[nibedk]

All - Need a little help in choosing and finalizing a laptop - to be used by daughter for her online classes (10 years old).

My requirements are

• It has to be extremely sturdy (the current one around 3-4 years old though mechanically fine needs to be replaced as its broken at lot of places, display has horizontal lines etc. all due to mishandling by the kid).
• 13-14 inch if possible. Will be little easier for the kid to carry around.
• i5 processor or higher (or similar process), old gen will also do
• 1 TB space HDD(512 SSD - nothing less is fine till its within budget). Hybrid will do till its within budget and at least 512 GB overall though I would prefer 1 TB, and and 8 GB RAM
• Budget 35-40 K. Can extend up to 50 K if there is a compelling choice.
• No Apple laptops, any other brand would do. Anyway all laptops will have Chinese components so no point trying to avoid it.
• It will basically be used for photos storage, browsing, mailing, youtube and mostly for kids online classes.

Since this would double up as our personal laptops. We use our official laptops for most stuff but also need a laptop for personal laptop. We already have 2 personal laptops (more than 6+ years old) and both have reached EOL. Cosmetics damages, lot of hardware not working. May be will see if I can dispose off all 3 laptops locally or through cashify.

Please suggest any model that fits my requirements. Should I go online with Amazon/Flipkart or brick mortar store like Croma, Reliance etc. Last purchase was online as I got the laptop for less than 35 K.

[vsathyap]

Originally Posted by nibedk

• i5 processor or higher (or similar process), old gen will also do
• Budget 35-40 K. Can extend up to 50 K if there is a compelling choice.

You will not find a laptop with an i5 Processor in that budget for sure! You either need to pull down the processor to an i3 or push your budget to about 60K. Since you don't want something flimsy, you need something made out of metal (and not plastic) which will add to the price.

If you are okay with Ryzen, you may find some good (old gen) Ryzen5 spec'd laptops around your budget. But I'm afraid all of them will be of flimsy build quality (feel cheap and plasticky) and will have a lot of flex on the body as well as the screen. You may need to rework your requirements or forego some "must haves".

Check out Lenovo's Ideapad S Series on Lenovo India's website. They are a good middle ground on performance v/s budget v/s build.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by vsathyap

You will not find a laptop with an i5 Processor in that budget for sure! You either need to pull down the processor to an i3 or push your budget to about 60K. Since you don't want something flimsy, you need something made out of metal (and not plastic) which will add to the price.

If you are okay with Ryzen, you may find some good (old gen) Ryzen5 spec'd laptops around your budget. But I'm afraid all of them will be of flimsy build quality (feel cheap and plasticky) and will have a lot of flex on the body as well as the screen. You may need to rework your requirements or forego some "must haves".

Check out Lenovo's Ideapad S Series on Lenovo India's website. They are a good middle ground on performance v/s budget v/s build.

I did see some i5 models online for around 45-50 K. So was hopeful to find some in offline stores.

Let me share the links so that people can suggest. I will check on the Ideapad S series.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by vsathyap

You will not find a laptop with an i5 Processor in that budget for sure! You either need to pull down the processor to an i3 or push your budget to about 60K. Since you don't want something flimsy, you need something made out of metal (and not plastic) which will add to the price.

If you are okay with Ryzen, you may find some good (old gen) Ryzen5 spec'd laptops around your budget. But I'm afraid all of them will be of flimsy build quality (feel cheap and plasticky) and will have a lot of flex on the body as well as the screen. You may need to rework your requirements or forego some "must haves".

Check out Lenovo's Ideapad S Series on Lenovo India's website. They are a good middle ground on performance v/s budget v/s build.

