Recommend a Laptop <65k.

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eptheta said:
Today I went to the HP guy at lamington road and sat there for 1/2 an hour playing crysis 2 at the highest graphics level. It didn't overheat too much. The only thing left is to find someone (cyanide911) who already has it and ask his opinion about reliability and how it does when left on for 2-3 hours (in case he does want to).

Cyanide, have you already bought yours ?
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I have ordered mine, should be delivered by today/tomorrow. So will be able to give you feedback after that.

If you're in a hurry you can check ou-INFO AND LINK REMOVED due to weird forum rules.

comp@ddict said:
Well, we are suggesting the HP dv6-6017tx, so I think OP is safe!
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Yeah! But when I went into the market to get a 6017tx, NO one had it, and I came very close to buying a 6121tx which seemed the next best alternative.
 
Similar dilemma

This is my first post here. :)

I am is the exact same dilemma as eptheta with same budget constraints.

@eptheta- have you made your decision yet?

After browsing many threads there 3 laptops mentioned in this range-

Dell XPS-

Pros-

Good build

After customization

FHD screen (+ 6k)

Backlit keyboard (+ Rs 800-900)

On site warranty.

Cons-

Costly in comparison to dv6-6121tx and vaio CB15

Poor graphics compared to HP model

dv6-6121tx

Pros-

Good discrete gfx

Excellent VFM

Cons-

Not customizable with FHD screen and Backlit keyboard (AFAIK)

OpenGL problem as mentioned by a user. (Photoshop has problems)

Have heard a bad review about HP wrt servicing. (A friend told me to avoid at all costs)

vaio CB15

Pros-

VFM

FHD displ
 
Similar dilemma

Sorry previous one got submitted by mistake.

Vaio CB15

Pros-

FHD display

VFM

Cons-

Poor gfx in comparison

Don't know whether keyboard is Backlit.

Bundled battery has 3hr life. (don't know about battery life of the other 2 models)

I am mostly going to go to croma (only place with cash payment on dell where you can customise and pay there) and customise my machine which comes upto 66k (i7, FHD, stock gfx, Backlit keyboard, advanced wireless) If my parents start shouting I'll mostly downgrade to i5.

What my questions are-

In upgrading from i5 to i7 I assume the battery life is reduced. By how much approximately does it affect the battery consumption.

I've read in many place that the stock dell xps 15 screen is horrible. So how does the upgraded FHD screen is xps compare with the hp and vaio screen? Are they as horrible as the stock dell screen?

Also I'm wondering, are there no other laptops with similar specs in the same range? Preferably FHD and Backlit keyboard. (acer, Samsung, lenovo etc) Please recommend as this is my first laptop and I'm not aware which brands are reliable and provide good service.

Thanks in advance.

Also sorry if I hijacked your thread eptheta.
 
Removed, but really? That's a tad insecure of techenclave. Oh well. Think you should remove the quoted link too, it still links to the 'rival' forum.

Technology forums. Serious business.
 
comp@ddict said:
don't post, remove it, the mods will serve you a warning.

The rule is not to post a link of a rival forum.
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You sir, were warned because of advertising a link from TDF on your signature, which isn't allowed. You can however post links from other 'rival forums'. No harm done there.

If you are genuinely interested to help others with that compilation of hardware prices, put up that on TE and you can give a link on your signature.
 
Re: Similar dilemma

oddtimed said:
Sorry previous one got submitted by mistake.

Vaio CB15

Pros-

FHD display

VFM

Cons-

Poor gfx in comparison

Don't know whether keyboard is Backlit.

Bundled battery has 3hr life. (don't know about battery life of the other 2 models)

I am mostly going to go to croma (only place with cash payment on dell where you can customise and pay there) and customise my machine which comes upto 66k (i7, FHD, stock gfx, Backlit keyboard, advanced wireless) If my parents start shouting I'll mostly downgrade to i5.

