India | ₹1L-1.5L (~$1150-$1700) | Long-term productivity/power-user laptop, not gaming-focused

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

Country
India

Budget
₹1,00,000 - ₹1,50,000 (~$1150 - $1700 USD)

Are you open to refurbs/used options?
Maybe, but preferably new

Screen size
14" to 16"

Weight limit
No strict limit. It will mostly stay at home, so I am okay with a heavier laptop if it improves cooling, battery, or upgradeability.

Purpose
General long-term home laptop for family + personal use. Productivity, browsing, office work, multitasking, occasional editing, VMs, experimenting with Linux later, occasional gaming.

Form factor
Standard clamshell laptop

Intended usage

• Heavy browser multitasking
• Office/productivity work
• Watching media
• Occasional editing and creative experiments
• VMs and tinkering
• Possible Linux dual boot or future Linux usage
• Occasional/light gaming only
• Torrenting/downloading/media storage

I am NOT looking for a dedicated gaming laptop unless it genuinely fits my requirements well.

Desired battery life
Good battery life preferred, but not at the cost of thermals or upgradeability.

Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life
Performance, battery life, weight, size

Info/Requirements

• Prefer good thermals and long-term reliability
• Upgradeability is very important (RAM/SSD access preferred)
• I do not want ultra-thin laptops with poor cooling
• Prefer strong CPU performance over GPU power
• 16GB RAM minimum, preferably upgradeable
• 1TB SSD preferred
• FHD IPS display is completely fine
• OLED is not necessary
• Good keyboard/build quality preferred
• I care more about consistent responsiveness and smooth daily usage than benchmark numbers
• I plan to keep the laptop for many years
• Current laptops are older Intel i3 systems with 4GB RAM, so I am used to constrained hardware and mainly want something reliable and future-proof without wasting money on unnecessary gaming hardware