Models between 40-50 K. Please suggest

https://www.amazon.in/ASUS-VivoBook-...mputers&sr=1-2

https://www.flipkart.com/lenovo-idea...4ed56a5348ed79

https://www.flipkart.com/hp-14q-core...4ed56a5348ed79

https://www.flipkart.com/lenovo-idea...4ed56a5348ed79

https://www.flipkart.com/mi-notebook...4ed56a5348ed79

https://www.flipkart.com/asus-vivobo...4ed56a5348ed79

https://www.flipkart.com/lenovo-idea...4ed56a5348ed79

https://www.flipkart.com/mi-notebook...4ed56a5348ed79

https://www.flipkart.com/acer-p2-ser...4ed56a5348ed79

https://www.flipkart.com/lenovo-idea...4ed56a5348ed79

https://www.flipkart.com/lenovo-core...4ed56a5348ed79

https://www.flipkart.com/acer-aspire...4ed56a5348ed79

[vsathyap]

Originally Posted by nibedk

Models between 40-50 K. Please suggest

Wow! That is quite an exhaustive list - nice find I must admit! I went through the links and could find only 3 of them available for ready delivery. The others are not in stock or coming soon. From the 3 I found, 2 are Acer and 1 is ASUS - Brands that I'm not very comfortable plonking down 50 K for. I know for a fact that Acer laptops age very quickly (plastics start fading, touchpad coating goes away revealing the underlying surface, etc.). This is exactly what I was saying in my earlier post - you can get some avg-to-decent options but even these are 50K! For something "good", the budget easily goes to 60K and for something even lightly leaning towards a high end performance machine, the cost shoots up to 80+K.

This is the conundrum even I'm currently in. I want a good performance laptop with a great display but even after shelling out 60+K, we cannot get a decently bright screen (350+ nits) that's also colour accurate and offers good performance under heavy loads. Hence, I'm forced to push my budget up to 80K and this is borderline Mac M1 territory.

On a TBHP-Style analogy, this is like paying 5+ Lakhs for an Alto / Entry level hatchback and as soon as you are looking for some premium-ness in build quality, space, features, NVH, handling, safety etc, the price very quickly shoots up to over 10L. And Over 10L, we have the crossover mini SUVs segment in the range of 12-15L which offer so much more than what a decent hatchback can offer.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by vsathyap

Wow! That is quite an exhaustive list - nice find I must admit! I went through the links and could find only 3 of them available for ready delivery. The others are not in stock or coming soon. From the 3 I found, 2 are Acer and 1 is ASUS - Brands that I'm not very comfortable plonking down 50 K for. I know for a fact that Acer laptops age very quickly (plastics start fading, touchpad coating goes away revealing the underlying surface, etc.). This is exactly what I was saying in my earlier post - you can get some avg-to-decent options but even these are 50K! For something "good", the budget easily goes to 60K and for something even lightly leaning towards a high end performance machine, the cost shoots up to 80+K.

This is the conundrum even I'm currently in. I want a good performance laptop with a great display but even after shelling out 60+K, we cannot get a decently bright screen (350+ nits) that's also colour accurate and offers good performance under heavy loads. Hence, I'm forced to push my budget up to 80K and this is borderline Mac M1 territory.

On a TBHP-Style analogy, this is like paying 5+ Lakhs for an Alto / Entry level hatchback and as soon as you are looking for some premium-ness in build quality, space, features, NVH, handling, safety etc, the price very quickly shoots up to over 10L. And Over 10L, we have the crossover mini SUVs segment in the range of 12-15L which offer so much more than what a decent hatchback can offer.

Nice analogy. My usage will be pretty limited as far as laptop goes. Mostly for pics as rest of it I can do it on my office laptop. The reason going for i5 is to have a minimum acceptable level of performance. Even as the kid grows up she will require the laptop for school projects irrespective of when we get a breather from Covid or not. I am really not looking for any premium build. Its sturdiness which can take some abuse.

What's your take on the Mi laptops? Configuration seems good for under 50 K and the smaller size and weight is a bonus. It meets all my requirements except for sturdiness which I am not aware of how good it is.

Macs I am not a big fan of Apple. To me they are way to overpriced for what they offer. Any apple product to me is not worth . Most of its products are overpriced by at least 30% more. You will easily get the bill of materials online and can figure out how they are looting. Not that other manufactures don't do it but not to the extent Apple does in the name of premium experiecne which it provides in other bigger markets but not in India but charges way more compared to other countries

[vsathyap]

Originally Posted by nibedk

What's your take on the Mi laptops? Configuration seems good for under 50 K and the smaller size and weight is a bonus. It meets all my requirements except for sturdiness which I am not aware of how good it is.

