DIGIT-ARC read-only archive · snapshot: July 23, 2026

Laptop Buying Reference & Guide

47 posts · originally from https://geek.digit.in/community/threads/laptop-buying-reference-guide.153888/

thetechfreak
thetechfreak Original post #1
Mar 10, 2012 at 1:57 PM
LAPTOP BUYING REFERENCE & GUIDE​

*i.imgur.com/BIq6X.jpg​
This is a guide which is also a pricelist which will be a reference for things to look for under particular budget. The recommended laptops will be highlighted in Bold


Please choose the budget interested in-


1)Budget Rs.20000(Netbooks)
2)Budget Rs.35000
3)Budget upto Rs.60000
4)Budget above Rs.60000
5)Ultrabooks


General Notes-

1) All the RAM of laptops are DDR 3. Hence not specifically mentioning DDR 3 everywhere. Take it to be DDR 3 unless otherwise specificed.All Laptops/Netbooks have a Webcam. So haven't separately written. Think it to be there unless otherwise specified.

2) Flipkart.com is the website used for price reference. Although it could be cheaper on your local dealer only online prices to be used as reference.


3) Some short forms use that I am explaining below.

Win 7 HB- Windows 7 Home Basic.
Win 7 HP- Windows 7 Home Premium.

4) There are literally hundreds of laptops out there. And I donot feel it is necessary to mention all of them. After a while their configuration gets repetitive and a saturation point is reached.

5) All screen sizes mentioned are in inches unless otherwise mentioned.

Also I would like to dashing.sujay for his contribution on the Ultrabooks post :)
thetechfreak
Mar 10, 2012 at 1:57 PM
Laptop Reference Guide

BUDGET Rs.20000(Netbooks)​


What to expect in this price range?

Ultra Portable, small sized Net Books. Dont expect good performance. Ideal for Surfing the internet and playing a casual game. Very less laptops in this range provide dedicated Graphics.

Also surprised to see how many full sized 15.6 Inch laptops available. Very surprising indeed!



Model & Make | Processor | RAM | Graphics | HDD | Screen Size | Resolution | Operating System | USB 3.0 ports | Optical Drive | Price Acer Aspire One AOHAPPY2 |Intel Atom N570|1 GB|Intel HD Graphics|320 GB|10.1|1024x600|Win 7 Basic|0|N|16275
ASUS X54H-SX136D|Intel B950|2 GB|Intel HD Graphics|320 GB|15.6|1366x768|DOS|1|Y|20808
Toshiba Satellite C665-P5012|Intel P6200|2 GB|Intel HD Graphics|320 GB|15.6|1366x768|-Nil-|0|Y|20102
HP Mini 110-3736TU|Intel Atom N570|2 GB|Intel HD Graphics|320 GB|10.1|1024x600|Win 7 Starter|2|N|18900
Samsung RV513-A02IN |AMD Athlon II E 450|2 GB|Radeon 6310M|320 GB|15.6|1366x768|DOS|0|Y|20783
ACER EM 355|Intel Atom N455|1 GB|Intel HD Graphics|250 GB|10.1|1024x600|Win 7 Starter|0|N| 13295
thetechfreak
Mar 10, 2012 at 1:57 PM
Laptop Reference Guide

Budget Rs.35000​
​


What to expect in this budget?
Most laptops in this budget will give you a good laptop which will serve casual gaming.
But if you are into serious gaming like playing games like Call of Duty at high resolution and settings it is better to get a laptop of higher budget.

Most of laptops of this budget have Intel Hd graphics only. It is enough for casual gaming but for watching HD videos it is more recommended to have dedicated graphics.



