New Laptop requirement - suggestions?

[vijay_001]

Hello. I do mostly browsing all day and night. My laptop remains open almost 15-18 hours a day.
My usage - file downloading, browsing and watching Youtube/movies.

I have a 6 year old Dell Vostro with i3 5005U processor with 8 GB DDR3L RAM. Sometimes I feel the laptop's CPU is getting old and can't really handle much of the load.

I need a slim and light weight laptop with a budget of Rs.40000, ~ $500. (Im in India)

Which brand and processor should I go with? Should I choose Dell again or go with Asus/Acer etc?

 

[Lafong]

Can you post a link to the stores you might buy from?

Not sure what prices are like in India. Is that Rs 40000 an absolute limit?

The screen and keyboard feel are very important on a laptop. Will you be able to actually test the laptop before buying....or will you just have to hope it's OK?

At a minimum, I'd certainly want to read reviews of the candidates before the purchase.

Ideally....avoid spinning hard drives; avoid "Pro" editions of Windows to save money. Don't pay extra for Windows 11, but you may not be able to get Windows 10?

If you run on the battery a lot, pay a lot of attention to reviews that mention battery life.

16 GB of RAM is probably what you'll be offered. I have only 8 GB RAM in my desktop PC and do the same stuff you do with your laptop without any problems at all. So I wouldn't shy away from 8 GB RAM if necessary.

For your use, you may be OK with a relatively low capacity hard drive, which may allow you to spend more on other features such as CPU or screen size.

You'll have to decide on AMD CPU or Intel CPU. I'd certainly check the CPU benchmark scores at Passmark.com before deciding. Raw CPU horsepower remains a very important factor. Probably the most important other than "reliability".

I'd probably lean away from Acer and lean toward Dell, Asus, or Lenovo.

 

[vijay_001]

Can you post a link to the stores you might buy from?

Not sure what prices are like in India. Is that Rs 40000 an absolute limit?

The screen and keyboard feel are very important on a laptop. Will you be able to actually test the laptop before buying....or will you just have to hope it's OK?

At a minimum, I'd certainly want to read reviews of the candidates before the purchase.

Ideally....avoid spinning hard drives; avoid "Pro" editions of Windows to save money. Don't pay extra for Windows 11, but you may not be able to get Windows 10?

If you run on the battery a lot, pay a lot of attention to reviews that mention battery life.

16 GB of RAM is probably what you'll be offered. I have only 8 GB RAM in my desktop PC and do the same stuff you do with your laptop without any problems at all. So I wouldn't shy away from 8 GB RAM if necessary.

For your use, you may be OK with a relatively low capacity hard drive, which may allow you to spend more on other features such as CPU or screen size.

You'll have to decide on AMD CPU or Intel CPU. I'd certainly check the CPU benchmark scores at Passmark.com before deciding. Raw CPU horsepower remains a very important factor. Probably the most important other than "reliability".

I'd probably lean away from Acer and lean toward Dell, Asus, or Lenovo.

Hello. Thank you for the info. These are the following websites that I can purchase from.

https://www.amazon.in

Online Shopping Site for Mobiles, Electronics, Furniture, Grocery, Lifestyle, Books & More. Best Offers!

India's biggest online store for Mobiles, Fashion (Clothes/Shoes), Electronics, Home Appliances, Books, Home, Furniture, Grocery, Jewelry, Sporting goods, Beauty & Personal Care and more! Find the largest selection from all brands at the lowest prices in India. Payment options - COD, EMI, Credit...

www.flipkart.com

https://www.dell.com/en-in/shop/scc/sc/laptops

https://store.acer.com/en-in/laptops/

Lenovo® Official India Site | Laptops, Tablets, Desktops, Data Center

Buy Lenovo laptops, tablets, desktop PCs or servers for your home and business. âShop online or call our sales team â

www.lenovo.com

Laptops For Home - All series｜ASUS India

ASUS laptops are the best laptops for unrivalled mobility, featuring lightweight, toughness, and providing all the power you need for multitasking and media entertainment.

www.asus.com

The budget can be a bit higher but I am more worried about brand value and customer service. I hear in India, Lenovo has poor customer service. Is it a reliable brand considering Chinese origin?

Also is the new ergolift (curved hinge) design good or bad?

 

[Lafong]

I know nothing about the hinge design.

Customer service: I would not expect to have a good experience with any brand. Price competition is brutal, so customer service is an afterthought to hold prices down. All you can do is HOPE you never have to deal with customer service.

It's a risk, but you can't avoid taking the risk.

Reliability is hard to judge. You will hear a lot of anecdotes good and bad about all brands. But that's all they are.....one person's experience. You can find bad anecdotes about any brand.

You might improve your chances of a good experience if you can buy from the corporate or business lines of the brand, rather than consumer or home user lines. But that might not be compatible with your budget.

Best advice I can give you:

Don't be in a rush.

Read as many reviews as possible.

Pay minimal attention to anecdotes unless they are overwhelmingly negative.

Accept that you need some luck and that any choice can turn out badly due to quality control issues.

Try to actually test the candidate to get a feel for keyboard and screen.

Refuse to buy anything with a spinning hard drive.

Pay significant attention to raw CPU horsepower as shown in a Passmark benchmark. Don't get lulled into complacency by fancy marketing jargon.

 

[Lafong]

A quick look at your stores indicates you might be limited to 8 GB RAM at your budget level.

I wouldn't get caught up in the i3 versus i5 distinction on Intel processors. Just pay attention to the Passmark benchmark scores.

There are a bunch of brands at those stores that are unknown in USA. That may not be important.

 

[vijay_001]

A quick look at your stores indicates you might be limited to 8 GB RAM at your budget level.

I wouldn't get caught up in the i3 versus i5 distinction on Intel processors. Just pay attention to the Passmark benchmark scores.

There are a bunch of brands at those stores that are unknown in USA. That may not be important.

Alright, thanks a ton for your input!!