Snagged the 8GB/512GB variant of this laptop in the recent FK sale for 12.3k (after HDFC card offers and exchanging a 7.5 year old Dell laptop).
I've received it a few days back and I am pleasantly surprised at the VFM.
Pros:
-Good performance. 12th gen i3 1215U is a big jump compared to the earlier gen i3s.
-Display is IPS with acceptable color gamut and contrast.
-Included charger is Type-C
-Hinge quality seems good and feels nice to open and close. Rest of the build also seems decent. Should be good for the life of the laptop as long as you don't abuse it.
-Lightweight
-PCIe Gen4 SSD. It's is from a company called BIWIN. I'm not familiar with the brand but it's TLC flash and benched well (Roughly 5000MBps reads and 2700MBps writes).
-No heating issues.
Cons:
-Battery life is only so-so (3-4hrs going by the displayed estimate).
-No backlit keyboard. There were separate listings which mentioned backlit keyboard at the same price but those were not in stock for my pin code during the entirety of the sale. Perhaps they were discontinued and replaced with the non-backlit version after the initial lot?
-No official driver/support page. I did a clean install of Windows 11 24H2 and all drivers got installed via Windows Update. I only needed the Realtek Console app which I downloaded from the A324-45 model's driver page. Also, used Intel reference drivers for Graphics, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. No idea if this model will get BIOS updates via Windows update (If at all).
-Speakers are mediocre.
Other Notes:
-
Register for the warranty here. You should get an E-Mail confirmation in a day or two post which you can
verify your updated warranty dates here.
- This model seems to be India specific.
You are supposed to get the drivers by entering the serial number on this page but the results are blank as of now.
Took a pic of the insides while adding another 8GB stick. Went with G.Skill instead of the my usual choice of Crucial just to get a matching black PCB (Which nobody will ever see again
)