Model & Make | Processor | RAM | Graphics | HDD | Screen Size | Resolution | Operating System | USB 3.0 ports | Optical Drive | Price
Toshiba Satellite L570-P5210|Intel Pentium B960|2 GB|Intel HD Graphics|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HB|0|Y|28334
Asus U32U|AMD E-450|2 GB|AMD Raedeon 6320|320 GB|13.3|1366x768|Win 7 HB|2|Y|30999
Acer Aspire 5755|Intel Core i3-2310M|2 GB|Intel HD3000|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HB|1|Y|29457
Lenovo G570|Intel Core i5 2430M|4 GB|Intel HD3000|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|DOS|0|Y|32436
Dell Vostro 1450|Intel Core i5 2450M|4 GB|Intel HD3000|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|DOS|0|Y|34225
HP Pavilion G6-1313AX |AMD A6 3420M|4GB|ATI Radeon HD 6520G|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HB|0|Y|31001
ASUS X53TA-SX096D |AMD A6 3400M|2 GB|ATI Radeon HD6650|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|DOS|1|Y|28430
HP Notebook G6-1202TX|Intel Core i3 2330M|4GB|ATI Radeon HD 6470M|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HB|0|Y|34960
Acer Aspire 5750z|Intel B490|2 GB|Intel HD3000|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HB|0|Y|25390
Asus X53SC-SX492D|Core i5 2430M|2 GB|GeForce GT 520MX|750 GB|15.6|1366x768|DOS|1|Y|35802
ASUS P53E-S0101D|Core i5 2430M|4 GB|Intel HD3000|750 GB|15.6|1366x768|DOS|0|Y|30887
Acer Aspire 5755G |Core i3 2310M|4GB|GeForce GT 540M|640 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HP 64 Bit|1|Y|35482

thetechfreak
Mar 10, 2012 at 1:57 PM
Laptop Reference Guide

BUDGET UPTO Rs.60000​







What to expect in this budget?

This is the budget that most manufacturers throw maximum features. Spending this much will enable gaming at decent settings. Manymanyfacturers also provide top end i7 processors which wasnt available previously in this budget.
This is the budget where you will find laptops to use as your main PC.










Model & Make | Processor | RAM | Graphics | HDD | Screen Size | Resolution | Operating System | USB 3.0 ports | Optical Drive | Price
Acer Aspire 5830TG|Intel Core i5 2410M|3GB|NVIDIA GT 540M|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HP 64 Bit|0|Y|40990
MSI GE620|Intel Core i5 2410M|3GB|Intel HD3000|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HB|2|Y|38999
Toshiba Portege R830-I3310|Intel Core i3 2340M|4GB|Intel HD3000|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HP 64 Bit|1|Y|42789
Dell Inspiron 13z|Intel Core i5 2430M|2GB|Intel HD3000|320 GB|13|1366x768|Win 7 HB|1|Y|42780
Dell Inspiron 15|Intel Core i5 2450M|4GB|GT 525m|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HB|0|Y|37066
HP G6-2008TX |Intel Core i3 2350M|4GB|Radeon HD 7670M|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HB|2|Y|39430
Lenovo IdeaPad Z570|Intel Core i5 2430M|4GB|GeFore GT 520M|750 GB|15.6|1366x768|DOS|0|Y|44331
HP Dv6-6155tx|Intel Core i5 2430M|4GB|Radeon HD 6490M|750 GB|15.6|1366x769|Win 7 HB 64 Bit|0|Y|45442
HP Dv6-6154tx|Intel Core i5 2430M|4GB|Radeon HD 6490M|750 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HP 64 Bit|2|Y|47940
Dell XPS 15|Intel Core i3 2330M|4GB|GeForce GT 540M|500 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HP 64 Bit|0|Y|49900
Lenovo Y570|Intel Core i7 2630M|6GB|GeForce GT 555M|750 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HP 64 Bit|2|Y|50000
Toshiba Satellite L570-X531B|Intel i5 2450M|6GB|GeForce GT 525M|750 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HP 64 Bit|1|Y|50279
HP Dv6-6121tx |Intel Core i7 2630QM|4GB|Radeon HD 6770M|640 GB|15.6|1366x768|Win 7 HP 64 Bit|2|Y|57990
Sony Vaio VPCCB45FN |Intel Core i5 2450M|4GB|Radeon HD 6630M|640 GB|15.5|1920x1080|Win 7 HP 64 Bit|1|Y|59990
thetechfreak
Mar 10, 2012 at 1:57 PM
Laptop Reference Guide

BUDGET ABOVE Rs.60000​




WORK IN PROGRESS
thetechfreak
Mar 10, 2012 at 1:57 PM
Laptop Reference Guide

ULTRABOOKS​

Technically an ultrabook is defined as a laptop of thickness less than 0.8 inches using an Intel CPU.