What my questions are-

In upgrading from i5 to i7 I assume the battery life is reduced. By how much approximately does it affect the battery consumption.

I've read in many place that the stock dell xps 15 screen is horrible. So how does the upgraded FHD screen is xps compare with the hp and vaio screen? Are they as horrible as the stock dell screen?

Also I'm wondering, are there no other laptops with similar specs in the same range? Preferably FHD and Backlit keyboard. (acer, Samsung, lenovo etc) Please recommend as this is my first laptop and I'm not aware which brands are reliable and provide good service.

Thanks in advance.

Also sorry if I hijacked your thread eptheta.
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CB15 has both FHD as well as backlit keyboard.

Going from i7 to i5 will not result in much of a difference with regards to battery life. Maybe 15 mins at the max.

The FHD screen on XPS 15 is one of the best laptop screens in its price point. Unless you spend 95k+ you won't get a better screen. HP screen is just average and inferior to the Vaio and XPS 15 screens. Vaio and XPS 15 are more or less the same quality with XPS 15 being slightly more color accurate.

And yes you can get on site warranty with the Vaio as well.

As for other options, there are NONE. These two are the only notebooks with FHD screen and backlit keyboard upto 85k.
 
@OP, a customized Dell XPS 15 is the best bet! Look no further!

--------------------------------------

You sir, were warned because of advertising a link from TDF on your signature, which isn't allowed. You can however post links from other 'rival forums'. No harm done there.
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I was once warned for that too sir, in case you didnt know

By DarkStar

Please do not post link to another rival forum
Click to expand...

So now you mods differ each other on rules?

I'm sorry this isn't the right place, but this issue needs to be addressed now.

If you are genuinely interested to help others with that compilation of hardware prices, put up that on TE and you can give a link on your signature.
Click to expand...

Would have done than 2 years ago if I wanted to do that, it is my work after all. It's a TDF exclusive.
 
Re: Similar dilemma

babu.mohan10 said:
CB15 has both FHD as well as backlit keyboard.
Going from i7 to i5 will not result in much of a difference with regards to battery life. Maybe 15 mins at the max.

The FHD screen on XPS 15 is one of the best laptop screens in its price point. Unless you spend 95k+ you won't get a better screen. HP screen is just average and inferior to the Vaio and XPS 15 screens. Vaio and XPS 15 are more or less the same quality with XPS 15 being slightly more color accurate.

And yes you can get on site warranty with the Vaio as well.

As for other options, there are NONE. These two are the only notebooks with FHD screen and backlit keyboard upto 85k.
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The XPS15 FHD screen is beautiful, yes, but it's HD screen is rubbish. DV6's HD screen is pretty good.
So the XPS15 only makes sense if you get it with a FHD.
 
Re: Similar dilemma

@OP, a customized Dell XPS 15 is the best bet! Look no further!
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I've kind of given up on the Dell cause its too costly... The only thing worth it's price is the Full HD screen, otherwise the HP has generally better specs.

@eptheta-have you made your decision yet ?
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I came this close to buying the 6121 tx when I was pointed to it's OpenGL issues. Now I'm re-contemplating my decision.
To be honest, I'm actually waiting for cyanide to get his laptop and hope to get his opinion before I buy mine.

oddtimed said:
Also sorry if I hijacked your thread eptheta.
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No problem! It's actually kind of a relief to find someone else in the same situation...
 
@epitheta

Mean no offence but XPS 15 is by far the better laptop. Of course, going by raw GPU power the HP is superior but everything else the XPS 15 does better than HP. Its better built, has a better keyboard, a much better screen, much greater reliability, onsite warranty and superior service all over the country,the best audio system on ANY laptop, and far greater flexibility with regards to customization.

