[Samfromindia]

Originally Posted by catchjyoti

I have a 2021 Acer Nitro 5 laptop with 16 gb RAM and 512 gb SSD. It runs Win 11. Want to upgrade SSD to 1 tb and RAM to 32 gb.

I see that you have upgraded. Did you get the parts and upgrade by yourself? Or did you get it done from a professional? I am in Pune.

I ordered all parts online and did it myself. Its as simple as unscrewing the back lid, pushing in the new parts and closing the lid again Here is the link of the parts I ordered:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadge...ml#post5001978 (The Computer setup show-off thread. Let's see your rigs!)

However make sure you are buying parts which are compatible. For RAM, check the existing RAM timings, rank and ofc generation so that it can run Dual Channel. For HDD, make sure you have available m.2 slot for NVME SSD or you need to go for SATA SSDs. My laptop had 2x m.2 ports of which 1 had SSD and 1 SATA HDD.

[ar@v1nd]

Originally Posted by sachinayak

Referred 3-4 of my close friends who bought used laptops and all are working great. In most cases the outer case is brand new, battery is brand new (confirmed using battery report) and you get a typical I7 8th Gen, Dell Laptop with 16GB RAM, 256/512 GB SSD, touch screen with Windows 10/11 in almost new condition (but with only dealer warranty which i doubt will ever be honoured) under 30K. Have used it for daily tasks but I also run Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom and Video Editing software on these without much fuss. Total value for money, I think.

For 30-35K you can actually get a brand new i3 12th Gen laptop with 8 GB/512GB laptop with assured warranty and spares support. For imported laptops, the warranty and spares support both would be iffy. Also I believe i3 12th gen should be better than (or at least equal to) i7 8th gen for most regular use cases. Not sure if it's worth the risk getting it for 30K (assuming you are getting 1 laptop for 30k).

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by ar@v1nd

For 30-35K you can actually get a brand new i3 12th Gen laptop with 8 GB/512GB laptop with assured warranty and spares support. For imported laptops, the warranty and spares support both would be iffy. Also I believe i3 12th gen should be better than (or at least equal to) i7 8th gen for most regular use cases. Not sure if it's worth the risk getting it for 30K (assuming you are getting 1 laptop for 30k).

I too would be vary of old laptops. Apart from rapid increase in computing power of the newer gen compared to the older gen, laptops in real terms are becoming cheaper every day. So even a "great" second hand laptop may not be VFM compared to the newer ones.

As an example my current Ryzen 5 Lenovo laptop has 6 cores and 24GB RAM. It computing power is more or less same as my now sold Dual Xeon 8GB RAM Desktop of 2005 vintage

[sachinayak]

Originally Posted by ar@v1nd

For 30-35K you can actually get a brand new i3 12th Gen laptop with 8 GB/512GB laptop with assured warranty and spares support. For imported laptops, the warranty and spares support both would be iffy. Also I believe i3 12th gen should be better than (or at least equal to) i7 8th gen for most regular use cases. Not sure if it's worth the risk getting it for 30K (assuming you are getting 1 laptop for 30k).

The laptops I am referring to are Dell Latitude series laptops typically 7390/7490/7590 series. These are very commonly used by corporates in Bangalore and Dell servicing is very easy, at least here.

I got these initially for my kids and these have survived rough usage (including multiple drops ) over the last 4 years. All going strong with absolutely no issues.

[ar@v1nd]

Originally Posted by sachinayak

The laptops I am referring to are Dell Latitude series laptops typically 7390/7490/7590 series. These are very commonly used by corporates in Bangalore and Dell servicing is very easy, at least here.

I got these initially for my kids and these have survived rough usage (including multiple drops ) over the last 4 years. All going strong with absolutely no issues.

Good to hear that. Must be built very well then, and if you are able to get spares and service, then it's fine.

I'm kind of risk averse and I've had experience with old laptop motherboards dying (out of warranty) with expensive replacement costs, so I always tend to go for new unless there is a very big cost advantage with going for used.

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by sachinayak

The laptops I am referring to are Dell Latitude series laptops typically 7390/7490/7590 series. These are very commonly used by corporates in Bangalore and Dell servicing is very easy, at least here.

