Here are the two laptops which I have shortlisted after detailed research
1. Lenovo Flex 2
http://www.thedostore.com/laptops/ideapad-flex-2-14-59-420166.html
2. Dell Inspiron 15R with touchscreen
http://m.dell.com/mt/www.dell.com/in/p/inspiron-15r-5537/pd?oc=w540235in8&model_id=inspiron-15r-5537
Please help me finalize which of these to choose. I will up the RAM to 8gb of whichever system I choose. My requirements are viewing PDFs, Slideshows, web browsing, gaming and everything else an engineering student will do with his laptop.
Also you may give me some other suggestions in similar price range.
Laptop advice: Lenovo Flex 2 vs Inspiron 15R with touch vs Others?
Guest
You are paying a lot for a thinner size and touchscreen. Inspiron does not have a good quality record, but the particular one you chose does have a higher level graphics card as HD 8670M vs a GT 820M for the Lenovo.
They are both underclocked dual core i5's as i5-4200U or i5-4210U
http://www.notebookcheck.net/...849.0.html
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/...u_list.php
http://www.rescuecom.com/...14-q1.aspx
Graphics rank/CPU Score Lenovo@ 215 (lower is better) / 3645 (higher is better) and Dell is at 186 / 3303
>> Dell is a little better at gaming, and the Lenovo is a little stronger CPU and better for movies in the flip-feature.
http://www.flipkart.com/...9385735045
Lenovo Z500 Rs. 50990 non-touch gets i5-3230M and GT 740M and 6GB RAM
Rs. 50540 at Snapdeal. Flipkart may have a cashback. Graphics rank 114, CPU score 3970
Z510 is 50814 at Lenovo.com
http://www.thedostore.com/laptops/ideapad-z510-dark-chocolate-453.html
The 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5 4200M, 4 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, GT 740M = Nvidia N14P-GV2 DDR3 1GB, Windows 8 That raises the cpu to 4579 score.
Your best choice is probably this one shown at 54900. Unfortunately, this leftover unit is only one seller not highly rated. It is Rs. 56990 at a Flipkart seller:
http://www.snapdeal.com/...#Technical Specifications
http://www.samsung.com/...0P5C-S06IN
Samsung NP550P5C-S06IN Laptop (Intel Core i5 3230M- 6GB RAM- 1TB HDD 15.6 inch Win8- 2GB Graphics Memory) (Silver)
The i5-3230M is stronger than the U suffix Haswell CPUs. The GT 650M is a generation back, but rank is #104, The display is not touch-screen, but is 39.6cm (15.6) SuperBright 300nit HD+ LED Display (1600 x 900), Anti-Reflective which is higher resolution and brighter.
It includes a bluray drive and 6gb ram.
This Samsung has been around a while, and as they tried to make laptops thinner and lighter, they used lower performance CPUs and graphics at the price. This Samsung has been a good value in India for a year and nothing ever beat the performance for the price, and screen resolution is a good improvement.
Andy L