[Amien]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

Guys. Any pointers on where I can source a Core 2 duo laptop processor in India?
Am also planning to double my DDR2 RAM to 4GB(max supported) so as to give that extra edge. Any recommendations on which ones are good?

If you must order online, buy from aliexpress/alibaba/ebayus and wait out the delivery period because anything local will either be horribly overpriced or unreliable. I miss ebay.in :(
The other option is to visit your local computer market (Lamington/Nehru Place/SP road).

If I've understood correctly, you have 2GB of RAM and want to add another 2 for a total of 4GB max. supported correct? Please share a CPU-Z screenshot so that I can find something similar to what you already have. This is not necessary, but ideal.

Originally Posted by RavSam

Lenovo Ideapad S145 AMD Ryzen 3 laptop at around 26k and under is good deal. It was at 22k before but it sometimes is inflated to 31k. So it's a good deal at 22k to 26k (Don't know why laptop prices fluctuate so much)

I can answer this question. Since Covid, all hardware is slightly more expensive owing to supply chain interruptions. This is reflected in a weird combination of high demand (WFH, online classes), erratic supply and people still buying despite high markups. However, due to Ryzen's market disruption, you can still get great deals if you know what to look for and where.

That Lenovo you referenced by the way comes with a HDD. An NVME SSD (the fastest type currently available) will cost you a minimum of 4k when bought separately. Its also not as compact as the ASUS. My only regret will be if someone buys it without realizing how incredible a deal it is. That said, any laptop with a Ryzen under 35k is a steal

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Now son admits that he wants to do 'some gaming' too. Would you like to revise your guidance now?

Ah, I knew this was coming
Radeon graphics in that Ryzen3 are good enough for 'some (light)gaming'. Actually this is Ryzen's big strength. The CPU side is about equal to a 8/10th gen Intel but the GPU/3D side is way better.

Before I give you a new recommendation, how much more are you willing to spend to give him a better gaming experience? (this might come with increased performance/changes in portability as a result)

Originally Posted by NPV

Thanks for the recommendation.
Btw, this was available a month ago but not anymore. Would like to get your opinion on how this compares with the one you mentioned - both are from the Vivobook line from Asus but have different processors.
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07YYM7G7T/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_i_zAf0EbFGMFFXH

Better processor but I would be very surprised if that laptop was under 50k. Anything around 40k would make it a good deal. While its not as portable and doesn't come with an SSD, buy this instead if you see it under for 40.

Originally Posted by vaasscit

Thanks guys. Really appreciate your inputs. I downloaded the CPU-Z tool and got to know the RAM type - I believe it is DDR4.

I've also got a snapshot of the task manager when I had two tabs open in chrome with no other software running. As I could see, the memory utilization is momentarily 75% (usually it is around 55%) whereas the CPU utilization is ALWAYS around 85%. I'm just worried that the CPU could be the bottleneck here and not the RAM/Hard drive. I may be totally wrong. Please guide me here. With this, would you still recommend adding RAM & swapping to SSD?

Also, I've added the entire report from CPU-Z in .txt format. Just so that if there is anything else you could get out of the report.

If you guys still recommend adding RAM and SSD, could you give me some links (preferably Amazon/Flipkart) as to which product will suit this laptop?

Thanks again guys.

Originally Posted by diyguy

Find out what the cpu is working on. You can open process monitor or task manager to check what is running in the background. Could be anti-virus scan or something like that.

Always a good idea to follow diyguy's suggestion so give it a shot. In this case however, that CPU is likely to be pinned just maintaining the OS environment. Not necessarily a bad thing, relatively speaking.

You're right about the CPU being the bottleneck, but it shares that spot with the HDD. Will the upgrades be worth it? That depends on what your expectations/other options are. It will definitely make a difference.

The RAM being DDR4 means you might be able to carry it forward to a new computer(still a year or two before DDR5 becomes mainstream) along with that SSD and/or sell it to recover some of your investment. Will look up some recommendations after you've made a decision.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Amien

Faster processor but I would be very surprised if that laptop was under 50k. Anything around 40k would make it a good deal. While its not as portable and doesn't come with an SSD, buy this instead if you see it for under 40.

It's priced 48k on Amazon but currently unavailable.