I got these initially for my kids and these have survived rough usage (including multiple drops ) over the last 4 years. All going strong with absolutely no issues.

Totally agree. There is a reason that a similar spec Dell latitude is much more pricier than Dell Inspiron which is a lower spec product. Same with HP elitebook series versus HP pavilion. Every manufacturer (except apple) has their cheaper spec for homes and a robust spec for the office.

The business laptops are far more robust then their personal counterparts. That's why they run 10/12 hours a day for years and still keep running. It's about the construction of the unit, the parts used, the testing behind these units etc. With millions of units in the market, service is usually never a problem.

[ex-innova-guy]

I have a Dell Inspiron 5570 laptop which had a 1.8 TB hard drive. Unfortunately it gave up on me after 5 years. I never backed it up (huge mistake ) but had backed up almost everything on it. Could any members share a Data Recovery contact person’s information for the same? Preferably in and around Mumbai. Any help is more than appreciated!

PS- Have been given an initial estimate of ₹8k with a cautionary note that it can reach as high as ₹50k!

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

PS- Have been given an initial estimate of ₹8k with a cautionary note that it can reach as high as ₹50k!

This is a reasonable estimate.

[GTO]

Current garage:

- 2018 Dell 7490 Latitude. Daily driver. Docked on my office desk with a large monitor + Apple Magic keyboard + MX Master mouse + Herman Miller Aeron chair, making it perfect for long hours.

- 2020 Macbook Pro 16" running Windows OS via BootCamp. I use it around the house & terrace. Absolutely love the big screen, build quality & slick keyboard, although it's very heavy, gets really HOT and has battery life of just 3 - 4 hours.

Needed a 3rd laptop, considering the Latitude's age + small size and the Macbook 16's low battery life. Purpose is to use new laptop when I'm away from desk, out on field work, travelling, road-tripping, airports etc. (I work through 80% of flying time). My current travel laptop is the Macbook 16 = the battery simply doesn't last my travel time.

Lightweight & long battery life were key purchase influencers. I also use just the Apple keyboard on both my existing computers & love it. Went through all options of Dell & Lenovo with their online sales team, but found nothing that matched the Macbook Air 15" on performance, low weight, aesthetics & battery life. Apple's M chips have blown the traditional Windows laptops away (related thread (Why is there no true Windows competitor to the Apple M2 / M3 laptops?)). To my surprise, the high-end Dell & Lenovo laptops were similarly priced to the Macbooks (I thought Apple will be the most expensive).

Bought the new Macbook Air 15" screen with the latest M3 chip. 24 GB RAM. 1 TB hard-drive. Tried the Macbook Pro 14", but found the screen a bit small (remember, I'm used to my Macbook 16" or the big 24" desk monitor). Tried the Macbook Pro 16", but it simply couldn't match the Air for portability....too heavy & too expensive. Apple is also very shrewd - with the Pro 16", I see options for either 18 GB RAM or a straight jump to 36 GB for 40k more.

Am going to install Parallels for my Windows software. I'm addicted to Apple's build quality & keyboard, yet am a diehard Windows fan. I consider myself a Windows power user with all shortcuts, heavy customisations and all.

[LordSharan]

Originally Posted by GTO

Needed a 3rd laptop, considering the Latitude's age + small size and the Macbook 16's low battery life. Purpose is to use new laptop when I'm away from desk, out on field work, travelling, road-tripping, airports etc. (I work through 80% of flying time). My current travel laptop is the Macbook 16 = the battery simply doesn't last my travel time.

Lightweight & long battery life were key purchase influencers. I also use just the Apple keyboard on both my existing computers & love it. Went through all options of Dell & Lenovo with their online sales team, but found nothing that matched the Macbook Air 15" on performance, low weight, aesthetics & battery life. Apple's M chips have blown the traditional Windows laptops away (related thread (Why is there no true Windows competitor to the Apple M2 / M3 laptops?)). To my surprise, the high-end Dell & Lenovo laptops were similarly priced to the Macbooks (I thought Apple will be the most expensive).

Quite an interesting conundrum to be in. I'm assuming that money/budget isn't a factor.

