Buying Laptop for Programming for Son from USA

Hi friends
My son is doing BCA from IP University. I have a desktop at home but I think a laptop would help him in his studies further. One of our friend from USA is coming to India and I can get a laptop through him.

Pls suggest me one new or old or open piece of laptop which he can buy from California upto rs.20000 max. I don't want SSD only HDD as it would be cheaper. But I do need good battery life.

What are refurnished laptops and are they reliable?

Does any co gives international warranty too, how about dell?

No idea about rest of the configuration as I HV not purchased any laptop till now but it should be such that it should be sufficient when he does his MCA or MBA.

Regards

Asus & Dell provides international warranty.

I'd seriously suggest spending more & getting an i5 laptop as it would be futureproof. SSDs make a big difference in laptop usage as 5400RPM HDDs in laptop are slow, very slow.

*www.amazon.com/dp/B0762S8PYM/?coliid=IUP68JAV5L07F&colid=1ARVGRNLUNDNF&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
This one is thin, light & looks very professional. It has empty M.2 slot for SSD. Or better buy its SSD variant:
*www.amazon.com/VivoBook-Lightweigh..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=8YR3W5SFPGEW2RSTHJ36

Otherwise get this if you don't want to spend more money.
*www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i3-8130..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=8YR3W5SFPGEW2RSTHJ36
Remove DVD drive, put SSD & clone OS to it.

anupam_pb said:
Asus & Dell provides international warranty.

I'd seriously suggest spending more & getting an i5 laptop as it would be futureproof. SSDs make a big difference in laptop usage as 5400RPM HDDs in laptop are slow, very slow.

*www.amazon.com/dp/B0762S8PYM/?coliid=IUP68JAV5L07F&colid=1ARVGRNLUNDNF&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
This one is thin, light & looks very professional. It has empty M.2 slot for SSD. Or better buy its SSD variant:
*www.amazon.com/VivoBook-Lightweigh..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=8YR3W5SFPGEW2RSTHJ36

Otherwise get this if you don't want to spend more money.
*www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i3-8130..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=8YR3W5SFPGEW2RSTHJ36
Remove DVD drive, put SSD & clone OS to it.

Currently I don't have a high budget so won't be able to buy high end laptops and moreover, I don't think, coding applications need high end PCs (pls confirm).

How about this one:

*www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-15-6-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M1M4CDR95JMWFKP9ZP4T

If coding / programming need high end laptops, then I will wait to buy it. What is the cost difference (%) from what we get from USA and buy in India?

After reading all suggestions, I have decided to take my budget to 25000.

So how is this one

*www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i3-8130...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HVFAZF697AGBSA2GS5RG

Or

Amazon.com: Buying Choices: Lenovo Ideapad 15.6" HD Premium High Performance Laptop (2017 Newest), AMD A12-9720P Quad core processor 2.7GHz, 8GB DDR4, 1TB HDD, DVD, Webcam, WiFi,Bluetooth, Windows 10, Platinum gray

rohitshakti2 said:
Currently I don't have a high budget so won't be able to buy high end laptops and moreover, I don't think, coding applications need high end PCs (pls confirm).

How about this one:

*www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-15-6-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M1M4CDR95JMWFKP9ZP4T

If coding / programming need high end laptops, then I will wait to buy it. What is the cost difference (%) from what we get from USA and buy in India?

Seriously not worth it when the Acer one I mentioned is so close

rohitshakti2 said:
After reading all suggestions, I have decided to take my budget to 25000.

So how is this one

*www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i3-8130...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HVFAZF697AGBSA2GS5RG

Or

Amazon.com: Buying Choices: Lenovo Ideapad 15.6" HD Premium High Performance Laptop (2017 Newest), AMD A12-9720P Quad core processor 2.7GHz, 8GB DDR4, 1TB HDD, DVD, Webcam, WiFi,Bluetooth, Windows 10, Platinum gray

As I said in my answer earlier, that Acer one is a great choice for its price. No other laptop comes close, but remember, no warranty

rohitshakti2 said:
... I don't think, coding applications need high end PCs (pls confirm).

