[Aroy]

Originally Posted by dark_horizon

Any shops in Mumbai offering a good bargain on mass laptop deals?

Need atleast 40 laptops, may go upto even 100

Price range- 35k-40k

Call up the Dell and Lenovo Institutional sales. There are special prices for institutions. In fact at one time IBM would designate a special model number if the numbers were high enough (500+) and configure the machine to your exact requirements.

[avi550m]

I am looking to replace my 4 year old Thinkpad R60 with something new. My budget is quite tight.

Being spoiled by the usability and sturdy build of my old R60, I require a sturdy and reliable machine with a good keyboard. Hence, my options were, within my Rs. 42-43k budget:

1. Thinkpad SL410: Core2Duo T6570, 2GB DDR3, 320GB, 14" Glossy, 1 year carry-in. Win 7 Pro

2. Thinkpad Edge 14: i330, 2GB DDR3, 320GB, 14" Glossy, 1 year carry-in, Win 7 Pro

3. Dell Vostro 3400: i350, 2GB DDR3, 250GB, 14" Matte, 2 year On-Site, Win 7 Home Premium

Now, I cannot afford a T-series here because of budget constraints. And the R-series is completely discontinued now.

On paper, the Vostro looks like the best value, esp. since it has the Matte Screen, and the extended on-site warranty at the same price as the Thinkpad's.

I will want to keep the laptop for at least 3-4 years, and will be using it for office work, some multimedia and internet surfing.

The only thing stopping me from choosing the Vostro are:
1. Perceived build compared to the Thinkpad's (even thought these are 'not' apparently real Thinkpad's).
2. Heat/Fan noise issues in the Vostro's.

Is it worth it going for the SL410 (which I'm leaning towards), as a reliable machine? I can always extend the warranty towards the end of the first year.
Or is the Vostro / Edge a better buy.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by avi550m

I am looking to replace my 4 year old Thinkpad R60 with something new. My budget is quite tight.

Being spoiled by the usability and sturdy build of my old R60, I require a sturdy and reliable machine with a good keyboard. Hence, my options were, within my Rs. 42-43k budget:

1. Thinkpad SL410: Core2Duo T6570, 2GB DDR3, 320GB, 14" Glossy, 1 year carry-in. Win 7 Pro

2. Thinkpad Edge 14: i330, 2GB DDR3, 320GB, 14" Glossy, 1 year carry-in, Win 7 Pro

3. Dell Vostro 3400: i350, 2GB DDR3, 250GB, 14" Matte, 2 year On-Site, Win 7 Home Premium

Now, I cannot afford a T-series here because of budget constraints. And the R-series is completely discontinued now.

On paper, the Vostro looks like the best value, esp. since it has the Matte Screen, and the extended on-site warranty at the same price as the Thinkpad's.

I will want to keep the laptop for at least 3-4 years, and will be using it for office work, some multimedia and internet surfing.

The only thing stopping me from choosing the Vostro are:
1. Perceived build compared to the Thinkpad's (even thought these are 'not' apparently real Thinkpad's).
2. Heat/Fan noise issues in the Vostro's.

Is it worth it going for the SL410 (which I'm leaning towards), as a reliable machine? I can always extend the warranty towards the end of the first year.
Or is the Vostro / Edge a better buy.

Being a Thinkpad user for now over six years, I feel that the T series offers much more than the SL or Edge.

. You get a three year warranty which itself is worth at least 5-10K.
. You get a sturdy casing
. Better build. Believe me I have seem the Dell and R series. They do not compare to T & X series in ruggedness.
. Thinkpad keyboards are in my opinion better with mare tactile feel.
. The battery life is generally better.

Of course the price is higher. But if you want a trouble free four year ownership experience, you need a good machine to start with.

[avi550m]

Aroy, Thanks for your advice. The T-Series is indeed an amazingly built machine, but the laptop is primarily going to be used on the desk. I would love to get a T410 (14"), but it is priced at Rs. 66k (inclusive of taxes).
Like the SL410, it has 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD, Win 7 Pro and a 6 cell battery. And yes, it also has a 3-year warranty.

But, the killer is the fact that the SL410 is Rs43k (all inclusive). And I asked the dealer, who said that he can get the warranty upgraded to 3 Years for an additional 6k.
So with a 3 year peace of mind warranty, it is 49k.

The price difference of (66-49)= 17k is simply too massive to ignore.

My earlier R60 was also purchased with a 3 year warranty (which, obviously, doesn't cover the battery). The problem is its 4 years old now, and it's hinge got broken recently which is going to cost around 8k to replace . I have already changed its battery last year (for 5k) and don't want to throw more money into an old system.

