Monday, January 17, 2011

My New Laptop - Which one to choose?

Now that my old and faithful workhorse , Dell Latitude is 4 years old (still working!) it was time to look for a replacement..and boy! technology has definitely advanced in those 4 years.. new i-series of Intel processor being one of the major changes. Confused between i3 vs i5 vs i7 for the laptops and what the hell these series meant, the new weekend task was cut out - researching reports and user feedback on these processors on Google. The information was readily available.. However, after some research I was able to settle down for i5. Why i5? i3 - more on the basic range, i5 - powerful and heat factor still manageable. Plus gives the option for going with switchable graphics and increase in battery life. i7- beast of a processor but generates LOT of heat. Many a good looking, high spec laptop had been reportedly trashed by user for the heat they generate and the laptops not being able to handle them... But then... manufacturer's learn from the the mistakes of Users..:) and perhaps are designing better system... but I felt more comfortable with i5.

Now the search for that oh-so-perfect laptop.. with i5 core..at least 4G ram..mousepad WITH buttons, discrete graphics...

Contenders - Dell XPS 15, HP Envy , Lenovo W- Series

HP Envy was eventually ruled out because of their non-configurable options in my country and horror stories with regards to After Sales Service...plus their price was way too much..
HP Envy is a nice series .. but somehow.. I decided against it..

Lenov W-Series - This is beast in performance.. high end graphics card, good resolutions (900p as well as 1080p), Matte Screen (yes, I think they are good.. ) and loads of configurable options.. but these machine dont come cheap... a decent config takes you to 3k $... but with boxing week discount.. one could get this + 3 year support within 1700 $.. incl tax.. hell of a deal...

but .. but... my current screen being a matte one.. wifey wanted a glossy... :P :P.. and me.. I agreed.. i should try out glossy too.. :P.. dont scream... yet...:)

Dell XPS -15..

decent config
decent configurable options
GLOSSY screen...
4 year warranty at price of 3
and my bias for Dell (having a solid performance from Latitude....)
dell after sales support.. (overall good experience- so far)

so yes.. went for Dell XPS 15..

and ordered it...

Geez.. chosing a laptop can be quite an affair if you would like it that way... :)

Next Post -> my review of Dell XPS 15..

Disclaimer : All the opinions in the post are personal and your experiences may vary. These are based on how i feel/felt .