I have already went through the cheapest Main Stream notebooks or laptops here, at one of my quest to find which one to buy, whether the new 7″ notebook / laptops or the cheapest main stream notebooks / laptops.

Over these months I find my self with so many people asking one simple question, as a student or for basic yet performance need which is the notebook / laptop one should buy or rather what would be a value for money notebook which should not compromise on the performance factor too.

Before I can start my quest to find a budget yet performance notebook / laptop for a student or a small business professional or just for personal mobile usage, I need to shade some light on the subject of Budget.

What exactly can be called budget ?

I have taken a real good look in the present market and after reading all these emails and comments and views which I have received via my blog and forums / ug where I am active in, suggests a range of Rs. 30,000/- to 33,000/- can be considered as our targeted budget.

Value for money ??

What do I mean by value for money ?? Its really simple, as just to ask your self, do you get the performance against the money you are spending ?? As some time people think one must need a Core 2 Duo, where as in fact under a certain budget, one may find a AMD based solution offering far better over all performance than Core 2 Duo based notebook.

Do you need a notebook / laptop ??

If you, your self own a desktop and now want another portable solution then as a student, think twice, as spending a good Rs. 30k doesn’t make much sense, but still if you have to have a portable solution, then the cheapest main stream notebook range, which offers, Compaq C773TU may offer you the best value for money.

Let’s have a look at the models which you may consider of buying !!

The Compaq V3702AU

Compaq V3702AU

Specifications

AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58 (1.9 GHz / 512+512KB L2)
Nvidia Geforce 7150 with Up to 287MB Total Available Graphics Memory
1 GB DDR-II 667 (supported upto 4 GB with 2GB each slot)
14.1″ WideScreen Display with 1280×800
160 GB SATA 5400 RPM
SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Card Reader / 56.6 kbps Modem / LAN / 3 USB 2.0 / IEEE 1394 / Wifi 802.11b/g WLAN / Blue-tooth
Windows Vista Home Basic
1 Year International Warranty
Carry Case

Read more

Price :- Rs. 32500/- including VAT

 

The Lenovo 3000 N200 A29 (0769)

 

Lenovo 3000 N200

Specifications

Intel Pentium Dual Core @ 1.46 GHz T2310 (1 MB L2 / 533 FSB)
Intel GL960/GM965 with GMA x3100
512 MB DDR-II 667 MHz Supporting upto 4 GB with 2 slot
15.4″ WideScreen Display with 1280×800 / VGA Web Cam
120 GB SATA 5400 RPM
SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Card Reader / 56.6 kbps Modem / LAN / 3 USB 2.0 / IEEE 1394 / Wifi 802.11b/g/n WLAN / Bluetooth 2.0
Free DOS (No OS)
1 Year International Warranty

Read full details

Price :- Rs. 30700/- including VAT with 1 GB RAM upgrade

 

The Acer Aspire 4720Z

Acer 4720z

Specifications

Intel Pentium Dual Core @ 1.46 GHz T2310 (1 MB L2 / 533 FSB)
Intel GL960/GM965 with GMA x3100
1 GB DDR-II 667 MHz Supporting upto 2 GB with 2 slot
160 GB SATA 5400 RPM
SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
14.1″ WideScreen
Card Reader / 56.6 kbps Modem / LAN / 3 USB 2.0 / IEEE 1394 / Wifi 802.11b/g/n WLAN / Bluetooh 2.0
Linux OS (No Windows)
1 Year International Warranty

Read full details.

Price :- Rs. 30500/- including TAX

There is also, Compaq C738TU which is Rs. 1000 cheaper than Lenevo N200 A29 including the ram upgrade to 1 GB.

Not only this, if you roam in your nearest computer market you would get many more options, how ever, these 4 above mentioned models have real good track and performance record and they are better value for money than any other model under this price range.

What you can do with these Notebooks ??

They are good enough for even basic video editing also. You can run heavy duty softwares like Pinnacle, Adobe Premiere, ofcourse a lot of image editing like PhotoShop. You can easliy convert all your 700 MB / 1400 MB DVD RIPs (xvid / avi / divx) to Video DVD or VCD, you can rip DVDs to convert them to 700 MB RIPs, all comes with Wifi and LAN so fully Internet and network compatible. Blue-tooth is also there with all, meaning connecting with mobile wireless would be really easy. All are WideScreen so all are pretty good with movies too..

So, What to buy and why to buy ??

All these above mention models have their own benefits. Let us list those points which we should consider on our quest to buy one.

  • The Compaq one has the best looks, where as the Lenovo is the ugliest of them all.

  • Acer comes with Best display (TFT Screen) where as the Compaq seems to lag behind on this factor.

  • The Lenovo comes with best support as well as real tough build quality where as Acer seems to be the worst in built quality !!!

  • The Acer is the cheapest of them all, where as Compaq is the costliest as more than Rs. 2.5 extra than Acer of the Lenovo.

  • Compaq packs the most power with AMD Turion X2 1.9 GHz and onboard Geforce 7150, where as both lenovo and acer lags behind with Pentium Dual Core 1.4 GHz and onboard Intel GMA x3100. 7150 is far better than x3100.

  • Its compaq which is the only one comes with an Windows (Windows Vista Home Basic) preinstalled, as rest is just free DOS meaning either linux or you have to load your own Windows.

  • The Lenovo A29 has the largest screen (15.4″) compare to the 14.1″ of both Compaq and Acer.

Feeling confuse ?

Let me make the subject more understandable.

No matter which ever of these 4 you buy, you will not loose out. All are fully vista compatible, all comes with enough processing power to satisfy your needs. Now final decision may depend on few factors like bellow.

  • Local price based on availability, I mean though all these are widely available, but you may find your dealer has a stock of a certain product so price would be lower in that case !!

  • Personal choice, this is the most important, as it is you who would be using, so buy the one which you feel looks best.

What would I vote for ??

Personally as for configuration wise I would go for Compaq V3702AU which is Rs. 32500/- including all tax and bundled OS (Windows Vista Home Basic), how ever I didn’t like the screen performance of it. Where as an over all package, though the Lenovo looks pretty ugly comparing with Compaq or Acer, but still my Vote goes for Lenovo A29 !!

So few you are making you choice based up on this article, then I would suggest, do take a look at the screen of the Notebook (V3702AU), if you like the performance and it comes bellow Rs. 33,000 including all, then go with Compaq !!

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