Very Confused-which laptop to buy? Filled Questionnaire,please help urgently!

[NGOvolunteer]

1) What is your budget?

Upper limit is INR 40,000 strictly,this is the money i have saved over an year-i am just a simple middle class housewife


2) What size & weight consideration (if any) would you prefer?
Not ultra portable-anything from 14" to 15.6" is fine,it won't be traveling a lot,just for the house.


3) What are the primary tasks you will be performing with this notebook? -It is primarily for me and my teenage daughter.She needs it for facebook,twitter, sometimes skype chats, doing a lot of google research,working on microsoft office,excel,powerpoint, I need it for watching youtube videos (I watch many cooking videos and so on), watching movies, downloading songs. NO games played by any of us. BUT my daughter will do some photoshop work-she is into photography and starting her own blog now,so she works on paint,photoshop, that's all.ALSO,My daughter opens like 100 tabs at the same time-which is probably something everybody does I guess in her generation (roll eyes).so basically she needs a laptop where she can easily chat on facebook and maybe on skype and listen to music and work on photoshop at the same time!


5) Any typical configuration in your mind you're eying for ?-no,i am not techno savvy,i actually dont need what i need! right now i have acer aspire with 2nd gen intel core i3, 2 gb ram, 320 gb hdd, and i think it is sufficient enough..except for issues with acer which i am talking about next...


4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
-I only had an ACER for last 2 years and I HATE IT! This is acer aspire and i am so disgusted with myself that I did not take an opinion online from such a forum before buying it! Within 3 months (I spent 28000 on it),I had white screen which was replaced,its battery blew up which was replaced and then just after a year as soon as the warranty expired,it started shutting down on its own! But as i said,I am just a housewife and i did not need it much,so i did not bother much. even now it keeps shutting down now and then,especially whenever i watch a movie-it is guaranteed to shut down after about every half hour.i just let it be for a couple of minutes and then restart it.also,ACER makes the shittiest build,I have seen some DELL and Lenovo and HP that some of my friends own and they are so cool,this acer is like a plastic toy.i hate acer and will never buy it ever.apart from it,i have never owned a laptop nor has my daughter and so i don't have a preference!


6) Anything else you would like to say?
-Most important is RELIABILITY! I am buying this primarily for my daughter-i don't want the laptop to blow up while she is working on a project or uploading her photos and then sit in some repair shop for weeks! I don't want the laptop to randomly shut down within months of buying it! I don't need a high fundoo thing,I want a good, sturdy laptop which does not blow up,heat up,shut down,or screw with my life-atleast not for the first year! That is why I am so confused! I asked about 20 of my friends-10 of them suggested DELL INSPIRON,6 of them suggested HP PAVILION and 1 said ASUS,1 said TOSHIBA and 2 suggested LENOVO. So i did some reading online, and there are positives and negatives for all,I have heard most negative things about HP,followed by Dell and then Lenovo.I don't know which brand to trust.My biggest fear is spending my hard earned money on something flimsy and feeling like a fool.I even went to croma but all the laptops look the same to me,I am not techno savvy so I am asking you! I don't know-if i should go with INTEL OR APU? do i need WINDOWS 8 or WINDOWS 8.1 (right now i have acer aspiron with windows 7 basic and it is fine with me),all of these look the same to me! I saw some models which I am presenting here-please suggest if any of these are good enough-please keep in mind I need sturdy,long lasting,reliable laptop!

HP 15-g049AU
HP 15-g049AU Notebook (APU Quad Core A8/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8.1) (K5B45PA) Rs.23990 Price in India - Buy HP 15-g049AU Notebook (APU Quad Core A8/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8.1) (K5B45PA) Online - HP : Flipkart.com

HP 15-r032TX
HP 15-r032TX Notebook (4th Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (J8B78PA) Rs.33310 Price in India - Buy HP 15-r032TX Notebook (4th Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (J8B78PA) Black Online - HP : Flipkart.com

HP Pavilion 15-p017TU
HP Pavilion 15-p017TU Notebook (4th Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1) (J2C44PA) Rs.37230 Price in India - Buy HP Pavilion 15-p017TU Notebook (4th Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1) (J2C44PA) Imprint Natural SIlver Color With Texture Linear Pattern Online - HP : Fli

Asus X551CA-SX014H
Asus X551CA-SX014H Laptop (3rd Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8) Rs.29690 Price in India - Buy Asus X551CA-SX014H Laptop (3rd Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8) Black Online - Asus : Flipkart.com

