Laptop Buying Guide — IITK (2020)
Hello IITK Junta!
Welcome to IIT Kanpur Y20! Many of you have already begun interacting with your seniors over social media, and will continue to do so courtesy of the pandemic. Given that your first year is online, your window into IIT Kanpur will be through your devices, be it your phones, tabs, desktops or laptops.
Although this guide is aimed at Y20, it is just as valid for any student wishing to buy a laptop.
One of the questions that I get repeatedly asked over DMs and tags in numerous Facebook posts is “Which laptop should I buy?” There is no clear answer, and to handle the volume of the DMs coming through I am compiling all the gyaan I have to give into this blog.
Caveat: If you have an existing desktop, that is fine too.
When do I need to buy a laptop?
You do not need a brand new flashy laptop to clear your first year at IIT Kanpur.
You need to buy a new laptop if your current computer is not sufficient for purposes. Consider doing this simple test to assess if your laptop is good enough for your first year. On your laptop see if you can run 3 YouTube tabs, one zoom call, and have 3 PDF files open.
Check the responsiveness of your laptop in a situation like this. Is it able to switch between tabs and applications without choking up too much? You might want to consider having a clean installation of windows on your current laptop and then checking the same again.
The main purpose of this section was to let you know that you do not need to buy a new laptop immediately. For my first year I had used an i3 Lenovo laptop (although I had 4gb + 8gb (extra) ram, you can do this too if you do not wish to invest in a new laptop soon). I was able to read lecture notes, stream YouTube, and do graphic design, edit small videos, learn how to dual boot Linux, learn coding, running light games and so much more. The laptop keyboard gave way and stopped functioning during December, which is when I bought my current new laptop. My old laptop’s keyboard was replaced and was passed down to my brother who is currently using it for studies.
So to finally close this area, you should buy a laptop when your current laptop is not meeting your requirements, and / or there is a sale around (I assume that you would want to get the best value for your money.)
Which laptop should I buy?
Now that you have decided you want to buy a laptop, you need to understand the importance of a good laptop.
Your laptop is one of the best investments you will make in college.
Expect to use it even more than your mobile phone in certain cases.
In such a case it is advised that you take this decision in a very cool and calm manner after doing your own extensive research, both on your needs and on the laptop. You should know what you are buying, why you are buying. You should know the details of your laptop inside out, and why each feature is useful.
Your laptop will be personal to you, and hence you need to ask yourself some questions before you decide which laptop you want to buy. Here are some primary questions you should be asking yourself.
Questions you should ask yourself:
- Are you interested in carrying your laptop around to various parts of the campus, such has the library, CCD, the student lounge, your rooms, hall study rooms, under a tree, etc. to study?
If yes, then the weight, battery life, screen quality, screen size and of your laptop are important things you should consider. - Are you interested in playing computer games?
If you are interested in playing lightweight games such as CSGO, Factorio, Among Us or Minesweeper, a laptop with an integrated GPU should be sufficient. If you are interested in playing AAA games such as GTA V, Mafia III, Witcher III, etc, and playable frame rates (30fps) you may go for some low end GPUs. If you would like to play the same on higher frame rates with better quality you may go for a laptop with a mid range GPU. Enthusiasts may go for high end GPUs. (Personal Note: Although I am (used to be) a big time gamer, once at IITK there is so much other (and often way more interesting) stuff to do, that I barely get the time to play games anymore. That does not mean that I don’t enjoy playing them sometimes. I just play way less than I thought I would.) - Are you interested in Video Editing / 3D modelling / running CAD software?
A dedicated GPU is highly recommended in cases like this. Contact someone from the Film Club / Design and Animation Club and ask them about render times, or someone from in teams like AUV / SAE and ask them about the CAD models that have been created and rendered. - Do you think you will be wanting a touch laptop?
Although this is a premium feature, it is quite an attractive point. I know people who have bought a touch laptop for the sole purpose of the comfort of lying in bed and simply swiping to access. Moreover if you are into digital illustration, this is often a bonus point. However, don’t be too enthusiastic about trying to take notes on a laptop. Now that wouldn’t be feasible in most cases, although some people do take notes on iPads and tablets.
Now let us get to the details about the laptop that you should be considering. I would recommend you to do your research first, and then fix your budget, and then do more narrowing down. I am only writing down comments about particular features.
Specifications of laptops:
CPU
Intel:
Generations: Buy only 8th gen and above CPUs. Each generation is approx. 10% better than the previous generation. Going for the latest chips is not necessary.
H Series CPUs — High performance CPUs. Will draw more power, but provide better performance. Some examples are i7–9750H (6 Core CPU) and i5–9300H (4 Core CPU), which are good choices. Buy the i7 if you want more performance and have the budget. For most purposes the i5 will be sufficient.
U Series CPUs — Everyday performance CPUs. Will draw less power, and provides better battery life. Some examples are i7–8565U (4 Core CPU) and i5–10210U (4 Core CPU). The price difference between the two CPUs are huge but the performance difference is just about 10%. My personal opinion would be to go for the i5 instead of the i7 if you are opting for a U series laptop, and instead spend the money on some other features.
To understand Intel CPUs better a detailed article can be found here.
AMD:
AMD in recent times have produced very good CPUs. However one should be very cautious while looking at the AMD CPUs because it is easy to get confused between two of their CPU line ups.
AMD Ryzen 5/7 4XXX CPUs — These CPUs are absolutely excellent, the Ryzen 5 is better than the i7 9750H and is much much more power efficient. The Ryzen 7 is also a good choice, but slightly more expensive.