It is important to notice that ultrabooks are a trademark of Intel. If a laptop technically qualifies to be an ultrabook but it doesn't uses an Intel CPU, it can't be called as an ultrabook.

Ultrabooks future chart:

Ultrabook Specifications (future roadmap)​
Platform | Huron River | Chief River | Shark Bay Release date |October, 2011|June, 2012 (expected)|2013 (expected)
Processor |Sandy Bridge microarchitecture Intel Core models CULV (17 W TDP)|Ivy Bridge microarchitecture Intel Core models CULV (17 W TDP)| Haswell microarchitecture SoC (15 W TDP)|
Height (maximum) |
  • 18 mm for 13.3" and smaller displays
  • 21 mm for 14.0" and larger displays
|
  • 18 mm for 13.3" and smaller displays
  • 21 mm for 14.0" and larger displays
  • 23 mm for convertible tablets
|N/A|
Battery life ( minimum ) |5 hours|5 hours|"
Resume from hibernation ( maximum ) |7 seconds from S4|7 seconds from S4|"
Storage |no requirements|
  • 80 MB/s transfer rate (minimum)
  • 16 GB capacity (minimum)
|"
Ports |no requirements|USB 3.0|"
Software and firmware |
  • Intel Management Engine 7.1 (or higher)
  • Intel Anti-Theft Technology
  • Intel Identity Protection Technology
|
  • Intel Management Engine 8.0 (or higher)
  • Intel Anti-Theft Technology
  • Intel Identity Protection Technology
|"

Reference laptops:

Model & Make | Processor | RAM | Graphics | SDD | Screen Size | Resolution | Operating System | USB 3.0 ports | Optical Drive | Price
HP Folio 13|Intel Core i5 2467M|4 GB|Intel HD3000|128 GB|13.3|1366x768|Windows 7 HP 64 Bit|2|N|69990
Lenovo IdeaPad U300s|Intel Core i5 2467M|4 GB|Intel HD3000|128 GB|13.3|1366x768|Windows 7 HP 64 Bit|1|N|67990
Apple MacBook Air|Intel Core i5 2567M|4 GB|Intel HD3000|128 GB|11|1366x768|Mac OSX Lion|0|N|67900
Asuz Zenbook UX31E|Intel Core i7 2677M|4 GB|Intel HD3000|256 GB|13.3|1600x900|Windows 7 HP 64 Bit|1|N|99999
*Acer Aspire S3|Intel Core i5 2467M|4 GB|Intel HD3000|320 GB (HDD)|13.3|1366x768|Windows 7 HP 64 Bit|2|N|50900

*The Acer Aspire S3 also has a additional 320 GB(alongwith with a 20 GB SSD)traditional Hard Drive.Check here
This Aspire S3 supposedly ships with a 20GB solid-state drive and a 320GB Hitachi hard drive....
thetechfreak
Mar 10, 2012 at 1:57 PM
Laptop Reference Guide

*reserve*
thetechfreak
Mar 10, 2012 at 2:38 PM
Laptop Reference Guide

##blank post##
coderunknown
Mar 10, 2012 at 2:39 PM
Re: Laptop Reference Guide

nice. waiting :smile:
thetechfreak
Mar 10, 2012 at 4:55 PM
Re: Laptop Reference Guide

Rs.35000 budget done. Notes added in first post and also the 3rd post.
Will take a few days for guide to be completely done.
theserpent
Mar 10, 2012 at 6:05 PM
Re: Laptop Reference Guide

