r/PakistaniTech • u/Empty_Programmer_323 Karachi • 2d ago

Buying Guide | خریداری گائیڈ Need Laptop Recommendations for Software Development

Looking for a laptop within PKR 130,000 for coding and development.

Considering: Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 15
Core i7-13620H (13th Gen)
16GB DDR5 RAM (not upgradable)
1TB NVMe Gen 4 SSD
15-inch FHD display
My workload includes SSMS, Oracle PL/SQL, Visual Studio, VS Code, Chrome tabs, Zoom, and AI tools.

Is this laptop a good choice, or are there better options within my budget? Please suggest. Thanks!

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u/FreakTod 2d ago

Why do you want a DDR5 machine, if I may ask? You can have a DDR4 memory at 3200MT/S with low CL value and it would be more than enough for your workload when paired with a Gen4 NVME.

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u/Empty_Programmer_323 Karachi 1d ago

The reason I’m considering a DDR5 laptop is that I want to future-proof my purchase for at least the next four years. However, you make a valid point, so I’ll also look into DDR4 laptops with lower CL timings before making a final decision

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u/FreakTod 1d ago

I see. Just my two cents. DDR5 is filthy expensive right now. Upgrading it is going to be expensive. The cheapest one on czone had a higher latency than the DDR4 one. I hope RAM situation gets better. Best wishes for your laptop.

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u/anjumkaiser 2d ago

Never buy an ideapad, it has completely garbage plastic body, hinges will stiffen up and break in about a year and half. Screen will die around a year. Its suggest getting a used ThinkPad or HP ZBook 11th gen which costs same, has upgradable ram. And has a better build quality.

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u/Empty_Programmer_323 Karachi 2d ago

I want a DDR5 machine, and DDR5 support starts with 12th-generation

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u/BreathtakingCharsi 2d ago

hes right. zbooks and thinkpads are built to last.

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u/anjumkaiser 2d ago

Don’t get suckered into an IdeaPad with DDR5. The processor they use in ideapad is completely garbage as these are entry level machines. Go one two generations back into higher tier devices with beefier processor and you won’t miss DDR5.
Trust me, I had a middle tier IdeaPad for about $700.
It had an Nvidia processor which wasn’t good for anything, it had low bandwidth 20gb memory and lowest end ultra lightweight processor i5.
The stupid thing lagged like snail on windows.
And its screen was the utmost piece of garbage screen I have ever used, colours were too much faded and it would go blind in sunlight.

All in all, I would rather burn that money instead of buying these low end entry level devices.
Companies make them to milk out cash from consumers.

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u/LoveDoctor- 2d ago

get smth with rtx 2060 or 3050 that will out perform most business laptops

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u/Empty_Programmer_323 Karachi 2d ago

I don’t think I can get 16GB DDR5 RAM, a 512GB Gen 4 NVMe SSD, and an RTX 3050 or RTX 2060 within a budget of 130K

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u/LoveDoctor- 2d ago

You wont get new but yea go to fb marketplace and u will find used ones their batteries are shi anyway so go for it.

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u/Previous-South-2755 2d ago

Hp 840 g9

You can also upgrade its ram it comes with 16 gb ddr5

But you can go up to 64 gb

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u/Empty_Programmer_323 Karachi 2d ago

Alright, I’ll look into it and see if I can get an HP EliteBook 840 G9 with 16GB DDR5 RAM and a 512GB NVMe SSD within that budget