Asus X
Asus X Notebook (4th Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Free DOS/ 2GB Graph) (X550LDV-XX623D) Rs.34510 Price in India - Buy Asus X Notebook (4th Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Free DOS/ 2GB Graph) (X550LDV-XX623D) Grey Online - Asus : Flipkart.com

Lenovo G 50-70
*www.flipkart.com/lenovo-g-50-70-no...b_37&ref=65675132-7088-482d-8839-dbc24f694db4

Lenovo Ideapad G50 (59-422410)
*www.flipkart.com/lenovo-ideapad-g5..._same_laptop_computer_2&ppid=COMEFWHHCTS6EQHG

Dell V3540 Latitude
*www.flipkart.com/dell-v3540-latitu...b_16&ref=fb299a76-840d-4273-9955-a53fffecaa28

Dell Inspiron 3542
*www.flipkart.com/dell-inspiron-354...b_32&ref=c055cb23-0080-4c1e-bd25-c856105e35b9

Dell Vostro 3546
*www.flipkart.com/dell-vostro-3546-...b_46&ref=caa322d8-73d3-4614-9f1b-12d1b257533d

Dell Inspiron 3542
*www.flipkart.com/dell-inspiron-354...b_64&ref=41eb1a27-ff69-48ed-92d9-b29f49b4792a

Dell Inspiron 5447
*www.flipkart.com/dell-inspiron-544...b_51&ref=caa322d8-73d3-4614-9f1b-12d1b257533d

 

[SaiyanGoku]

Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 8GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-429611) Rs.46870 Price in India - Buy Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 8GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-429611) Online - Lenovo : Flipkart.com

Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 4GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-436412) Rs.43990 Price in India - Buy Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 4GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-436412) SIlver Online - Lenovo : Flipkart.com

Get the first one with 8 GB RAM. Will help in opening those 100+ tabs you mentioned.

Plus points over other laptops in the same range:
FULL HD screen, 1920*1080p resolution
Comes with 3 year extended warranty.
Exchange your old laptop and get rs 5000 discount.

Honestly, Acer, Dell, HP, Asus, Toshiba have crap configs for the asking price.

 

[seamon]

You'll need extra ram for the tabs

 

[SaiyanGoku]

[MENTION=303456]NGOvolunteer[/MENTION] since you aren't tech savvy, here are some tips on maintaining your laptop:


1. Cooling pads are a worthless if the laptop has side vents. Try to keep the vents free from any obstruction in the air flow. If the vents are in the bottom, keep the laptop on a flat surface.

2. Antiviruses: don't buy Quickheal, NPAV. Use 360 Total security, Avast, Avira (free) or Eset, Kaspersky (paid). IMO free ones will do the job without being a resource hog.

3. Battery: Always use the laptop on AC power, and on batteries if AC power isn't available. Don't play games on battery. This will prolong battery life.

4. Don't buy el cheapo (or local ones) peripherals for the laptop i.e Mice, keyboards, gaming pads, etc. They'll be a waste of money and may even damage the USB ports. Try to save money and buy better ones later.

5. Good laptop bag preferably a waterproof one, though would cost more but will be better to carry your laptop safely.

6. The way the screen is opened or kept tilted could effect the strength of the hinges. Don't keep the screen at awkward positions to avoid damage to the hinges.

 

[seamon]

+1 to Kaspersky.
There's an option in every laptop to charge the battery only between 50-60%. This option is very good for batteries.

- - - Updated - - -

Buy razer deathadder chroma like me.

 

[NGOvolunteer]

Thank you! Looks like Lenovo and Asus get the thumbs up from most of tech savvy people, the only thing is I have no friend who uses any of these,everyone I knoe uses either Dell or HP..but then again they also get all kinds of issues now and then and run to service center every 2 months..so maybe I will buy Lenovo this time..off to Croma to check some Lenovo models then,thanks!

 

[$hadow]

Most detailed questionnaire that i have seen for the longest of time.
But before buying Razer DA just remember it is a no abuse mouse and if you do so you might be needing a new mouse in as low as as 1 year or so. If so is the case better get g400s.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

Thank you! Looks like Lenovo and Asus get the thumbs up from most of tech savvy people, the only thing is I have no friend who uses any of these,everyone I knoe uses either Dell or HP..but then again they also get all kinds of issues now and then and run to service center every 2 months..so maybe I will buy Lenovo this time..off to Croma to check some Lenovo models then,thanks!