Macs I am not a big fan of Apple. To me they are way to overpriced for what they offer. Any apple product to me is not worth . Most of its products are overpriced by at least 30% more. You will easily get the bill of materials online and can figure out how they are looting. Not that other manufactures don't do it but not to the extent Apple does in the name of premium experiecne which it provides in other bigger markets but not in India but charges way more compared to other countries

I was looking at the Mi India website and was pleasantly surprised to find this "Redmi Book Pro" with an i5 Processor and also fits in your requirements as though it was made to order! The only caveat is that its got a 512GB SSD and not a conventional HDD. Its fits well within your budget too and retails for 47K. You also get a 3.5K discount if you have HDFC Cards which makes the deal even sweeter. If you are really keen on 1TB storage, you might as well remove the SSD the laptop comes with and swap it out for a 1TB drive. Selling the old 512GB should offset costs and the final price could be just a tad above 50K which is a great price. As you said, even I'm not aware of how abuse friendly these Mi Laptops are, but there is no harm in picking up additional warranty or accidental damage protection while you are buying it. It will serve its purpose for the first 2 years when your kid is still growing up and after she's old enough to understand how to use devices with care, the damage protection will have anyways ended.

Coming to Apple and Macs, even I was in the same camp as you - I believed that they were way overpriced for what they offered (at least in India) but the new M1 SOC has changed the entire landscape. The performance offered by the M1 is something that has astounded the tech community. Adding the convenience and end user experience a Mac offers, I'm on the fence now.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by vsathyap

Coming to Apple and Macs, even I was in the same camp as you - I believed that they were way overpriced for what they offered (at least in India) but the new M1 SOC has changed the entire landscape. The performance offered by the M1 is something that has astounded the tech community. Adding the convenience and end user experience a Mac offers, I'm on the fence now.

Well I think may be I am too old to change my mind now But to be frank I never doubted the quality of Apple products. They make some of the best products and there is absolutely no doubt about it. But charge way too much more for what they offer.

Not touching Apple products with even a barge pole irrespective how good they are. They are not cost effective and don't think will ever be. Look at how they loot people by removing chargers, wired earphones and what not. And the ecosystem in India just doesn't work unlike in other bigger markets. On top their products are even more costlier here in India.

Its not about whether once can afford or not to get into the Apple ecosystem (laptop+phone+watch) will cost upwards of 2 lacs for configuration one would want. Will they last 5+ years . Definitely yes in 90% of the cases. But who the hell wants a phone or a watch that lasts that long. With Android and Windows one can change all 3 twice in a time period of 5+ years and still have some spare for the 3 change. These are fast moving consumer goods and most will change in 2-3 years time even die hard Apple fans. So Apple is just looting in the name of premium experiecne along with additional cost on accessories and people are falling for it.

[derek_j]

If build quality is a priority go for a ThinkPad.
https://dl.flipkart.com/s/rCiGkeNNN
Reliance digital, croma,etc. might have discounts.You should check with them.
Search 'ThinkPad e14 Ryzen 5' on Flipkart if the link doesn't work.
Costs around 53k.

[derek_j]

Originally Posted by RaghuVis

Hi All,
Please suggest a good laptop for senior citizen parents. Maximum usage is 2-3 hours per week. They both have nice mobiles so laptop needed only for rare occassions. Ideally looking for i3/Ryzen3. Although budget not an issue, Prefer something below 40K.

Main Priority
1) light weight
2) Need to have genuine windows OS and microsoft office tools

https://dl.flipkart.com/s/Ho1TbzuuuN
Go for it if it's below 40k

[Shiftlock]

Originally Posted by vsathyap

This is exactly what I was saying in my earlier post - you can get some avg-to-decent options but even these are 50K! For something "good", the budget easily goes to 60K and for something even lightly leaning towards a high end performance machine, the cost shoots up to 80+K.

This is the conundrum even I'm currently in. I want a good performance laptop with a great display but even after shelling out 60+K, we cannot get a decently bright screen (350+ nits) that's also colour accurate and offers good performance under heavy loads. Hence, I'm forced to push my budget up to 80K and this is borderline Mac M1 territory.

Like others have mentioned, you can check out the Lenovo Ideapad S series, my sister uses the S340 with the ryzen5 processor and she is very happy with it. It comes with 8gb of RAM and hybrid storage (1 TB HDD + 256GB SSD).