Also, while the T-series is very good, I think that after 4 years, given the increase in system requirements (of for eg. MS Office or Firefox itself), a newer system would be needed. And the 17k I save over the T-series would go some way into an upgrade after 4 years.

I only want to ask, is the SL too big a compromise to make over a T-series, esp. with a net 17k price difference. I really cant throw a lot more than 50k into the system (tops).

P.S. For 60k+ price tag, I would also be sorely tempted by a Macbook .

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by avi550m

Aroy, Thanks for your advice. The T-Series is indeed an amazingly built machine, but the laptop is primarily going to be used on the desk. I would love to get a T410 (14"), but it is priced at Rs. 66k (inclusive of taxes).
Like the SL410, it has 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD, Win 7 Pro and a 6 cell battery. And yes, it also has a 3-year warranty.

But, the killer is the fact that the SL410 is Rs43k (all inclusive). And I asked the dealer, who said that he can get the warranty upgraded to 3 Years for an additional 6k.
So with a 3 year peace of mind warranty, it is 49k.

The price difference of (66-49)= 17k is simply too massive to ignore.

My earlier R60 was also purchased with a 3 year warranty (which, obviously, doesn't cover the battery). The problem is its 4 years old now, and it's hinge got broken recently which is going to cost around 8k to replace . I have already changed its battery last year (for 5k) and don't want to throw more money into an old system.

Also, while the T-series is very good, I think that after 4 years, given the increase in system requirements (of for eg. MS Office or Firefox itself), a newer system would be needed. And the 17k I save over the T-series would go some way into an upgrade after 4 years.

I only want to ask, is the SL too big a compromise to make over a T-series, esp. with a net 17k price difference. I really cant throw a lot more than 50k into the system (tops).

P.S. For 60k+ price tag, I would also be sorely tempted by a Macbook .

I cannot comment on the VFM of the SL series. T series must be selling a lot, else it would have been quietly phased out.

In my opinion there are two options. One get a tremendous configuration and bulletproof build, use it for 3-5 years. The other is to get one for half the price and keep exchanging it regularly. The second option makes sense if you can tolerate downtime and can live while the system gets warranty repairs. I cannot afford that as the uptime of the X-Series I use if of utmost importance, even though I can get it repaired anywhere in the world, the down time would cost me more than the laptop is worth.

Regarding Macbook. My younger son got one a year ago, thinking that they are bulletproof. Unfortunately there were massive issues with the graphics card which took a lot of time to solve. Additionally the battery is at the end of its life in just a year. Recent trend with Apple has been to integrate the battery in the Mother Board. If that is the case you are courting trouble as I believe the battery cannot be replaced and the whole thing has to go to Apple. I would stay away in such case.

[avi550m]

Originally Posted by Aroy

I cannot comment on the VFM of the SL series. T series must be selling a lot, else it would have been quietly phased out.

In my opinion there are two options. One get a tremendous configuration and bulletproof build, use it for 3-5 years. The other is to get one for half the price and keep exchanging it regularly. The second option makes sense if you can tolerate downtime and can live while the system gets warranty repairs. I cannot afford that as the uptime of the X-Series I use if of utmost importance, even though I can get it repaired anywhere in the world, the down time would cost me more than the laptop is worth.

Regarding Macbook. My younger son got one a year ago, thinking that they are bulletproof. Unfortunately there were massive issues with the graphics card which took a lot of time to solve. Additionally the battery is at the end of its life in just a year. Recent trend with Apple has been to integrate the battery in the Mother Board. If that is the case you are courting trouble as I believe the battery cannot be replaced and the whole thing has to go to Apple. I would stay away in such case.

Going by your advice, I guess it does make sense to go in for the T-series. I guess I need to save up a bit more now. Thanks again.

[DieselFan]

I have booked a DELL i5, 4GB RAM, 500 GB HDD, 15.6 inches screen, Win 7 Home premium, Mcafee 15 month plan, for 41000 Rs.Great deal.

[tsk1979]

I recently got my dad a toshiba laptop. Unfortunately, there is no Windows 7 disk, only a windows 7 parition.
I was wondering, what if we want to fit a bigger HDD or something.
Is there a way to create a windows 7 disk to be used in emergency if something goes wrong with the HDD out of warranty?