How is the Mi Notebook 14 Silver listed at 44k ? Is the spec worth the price ?
https://mobile.mi.com/in/mi-notebook-14/?RNType=product&product_id=mi-notebook-14&viewId=6d9c547cf146054a5a720606a7694467+128_1_2 _26_0_3_omega_mi-notebook-14&pageId=homepage+1595477889324

[Amien]

Originally Posted by NPV

It's priced 48k on Amazon but currently unavailable.

How is the Mi Notebook 14 Silver listed at 44k ? Is the spec worth the price ?
https://mobile.mi.com/in/mi-notebook-14/?RNType=product&product_id=mi-notebook-14&viewId=6d9c547cf146054a5a720606a7694467+128_1_2 _26_0_3_omega_mi-notebook-14&pageId=homepage+1595477889324

Good on paper but there aren't enough of these in the wild for me to get an idea on things like quality/durability/service. Someone in this thread has bought one I think so maybe try to get a first-hand account from them.

Also, not a big fan of Soldered/non-upgradable parts (RAM/SSD etc).

Price shown is for the Non-GPU version, which is a good price. If it fits your budget and requirements exactly (and are okay with its limitations), go for it

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Amien

Ah, I knew this was coming
Radeon graphics in that Ryzen3 are good enough for 'some (light)gaming'. Actually this is Ryzen's big strength. The CPU side is about equal to a 8/10th gen Intel but the GPU/3D side is way better.

Before I give you a new recommendation, how much more are you willing to spend to give him a better gaming experience? (this might come with increased performance/changes in portability as a result)

Amen Amien! My budget is 45K max - should be future-proof for next 4 years.

[Sebring]

This product is very good (if you ignore the camera aspect). I think it was available at a special price (Rs. 42K), if I'm not mistaken. See if you can stretch for the Horizon version (Rs. 55K) which we have (It's the best laptop we have purchased in terms of ease of use, features, build-quality, hinge, screen, battery etc). Feels like a MacBook Pro!

Originally Posted by NPV

How is the Mi Notebook 14 Silver listed at 44k ? Is the spec worth the price?

[Amien]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Amen Amien! My budget is 45K max - should be future-proof for next 4 years.

Future-proofing is always tricky business. Right now especially, the only real way is to buy something with a 7nm 4000 series CPU. Those start at ~65k.

While I still stand by my original recommendation, here's one to consider if you're looking for a meaningful step-up in performance/value:- https://amzn.to/30HNc6K

~4k over your budget but comes with twice as many processing cores, 2x the RAM and an SSD for speed+HDD for mass storage.

If sticking to the budget is important:- https://amzn.to/2ZR9Fz3

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by Amien

If I've understood correctly, you have 2GB of RAM and want to add another 2 for a total of 4GB max. supported correct? Please share a CPU-Z screenshot so that I can find something similar to what you already have. This is not necessary, but ideal.

Thanks for the offer. Please see below screenshots of the CPU, RAM and the Motherboards. I am looking for recommendations to upgrade the CPU as well as RAM. I a currently eyeing upgrading to T7500 Socket P becuase this seems an ideal upgrade as demonstrated in many Youtube videos. Ofcourse, I look forward to your expert opinion as well.

I run Vista home basic 32 bit OS. I know the current limitation wherein even if I put 4 GB of RAM, the OS may not recognize more that ~3.5 GB but I have plans to upgrade to 2 x 2GB RAM just for the sake of consistency.

[null]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Now son admits that he wants to do 'some gaming' too. Would you like to revise your guidance now?

Flipkart has Asus Vivobook gaming laptop - model F571GT - with i5 8th gen, 8gb ram, 512 SSD & GTX1650/4GB laptop for 52K (+ discounts during offers) which is a value for money buy IMO. Unfortunately, its out of stock most of the time. It was available couple of days back when 2 of my friends managed to pick it up. You may want to try waiting & buying if timelines allow you to do so.

[Sebring]

For gaming you need i7. This is a compromise model and heats up in no time. Besides, why 8th gen when you have the 10th gen, alive and kicking!

Originally Posted by null

Flipkart has Asus Vivobook gaming laptop - model F571GT - with i5 8th gen, 8gb ram, 512 SSD & GTX1650/4GB laptop for 52K (+ discounts during offers) which is a value for money buy IMO. Unfortunately, its out of stock most of the time. It was available couple of days back when 2 of my friends managed to pick it up. You may want to try waiting & buying if timelines allow you to do so.