It hasn't garnered great reviews and editor's choice awards for nothing over the past year.
 
babu.mohan10 said:
@epitheta
Mean no offence but XPS 15 is by far the better laptop. Of course, going by raw GPU power the HP is superior but everything else the XPS 15 does better than HP. Its better built, has a better keyboard, a much better screen, much greater reliability, onsite warranty and superior service all over the country,the best audio system on ANY laptop, and far greater flexibility with regards to customization.
It hasn't garnered great reviews and editor's choice awards for nothing over the past year.
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better built-Nope
has a better keyboard - Well, they're really similar. If you take the LED Backlit option, then yes. But I don't think many people seriously need LED Backlit keyboards.
a much better screen: XPS15's HD screen is rubbish, trust me. If OP wants to add 6k for a FHD then you're right. But the 540M won't be able to support decent gaming on 1080p.
much greater reliability: Probably.
onsite warranty: HP is offering onsite warranty too
the best audio system on ANY laptop: Might be true, but XPS has it's subwoofers on the bottom of the laptop, so if you keep it down on a surface the bass is muffled. DV6 has Beats audio system which is very good too. Plus I don't know a single person who uses the laptop speakers for anything other than an occasional youtube video or some light gaming. Headphones for serious FPSing or movies.

HP is really stepping up their game in India wrt service. They've launched accidental damage insurance too.
 
cyanide911 said:
HP is really stepping up their game in India wrt service. They've launched accidental damage insurance too.
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Whats the price for accidental damage warranty? any links?
 
Quoting a few lines from notebookcheck review of HP DV6 6XXX

About keyboard "The few good aspects of this keyboard are easily blighted out by the spongy keys and the weak base which gives way almost everywhere. The slightest tap of a key is enough to confirm the rickety typing feel."

About build quality "The base unit is not very resistant. We could easily bend the chassis inwards by placing both hands on the laptop and applying a little force. The areas above and below the optical drive are susceptible to pressure. The gap between the front right speaker and the aluminum hand-rest can also be bent easily. The plate beneath the keyboard is absurdly weak and can be noisily bent inwards everywhere. In short: the workmanship is very good, but in some areas major flaws are noticeable. Overall, the design is not very consistent."

Overall - "The spongy keys, the weak and pliant chassis and a few other flaws ruin the otherwise great impression one gets from the notebook. The 15.6 inch device lacks a few very important features such as a good keyboard, broad viewing angles, and sturdiness.Potential buyers are advised to take a closer look at the new HP Pavilion dv6 lineup and see for themselves whether the new models are worth their money."

Screen - Since notebookcheck have not reviewed the 720p XPS 15 screen I am taking Inspiron 15R screen to compare with HP DV6 (Both 15R and XPS 15 use the same panel so there is not much difference)

Contrast Ratio

Dell - 195:1

HP- 192:1

Brightness

Dell - 190 cd/m2

HP - 217 cd/m2

Black Level

Dell - 0.98

HP - 1.15

Brightness Distribution

Dell - 96%

HP - 88%

Display Score

Dell - 72%

HP - 71%

I think its clear that there is nothing between both the screens and both are equally bad (or good).

As for HP service getting better, i rather not say anything about it :)
 
^ You absolutely cannot compare displays by looking at individual specs like this. Besides, it obviously makes sense for OP to go and take a look at the laptop himself, if he's satisfied with the keyboard (I didn't find it ANYTHING like they say in the review, it was probably a manufacturing defect). I think he mentioned that he did check the laptop out at a store.

And if OP wants to game, then he can ignore silly nickpicks that the reviewer has done and focus on the fact that he would get 20% more game performance at 6-7k less.

The reviewer is saying that the CPU/GPU underclock when under heavy load, but that's only when you set it in Cool mode. If you set it in performance mode, which you would when you're gaming, it doesn't.