[navin]

Originally Posted by avi550m

I am looking to replace my 4 year old Thinkpad R60 with something new.
2. Thinkpad Edge 14: i330, 2GB DDR3, 320GB, 14" Glossy, 1 year carry-in, Win 7 Pro
3. Dell Vostro 3400: i350, 2GB DDR3, 250GB, 14" Matte, 2 year On-Site, Win 7 Home Premium

The only thing stopping me from choosing the Vostro are:
1. Perceived build compared to the Thinkpad's
2. Heat/Fan noise issues in the Vostro's.

Originally Posted by Aroy

. Better build. Believe me I have seem the Dell and R series. They do not compare to T & X series in ruggedness.
. Thinkpad keyboards are in my opinion better with mare tactile feel.

Aroy are the current X series thinkpads compatible with the older (X61) docking stations?

I was looking for a Thinkpad recently. My current machine is a X61 (which replaced a T41p). What I found was that they are heavier and not as well speced as their Dell counterparts.

However I am still to find a laptop which has a better keyboard than the ThinkPads (this probably stems from the technology that IBM used during their "Selectric" days).

My requiirement:
Weight <1.5kg
screen 12-14"
HDMI port (I use a projector for the screen) + 4 USB ports (I lots of external stuff Photon card, mouse and Keyboard, 1 TB hard drive etc..)
4GB RAM
Win 7 64 with MS Office
what kind of budget do I need for this?

why does Lenovo India not offer users to customise their laptops like Lenovo USA?

Originally Posted by Aroy

Regarding Macbook.Unfortunately there were massive issues with the graphics card which took a lot of time to solve. I would stay away in such case.

2 of my friends have had their Macbooks replaced (due to persistent problems Apple replaced their MacBooks) but the down time they have to endure during this would have been intolerable for me.

[ghpk]

Been using Compaq laptop its a celeron, for more than 5 and a half years and have used it heavily all these years, replaced 3 cpu fans in 5 years, one hard disk, 3 Netgear WG111 wireless adaptor.

Now as it doesn't have even has a inbuilt Wireless LAN I am fed up with that dangling Netgear Wifi Adaptor which gets broken every year.
Battery is still doing around 75 minutes of backup when fully charged.
but I think it has done its part of job and needs a retirement.


I am taking Sony VAIO E Series VPCEB14EN/BI(Matte Black)
Details here

Getting some discounts from MRP.
Can someone please post his review if you are using sony VAIO

Intel® Core™ i3-330M Processor 2.13 GHz
3 GB DDR3 SDRAM
15.5 (39.37 cm) wide (WXGA: 1366 x 768) VAIO Display
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5470 Graphics (512 MB DDR3 SDRAM)
320 GB (Serial ATA)
its currently not in stock waiting for it to reach the store in next few days.

Wanted to go for dell inspiron 15R But.
1). Dell will not ship to my state.
2). Local Dealer will not get me customized one.
3). Online Price and dealer price is 3.5K different.
4). Dell service is not pro-active in my town, service engineer comes
from another town and might need a couple of days in case of Hardware issue.
5). Last I found same config in U.S.A. is cheaper, so i hate this price
difference between USA, India, Local Dealers, this is very annoying.

Apart from above I am buying another budget laptop tomorrow for mom, which would be used only for documents and e-mail so its a 14" compaq Intel dual core with 2GB RAM + 320GB HDD and is 26k only.

[ikoneer]

For my official purposes, I am looking for a lightweight laptop with good configuration (i3+ processors, 4GB RAM, 120+ GB hard disk, external DVD roms). Budget < 50K

Are there any good models in HP, DELL, IBM? Please recommend.

[ghpk]

Originally Posted by ikoneer

For my official purposes, I am looking for a lightweight laptop with good configuration (i3+ processors, 4GB RAM, 120+ GB hard disk, external DVD roms). Budget < 50K

Are there any good models in HP, DELL, IBM? Please recommend.

Given that budget you can check Dell, Sony Vaio and IBM
check my post above yours.

[ikoneer]

Originally Posted by ghpk

Given that budget you can check Dell, Sony Vaio and IBM
check my post above yours.

Do those model you have posted has external disk drive, since i am looking for light weight, the external dvd drives are very important.

[NetfreakBombay]

^^^

You can use external DVD drives with any laptop that has USB port.

[ghpk]

Just an update, the Sony model i posted above seems to be have discontinued and
has been upgraded a little bit and introduced with a new model number and price tag.

its now known as
VPCEB34EN/BI
VPCEB34EN : E Series : VAIO Laptop & Computer : Sony India

ikoneer: you can go for a dell mini if its the weight which matters most, I would not be comfortable with a laptop which is solely dependent on external HDD.