Just a heads up, do window shopping only. Buy online and save money. Use that saved money on better accessories. Ignore the various kits and offers they provide for "cheap" or "free" with the laptop. They include the price in laptop's price and try to sell you something which you may not need/use.

Do update when you've selected a laptop BEFORE buying it.

 

[DVJex]

A standard logitech usb mouse like M90 is far better, unless the extra mouse buttons are needed.

 

[$hadow]

Once you get used to those buttons you will never be able to go back.

 

[NGOvolunteer]

Every single one of you deserves a thanks from me, from the bottom of my heart so thankful and kind so as to help me! I just did not want to repeat the same mistake that I did last time and buy something as crap as this acer aspire again! I am glad that i came here for guidance

So i went to croma and ezone today and browsed around, because i wanted to check for myself by seeing how the laptop feels in hand. I will buy from flipkart eventually as my daughter also got some gift vouchers which i can use for the purchase. I just wanted to confirm-I will not have any issues later on in registering the product and claiming the warranty (god forbid,I don't want to go to another service center again,but still) if i buy from flipkart,right?

So I liked dell inspiron,looked sturdy,but then I started working on the keys,wasn't that good. Hp was okay but frankly by now i have heard so many bad things about hp that i am biased against them. there was no toshiba,so that is out. then i saw asus which wasn't great build wise but overall i liked it. then lenovo which was good enough looks wise. so ultimately just looks wise and feels wise,i liked lenovo,dell,asus and then i came back and checked on flipkart and i (AND my daughter) have zeroed down on-

Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 4GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-436412) Rs.43990 Price in India - Buy Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 4GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-436412) SIlver Online - Lenovo : Flipkart.com

Dell Inspiron 3542 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8.1) (354254500iS) Rs.38490 Price in India - Buy Dell Inspiron 3542 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8.1) (354254500iS) Online - Dell : Flipkart.com

Lenovo G 50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8.1) (59-436419) Rs.32490 Price in India - Buy Lenovo G 50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8.1) (59-436419) SIlver Online - Lenovo : Flipkart.com

so i will buy one of these,now just need to confer with daughter.i am leaning more towards lenovo so far,daughter for some reason likes dell more (she says her friends all recommend dell because its customer service is beyond excellent or something and lenovo supposedly has bad after sales or something-these kids!) i don't want anything just for show,so i think eventually i will be able to get her to my side *grin*

ALSO,thanks for the mouse suggestions I have a wonderful microsoft mouse that is my favorite in this whole world what can i say,i love it beyond belief and i am gonna keep that. apart from that,i am looking forward to a pair of external speakers-for better movie watching experience, but something small,not big woofer thingy. And i do have philips headphones so that is also covered. any other accessory i need to look out for?

Also, these laptops-they come equipped with windows 8,so that means just take out the box and start working,right? do i need to download or update any drivers or anything? this is what a guy at croma said- don't buy dell,you will go crazy updating drivers (he was looking at lenovo laptop too,so we started talking and he said he is switching from a dell so i was very interested in knowing why ) with acer atleast, i did not have to download/update anything,just bought and start working.

 

[$hadow]

Dell do still holds great after sales but the fact is if you buy lenovo you might never need after sales support.
I am a lenovo user since 2008 and no problem ever yet.

 

[NGOvolunteer]

that is great +10 to lenovo i am just gonna bring my daughter to this thread and make her read these

 

[$hadow]

And also there is no specific need to install drivers but it is recommended to do so.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

Every single one of you deserves a thanks from me, from the bottom of my heart so thankful and kind so as to help me! I just did not want to repeat the same mistake that I did last time and buy something as crap as this acer aspire again! I am glad that i came here for guidance

So i went to croma and ezone today and browsed around, because i wanted to check for myself by seeing how the laptop feels in hand. I will buy from flipkart eventually as my daughter also got some gift vouchers which i can use for the purchase. I just wanted to confirm-I will not have any issues later on in registering the product and claiming the warranty (god forbid,I don't want to go to another service center again,but still) if i buy from flipkart,right?

