[Oxy]

I just saw a Ryzen 7 4700U for 55k. What's the catch here?

https://www.flipkart.com/asus-vivobo...=1602481085552

[Amien]

Originally Posted by Oxy

I just saw a Ryzen 7 4700U for 55k. What's the catch here?

https://www.flipkart.com/asus-vivobo...=1602481085552

That's an awesome deal. No catch that I'm aware of.

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

I am looking for a personal 14 inch laptop with Ryzen 4500u /4700u CPU with the following must have requirements:

1. A 512 GB NVMe SSD
2. Backlit keyboard
3. At least 8 GB DDR4 RAM (upgradeable) (not LPDDR4X, this leads to worse CPU performance)
4. A decent screen for multimedia consumption
5. Not by a Chinese company
6. Within 1.6kg and ₹65k
7. 5-6 hours of battery while performing regular office tasks. Video calls, web browsing, running Google docs and sheets on Chrome.

Preference is Asus > Dell = Acer = MSI > HP

Took me 70 days but finally Flipkart Big Billion Day and a complementary Flipkart First membership has enabled the purchase.

With all the offers going around and after offering my 1st Gen Dell i5 laptop (with a faulty CPU Fan but should just pass the pre-exchange checks) for exchange, I could get almost everything I was looking for (minus upgradable RAM) for just about half the allocated Budget.

Asus VivoBook 14 Ryzen 5 Hexa Core 4500U - (8 GB/512 GB SSD/Windows 10 Home) M413IA-EK584T Thin and Light Laptop
http://dl.flipkart.com/dl/asus-vivob...oduct.share.pp

The deal is still on, and I really found it irresistible for about ₹33k and change. In fact, me and my next door neighbour both bought one. It's a really good option for anyone looking for a powerful ultrabook for regular office work on a budget.

[viXit]

I recently got a Dell G3 3500 Gaming laptop .
I was previously using a MacBook Pro 13 inch touchbar i7 2018.
In some ways the G3 has been an upgrade but I like some things better in the Mac.

-Build Quality of the Mac is worlds ahead

-The trackpad is SORELY MISSED. Apple knocks it out of the park with the best trackpad.
the trackpad on the dell is smaller which shouldn't be a problem but the gestures aren't as smoothly detected as the Mac. It was truly magical how smooth and responsive it was.

-The matte display introduces some textures like shiny oily ones, it's hard to describe. But I think I'd prefer this over the Mac since it's glossy borderless display was a huge fingerprint magnet. Painful to live with.

-I won't say much on the OS since I've been a long time windows user and primarily ran bootcamp'd windows 10 on the mac too.

-The G3 definitely blows the mac out of the water with it's GeForce GTX 1650Ti in gaming. But can't comment on it much since I haven't played a lot of games. I installed Steam, Origin and Epic games launcher and CS Go , Apex Legends and and all the games have been extremely buggy and painful to deal with. No time right now to deal with all that. And I'm not a gamer at all so It's not that big of a deal. All the game settings go to ULTRA settings by default. I haven't felt all that much smoothness from the 120hz screen. But I'll attribute rhithis to the game settings that have gone all the way up to ULTRA settings. Me thinks they're not letting the GPU push upwards of a 60 fps signal.

-This is the biggest gripe. The battery backup is not all that great at all. The estimate always shows more than I feel I get. The macbook is light years ahead.

-The screen was flickering and flashing when I moved the lid even a little bit. I though I'd ask for a replacement but it was a gift and the problem went off the next day. So I'm sitting on the fence regarding this.

-The headphone jack doesn't work many times , or the mic wouldn't work. But re-inserting the earphones fixes the issue. But it will re surface again.

-I miss the Dolby equaliser from the Mac. I want to find a way to get the Dolby equaliser. Realtek drivers have an equaliser but it's only for the tinny laptop speakers and headphone jack but not for bluetooth. I daily drive the Galaxy buds and love them but would like to extract a little more from them, which the earphones are definitely capable of.

I came here to ask for advice regarding adding EQ to my bluetooth streaming, Something that's nice and not gimmicky or weirdly third party. Would prefer dolby.


Definitely, no one upgrades from a macbook to a dell of this caliber, but what if you want a second laptop for gaming xD. Pls help me with the EQ, I love my music, and it's a bummer that I can't equalise my music.

[Amien]

Originally Posted by viXit

I recently got a Dell G3 3500 Gaming laptop .
I was previously using a MacBook Pro 13 inch touchbar i7 2018.
In some ways the G3 has been an upgrade but I like some things better in the Mac.


Definitely, no one upgrades from a macbook to a dell of this caliber, but what if you want a second laptop for gaming xD. Pls help me with the EQ, I love my music, and it's a bummer that I can't equalise my music.

You're right, it's very hard to objectively compare two computers as different as these.

What application are you using to play your music?

[meerkat]

Originally Posted by Aroy

.... One of the best keyboards that I have come across are the "TVS GOLD" keyboards. I have been using them on my desktop, and in the last twenty years gone through only four or five of them. The current one (I am typing on it) is seven years old and still going strong.

The quotation above is from a 2.5 year old post from you, but I'm thinking of buying one now. So I'd very much appreciate some help from you (or any other member with experience with these keyboards) in this regard:

I've learnt that sometime in 2017, TVS had decided to change the supplier of the original "Cherry MX Blue" switches to some cheaper Chinese manufacturer (and raised the prices since to boot)! Do you happen to have any experience regarding whether this has made any substantial difference compared to earlier? Thanks for any help.
.