Oww. Coding applications like Visual Studio, Eclipse need a moderately good PC, if not a high end PC.
Things like Android development or iOS app development also needs a good amount of space, so nothing less than 500 GB HDD atleast (preferably 1 TB).

But since laptops aren't that scalable or upgradable, it's bad investment to buy a "cheap" laptop. In just a year or two it will start to feel inadequate.

Do your son a favor and give him a laptop that he can be proud of, not some cheap metal box that he gets stuck with years.

X

You need to spend atleast $500 to get a decent one specially if he coding.

Anyway if strictly on budget then buy this: - Note fathers day discount may get over soon. Sale ends today / 23rd june, So u better snap quickly or lose out on stellar deal.

HP Laptop - 15z touch optional| HP® Official Store+

Windows 10 Home 64
AMD A9-9425 Dual-Core
8 GB memory; 1 TB HDD storage
AMD Radeon™ R5 Graphics
15.6" diagonal HD display

OR IF YOU COULD INCREASE YOUR BUDGET Then below laptop extreme bang for the buck.
Best Buy International: Select your Country - Best Buy

rohitshakti2 said:
If coding / programming need high end laptops, then I will wait to buy it. What is the cost difference (%) from what we get from USA and buy in India?

Laptops are always cheaper in USA. Roughly the laptops are converted at $1 = INR 100, so in that sense laptops are about 50% costlier here in India.

Xamanus said:
You need to spend atleast $500 to get a decent one specially if he coding.

Anyway if strictly on budget then buy this: - Note fathers day discount may get over soon. Sale ends today / 23rd june, So u better snap quickly or lose out on stellar deal.

HP Laptop - 15z touch optional| HP® Official Store+

Windows 10 Home 64

AMD A9-9425 Dual-Core

8 GB memory; 1 TB HDD storage

AMD Radeon™ R5 Graphics

15.6" diagonal HD display

OR IF YOU COULD INCREASE YOUR BUDGET Then below laptop extreme bang for the buck.
Best Buy International: Select your Country - Best Buy

Thanks for the reply. But Acer laptop suggested by Anupam above seems best for the budget.

Meanwhile I have found this too, which also looks good.

*www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0748YG81P/ref=psdcmw_13896615011_t1_B079TGL2BZ

rohitshakti2 said:
Thanks for the reply. But Acer laptop suggested by Anupam above seems best for the budget.

Meanwhile I have found this too, which also looks good.

*www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0748YG81P/ref=psdcmw_13896615011_t1_B079TGL2BZ

I don't think that laptop has a free M.2 slot which the Acer has. Moreover, its just 768p display compared to 1080p in Acer. These alone would make the Acer better but its CPU is better as well, that AMD A12 is weaker than an i3 7100U.

For that budget, just get the Acer one, add a 128GB SSD later & clone OS to it.

anupam_pb said:
I don't think that laptop has a free M.2 slot which the Acer has. Moreover, its just 768p display compared to 1080p in Acer. These alone would make the Acer better but its CPU is better as well, that AMD A12 is weaker than an i3 7100U.

For that budget, just get the Acer one, add a 128GB SSD later & clone OS to it.

Last thing, doesn't Dell make laptop in similar configurations and does these following once also are less than the Asus one suggested above and if I buy this on 4th July, can I expect any discounts on it in USA.

Are there any laptops of 8th Genration with only DoS or linux as it will reduce the cost of OS and I could get better hardware....

