Question Laptop with excellent camera for conducting online Fitness/YoGA classes, 16GB RAM, AMD? Intel?

[p1tin]

Need recommendation for buying laptop...

1) What is my budget? (INR or USD)

70k - 100k INR which is 820-1300USB
why the huge range:
The lesser priced the better- if my purpose, reqs will be met with a laptop costing Rs. 60k INR , that is fine too!!

Will buy in India; Bangalore.

2) What size & weight consideration (if any) would you prefer?

• Thin and Light; 12" - 14" screen (or) Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

3) What are the primary tasks you will be performing with this notebook?

I Conduct Online Fitness class via zoom and so I want the Camera to be professional camera like.
I currently am using a 'Used Business Class laptop Lenovo T430 - i5 3rd gen + 16GB RAM + 250GB Samsung EVO SSD and it is good in meeting my following Needs and I want new laptop to do the following better or equal to my existing laptop:
Need HDMI port to connect to TV , entertainment / media
I open 25 tabs in chrome at any given point in time and also stream content from Amazon, netflix etc...
I want to slowly start creating content for my business; I want to do post videos in youtube and other medium and I want my laptop to be able to do decent kind of videos in a reasonably lesser time - so more processing power, i think.
I had bad experience with entry level laptops and major brands like Dell previously and in my opinion thermals are very poor in those laptops and it gets heated up.
I want the laptop to last at least for next 6-7 years, functionality wise.
Ability to upgrade to 32GB RAM.
Keyboard in my T430 is damn good and I love typing in my current laptop. I want Keyboard in new laptop to not be flaky and flat like in many entry level models.

5) Any typical configuration in your mind you're eying for ?

I am leaning towards AMD - because more value for money and overall I heard that AMD Ryzen(s) is better as of Jan 2021 than their rival Intel.
16GB RAM is a must and ability to upgrade to 32GB RAM or even more in future.
EXCELLENT camera
However, if price is right and req s will be met by Intel, I am fine with Intel too.


4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: AMD,
b. Dislike: Transcend, Acer any entry level systems or models with flaky , poor thermals, laptops with poor camera
c. Not sure whether to go with IdeaPad

6) Anything else you would like to say?

Once again, I conduct online classes- Camera quality and display quality is of utmost importance. So if you think It would be a better option to invest and get a good camera instead of a laptop because there is only certain amount of quality which can be available in laptop camera, please let me know.

• Screen resolution - the more the better - good screen quality will be desirable.
• Durable - see my answers to previous questions about my current laptop T430.
• Battery back up - the more battery capacity the better, however, I am fine with 4 hours
• Purchase place - I am okay with purchasing online or in store, whichever gives a good deal.
• Extended warranty , coverage against theft, mishandling, breakage etc for 3 years would be a good addend

Currently considering following:

help me choose among these or provide me better options please...

a. Lenovo T480 - [ i7 8th Gen - 16GB DDR4 - 512GB SSD] for about 90k INR ( 1200 USD) in a nearby shop with 3 Years lenovo Warranty.
b. ThinkPad E14 - [ Ryzen 5 4500 - 8GB - 256GB SSD] (currently not available online, however, question is should I get anything in the likes of this config) for Rs.60K INR (800 USD)
c. Ideapad Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 Ryzen 5 Hexa Core 4600H with 4GB GPU , 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD for 60k INR ( 820 USD)
d. Dell Latitude 5310 ( Local shop Deals in nearby city) - 75kINR (~1000USD)
10th Generation i7 + 16GB DDR4 RAM + 512GB SSD NVME +
1920X1080 FHD TOUCH SCREEN + WINDOWS 10 PRO LICENSE
3 YEAR ADP Direct Dell ONSITE Warranty
b. Refurbished T480 - 8GB RAM - 256GB SSD with testing warranty for 15 days - 60k INR (820USD)

Lenovo T480 RAM upgradable to 64GB in future, if needed. should I consider that..?

 

[erik_h]

I would get the Dell and an external webcam.

That Dell is overkill for what you want, FYIs. What you describe is incredibly easy for modern machines. You do NOT need 32G! And you do NOT need the hottest fastest thing out there. Lots of Chrome tabs? Streaming video? That used to be a big deal but these days you can easily handle that with most stuff because it's simply better than it was

You would probably be fine w/ an i3 and certainly an i5 and you probably only need 8G.

I understand that it's nice to have a fast machine. If you want to buy a 10th gen i7 w/ 16G of RAM and an SSD that will last you a long time and you will not have any issues. I have a few laptops with that same setup; I use them a lot harder than you are describing..

No matter what: You will get a MUCH better result w/ an external camera (whether a webcam or more professional camera setup) than with a laptop camera!

The simple reason is that laptop cameras need to be incredibly tiny, which requires a lot of tradeoffs in design. It's much easier to make a good webcam without the size constraints. The other reason is that it's a lot easier to properly position an external webcam than it is to position a laptop, because you can mount it to a tripod, or tape it to a mirror facing you, etc.

So try the Dell if you want. But if you really want to stream video, you'll want to buy an external HD webcam and a tabletop tripod. The whole rig should not exceed $100 USD for an HD webcam. Also, most laptop webcams and NOT HD, so you also get better resolution. You can probably get it for under $50 US if you buy lightly used and non-HD.

 

[hang-the-9]

For proper quality streaming for a business you should go with a higher end camera vs a higher end computer. 1080 at 60fps is the goal here, something like this https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Str...ff8ec&pd_rd_wg=gll8U&pd_rd_i=B07TZT4Q89&psc=1 You will also want to have a microphone setup on a stand or an overhead arm which will add more cost.

For the computer for video editing, depends on how much you can spend once you get a good camera and mic setup on the lower end the C one is good, but for storing and editing video you may need more space, in which case the D Dell is good, or you need to buy a second drive for the Ideapad.