Budget 51-70k Need expert advice please, to choose between two Dell laptops

[ahit60]

I have two options: Dell Inspiron 3501 [buy from market] OR Dell Vostro 3500 [buy online from Dell]
Tech specs for both: 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7/ NVIDIA® GeForce® MX330 - 2GB GDDR5 graphics memory/8GB, 8GBx1, DDR4, 3200MHz/256GB SSD (Boot)+1TB SATA Hard Drive (Storage)/15.6-inch FHD/Backlit keyboard
NB. would like to expand to 16GB RAM

Inspiron = Win 10 Home; Vostro = Win 11 Home/2 yr warranty @799;
Vostro costs 2700 less

Can anyone please recommend which I should go for? Thanks in advance.

 

[seshu]

[not an expert]
apart from specifications,
I'd suggest to check build quality and upgrading possibility to decide ...

separating the base for upgrading is very difficult in some models.
if RAM is directly soldered then that would be a big hassle

 

[bhp91]

I would never buy anything with those MX series GPUs. You can either get away with Iris Xe in 11th gen processors or at least get a model with GTX 1650. The battery life hit with MX 330 is just not worth the extra performance gained.

 

[neoshreya]

I would never buy anything with those MX series GPUs. You can either get away with Iris Xe in 11th gen processors or at least get a model with GTX 1650. The battery life hit with MX 330 is just not worth the extra performance gained.

This is true the integrated graphics in AMD APUs and 11th and 12th gen Intel is very good.

Another thing to OP, check battery capacity of both models.

 

[ahit60]

I would never buy anything with those MX series GPUs. You can either get away with Iris Xe in 11th gen processors or at least get a model with GTX 1650. The battery life hit with MX 330 is just not worth the extra performance gained.

Thanks. But if I'm mostly on AC [as the 2nd laptop], less on battery, which one would you recommend?

[not an expert]
apart from specifications,
I'd suggest to check build quality and upgrading possibility to decide ...

separating the base for upgrading is very difficult in some models.
if RAM is directly soldered then that would be a big hassle

Thanks. Vostro seems to be the 'rugged' one - i'll double check with Dell abt the RAM but as far as I could make out 8GB soldered slot for additional RAM.

 

[StygianClaw]

Get the Vostro if specs are identical. Since you're buying directly from Dell online, you can get Warranty upgrades/extensions for much cheaper at the time of purchasing the device. For this model 3 years basic onsite warranty is 799/- and 2499/- for 3 years Prosupport next business day warranty. The prices if you want to get it later are 3-4 times more.

Get at least the 3 year basic warranty but I recommend getting the ProSupport. The online support team dispatches someone to replace any defective parts with much fewer questions asked. Once they even offered to replace any worn out plastic parts on my Alienware laptop for free. I had their Premium warranty on an Inspiron and even though its supposed to be of a similar tier as ProSupport, I did not receive the same hassle free experience.

 

[bhp91]

Can you try posting detailed specs or link to the product page?

 

[Marcus Fenix]

Thanks. But if I'm mostly on AC [as the 2nd laptop], less on battery, which one would you recommend?


Thanks. Vostro seems to be the 'rugged' one - i'll double check with Dell abt the RAM but as far as I could make out 8GB soldered slot for additional RAM.

Vostro is the lower tier model targeted towards small and medium businesses who don't want to spend on a Dell Latitude.

For home usage I would suggest the Inspiron.

Work-focused laptops will crimp on user features like speakers/display etc. but they will be more rugged to handle the kind of rough use we inflict on office laptops.

And like @bhp91 pointed out there's no point in going for a MX330. If you want to game you have to shell out more for a better GPU like at least the 1650 or drop the GPU-equipped model from consideration altogether.

Just for my curiosity what's your budget, intended usage and must-have/nice-to-have/can live without features?

 

[ahit60]

Thanks. Vostro seems to be the 'rugged' one - i'll double check with Dell abt the RAM but as far as I could make out 8GB soldered slot for additional RAM.

Vostro is the lower tier model targeted towards small and medium businesses who don't want to spend on a Dell Latitude.

For home usage I would suggest the Inspiron.

Work-focused laptops will crimp on user features like speakers/display etc. but they will be more rugged to handle the kind of rough use we inflict on office laptops.

And like @bhp91 pointed out there's no point in going for a MX330. If you want to game you have to shell out more for a better GPU like at least the 1650 or drop the GPU-equipped model from consideration altogether.

Just for my curiosity what's your budget, intended usage and must-have/nice-to-have/can live without features?

Thanks. Budget between 50-70K.

Get the Vostro if specs are identical. Since you're buying directly from Dell online, you can get Warranty upgrades/extensions for much cheaper at the time of purchasing the device. For this model 3 years basic onsite warranty is 799/- and 2499/- for 3 years Prosupport next business day warranty. The prices if you want to get it later are 3-4 times more.

Get at least the 3 year basic warranty but I recommend getting the ProSupport. The online support team dispatches someone to replace any defective parts with much fewer questions asked. Once they even offered to replace any worn out plastic parts on my Alienware laptop for free. I had their Premium warranty on an Inspiron and even though its supposed to be of a similar tier as ProSupport, I did not receive the same hassle free experience.

Thanks.

This is true the integrated graphics in AMD APUs and 11th and 12th gen Intel is very good.

Another thing to OP, check battery capacity of both models.

Thanks.

 

[Marcus Fenix]

I would suggest the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim5 AMD version.

https://www.amazon.in/Lenovo-Business-Keyboard-Fingerprint-Graphite/dp/B095KMNZCW/ref=sr_1_4?crid=28U8FG743Q9LC&keywords=IdeaPad%2BSlim%2B5%2Bamd&qid=1639851979&sprefix=ideapad%2Bslim%2B5%2Ba%2Caps%2C266&sr=8-4&th=1

Better battery life and CPU performance than Intel models.

2 of my colleagues bought this on my recommendation and they are very happy with it.

Please note that this is a non-gaming use case though.

 

[neoshreya]

I would suggest the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim5 AMD version.

https://www.amazon.in/Lenovo-Business-Keyboard-Fingerprint-Graphite/dp/B095KMNZCW/ref=sr_1_4?crid=28U8FG743Q9LC&keywords=IdeaPad%2BSlim%2B5%2Bamd&qid=1639851979&sprefix=ideapad%2Bslim%2B5%2Ba%2Caps%2C266&sr=8-4&th=1

Better battery life and CPU performance than Intel models.

2 of my colleagues bought this on my recommendation and they are very happy with it.

Please note that this is a non-gaming use case though.

+1
Amd models have better power consumption ans infact better performance on battery power too. I guess if your friends are positive about this model then OP should consider.

 

[ahit60]

+1
Amd models have better power consumption ans infact better performance on battery power too. I guess if your friends are positive about this model then OP should consider.

Thanks.