Nice. thread
mayoorite
mayoorite #12
Mar 10, 2012 at 7:29 PM
Re: Laptop Reference Guide

Please gives scores (out of 5) on the basis of :
1)Build quality(based upon Durability and anti-finger print,dust proof)
2)Dispaly(based upon reflecting/matt type ,viewing angle and overall display quality)
3)C.P.U. Performance(Based upon user experince and benchmarks)
4)G.P.U Performance(Based upon user experince and benchmarks for low/med/high gaming)
5)Battery Runtime
6)Sound quality
7)Overall rating
Some cons should also be mentioned like :"heating up","noisy",etc.
dashing.sujay
Mar 10, 2012 at 8:46 PM
Re: Laptop Reference Guide

^It can't be given until and unless you use every damn laptop personally.
thetechfreak
Mar 11, 2012 at 7:09 AM
Re: Laptop Reference Guide

@mayorite yes.very difficult to implement as well.

I recommend anyone who wants to know more specs of a particular model to please google for reviews :)

Will be adding 55k budget today and one other segment :wink:
theserpent
Mar 11, 2012 at 10:33 AM
Re: Laptop Reference Guide

Acer 5742 is also good.Its under 35k
thetechfreak
Mar 11, 2012 at 1:41 PM
Re: Laptop Reference Guide

Work done for now. Will add High Budget and Ultra books soon.
dashing.sujay
Mar 11, 2012 at 2:21 PM
There are some models which should not have been added. You have added most of the models falling within that budget. Add only selected ones. Also be specific on model, like there is no "Sony Vaio C", its Sony Vaio VPCCB45FN / CB45. And I don't understand why do you suggest for a desktop in a laptop reference thread? :|
coderunknown
Mar 11, 2012 at 2:54 PM
And I don't understand why do you suggest for a desktop in a laptop reference thread? :|

where you find desktop? what he mentioned in last post is desktop replacement. not desktops ;)

@techfreak, add processor clock speed also. won't take a lot of time to add those.
thetechfreak
Mar 11, 2012 at 3:27 PM
dashing.sujay said:
You have added most of
the models falling within that budget
Yes. I wanted to give an idea of whixh configs are available and what should be bought :)

Sony specific model added.
Sujeet
Sujeet #22
Mar 20, 2012 at 11:52 PM
Re: Laptop Reference Guide

Please gives scores (out of 5) on the basis of :
1)Build quality(based upon Durability and anti-finger print,dust proof)
2)Dispaly(based upon reflecting/matt type ,viewing angle and overall display quality)
3)C.P.U. Performance(Based upon user experince and benchmarks)
4)G.P.U Performance(Based upon user experince and benchmarks for low/med/high gaming)
5)Battery Runtime
6)Sound quality
7)Overall rating
Some cons should also be mentioned like :"heating up","noisy",etc.

Consider Reading Digit Test Reviews Published Regulary in Mag for superb buying advice with comprehensive scoring.
Very Reliable.:cool:
DDIF
DDIF #23
Mar 27, 2012 at 4:08 PM
There is another best budget netbook I think is worth mentioning.
Lenovo X Series X120E (19,050 INR)
with AMD Dual Core APU E350 (1.6 GHz)
with 2 GB DDR3 RAM (Upgradeable to 4 GB) and have AMD Radeon HD 6310 Graphics.
crownabhisek
Mar 29, 2012 at 9:26 PM
How does "Asus Eee PC 1215B" stand in performance wise?
ASUS - Eee- ASUS Eee PC 1215B

** I wanna buy a mini laptop w/ GPU

My purspose:-
-----------
Matlab 2012
Photoshop CS5.5
Dreamweaver CS5.5
Autocad 2010
3Ds Max or Maya 3d
Light gaming such as Assassin's Creed: Revelations or CoD series, etc
dashing.sujay
Mar 29, 2012 at 9:30 PM
How does "Asus Eee PC 1215B" stand in performance wise?
ASUS - Eee- ASUS Eee PC 1215B

