[Amien]

Originally Posted by efgritesh

Hey all!

I am looking for a budget laptop/desktop for mostly coding and study purpose.

A desktop is better in just about every way besides portability. Please share your budget and post in the desktop thread if that's what you end up deciding to go with.

[efgritesh]

Originally Posted by carboy

I would go for a Dell Inspiron at a similar price.

how about HP x360?

[Amien]

Originally Posted by efgritesh

how about HP x360?

Please avoid the x360 Pavilions. They are terribly built and poor value.

[AnInternetUser]

In a bit of a conundrum. Would appreciate some insights. I need a laptop for work, basic live streaming, some video editing and light gaming (think CSGO, Insurgency, BeamNG, GTAV). While I don't really need the most powerful tech around, being a tech enthusiast, I prefer having more power than required under the hood. Budget is ~60k but lower the better.

Options:

1. Acer Swift 3 (i5 1135G7 + 16GB RAM + 512GB SSD): at around 66k, this is the only option with 16 gigs of RAM. I feel 8GB Is a little less if we have a 5-year horizon. Software optimization doesn't seem to be getting that much better. Only drawbacks are – 14" display and i5. I can live with the display but we all know how much weaker even the latest gen i5 is compared to a 4500U. It's also the only laptop here with 100% sRGB.
2. Lenovo Slim 5 (Ryzen 7 4700U + 8GB RAM + 512GB SSD): at 60k, this is easily the most bang-for-buck laptop. The display is small and it's 45% NTSC I believe, but the sheer horsepower makes it a worthy option. The only drawback is the 8GB soldered RAM.
3. Acer Aspire 5 (i5 1135G7 + 8GB RAM expandable + 512GB SSD): pretty decent. Costs around 50k. 60k with an MX350. But the build quality isn't known to be the best. Also, the display isn't as colour accurate as the Swift 3's. Upgrading the RAM to 16GB would narrow the price gap between the Swift 3 and this by a lot. Also have thunderbolt so no type-c power delivery. But still seems like a decent contender.
4. Lenovo Slim 5i (i5 1135G7 + 8GB RAM + 1tb HDD + 256GB SSD + MX450): costs as much as the Swift 3. Has a larger display but colour accuracy is as much as the Slim 5 and Aspire 5. Considering this only because the MX450 is a pretty potent GPU. But once again it's let down by the soldered 8GB RAM.

The Swift 3 appears to be the frontrunner thanks to the additional RAM. but that's about it. I've only ever used ~40k laptops before so my expectations wrt build quality and colour accuracy aren't sky-high. Had the Slim 5 (AMD) got expandable RAM, I'd have picked it up in a heartbeat so here we are.

Which laptop would you choose if you were me and why? I'd appreciate some fresh views! This question has bothered me for longer than I'd like to admit

[Amien]

Originally Posted by AnInternetUser

Which laptop would you choose if you were me and why? I'd appreciate some fresh views! This question has bothered me for longer than I'd like to admit

How important is portability to you? Could you specify a max./preferred size/weight limit?

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by AnInternetUser

In a bit of a conundrum. Would appreciate some insights. I need a laptop for work, basic live streaming, some video editing and light gaming (think CSGO, Insurgency, BeamNG, GTAV). While I don't really need the most powerful tech around, being a tech enthusiast, I prefer having more power than required under the hood. Budget is ~60k but lower the better.

Isn't the 11th Gen Intel i5 about at par with the 4500u? That's what I have read.

I use both, a 10th Gen Intel i5 + 16 GB RAM + 512 GB SSD Lenovo ThinkBook (office provided) and a 4500u + 8GB RAM + 512 GB SSD Asus Vivobook (personal) on a day to day basis and the difference in performance, power efficiency, and thermals, though not night and day, is perceptible.

The Asus clearly runs cooler, has equivalent to slightly better battery life (with a 20% smaller battery), and is faster to use overall even though it has less and non upgradable RAM. My nephew is a gamer and it is genuinely gameable by LowSpecGamer standards when it comes to AAA titles and iGPU performance.

The aspects where AMD laptops skimp on are more nuanced though.
The webcam and screen quality difference is definitely night and day. The Intel based laptop clearly trumps the AMD here, for no fault of the actual CPU. That is what you have to give up for going with AMD and it's a shame since
1. Background blur transitions (in Zoom/Google Meet) are clearly done more effortlessly by the AMD iGPU.
2. The battery may allow for outdoor use but screen brightness clearly does not.

There are laptops which overcome some of the flaws above but they are probably sold out.

[efgritesh]

Originally Posted by Amien

Please avoid the x360 Pavilions. They are terribly built and poor value.