Given the purpose and requirements, here are the options that I'd recommend:

1. MS Surface lineup - have used/seen this used extensively. It's a perfect combination of h/w and s/w integration (almost equivalent to magic that Apple cooks with it's own chips and mac-os) from microsoft. Amazing battery life, and super light weight. Comes with a host of accessories, that take productivity to next level. Screen sizes could be a compromise though, and not sure of the future of this line up.

2. Apple mac-air/pro - try the apple macbook air/pro with mac-os, apple silicon. Trust me, everything works better here, including microsoft office apps. I've been witness to Apple magic here, and this is the only apple product that I'd ever spend my money on, they are worth the money we spend (VFM). I'm pretty sure that short battery life and heating up that you see in your current Apple mac is because of windows or intel chips. None of such problems would exist with apple silicon, my macbook pro 16 used to give me 8-10hrs of battery back up with zoom meetings, video playback, internet usage etc. The latest gen of macbook air comes super close to pro in terms of performance and battery life.

3. Go for Dell Alienware - powerhouse performers masquerading in form of gaming PC's. I've used these as heavy duty file servers, and what not; and they never let me down. Amazing performance, battery back up. The only trouble was their weight.


Hope this helps.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by LordSharan

Given the purpose and requirements, here are the options that I'd recommend

Thanks! Great post. But I have already bought the Macbook Air 15". From my post:

Bought the new Macbook Air 15" screen with the latest M3 chip. 24 GB RAM. 1 TB hard-drive. Tried the Macbook Pro 14", but found the screen a bit small (remember, I'm used to my Macbook 16" or the big 24" desk monitor). Tried the Macbook Pro 16", but it simply couldn't match the Air for portability....too heavy & too expensive. Apple is also very shrewd - with the Pro 16", I see options for either 18 GB RAM or a straight jump to 36 GB for 40k more.

[mxx]

Originally Posted by GTO

Am going to install Parallels for my Windows software. I'm addicted to Apple's build quality & keyboard, yet am a diehard Windows fan. I consider myself a Windows power user with all shortcuts, heavy customisations and all.

Honestly, I am not big fan of mac os either, but have to use it for ios, macos development. I think mac os is too over-rated.

Parallels with Windows works very well. I use it for software development work -(older .net systems that does not work natively in mac os) for some of my clients - and never had a chance to complain.

[Arjun Bharadwaj]

Originally Posted by GTO

Current garage:

Needed a 3rd laptop, considering the Latitude's age + small size and the Macbook 16's low battery life. Purpose is to use new laptop when I'm away from desk, out on field work, travelling, road-tripping, airports etc. (I work through 80% of flying time). My current travel laptop is the Macbook 16 = the battery simply doesn't last my travel time.

Am going to install Parallels for my Windows software. I'm addicted to Apple's build quality & keyboard, yet am a diehard Windows fan. I consider myself a Windows power user with all shortcuts, heavy customisations and all.

Sir, I think the combination of performance + good screen size + battery life has been decoded only by Apple. Windows laptops will find it very hard to deliver this.

Something like the snapdragon series in mobiles vs the apple devices?

My 2 cents are below.

If you want a Windows and are able to compromise on the battery life, please explore Dell Precision series. Example 5680(has a lovely touch screen but will further drain battery life). Has solid performance and is meant for heavy tasks. Heating is high though.

Mac anyhow has the 16" M3 Pro series(mrw23) which would have solid performance and the 36GB RAM as you mentioned.

[guptad42]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thanks! Great post. But I have already bought the Macbook Air 15". From my post:

Macbook Air 15 is the best laptop around for the screen, battery life, smooth performance, and solid build quality. Even more expensive windows laptops cannot match the M chips performance+battery life + weight combo. And the ultra fast SSD read/write speeds on macbooks is hard to find in windows laptops. The Pro 14' screen and speakers are a little better than the Air 15, but I will still rate the 15 as the better package overall.

Just one caution. These macbooks are essentially non-repairable. Please create a daily backup habit, or use something like Google drive/Office 365/onedrive for continuous online sync of all important files.

[ShivrajG]

As a software developer I think Mac's are overrated and expensive too. Earlier generations of mac's were used to showoff only but the new M series Chips do pack a good power.
on a lighter note sharing an old meme.