** I wanna buy a mini laptop w/ GPU

My purspose:-
-----------
Matlab 2012
Photoshop CS5.5
Dreamweaver CS5.5
Autocad 2010
3Ds Max or Maya 3d
Light gaming such as Assassin's Creed: Revelations or CoD series, etc

Go for it.
DDIF
DDIF #26
Mar 31, 2012 at 4:30 PM
How does "Asus Eee PC 1215B" stand in performance wise?
ASUS - Eee- ASUS Eee PC 1215B

** I wanna buy a mini laptop w/ GPU

My purspose:-
-----------
Matlab 2012
Photoshop CS5.5
Dreamweaver CS5.5
Autocad 2010
3Ds Max or Maya 3d
Light gaming such as Assassin's Creed: Revelations or CoD series, etc

The laptop I mentioned above seems better in price and specs than Asus.
Skyh3ck
Skyh3ck #27
Apr 5, 2012 at 9:23 PM
Hey any sub 15k lappy or the new tablet from micromax will do the job
dashing.sujay
Apr 5, 2012 at 10:35 PM
Tablet is not for MS-office works, rest fine.
Sankalp Tripathi
Apr 7, 2012 at 3:02 PM
Should i go with the one having gt 540 m or the one with ati 6470 :-?
help needed.
also which can play cod modern warfare 3 ? :-o
thetechfreak
Apr 7, 2012 at 4:23 PM
@Sankalp GT 540m is a lot better than the 6470. Obviously it is better suited for Modern Warfare 3 too :wink:
Sankalp Tripathi
Apr 8, 2012 at 2:42 PM
Hey Thanks Tech freak :|.
one last i have almost zeroed on for my lappi :-o
one is HP Notebook G6-2008TX Laptop (Sparkling Black) with 2 gb ati 7670m,i3,4gb,500gb.(only cons looks like the 1 usb port it's giving :cry:
otheer one is Acer Aspire 5755G (Ci3) Laptop(1gb 540m,4gb ram,etc.)
what say ..which one will play better :razz: and wouldn't one usb port looks bad :-?
thetechfreak
Apr 10, 2012 at 2:57 PM
Hey Thanks Tech freak :|.
one last i have almost zeroed on for my lappi :-o
one is HP Notebook G6-2008TX Laptop (Sparkling Black) with 2 gb ati 7670m,i3,4gb,500gb.(only cons looks like the 1 usb port it's giving :cry:
otheer one is Acer Aspire 5755G (Ci3) Laptop(1gb 540m,4gb ram,etc.)
what say ..which one will play better :razz: and wouldn't one usb port looks bad :-?

If you are OK with only one USB port, then you can get it. You can can use a HUB for connecting mouse & pendrive.
The performance- AMD Radeon HD 7670M - Notebookcheck.net Tech
and NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

The HD 7670 us better.
dashing.sujay
Apr 10, 2012 at 3:10 PM
TTF- G6-2008tx has also got 2 usb 3.0 port.
HP Pavilion g6-2008tx Notebook PC (B0P27PA) specifications - HP Products for Home and Home Office products

And your list needs full review. Some models need to be removed/added. Do a thorough search.
thetechfreak
Apr 10, 2012 at 3:13 PM
TTF- G6-2008tx has also got 2 usb 3.0 port.
HP Pavilion g6-2008tx Notebook PC (B0P27PA) specifications - HP Products for Home and Home Office products

Thanks a lot for this. Seems flipkart had listed it wrong. Post updated.


@Sankalp You can safely get this. 2 USB 3.0 and 1 normal USB 2 will be enough for most :wink:
dashing.sujay
Apr 10, 2012 at 3:15 PM
One personal suggestion TTF, never trust flipkart for configs, they suck big time. I can show you hundred flaws in their listing. :)

Not to mention, their user reviews/comments are most biased in India, more than CNET.
dashing.sujay
Apr 14, 2012 at 8:45 PM
TTF, I reminded you to add the missing models. Anyways-
* add this Asus N55SL @ 70k,

* Inspiron 15 comes with 525M GPU mostly, very rare models come with HD3000, so change that.