HP 15z Laptop: Ryzen 5 2500U, 15.6" 1080p, 1TB HDD, 8GB DDR4, Win 10 $390 after $100 Slickdeals PayPal Rebate + Free S&H

and

HP Laptop - 15z touch optional| HP® Official Store

There should be some good deals on 4th of July

AMD CPUs except for Ryzen ones are shit, don't even consider buying them as the top old CPU, A12, is inferior to Intel's i3 7100U. Ryzen 5 2500U is equivalent to i5 8250U.

anupam_pb said:
There should be some good deals on 4th of July

AMD CPUs except for Ryzen ones are shit, don't even consider buying them as the top old CPU, A12, is inferior to Intel's i3 7100U. Ryzen 5 2500U is equivalent to i5 8250U.

Thanks for your help at every step. This HP deal is off now. I will be buying the laptop on 3rd or 4th July when there is any deal.

I will be obliged if you could help me at that time.

Regards

Just post the deals here or quote me, will help if free

anupam_pb said:
Asus & Dell provides international warranty.

I'd seriously suggest spending more & getting an i5 laptop as it would be futureproof. SSDs make a big difference in laptop usage as 5400RPM HDDs in laptop are slow, very slow.

*www.amazon.com/dp/B0762S8PYM/?coliid=IUP68JAV5L07F&colid=1ARVGRNLUNDNF&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
This one is thin, light & looks very professional. It has empty M.2 slot for SSD. Or better buy its SSD variant:
*www.amazon.com/VivoBook-Lightweigh..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=8YR3W5SFPGEW2RSTHJ36

Otherwise get this if you don't want to spend more money.
*www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i3-8130..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=8YR3W5SFPGEW2RSTHJ36
Remove DVD drive, put SSD & clone OS to it.

If I go for SSD laptops instead of 1 TB hdd, what will be the difference in terms of price?

If there is major difference in speed, then I will prefer SSD based laptops as if needed, I will buy a external HDD.

rohitshakti2 said:
If I go for SSD laptops instead of 1 TB hdd, what will be the difference in terms of price?

If there is major difference in speed, then I will prefer SSD based laptops as if needed, I will buy a external HDD.

128GB SSDs cos $45 & 256GB ones cost $80. 128GB is enough for OS & other apps, use HDD for other storage purposes. That Acer laptop has an M.2 slot in which you can install an SSD while keeping the HDD. Samsung has a great software for cloning OS & its SSDs are great as well. SATA SSDs are more than enough.

Even the cheapest SSDs will offer 2x write, 3x read speeds of HDD. Actually, it would be faster than that for read because response times are lower.

Watch this:

I personally think NVMe/PCIe SSDs aren't worth buying for the majority of people. If you have more money, get a bigger SSD or just save it.

anupam_pb said:
128GB SSDs cos $45 & 256GB ones cost $80. 128GB is enough for OS & other apps, use HDD for other storage purposes. That Acer laptop has an M.2 slot in which you can install an SSD while keeping the HDD. Samsung has a great software for cloning OS & its SSDs are great as well. SATA SSDs are more than enough.

Even the cheapest SSDs will offer 2x write, 3x read speeds of HDD. Actually, it would be faster than that for read because response times are lower.

Watch this:

I personally think NVMe/PCIe SSDs aren't worth buying for the majority of people. If you have more money, get a bigger SSD or just save it.

But which laptop will come in my budget from 8th Gen with SSD?

None with pre-installed I guess, at least nothing good. That Acer has M.2 SSD slot, so solves the problem.

rohitshakti2 said:
But which laptop will come in my budget from 8th Gen with SSD?

It looks like I will have to buy the Acer only only @ $380 as no coupons or better deals could be find till now.

But still I will wait till 4th July.

anupam_pb said:
None with pre-installed I guess, at least nothing good. That Acer has M.2 SSD slot, so solves the problem.

Is there any deal on the Acer laptop suggested by you or any of these look good

Open-Box Electronics - Best Buy

rohitshakti2 said:
Is there any deal on the Acer laptop suggested by you or any of these look good

Open-Box Electronics - Best Buy

768p vs 1080p display is the big advantage that the Acer one has over these, along with the additional M.2 SSD slot. I don't expect the Acer one to fall below $350 on 4th of July, but even at $380 it is currently the best choice with no competitor nearby.