I always thought HP as a reputed laptop brand and also this one is very tempting with 11th gen i7 processor.

Was your comment was a generic one or about this particular model, still confused.

[AnInternetUser]

Originally Posted by Amien

How important is portability to you? Could you specify a max./preferred size/weight limit?

Thanks for the reply! The preferred size is 15.6" but 14" is also doable. Can't go below unless the deal is really good (then I'll just connect it to an external display when I'm at home). I'd like a <1.5kg laptop, but this is more of a 'good to have' and not a requirement per se.

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Isn't the 11th Gen Intel i5 about at par with the 4500u? That's what I have read.

I use both, a 10th Gen Intel i5 + 16 GB RAM + 512 GB SSD Lenovo ThinkBook (office provided) and a 4500u + 8GB RAM + 512 GB SSD Asus Vivobook (personal) on a day to day basis and the difference in performance, power efficiency, and thermals, though not night and day, is perceptible.

The Asus clearly runs cooler, has equivalent to slightly better battery life (with a 20% smaller battery), and is faster to use overall even though it has less and non upgradable RAM. My nephew is a gamer and it is genuinely gameable by LowSpecGamer standards when it comes to AAA titles and iGPU performance.

The aspects where AMD laptops skimp on are more nuanced though.
The webcam and screen quality difference is definitely night and day. The Intel based laptop clearly trumps the AMD here, for no fault of the actual CPU. That is what you have to give up for going with AMD and it's a shame since
1. Background blur transitions (in Zoom/Google Meet) are clearly done more effortlessly by the AMD iGPU.
2. The battery may allow for outdoor use but screen brightness clearly does not.

There are laptops which overcome some of the flaws above but they are probably sold out.

Thanks a lot for highlighting some of the differences! I'd only seen the benchmarks between the two so a real-world review is certainly helpful.

As you rightly pointed out, it is quite unfortunate how AMD devices cut corners for no fault of the CPU. The display & webcam quality is quite important to me, but so is the performance which kinda sucks.

Because I need to buy two devices, I have the option of deferring the purchase of a higher-end laptop and opt for a more budget one (close to the 40k mark). I did come across a few i5 1135G7 ones for that much. Can't expect the build quality & display to be anywhere near the more premium offerings but I guess it'll do the job. Plus they'll probably have the option of expandable RAM. This will buy me enough time to optimistically wait for a more no-compromises/fewer compromises AMD laptop.

Any thoughts on going with this approach?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by efgritesh

I always thought HP as a reputed laptop brand and also this one is very tempting with 11th gen i7 processor.

Was your comment was a generic one or about this particular model, still confused.

Time was when HP laptops were excellent. Sadly over the years HP has produced a lot of lemons. Their main problem is thermal design. The some models overheat under Indian conditions (any temperature > 25 centigrade) and with time get damaged. My son had one and a lot of my acquaintances also faced problems and untimely death of HP laptops.

The best bet is to do a thorough research on the net. Any problems and there will be thousands of complaints/instances of laptop malfunction.

[Amien]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Isn't the 11th Gen Intel i5 about at par with the 4500u? That's what I have read.

The aspects where AMD laptops skimp on are more nuanced though.

Intel 11th gen. is a bit better in single thread and generally at par on the iGPU front, but considerably behind in multi-core. Comparisions with Ryzen 4000 are more appropriate with 10th gen. parts. 5000 series is set to take the undisputed crown for both single/multi-thread.

AMD has had a long, uphill battle to get OEMs to put resources behind their offerings in their return to competition after a near 10-year hiatus. Until last year, they were absent from many high-end products despite having the superior parts. They did have some important wins with designs like the ASUS G14 however. This year, you will start seeing them in more and more implementations, including flagship designs that are more suited to their new status as the performance leader.

Originally Posted by efgritesh

I always thought HP as a reputed laptop brand and also this one is very tempting with 11th gen i7 processor.

Was your comment was a generic one or about this particular model, still confused.

About this particular model. As I've kept reiterating, recommendations for or against a model are based on their merit (or lack thereof) alone and has no bearing on the brand. HP still makes some good laptops but every brand has its duds and the X360 Pavilion is one of them. That i7 is still a quad-core BTW.

Originally Posted by AnInternetUser

Thanks for the reply! The preferred size is 15.6" but 14" is also doable. Can't go below unless the deal is really good (then I'll just connect it to an external display when I'm at home). I'd like a <1.5kg laptop, but this is more of a 'good to have' and not a requirement per se.