* How can you leave thinkpad models? :|

* Also replace old Asus models now being discontinued and eventually replaced by newer Kepler GPUs.

* No ultrabooks? :eek:
thetechfreak
Apr 15, 2012 at 12:38 PM
ok dashing.sujay, actually my broadband is down posting from phone. Its a bit hard to do things from here.
1. Will be adding a high budget soon and also ultrabooks. Will probably list prices and specs from digit magazine itself for Ultrabooks.
2.
dashing.sujay said:
Inspiron 15 comes with 525M GPU
mostly, very rare models come with
HD3000, so change that.
will be doing it soon.
3. Thinkpads? Ok. Surely will start adding them when I am done with the above points.
thetechfreak
Apr 15, 2012 at 4:02 PM
Updated- Ultrabooks added!


Ultrabooks have been added. Although the no. of models is a bit less. Posted all prices and specs from Digit magazine itself :p any suggestions for adding models, etc are welcome :wink:
The 60k budget will need some time though. Many models to take into consideration and also few gaming laptops.
dashing.sujay
Apr 15, 2012 at 6:17 PM
6) All the Ultrabooks have A Solid State Drive(SSD)

Not true always. Remove that.

And check the ultrabooks section, I have done some editing & addition along with the hyperlinks. Tell me if you're fine with it.
thetechfreak
Apr 15, 2012 at 6:50 PM
Nice editing actually. Should it be posted in Spoiler tag so the posts look neat and uniform?
Will be removing the 6th point. Also if you have any other points to add give them.
dashing.sujay
Apr 15, 2012 at 6:53 PM
I though of spoiler but then discarded the idea. Will let you know or update accordingly later.
Yeah, sure.

One suggestion: Do add hyperlinks to jargons as needed. See the post I edited for reference. I have left a few but it still its fine. And all the links should be best describing, not only wiki or any useless. You will have to search for it, but will be useful for others.
Vyom
Vyom #43
Apr 24, 2012 at 3:13 PM
Thanks thetechfreak for this guide.

I happened to look for a netbook/laptop for my cousin, who don't want something extravagent. So from this guide I mailed him these few:

First two are netbooks and last 3 are laptops.

1. Samsung RV Series RV513-A02IN
Price: Rs. 20408
Samsung RV Series RV513-A02IN Laptop: Flipkart.com: Compare, Review Samsung Notebook

2. Asus X54H-SX136D
Price: Rs. 20702
Asus X54H-SX136D / Pentium Dual Core / 2 GB / 320 GB / DOS: Flipkart.com: Compare, Review Asus Notebook

3. Acer Aspire 5755
Price: Rs. 28958
Acer Aspire 5755 Laptop: Flipkart.com: Compare, Review Acer Notebook

4. HP Pavilion G6 Series G6-1313AX
Price: Rs. 30508
HP Pavilion G6 Series G6-1313AX Laptop: Flipkart.com: Compare, Review HP Notebook

5. Asus X Series X53TA-SX096D
Price: Rs. 27519
Asus X Series X53TA-SX096D Laptop: Flipkart.com: Compare, Review Asus Notebook

The choice from these I left to him :p
thetechfreak
Apr 24, 2012 at 4:17 PM
:) happy the guide helped you. It depends on his budget now what he can get. These are pretty much good laptops for their budget
aroraanant
Apr 26, 2012 at 9:44 PM
Now the dell lovers can get 3000 off on any laptop on ebay official ebay store.
But the coupon is valid for first 100 customers.
And also its good for people who want to buy inspiron laptops
Skyh3ck
Skyh3ck #46
Jun 5, 2012 at 10:05 AM
In of the thread i have seen people takin about netbook below 15k . can all those be added in the list so people can check that also
thetechfreak
Jun 5, 2012 at 12:50 PM
Can you post a few specific models with links of their prices?

Also need help in 60k segment :)