AMD Ryzen 5/7 3XXX CPUs — These are not as good as the 4XXX series Ryzen processors. They are cheaper and provide lower performance than their Intel counterparts. If you are going for this CPU, try to get dual channel ram setup on your system, as AMD CPUs benefit from this. It is easy to get confused between the 3000 and the 4000 series, so be very careful while choosing your CPU.
RAM:
A minimum of 8gb ram is preferred. Make sure your laptop has additional free slots that allows you to upgrade your ram in the future (A very likely upgrade).
Storage:
Make sure your laptop has an SSD. This is the only criteria. DO NOT BUY A LAPTOP WITH ONLY AN HDD, unless, If you are looking for a budget laptop, you can try to look for one with an additional M.2 slot and then manually upgrade it with an SSD. It is likely that you will need an external HDD later to store additional files.
GPU:
Integrated GPUs:
In Intel CPUs you get Integrated Graphics which are decent for simple stuff, and can run some lightweight games. If you go for Intel 11th gen (Tiger Lake) CPUs, the the new iRIS Xe graphics are pretty good, and on par with low end GPUs.
In AMD CPUs you get Vega graphics, which are very good. This is on par with low end GPUs.
Low end GPUs:
The MX series. These are low end GPUs capable of running games on low settings at playable frame rates(~30fps).
MX350 > MX250 > MX150
Mid-High end GPUs:
These GPUs are found mostly in gaming laptops, and can run most games at good frame rates, and can provide decent rendering features.
RTX2060 > GTX1660Ti > RX5500 > GTX1650Ti (best price) > GTX 1650 (best price) > GTX 1050 (outdated)
Battery life:
The battery life of your laptop will depend on its capacity, your screen size and the type of CPU and what you plan to do. Average battery size on the market is 54Wh (3 cell) which gives 3–4hrs on gaming laptops with light usage, and 5–7 hours on everyday laptops. There are other ways in which you can boost your battery life after buying a laptop. (Personal note: I have undervolted my laptop and adjusted some more parameters that gives me laptop 4–6 hours of battery life.)
Weight:
Weight is often a critical factor for many people. Most gaming laptops are heavy and range from 1.86kg to 3.5kgs. Another factor to consider is the weight of the charger brick also, because you might have to carry that around too. There are some gaming laptops from MSI which are surprisingly light.
Thin and light laptops range from 1.3kgs to 1.8kgs. They are lovely to have them in your lap or on your stomach if you are lying down and watching something.
Laptop Brands:
Dell: They are well known for their everyday Inspiron laptops which are pretty sleek and look nice. If you are planning to buy a Dell, make sure you buy it from the official Dell store or an offline store. It is a well established brand. Expect to pay more for the similar features. (Personal experience: I do not like Dell and HP because of their “customers are idiots” attitude. I think it is the users responsibility to maintain their laptops as properly as they can, and carry out minor modifications. However some people are uncomfortable doing things on their on and that is totally okay.)
HP: Same opinion as Dell for most laptops, however their OMEN gaming series is pretty good. It is a well established brand. Expect to pay more for the similar features.
Lenovo: They have a decent lineup. The Think Pads are one of the most durable laptops that you can buy. Their gaming laptops are decent and the everyday laptops are sleek. It is a well established brand. Expect to pay more for the similar features.
ASUS: ASUS has some pretty good laptops in the vivo series. The TUF Books aren’t too good in my opinion because they are heavy and bulky. Find an ASUS store and buy from there.
Acer: Makes decent laptops. Very good cooling and performance on the Predator series. Other than that, I not have any particular observations.
MSI: A relatively new seller in the Indian market providing very good options for a decent price.
Apple: A premium brand. Quite expensive unless you can get it imported. Unless you can shell out 1.2–1.5L do not buy this.
Budget:
I would suggest keeping your budget in between ₹50–₹70k for a good laptop. A laptop in the ₹30–₹50K range will also get the job done in most cases. You may look out for Amazon / FlipKart sales during which there is often a drastic drop in the prices. Also try to avail discounts offered by using a particular credit card.
Miscellaneous
Camera: Make sure your laptop has a camera. It is useful in attending conferences and will be used quite often in this online semester.
Backlit keyboard: It is a useful feature, that is useful in the dark and dimly lit environment. Make sure your laptop has a backlit keyboard for a better experience.
Touch / stylus support: This is an interesting feature present in some laptops. Touch allows you to use your laptop as a tablet. Stylus support gives you touch support and allows you to make digital illustrations.
Fingerprint sensor / facial recognition: Based on personal preference. Not a game breaker, but is convenient.
Preinstalled software:
Make sure your laptop has Windows 10 installed. You don’t need MS Office installed as IITK provides you a student license. (I am personally against installing anti-virus software but you may proceed with one if you wish.)
Peripherals: Positively get a good set of headphones (over the ear preferably). You will be having to attend classes in potentially noisy places, and have to wear it for long durations. Optionally consider getting a mouse (Logitech mice are very good).
Final words
The laptop I use personally is an MSI GF75. It has a 17-inch screen, i7–9750H, 8GB+16GB(extra) ram, 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD, GTX1650Ti, and I have purchased the same for ₹72K+5K(for ram), in the December of 2019 after extensive research. It has served me very well so far!
Buying a laptop may seem daunting at first, but don’t worry too much. Once you start exploring and understand the details better, you will also understand what is good and within your budget. Take your time and make a proper decision for your laptop will be with you throughout your journey in college.
If you have more queries you may reach out to me on Facebook, although I might be a bit busy, and may not get back to you immediately!
I would like to thank my brother Debankit, who is a tech geek helped me out a lot with the specs. I also would like to thank Vatsal Chaudhary for proofreading this blog. Special thanks to Ashish Saxena for pointing out some flaws and getting me to correct them!
Happy Laptop shopping!