overheating issues like its elder kin NP550?

 

[RON28]

better go with Sony FIT series with GT 740M, screen quality is really good with sub woofer speakers, and at the end, Sony laptops have best looks.

 

[2kool2btrue]

better go with Sony FIT series with GT 740M, screen quality is really good with sub woofer speakers, and at the end, Sony laptops have best looks.

but won't the processor bottleneck the gpu? also, isnt the 740m 64 bit weaker than 8750m 128 bit in the samsung np370?
even the i5 3rd gen ulv processor is inferior to the standard i3-3120m acc to notebookcheck..
does the sony overheat as well?
At what price is the Hp g6-2603tx, suggested here, available at nehru place(locally)? Flipkart earlier had an offer where they have free 2 years extended warranty, unlimited music downloads and a gift voucher but that is nt available anymore..
So its 34k for np370r5e-s06in vs 38k for sony vaio i3 ulv model vs 37k for hp g6.. im very confused!!

okay, if it is hp, this model also looks nice - HP Pavilion G6-2312AX - *www.flipkart.com/hp-pavilion-g6-2301ax-laptop-apu-quad-core-a8-4gb-500gb-win8-2-5gb-graph/p/itmdgtjcmdusnsky?pid=COMDGTJCRYXXV8CE&otracker=variants flipkart also has offers on this product which will end tomorrow..

 

[2kool2btrue]

the free extended warranty for hp laptops has already expired on the 10th of August.. So now, I'm left with the NP370R5E but no one has really commented on the throttling/overheating issues yet..
PS - if I can stretch my budget to 40k, is there something better available?

 

[RON28]

Any laptop with ULV processor is not that weak if it has got decent dedicated graphic card, And if you check lenovo G500 thread, GT 740M with 64bit bus width is not that weak. so I5 ulv processor is 15% slower than I5 3230M. i think you shouldn't increase your budget because you are going to get same performance.

 

[2kool2btrue]

Any laptop with ULV processor is not that weak if it has got decent dedicated graphic card, And if you check lenovo G500 thread, GT 740M with 64bit bus width is not that weak. so I5 ulv processor is 15% slower than I5 3230M. i think you shouldn't increase your budget because you are going to get same performance.

I'll check the vaio fit 15E out in a store.. How are sony's service centers? Better than hp and samsung I'm guessing?

 

[RON28]

i would definitely say better than Samsung, HP and SONY and lenovo and Dell have been manufacturing laptops from quite a old time and there service is better than Samsung.

if you have doubt about sony then go for lenovo z500

 

[swiftshashi]

I would like to suggest HP G6 2320TX...Its available for 39k in most of the HP worlds now and has a pretty good configuration.Plus it will easily tame medium gaming sessions.