Alternatively, if you know anyone who is eligible for the Apple student discount, it may be worth checking out the MBA M1. we recently picked it up for my brother and with the student discount and exchange offers we got it at a really good deal.

Lastly, I think if you're okay with venturing out of the house, it is always better to purchase such devices from physical stores after checking out the display and build quality in person.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by derek_j

If build quality is a priority go for a ThinkPad.
https://dl.flipkart.com/s/rCiGkeNNN
Reliance digital, croma,etc. might have discounts.You should check with them.
Search 'ThinkPad e14 Ryzen 5' on Flipkart if the link doesn't work.
Costs around 53k.

Believe Ryzen 5 has performance equivalent to i5 processors. Is it costlier as it is a Thinkpad? as I saw quite some i5 laptops as low as 42 K on Flipkart

Originally Posted by derek_j

https://dl.flipkart.com/s/Ho1TbzuuuN
Go for it if it's below 40k

Thanks for the suggestion. But not really looking @ Ryzen 3(equivalent to i3 I guess). Looking @ i5 or equivalent processor .

Found one Ryzen 5 laptop for under 45 K

https://www.flipkart.com/lenovo-idea...aec9a05c7e3874

Originally Posted by Shiftlock

Like others have mentioned, you can check out the Lenovo Ideapad S series, my sister uses the S340 with the ryzen5 processor and she is very happy with it. It comes with 8gb of RAM and hybrid storage (1 TB HDD + 256GB SSD).

Alternatively, if you know anyone who is eligible for the Apple student discount, it may be worth checking out the MBA M1. we recently picked it up for my brother and with the student discount and exchange offers we got it at a really good deal.

Lastly, I think if you're okay with venturing out of the house, it is always better to purchase such devices from physical stores after checking out the display and build quality in person.

Will go out and check the Mi Laptops. They are 14 inchers and cost less than 50 and with discounts one might get it around for less than 45 K for the 512 SSD one.

Will check in Reliance and Croma as well and see what best offers they provide.

Apple will give it a skip. I don't think they will ever bring out a VFM product. Will be happy to be proven wrong in future. But the way it is currently I don't agree to their unethical business principles and hence would stay away from them. Rest all manufacturers too are here to do business but cater to a much more broader customer base and are more customer friendly. Sorry if I hurt any apple fans. But unfortunately that's the truth.

[rahi]

Guys, I need a laptop for learning new IT skills (Cyber forensics/computer forensics).

My requirements are good processor, atleast 8 GB RAM, full functional keyboard, 14"-15" full HD display, adequate battery life, SSD (mandatory) and sturdy chasis. Future upgradability is preferable. I intend to run multiple Virtual machines (different linux flavours and windows), coding (in python etc.), light photo and video editing occasionally and gaming once in a blue moon. My budget is 60K (i can further add 5-8K for the compelling model).

I have been following this thread quite long and had shortlisted Lenovo Legion 5 (4600H) gaming laptop for its VFM factor, Ryzen processor and upgradability. I have been sitting on fence for quite some time now hoping for prices to come down but that doesn't seem to happening in near future and the model is also unavailable.

What other choices do i have?? I don't discard/replace my gadgets easily and keep them for long.

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by rahi

My budget is 60K (i can further add 5-8K for the compelling model).

Prices aren't going to come down for another year at-least given the high demand and shortage of chips. Chip shortage will take a couple of years to fulfil I believe. But alternatives may get developed over next year and demand may taper a bit.

On your ask, I can't recommend a particular model but you will get decent ones in this price range and your desired spec is sufficient for the needs.

One important info: Do budget a secondary display for the work you are expecting to do using this laptop. It is very handy and kind of necessary when working with laptops of 14" or 15" screens. Unless you already have one, in which case this recommendation is pointless

[longhorn]

Originally Posted by rahi

I have been following this thread quite long and had shortlisted Lenovo Legion 5 (4600H) gaming laptop for its VFM factor, Ryzen processor and upgradability.

Although this is now a generation old, its a very compelling product even today. The 2021 model gets a 500 nits screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio, and is a much improved version and that reflects in its price too.