Samsung Series 3 NP305E5Z-S01IN Laptop (APU Dual Core/4 GB/500 GB/DOS/1 GB)

RAM-4GB/500GB/1GB-graphics under Rs. 25K. An excellent machine to start learning seriously using a lot of the open source software. Put 64-bit Ubuntu or Mint or run Knoppix in 64-bit mode with no issues (except for 3D compiz issue in knoppix 7.0.x as it does not recognize the hardware graphics correctly - you can still access all four workspaces using CTRL+ALT+ arrow keys; waiting to test on 7.1.0 when it is released as it might have better hardware detection for this type of hardware - meaning any AMD CPU + 1GB or more graphics RAM as this is the second machine of this type that has issues with knoppix 7.0.x not recognizing the graphics correctly while Ubuntu does better with proprietary driver that is tested by Ubuntu). Ubuntu gives you a choice to enable a graphics driver tested by them to access full capability of graphics hardware. You can run at least two more Operating Systems on top of the base operating system of your choice using VMware Player or Virtualbox - an Ubuntu server in 512MB RAM and XP or Win7 in 512MB or 1GB RAM respectively. Of course you can also run any GNU/Linux desktop like knoppix 7.x or fedora 18 or test a newer one to see how it looks / works in an empty virtual machine with 1GB RAM. Only hardware issue with the first piece I got was that the screen gets turned off with few horizontal lines showing before it goes into this state. Sometimes it came back on its own. While the laptop is in this state the VGA adaptor worked fine, i.e. the OS is still running fine you can still use the machine on an external monitor and shutdown safely after saving your work. Flipkart is nice enough to follow-through on their 30-day replacement gurantee. I will add more if the replacement also has the same issue. Otherwise assume that the first one was a bad apple and a service center visit is needed to fix the issue in case the second one gets into the same trouble. This piece came with one year international warranty. So if you save the bills and register it with Samsung, you may be able to get any issue addressed wherever you travel as long as they have a Samsung authorized service centre.

I was surprised when seeing the configuration of this model. And i am the fan for AMD. So immediately i had chosen this model for my personal use. After buying and start using, it producing very heat. I can not use it on my lap. I can use it on my desk only. So i think that this is a desktop, not a laptop. Anyway other than the heat factor, configuration vice, functionality vice, its amazing.