So I liked dell inspiron,looked sturdy,but then I started working on the keys,wasn't that good. Hp was okay but frankly by now i have heard so many bad things about hp that i am biased against them. there was no toshiba,so that is out. then i saw asus which wasn't great build wise but overall i liked it. then lenovo which was good enough looks wise. so ultimately just looks wise and feels wise,i liked lenovo,dell,asus and then i came back and checked on flipkart and i (AND my daughter) have zeroed down on-

Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 4GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-436412) Rs.43990 Price in India - Buy Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 4GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-436412) SIlver Online - Lenovo : Flipkart.com

Dell Inspiron 3542 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8.1) (354254500iS) Rs.38490 Price in India - Buy Dell Inspiron 3542 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8.1) (354254500iS) Online - Dell : Flipkart.com

Lenovo G 50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8.1) (59-436419) Rs.32490 Price in India - Buy Lenovo G 50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci3/ 4GB/ 500GB/ Win8.1) (59-436419) SIlver Online - Lenovo : Flipkart.com

so i will buy one of these,now just need to confer with daughter.i am leaning more towards lenovo so far,daughter for some reason likes dell more (she says her friends all recommend dell because its customer service is beyond excellent or something and lenovo supposedly has bad after sales or something-these kids!) i don't want anything just for show,so i think eventually i will be able to get her to my side *grin*

ALSO,thanks for the mouse suggestions I have a wonderful microsoft mouse that is my favorite in this whole world what can i say,i love it beyond belief and i am gonna keep that. apart from that,i am looking forward to a pair of external speakers-for better movie watching experience, but something small,not big woofer thingy. And i do have philips headphones so that is also covered. any other accessory i need to look out for?

Also, these laptops-they come equipped with windows 8,so that means just take out the box and start working,right? do i need to download or update any drivers or anything? this is what a guy at croma said- don't buy dell,you will go crazy updating drivers (he was looking at lenovo laptop too,so we started talking and he said he is switching from a dell so i was very interested in knowing why ) with acer atleast, i did not have to download/update anything,just bought and start working.

For the bold part, after sales are required only if the product isn't upto the mark. I'm using a 6-7 year old Lenovo R61. That alone is enough to tell about the reliability of lenovo laptops.

The dell laptop is too underpowered for the price. 500 GB HDD, 768p screen and NO GPU as compared to 1 TB HDD (more space), 1080p screen (good for watching movies) and GT 820m (light gaming) in the Z50.

1st one is good, but try to get this one with 8 GB RAM.

Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 8GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-429611) Rs.46870 Price in India - Buy Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 8GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-429611) Online - Lenovo : Flipkart.com

You are buying a laptop for like 3-4 years, then don't consider the 2nd or the 3rd one for 40k budget.

 

[NGOvolunteer]

So,talked to daughter,talked to hubby,getting this finally from flipkart ws retail- Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 8GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-429611) Rs.46870 Price in India - Buy Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 8GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-429611) Online - Lenovo : Flipkart.com tomorrow Best thing-I am giving my old pathetic acer for exchange,this **** is atleast paying me 5000 while going away,good riddance! never again looking at another acer,thank you very much! thanks everyone for suggestions and so much of guidance! Now I have never bought a laptop online,so what do i need to do when i get it,what do i check to see if everything is all right-and for this model,do i need to update any drivers or anything or just start working on it?

 

[DVJex]

You might want to format the acer if you can before returning it. And since the OS is already installed, you can start using it after unpacking it. The company would have already installed drivers and bloatware. Check for visible external damage.

 

[$hadow]

So,talked to daughter,talked to hubby,getting this finally from flipkart ws retail- Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 8GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-429611) Rs.46870 Price in India - Buy Lenovo Z50-70 Notebook (4th Gen Ci5/ 8GB/ 1TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) (59-429611) Online - Lenovo : Flipkart.com tomorrow Best thing-I am giving my old pathetic acer for exchange,this **** is atleast paying me 5000 while going away,good riddance! never again looking at another acer,thank you very much! thanks everyone for suggestions and so much of guidance! Now I have never bought a laptop online,so what do i need to do when i get it,what do i check to see if everything is all right-and for this model,do i need to update any drivers or anything or just start working on it?

If you are buying from fk make sure it is either from ws retail or with fk advantage. Just see to it that you have completely formatted your old laptop and I don't think there should be any damage with the delivery but do check for it in case there is any.

 

[NGOvolunteer]

I have bought it from flipkart ws retail and wiped off all my data from my old acer laptop,so just waiting for the lenovo laptop to arrive,latest by tomorrow! thanks!

 

[SaiyanGoku]

I have bought it from flipkart ws retail and wiped off all my data from my old acer laptop,so just waiting for the lenovo laptop to arrive,latest by tomorrow! thanks!

Congrats!! Do take unboxing pics and if possible post them with a small review after 1-2 days of use.