[viXit]

Originally Posted by Amien

You're right, it's very hard to objectively compare two computers as different as these.

yes. I mainly shared just because I wanted to point out all the things I took for granted while using the mac, which I realised only after switching to the dell.

Another point I forgot to mention is the keyboard. The keyboard in the mac us centred w.r.t the chassis. The dell, since it has a num pad, pushes the alphabet keys further to the left, which creates a rather uncomfortable position for your hands. It is creating pain in my wrist for anything more than 10 minutes of typing. I'm not an old man with a weak joint. I also play badminton so my wrist is anything but weak. It can get irritating.

What application are you using to play your music?

I mainly use Amazon music since I got used to using the alexa devices for music. I am using the amazon music website on google chrome.

The macbook had a dolby app in windows. Which would let me control the sound irrespective of what app or what speaker is playing the music. It was universal..

[AZT]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Asus VivoBook 14 Ryzen 5 Hexa Core 4500U - (8 GB/512 GB SSD/Windows 10 Home) M413IA-EK584T Thin and Light Laptop
http://dl.flipkart.com/dl/asus-vivob...oduct.share.pp

Great specs. This one is showing sold out but Amazon still has the 15.6 inch one selling in case anyone still looking.
MRP 49,990 but HDFC cash back 1500 and additional Amazon pay balance of 1250 make the price around 47,250.
https://www.amazon.in/ASUS-VivoBook-...s%2C383&sr=8-4

[Grand Vitesse]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Took me 70 days but finally Flipkart Big Billion Day and a complementary Flipkart First membership has enabled the purchase....


Asus VivoBook 14 Ryzen 5 Hexa Core 4500U - (8 GB/512 GB SSD/Windows 10 Home) M413IA-EK584T Thin and Light Laptop
http://dl.flipkart.com/dl/asus-vivob...oduct.share.pp

Sadly, the Ryzen 5 variant has gone out of stock? How has your experience with the laptop been so far? Are the build and screen qualities good? What is the battery back up with your usage?

Originally Posted by Oxy

I just saw a Ryzen 7 4700U for 55k. What's the catch here?

https://www.flipkart.com/asus-vivobo...=1602481085552

It is an awesome offering. One of the possible downsides with these models is the lack of a RAM upgrade option. The 8GB RAM comes soldered. However, the 8GB should at present be fine for most users. Will it be sufficient 5 years down the line? This, I'd like to know. Also, I wanted to know whether there are any downsides to purchasing the laptop from flipkart/amazon?

[PPS]

Originally Posted by Grand Vitesse

Also, I wanted to know whether there are any downsides to purchasing the laptop from flipkart/amazon?

I also had the same query as I'm also on the lookout for a new laptop. Infact few days back I was scrolling through options on Amazon & after cross checking I figured out that few of the HP laptops were cheaper by 4-7k on HP's online store compared to Amazon!

[Oxy]

Originally Posted by Grand Vitesse

It is an awesome offering.

One of the reviews below says that it comes without MS Office and McAfee. That would be a deal breaker for many I suppose.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by Oxy

One of the reviews below says that it comes without MS Office and McAfee. That would be a deal breaker for many I suppose.

Don't all Windows laptops & desktops come with MS Office trial version? Have to pay after the trial is over and Office is available for download. How is that a deal-breaker?

For McAfee is there is an alternative in Windows Security (earlier called Defender).

[Sebring]

In July 2020 we had picked up the mi Horizon i5 and it's a really good laptop. And it's on 24/7. Yesterday, on my recommendation, my friend picked up the i7 model paying 52k only. He is very happy as well. Unfortunately, it's sold out now

Originally Posted by Sebring

This product is very good. Feels like a MacBook Pro!

[Grand Vitesse]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Don't all Windows laptops & desktops come with MS Office trial version? Have to pay after the trial is over and Office is available for download. How is that a deal-breaker?

Actually, in some ASUS models (e.g. VivoBook S14: https://www.asus.com/in/Laptops/ASUS...IA/Tech-Specs/), Microsoft Office 2019 comes pre-installed and with a life-time license.

[Amien]

Originally Posted by viXit

Another point I forgot to mention is the keyboard. The keyboard in the mac us centred w.r.t the chassis. The dell, since it has a num pad

I mainly use Amazon music since I got used to using the alexa devices

Some people really want a numpad, others are happier with the compact tenkeyless layout, all down to use-case and personal preference.

As for the EQ, Windows 10 has a built in native equalizer that you should try first before moving on to 3rd party solutions:-
Right click on the speaker icon > Sound > Playback > Properties > Enhancements > Add/set the EQ from there.

Originally Posted by Grand Vitesse

It is an awesome offering. One of the possible downsides with these models is the lack of a RAM upgrade option. The 8GB RAM comes soldered. However, the 8GB should at present be fine for most users. Will it be sufficient 5 years down the line? This, I'd like to know. Also, I wanted to know whether there are any downsides to purchasing the laptop from flipkart/amazon?

Originally Posted by PPS

I also had the same query as I'm also on the lookout for a new laptop. Infact few days back I was scrolling through options on Amazon & after cross checking I figured out that few of the HP laptops were cheaper by 4-7k on HP's online store compared to Amazon!

With any purchase, either offline or online, you should test the product thoroughly during the return period to expose any potential issues. The advantage of an online purchase is easy returns/replacement (especially form Amazon etc) incase you get a lemon (which can happen regardless of brand/where you buy from). Speed/service is also a consideration, big e-tail usually offering quicker turnarounds for delivery/returns. If this is not important, buy from wherever the exact model is cheaper.

Take a look at the options linked here:- https://nextpc.co/2020/09/19/mid-range/