@RS4:

HP introduces damage protection for laptops in India - Times Of India

Haven't really inquired about this, so don't know the details.
 
cyanide911 said:
^ You absolutely cannot compare displays by looking at individual specs like this. Besides, it obviously makes sense for OP to go and take a look at the laptop himself, if he's satisfied with the keyboard (I didn't find it ANYTHING like they say in the review, it was probably a manufacturing defect). I think he mentioned that he did check the laptop out at a store.
And if OP wants to game, then he can ignore silly nickpicks that the reviewer has done and focus on the fact that he would get 20% more game performance at 6-7k less.
The reviewer is saying that the CPU/GPU underclock when under heavy load, but that's only when you set it in Cool mode. If you set it in performance mode, which you would when you're gaming, it doesn't.
@RS4:
HP introduces damage protection for laptops in India - Times Of India
Haven't really inquired about this, so don't know the details.
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On display: i absolutely agree that we cant compare them with specs and values and its better to check out the display personally but i dont have any hope with these 720P panels being used by all the laptop manufacturers as all of them are using mediocre quality panels and the only way to get a good laptop display is to select 1080P option.

On warranty: Nice to see HP offering accidental damage warranty, i repeatedly stress the importance of extended warranty to all notebook buyers as i have seen a lot of expensive repairs being carried out in the 2nd or 3rd year of laptop for almost all the brands like HP,sony,acer,compaq and only dell consumer laptop line is somewhat better in this regard as i hardly see any motherboard failure with them and mostly its small things like optical drive or HDD with dell.
 
@Cyanide911

I have seen both the screens and I completely agree with the notebookcheck review. As for not relying on the numbers, those numbers are the most crucial numbers for any screen - TV/laptop/dekstop monitor. And the equipment that is used to measure these values cost multiple times the cost of an HP DV6 or XPS 15.
As for service, ask HP to provide extended warranty on your laptop and let us know what you are told :) HP has stopped offering extended warranty is not honoring the extended warranties issued earlier. And this is not old news, quite recent in fact. That to me does not seem like seriousness from HP's part.
@Topic
And I am not trying to bash HP DV6XXX here or asking people to avoid buying it, Its a great VFM laptop and much better than XPS 15 in gaming performance but overall its not as reliable or a solid all rounded package like the XPS 15. Its no co incidence that HP keeps scoring the lowest reliability scores every year in both desktop and laptop category. So go for it only if you are willing to take the risk with HP's service. As long as you don't expect it to last 3 or 4 years without any major issues, you should be fine though
 
I don't know why you keep comparing a 720p screen to a 1080p screen. If you can find an XPS15 with 720p review, then it makes sense. I'll say it again, if OP can spend those +6k on the screen and doesn't mind a 20% less gaming performance, then XPS15 is perfect for him. But if he doesn't want to spend the 6k, then it makes no sense to go with the XPS15. The 720p screen is sub standard.

In the US/Europe, a 1080p screen has become standard because of high internet speeds, widespread HD content, and services like HD Netflix, Hulu streaming. Here, we hardly find HD content anywhere, so we can only run games in HD. And the 540M is incompetent for any game in HD beyond the less demanding ones like FIFA11.

And again, you absolutely *cannot* compare two displays based on numbers on paper. No matter how expensive the equipment used to measure it is (I don't know why you mentioned this or how it's relevant to anyone). If you compare an XPS15's 720p screen against a DV6's 720p, the DV6 jumps out ahead.

And as for 'HP Does not honor extended warranty', that was ONE case and that was because the consumer had bought the laptop in the US, and taken the extended warranty in India. No company would honor extended warranty in such a case.
 
Please confirm with your dealer whether you can get extended warranty with HP Dv6 or not and then make a post here.

And I am not comparing 1080p screen to 720p hp screen. I am comparing Dell 720p vs HP dv6, basically all 720p screens are the same and no 720p is "better" than the other. All are equally bad. And I have seen both the HP and XPS 15 720p screen and both are the same quality.

I am not going to argue further but people better trust an unbiased review website than a person who is buying the notebook himself who is expected to be defensive about his purchase.

And yes, do post here once you get confirmation from HP if they offer extended warranty on HP DV6 6017TX/6121TX.
 
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