[sunilch]

Originally Posted by binand

I am in the market for a laptop to replace my Dell Inspiron, but I am unable to zero in on a replacement.

First thing, I want to keep the cost at around 70-80k (can stretch a bit). I also want i7 or comparable, 16GB RAM, SSD hard drive (capacity is not important as it will be connected to my OneDrive).

What are my options?

Check HP ZBook series. I have a HP ZBook Power G7 Mobile Workstation laptop that has been serving me quite well with similar requirement with Chrome tabs, 2 Eclipse IDEs running in parallel and other applications on sidelines. Mine came with 1 TB NVME SSD and 32 GB RAM and a NVIDIA Quadro graphics card. But the costing might be higher than your budget.

ZBook series is built for durability and robustness.

Choose a laptop with may be 16GB RAM and 512 SSD for something close to your budget.

[yedukrishnan199]

Originally Posted by binand

I am in the market for a laptop to replace my Dell Inspiron, but I am unable to zero in on a replacement.

Here are a few options worth considering:

If you want something at the cheaper end with all the necessities:
https://www.flipkart.com/acer-swift-...UN51se001ZJZKu

If you don't mind another Dell Inspiron
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0C2HV8Y17/...UN5gz0001Mj0CU

If a gaming laptop isn't an issue
https://www.flipkart.com/msi-cyborg-...UN6jai001BWtKl

[binand]

Originally Posted by yedukrishnan199

If you don't mind another Dell Inspiron: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0C2HV8Y17/...UN5gz0001Mj0CU

Thank you. I independently found this one, but it wasn't available in any of the stores I checked. Instead, I picked up the Inspiron 5445 off Amazon.

[dearchichi]

Hello. I'm looking for user reviews on the Asus Zenbook series.

Both Wirecutter and PCMag have listed the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (UM3406) as the best Windows ultrabook at the moment. But, I am unsure of it's build quality and general user experience:

- would the OLED touch screen be more prone to failure
- are the keyboard and trackpad durable
- would it's hinges retain their functionality
- is the laptop easily serviceable (battery issues, spillage etc.)
- would Windows 11 (and beyond) run fast and smooth over it across time

I'm evaluating the purchase of this (~Rs. 65L) over the MacBook Air M3 (~Rs.90K to Rs. 1.2L including AppleCare+). Either way, this would be bought in the US and carries to India by a friend.

My usage is primarily with MS Office, web browsing, programming and some photo and video editing.

Please guide me.

[ads11]

I can't speak to modern Zenbooks but I daily drove one between 2014 and 2020. It was a fairly solidly built machine. No issues with the keyboard or track pad. The hinge got mushy over time though but in it's defence this was after some doofus at work knocked it off a table. Thereafter there'd be occasional flickering or blackouts of the display. I remember taking it for repair in India and being told that the finicky display connector in the hinge probably wasn't worth the outlay to repair so it spent the final few years permanently plugged into a TV as a media PC.

I will say that it was an otherwise smooth experience and compared to the brick I had through undergrad, was a blessed relief only having to tote something considerably lighter and more svelte. For the tasks you mentioned it more or less did fine though it would churn a bit with larger word docs or Excel sheets but I blame whatever the fanless Intel chip in it was.

I've only heard good things about the modern Zenbooks from those I know with them.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

- would the OLED touch screen be more prone to failure
- are the keyboard and trackpad durable
- would it's hinges retain their functionality
- is the laptop easily serviceable (battery issues, spillage etc.)
- would Windows 11 (and beyond) run fast and smooth over it across time

I've been using Zenbook flip 14 since last 2 years. Mine being a flip model weighs 1.4 KG compared to 1.2 kg of non flip variant. Love the compact and lightweight yet sturdy feel of it. Keyboard is better than the cheaper vivobook models.

No issues with the OLED touchscreen or hinges. I was fed up of my previous Lenovo laptop's build quality and poor screen. So my top priorities were color accurate display and build quality.

There are few software tools and tips provided by ASUS to prevent the OLED burning, use them for longevity of the OLED screen.

My laptop usage is very limited, a few hours in a month where it's mostly used during client presentations or discussions. So I am not eligible to claim about long term heavy duty usage, although the way this MIL-810 certified laptop is holding up so far, it seems to be a promising machine. I am careful user anyways.

About Windows 11, it looks so much beautiful on the beautiful Asus Zenbook machines. Although my primary work machine is a desktops which primarily runs on Linux. I have Linux on my Zenbook as well but unfortunately OLED driver never worked perfectly so the colors look very off on it.

Coming on servicing part - you can not upgrade RAM in most of 14 inch Asus laptops but can replace the SSD and battery. Although availability of battery after few years is a different story all together.

I would suggest to watch disassembly videos of this laptop before purchase for better understanding of repairability, i always do before buying any mobile of laptop. Notebookcheck is good portal for in-depth info on various laptops.

My usage is primarily with MS Office, web browsing, programming and some photo and video editing.

This is crucial. Photo editing is okay but for video editing, it depends on what software you use and how much GPU power it needs. If its for anything serious than occasional FHD video editing then consider Asus Studiobooks which are expensive but have lot more horsepower for something like videos editing.

[ads11]

Another point I'd add really is if it's worthwhile to get an OLED screen laptop. If it was just run of the mill MS Office type work, I'd often pocket the savings and the battery life gain with a plain old LCD display. Basically the only time I've found I've wanted an OLED screen is if I'm consuming or working with media on said laptop. I've been able to live without it.
I don't know how widespread OLED screens are these days on ultrabooks. My impression of OLED screens is likely a few years out of date.

