[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Rohit_Quad

In the attached image, you can see 'Wear Level' under the battery (at the bottom of the image). That will give you a fair bit of idea of your battery status.
I feel that your battery's capacity to hold charge is gone and hence, the switching off when power is unplugged. Post an image here, it might help others to understand the status of your battery.

Thank you for the link. Downloaded the same and checked the same for my laptop as the battery is no more charging and switches off the moment I switch the power.



Laptop: Dell Inspiron 15R 7520 SE
Purchase date: 22.04.2013

Looking to get a new battery for the same post lockdown.

[Rohit_Quad]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Thank you for the link. Downloaded the same and checked the same for my laptop as the battery is no more charging and switches off the moment I switch the power.

Attachment 2000753

Laptop: Dell Inspiron 15R 7520 SE
Purchase date: 22.04.2013

Looking to get a new battery for the same post lockdown.

Yup, i guess it is time to change the battery. Were you on the stock battery since 2013? My Dell Inspiron 15 i7 7500U touch laptop battery lasted around 2.5 years. I changed my battery when the laptop only lasted for about 15 minutes on the battery.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Rohit_Quad

Were you on the stock battery since 2013?

Yes, everything is stock.

Thinking if it is worth repairing the parts or switch to a new one.

If I do retain this laptop, following changes I'll do in stages,

Stage 1: A new battery and base panel (cracked after the laptop fell down a week back)

Stage 2: 1 TB HDD to 1 TB SSD upgrade.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Rohit_Quad

Yup, i guess it is time to change the battery. Were you on the stock battery since 2013? My Dell Inspiron 15 i7 7500U touch laptop battery lasted around 2.5 years. I changed my battery when the laptop only lasted for about 15 minutes on the battery.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Yes, everything is stock.

Sharing some experiences with Laptop and its battery:

2011 HP DV6
First Battery lasted for 7 Years, replaced with HP original

2015 HP Envy 15
First battery lasted for 2 years, this one was abused. Replaced with HP original spare.

2018 HP Omen: Still on stock battery and for light work, I easily get 7-8 hours of backup.

I have seen both long and short battery life. Based on my experience, Laptop batteries have fixed charge discharge cycles, and they degrade a bit once each cycle is completed. So battery use should be done only when its needed. When I got maximum life, I used to keep it plugged in for most of the time and calibrate the battery once every 2 months or so. Another thumb rule for me was that I strictly avoided any heavy use on battery power, like games or movies. This perhaps helps a lot with battery capacity.

Also my recommendation will be to go with stock battery if possible for replacement. Aftermarket brands like Lapcare etc don't last long and I have seen some cases where they messed up with the electronics(combination of aftermarket charger and battery). Stock batteries are expensive, but they do prove their worth in the long run.

Thinking if it is worth repairing the parts or switch to a new one.

If I do retain this laptop, following changes I'll do in stages,

Stage 1: A new battery and base panel (cracked after the laptop fell down a week back)

Stage 2: 1 TB HDD to 1 TB SSD upgrade.

I don't know about Dell but panels of HP are pretty expensive. However for popular models, aftermarket panels are also available and they are equally good. 7520 was a very popular model of its time, so availability won't be an issue.

Regards,
Shashi

[sumeethaldankar]

Guys what will be the most reliable Laptop to buy, one which last a long time and will be trouble free and have good support if needed? The usage will be simple home use with basic surfing and word excel usage needs. Budget is around 30k.

Thanks in advance.

[Rohit_Quad]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Yes, everything is stock.

Thinking if it is worth repairing the parts or switch to a new one.

If I do retain this laptop, following changes I'll do in stages,

Stage 1: A new battery and base panel (cracked after the laptop fell down a week back)

Stage 2: 1 TB HDD to 1 TB SSD upgrade.

If i am not wrong, you have an i5 dual core with HT windows 7 and 4gb ddr3 ram?

Are you sure you can get a back panel? i would suggest not spending more than 6k on the laptop - also a 480 gb SSD should do. Unless you have plan B to reuse the 1 TB SSD when this laptop conks out/ needs to be changed. Cause most of the new laptops do come with SSD's these days and you wouldn't want to open a brand new one and void warranty.

Also 2 more things to consider - how hot is the laptop/processor running? A thermal paste replacement will do wonders. And have you considered upgrading to 8 Gb of ram?

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Guys what will be the most reliable Laptop to buy, one which last a long time and will be trouble free and have good support if needed? The usage will be simple home use with basic surfing and word excel usage needs. Budget is around 30k.

Thanks in advance.

Well, here is what you should look for -

Core i3 10th Gen
256gb+ SSD (Must)
FHD screen
8gb Ram

Any of the major manufacturers should be good, i would prefer Dell or Lenovo for your usage pattern.

[raaj.bhalla]

My twin boys who have been promoted to 5th grade will have their session starting from June. Looking at the covid situation, I am guessing the school will start online classes. Now me and my wife have office laptops, it can't be used for kids classes. I am contemplating buying two laptops or one laptop and one tab. The devices will be mostly used for educational use and occasional ott streaming as kids are growing up. What would you guys recommend. Since I will have to buy two devices, budget is a constraint. Thanks

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Rohit_Quad

If I am not wrong, you have an i5 dual-core with HT windows 7 and 4gb ddr3 ram? And have you considered upgrading to 8 Gb of ram?