[null]

Originally Posted by Sebring

For gaming you need i7. This is a compromise model and heats up in no time. Besides, why 8th gen when you have the 10th gen, alive and kicking!

Suggested a good model which fits within his budget. As far as I have noticed, i7 based gaming laptops(9750h models) with a decent graphics card go above 70k range at this moment.

[Amien]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

Thanks for the offer. Please see below screenshots of the CPU, RAM and the Motherboards. I am looking for recommendations to upgrade the CPU as well as RAM.

I run Vista home basic 32 bit OS. I know the current limitation wherein even if I put 4 GB of RAM, the OS may not recognize more that ~3.5 GB

https://www.amazon.in/AMEGON-DDR2-PC...dp/B07DVBTY3F/ This uses Samsung memory AFAIK and should be a reliable choice. Shouldn't change the recommendation but please also share the SPD tab in CPU-Z if possible. Sorry for forgetting to mention this earlier.

As for the CPU, your best bet would be to try a local computer market. Shipments from China (aliexpress etc) are either delayed or too expensive.

Once you upgrade the RAM, also consider upgrading the OS to Windows 10 64-bit. As mentioned earlier, Win.10 runs surprisingly well on modest hardware and this will give you access to the full 4GB of memory.

Originally Posted by null

Flipkart has Asus Vivobook gaming laptop - model F571GT - with i5 8th gen, 8gb ram, 512 SSD & GTX1650/4GB laptop for 52K (+ discounts during offers) which is a value for money buy IMO. Unfortunately, its out of stock most of the time. It was available couple of days back when 2 of my friends managed to pick it up. You may want to try waiting & buying if timelines allow you to do so.

The Laptop you're referring to usually starts at 71k. Getting it for 52k would be an absolute steal but deals like that rarely ever coincide with a person's buying window. Most of the time you just have to pick the best value available at the time that it is needed. For obvious reasons, its also not going to stay in stock for very long. My recommendation for example, has also already sold out.

Remember that the primary use in this case is studying, not gaming. If the primary use-case was gaming, I would advise doing one of the following:-
1) Increase the budget

2) Consider building a desktop computer (1/2 the price or 2x the performance).

Originally Posted by Sebring

For gaming you need i7. This is a compromise model and heats up in no time. Besides, why 8th gen when you have the 10th gen, alive and kicking!

This is not correct. I7 is just a marketing designation and has little to do with performance. Most 8th gen and older Intel i7s are just quad cores anyway, making them no better than something like a quad core, eight thread Ryzen R5 3500. Some i7s are actually dual-cores. Figure that one out

9/10th gen Intel is not bad, especially when paired with a GPU. This however is not in the OP's currently specified budget or use-case.

[srishiva]

I see that Lenovo idepad with Ryzen 5 with 8GB memory and 512GB SSD are around 42K. Looks like a great deal since the build etc should be good given its lenovo

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Amien

The Laptop you're referring to usually starts at 71k. Getting it for 52k would be an absolute steal but deals like that rarely ever coincide with a person's buying window. Most of the time you just have to pick the best value available at the time that it is needed. For obvious reasons, its also not going to stay in stock for very long. My recommendation for example, has also already sold out.

It's back in stock now! Go for it? Was waiting for Prime Day sales actually
https://www.flipkart.com/asus-vivobo...m1ac5ceb0c899b

[Sebring]

Flipkart was offering the same spec in Avita for Rs. 30K. Now it's out of stock. I looked up Avita reviews on YouTube, and the build (plastic body) seems to be a compromise. If that's okay, then you can consider it

Originally Posted by srishiva

I see that Lenovo idepad with Ryzen 5 with 8GB memory and 512GB SSD are around 42K. Looks like a great deal since the build etc should be good given its lenovo

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by Amien

https://www.amazon.in/AMEGON-DDR2-PC...dp/B07DVBTY3F/

Thanks. I had ordered a simmtronics 2x2gbRAM and it arrived today. Just finished upgrading the laptop and as expected the Windows vista OS is only recognising 3.5odd GB.

However I also have lubuntu 18.04 installed in the same laptop and this seems to recognise the full 4gb installed RAM. Also I think this OS is much lighter for the specs as compared to Windows. Performance seems to have improved. However the real test will be tomorrow when my daughter joins online classes via Google meet.

My next upgrade will be a SSD installed using a caddy in place of the DVD drive. If that solves my purpose (using google meet for online classes without much stutter), then I may drop the processor upgrade altogether.