[dearchichi]

Originally Posted by ads11

I can't speak to modern Zenbooks but I daily drove one between 2014 and 2020. It was a fairly solidly built machine. No issues with the keyboard or track pad.

Thank you for your review. That gives me some confidence going in for this model.

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

No issues with the OLED touchscreen or hinges.

Thank you for your review. That the OLED touch screen has withstood the test for two years gives me some confidence on its durability. I would be using this laptop almost daily for 4 to 5 hours, and it needs to last through that for 5 years or so, like my 2016 office-supplied MacBook Pro did. I may not be a power user in terms of resources, but maybe close to one in terms of time.

I don't plan to edit videos much at all. But might get into it here and there. I was into photo editing on my 2011 desktop for years (I don't recall the CPU variant now) running Windows 7 over 8GB of RAM without issue. So, this laptop should suit it fine.

Originally Posted by ads11

Another point I'd add really is if it's worthwhile to get an OLED screen laptop.

Thank you for your comment. I don't particularly care for OLED screens, and even less for them being touchscreens. It's just that the model mentioned (that's the #1 recommended Windows Ultrabook by NYT and PCMag) happens to have it. And, it's retailing for $799 at Walmart which makes it a good proposition.

I have a general question regarding the model's serviceability. How would the international warranty and subsequent service be honored should they require parts not available in India? For example, the model that I am interested in, the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (UM3406HA-WS74T) , is not sold in India. I could probably have the charger replaced if that went bad, but what if the motherboard goes down? Since they don't sell these Ryzen-based laptops locally, they might have to ship the laptop abroad, or have the parts shipped into India, to fix it. I am thinking if the risk is worth it.

Please let me know.

[Samba]

How Microsoft is forcing me to buy a new laptop!

I have a 2014 laptop with the below configuration.



I was able to download and edit my Dashcam videos until August 2024. But in August, Windows took an update, and soon after that, I was not able to run the 2k videos properly. Editing them became far more difficult.

When I tried to play my old 2k videos, which used to play seamlessly, they were also getting stuck like the new videos. Playing the 4k videos from my iPhone is now out of the question!

I checked the drivers, software updates, the hardware, and lastly reinstalled all the codecs and the drivers once again. But the result was negative.

A few days back I did a troubleshooting and got this-

Your PC doesn't support hardware digital rights management! So this is what my PC installed from the last Windows update!



And leave alone 4k videos, now the 2k videos are not even properly playing!



Today this popup came up -



I tried to install Windows 11, but it says my laptop does not support the software to run Windows 11. This is acceptable given the old hardware in my system.

However, after a Windows update from Microsoft, if Microsoft takes back the features that were already present earlier, then it is unacceptable!

I tried restoring to the backdate, but unfortunately, no restore point was created by me.

After a lot of searching, I bumped into this page-

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...7-732f1da9a27d

Currently, my laptop has a Geforce Nvidia 2 GB graphics card. Am not sure if I upgrade it as mentioned in the above link, it's going to help or not!

[arghyaheart]

Originally Posted by Samba

Microsoft is forcing me to buy a new laptop!

This is not unexpected from HP, though unacceptable. A few days ago I came across a video in my YouTube feed where an user was showing that HP has disabled her printer cartridges (though it had enough ink) because she subscribed to some cartridge services and after one year she didn't pay the subscription amount.

These days all electronic manufacturers have started crippling their older devices and have stopped providing service & spare parts support. I had bitter experience while trying to replace the battery of my 4 years old mobile phone. Every ASC said that Xiaomi has ended support for this model.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by Samba

I was able to download and edit my Dashcam videos until August 2024. But in August, Windows took an update, and soon after that, I was not able to run the 2k videos properly. Editing them became far more difficult.


Your PC doesn't support hardware digital rights management

Try these videos with VLC player. (https://www.videolan.org/vlc/). Since it can use its own codecs, it might work.

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by arghyaheart

This is not unexpected from HP, though unacceptable. A few days ago I came across a video in my YouTube feed where an user was showing that HP has disabled her printer cartridges (though it had enough ink) because she subscribed to some cartridge services and after one year she didn't pay the subscription amount.

Whoa!! Did you mean that HP disabled her printer remotely because she didn't pay for cartridge subscription, even though she had enough ink?? That is outrageous !

[Guite]

Originally Posted by Samba

How Microsoft is forcing me to buy a new laptop!

I have a 2014 laptop with the below configuration.

I am actually surprised that a 10 year old laptop running a two core 2.0 ghz CPU is playing 2k and 4k videos smoothly. Anyway, maybe the Windows update modified the video codecs which were already installed. You can try latest release of K-lite codec pack. Download, install and see if it works.

[arghyaheart]

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

Whoa!! Did you mean that HP disabled her printer remotely because she didn't pay for cartridge subscription, even though she had enough ink?? That is outrageous!

Yes sir! That's exactly what happened. That printer was WiFi enabled and HP remotely disabled it. Everytime she tried to print something, out came a printed message which prompts the user to resubscribe in order to continue using the printer.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by Samba

I was able to download and edit my Dashcam videos until August 2024. But in August, Windows took an update, and soon after that, I was not able to run the 2k videos properly. Editing them became far more difficult.

Is it necessary for you to use Windows only or you are free to use other OS?

I would suggest to try out Linux and use KDENLive video editor for editing. You can Install Linux along side existing Windows OS in dual boot configuration.

You laptop has very good specs and can still serve you for half a decade being a 5th generation i7 with dedicated GPU of that time. I have 4th gen i7 Lenovo Ideapad with dedicated GPU which was being used by my son until it's hinges and some parts of the chassis got got broken due to poor build quality. Otherwise me and my son never had any complaints about it's performance.