15-inch and less than 1.5kg don't often go together. You're unlikely to miss that extra ~1 inch but it pays huge dividends in overall dimensions and weight.
Take a look at the MSI Modern 14 B4MW-238IN, has a 4500u with expandable RAM in a very compact chassis.

Because I need to buy two devices, I have the option of deferring the purchase of a higher-end laptop and opt for a more budget one (close to the 40k mark).

Any thoughts on going with this approach?

Please share a detailed use-case for the 2nd device if you plan on going that route. Unless this is for a different person, you would normally be better off clubbing the budget and buying a single device.

[AnInternetUser]

Originally Posted by Amien

15-inch and less than 1.5kg don't often go together. You're unlikely to miss that extra ~1 inch but it pays huge dividends in overall dimensions and weight.
Take a look at the MSI Modern 14 B4MW-238IN, has a 4500u with expandable RAM in a very compact chassis.

Yes. I'm flexible on either front. A 14" isn't a deal-breaker and neither is a 1.5kg+. Thanks for the link. The MSI Modern 14 was a front-runner, but I heard a few horror stories about MSI India after sales + build quality. It's quite weird because a few YouTube videos and Flipkart reviews were fairly positive.

I visited Vijay Sales, Croma and Reliance Digital but neither of them had one on display.

Please share a detailed use-case for the 2nd device if you plan on going that route. Unless this is for a different person, you would normally be better off clubbing the budget and buying a single device.

It's for a different person, yes. I'll use it temporarily and then hand it over to my father after a few months. The use case is quite basic. Work, watching Netflix, etc. I'm pretty sure most devices north of 40-45k will be able to handle my workload for a few months before I move to a more powerful device.

But a quick look at Flipkart & Amazon showed that most i5 11th gens are back above 50k incl. GST.

As of now, Swift 3 and Aspire 5 seem like reasonable choices. The Aspire 5 would've been quite good if it had a better display and type-c power delivery, but at this price point that's probably wishful thinking...

[Amien]

MSI's service improved considerably since they switched providers. Build is series/model specific. The Modern range is a pared down version of the Prestige line, both of them are built well for their respective price tier.

As for the 2nd device, you seem to have things figured out. Hopefully your needs are served well by whatever you end up with.

[longhorn]

What would be a good laptop, the main use of which would be word processing and spreadsheets. Multiple word and excel files have to be open simultaneously. The system should not hang / get stuck on hitting Alt+Tab if we have 15-16 large files open. Would prefer one with a good keyboard. It would also be used for online classes, hence a not too bad inbuilt camera + mic would be preferred. Portability is important, so would prefer one that weighs less. Main usage for now will be documentation for PhD work for a science student. Would prefer getting one that has upgradable RAM. Budget is around the 40-45k mark.

[Amien]

Originally Posted by longhorn

Would prefer one with a good keyboard. It would also be used for online classes, hence a not too bad inbuilt camera + mic would be preferred. Portability is important, so would prefer one that weighs less. . Would prefer getting one that has upgradable RAM. Budget is around the 40-45k mark.

Some of the criteria is a bit contradictory as you normally trade things like upgradable RAM for portability/a more compact build. Ideal options in this range would be something with a quad-core+an SSD Take a look at the following:-

Mi Notebook 14 XMA1901-FC - This is a very thin/light laptop for the price but gives up upgradable RAM and an integrated webcam in exchange (it does come bundled with one however).

ThinkPad E495 - Prioritizes durability and has upgradable RAM at the cost of being heavier.

Between the two, the Mi has the better display. Both are fairly compact for what they offer and both have good keyboards (Thinkpads will always have an edge here). The Thinkpad does not come with an OS so that would need to be installed. It does have a larger SSD (although you can choose an Mi variant with the same size + discrete graphics, which are a bit better than the integrated 3500U option). Choose based on your preference.

[longhorn]

Originally Posted by Amien

Some of the criteria is a bit contradictory as you normally trade things like upgradable RAM for portability/a more compact build. Ideal options in this range would be something with a quad-core+an SSD

Apologies, I should have made myself clear. I'm not necessarily looking at the super thin and light versions. I believe those designs could lead to thermal / dust accumulation problems especially given our climatic conditions and pollution levels. I'm looking for a middle ground, where in at least the RAM and SSD can be upgraded. I tend to hold on to these devices for long, so durability is important. I guess something that weighs upto about 1.7 kgs should be fine. Upgrading from a 2nd gen i3 bought in mid 2012.

Also, could you suggest something in the 60k range, just in case I decide to increase the budget. Isn't the Ryzen 3500 a bit old now. I was hoping to get something from the 4000 series, guess its not available at that budget.