Here are the specs of my laptop:
RAM: 8GB DDR3, 1600 MHz
CPU: Intel Core i7-3612QM
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 7730M (2GB DDR3)
HDD: Western Digital - 1TB (5400 rpm)
Display: 15.6”, Full HD (1920 x 1080)
Battery: 48 Wh, Lithium-Ion, 6-cell
OS (64bit): Came with Windows 8 from the factory, currently on Windows 10.

I thought to upgrade to 16GB RAM but as per the specifications, 8GB is the max it can handle. Maybe a switchover to SSD should speed things up better than what it is currently.

Originally Posted by Rohit_Quad

Are you sure you can get a back panel?

Yes, have seen one in Dell India authorized store (in CTC, Park Lane). Shall contact each one of them in Hyderabad to get hold of the battery and the panels.

Originally Posted by Rohit_Quad

Also, 2 more things to consider - how hot is the laptop/processor running? A thermal paste replacement will do wonders.

I did replace the paste about two years ago almost. Not touching the internals again for now as the panel may not refit if opened.

It runs pretty hot in general and the heat can be felt say like after an hour of it being switched on.

If I do get a new one, I'll retain this laptop as a second one at home.

[Fordlover88]

I have a 10 year old Sony Vaio laptop having 3 gb ram, Core i3-370M processor 64 bit OS running on Windows 7 ultimate pack. For the past few years i didn't have much use of this laptop and thus it was not used much. Now that i am working from home i have to use it extensively. The laptop hangs a lot after start up. At times 96% of physical memory is used after start up and it gradually comes down to 20 25% after 10 mins. During this period the laptop is practically unusable. I don't have much applications installed apart from few basic ones. How to overcome this problem? Will increasing RAM to 4 gb work?

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Fordlover88

I have a 10 year old Sony Vaio laptop having 3 gb ram, Core i3-370M processor 64 bit OS running on Windows 7 ultimate pack. \ Will increasing RAM to 4 gb work?

You badly need RAM for your laptop. You check your laptop manual to see what type of RAM your laptop supports. In all probability your laptop will take DDR2 RAM. If your laptop can support 8 GB, remove the old RAM and replace them with 4GB x 2. My ancient Toshiba could only take 4 GB and after upgrading the RAM , I also went in for a SSD drive. It was a lot better after the upgrade.

[Fordlover88]

Originally Posted by Prowler

You badly need RAM for your laptop. You check your laptop manual to see what type of RAM your laptop supports. In all probability your laptop will take DDR2 RAM.

Just checked. It support's DDR3 SDRAM upto 8 gb. I will upgrade to 8 gb in that case. Is it worth upgrading to SSD drive? How much did it cost?

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Fordlover88

I will upgrade to 8 gb in that case. Is it worth upgrading to SSD drive? How much did it cost?

Yes. It is always worth to upgrade your Hard drive to SSD. It improves the boot up time and shaves off the time to load an application. I bought a WD 240 GB SSD SATA III for around 2.2k about a year ago.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Fordlover88

Just checked. It support's DDR3 SDRAM upto 8 gb. I will upgrade to 8 gb in that case. Is it worth upgrading to SSD drive? How much did it cost?

The cost of drives changes every day. The best method is to search Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal for the latest prices and buy when they offer discounts.

[Rohit_Quad]

Originally Posted by raaj.bhalla

My twin boys who have been promoted to 5th grade will have their session starting from June. Looking at the covid situation, I am guessing the school will start online classes. Now me and my wife have office laptops, it can't be used for kids classes. I am contemplating buying two laptops or one laptop and one tab. The devices will be mostly used for educational use and occasional ott streaming as kids are growing up. What would you guys recommend. Since I will have to buy two devices, budget is a constraint. Thanks

I wouldn't suggest getting any tablets, unless they have some specific apps they have to use. Get a couple of entry level laptops with some good ram and you should be good to go.
https://www.flipkart.com/lenovo-idea...01588662547487

The reason i have suggested this is -
1. Windows 10
2. MS office
3. 15.6 inch screen - Full HD anti glare
4. SSD - since kids will be using them, occasional jerks will not damage the HDD (and of course, the blazing speed of SSD's)
5. 10th gen Processors - far superior and power efficient than the 7th/8th gen i3's and future proof too

Something on these lines will be good and will last a long time due to latest hardware (maybe till your kids finish school )

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by raaj.bhalla

...I am contemplating buying two laptops or one laptop and one tab. The devices will be mostly used for educational use and occasional ott streaming as kids are growing up. What would you guys recommend. Since I will have to buy two devices, budget is a constraint. Thanks

Originally Posted by Rohit_Quad

4. SSD - since kids will be using them, occasional jerks will not damage the HDD (and of course, the blazing speed of SSD's)
5. 10th gen Processors - far superior and power efficient than the 7th/8th gen i3's and future proof too

If you can put in the extra 10K for an i5 you should go for the same laptop that Rohit has suggested with an i5. It has some useful upgrades - 8 vs 4 GB RAM, and SSD vs HDD.