Who said laptops are all about fun, and
distractions for anyone who wants to do serious
work? Ask any student, and they will say that
these machines can be very useful when you want
to get some serious work done. Or when you have
just 12 hours to finish the assignment, the one you completely forgot about! However, based on the reader queries that we get,
a lot of students are slightly confused about
which laptop to buy, and which one suits their
usage pattern. As we always say, there really is no
difference between a student’s usage, and the
usage of a person on a typical day at work. What you need to make sure of, is that your laptop has
adequate processing power, a good display,
decent battery life to get you through at least a
couple of hours on a single charge, and a
comfortable keyboard that makes typing a hassle-
free exercise. So, before your new session begins at college, do
take a look at these student laptop options, listed
in order of ascending price. We have kept a glass
ceiling for Rs. 45,000, in order to cover more
affordable laptops and keep this list very relevant. 1. HP Pavilion Sleekbook 14-b012au(C7D88PA) AMD Dual-Core E1-1200 @ 1.4GHz, A68M chipset,
2GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, 14-inch display,
Windows 8 (64-bit) preloaded The Pavilion Sleekbook is a brilliant machine
worth considering. For a bit more than Rs. 20,000,
you get a full-fledged laptop with a 14-inch
display. The Sleekbook offers a slightly bigger
hard drive than the Samsung 300 series
notebook, and a build quality that it also carries forward to its more expensive siblings. The
Sleekbook at 1.8kg weighs less than the Samsung
300 series, which tips the scales at 2.3kg. We
would recommend this for the excellent keyboard,
which is just worthy enough of a laptop a lot
more expensive. Consider this if you are on a stiff budget. Market price: Rs. 22,000 2. HP Pavilion G6-2301ax AMD Quad-Core A8-4500M @ 1.9GHz, 4GB RAM,
AMD Radeon HD 7640G/7670M Dual GPU (2 GB
DDR3 dedicated), 500GB hard drive, 15.6-inch,
Windows 8 (64-bit) preloaded This was truly a surprise, offering the kind of
performance it showed put most rivals in the
category in the shadow. The excellent gaming
performance adds to the overall value of the
product. The HP Pavilion G6-2301ax has very good
battery life, and a build quality that is much better than what you would expect for around Rs.
30,000. If you are on a tight budget, this is the
machine to consider. If you can extend the budget
a little bit, you can also consider the Intel Core i3
powered HP Pavilion G6-2227tu. These two
machines are the standout performers in this crowded category! Market price: Rs. 29,990 3. Lenovo Ideapad S300 59-355929 Intel Pentium dual core B987 @ 1.5GHz processor,
2GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, 13.3-inch display,
Windows 8 (64-bit) preloaded Along with the HP Sleekbook, this is one of the
slimmest laptops in this price category. The
display is very good, and the build quality is more
than acceptable. You will take a little time getting
used to the keyboard, but once you do, it should
be fun to use. But this if you want to carry around a laptop that looks a lot more expensive than it
actually is, and somehow pander to the
perception that Intel processors are the only ones
you want. The processor is an older generation
one, but should be more than enough if your
usage pattern will be the typical basic one – web browsing, document typing, music and movies
and floating amidst Excel worksheets! Why we
recommend this over the HP Pavilion G6-2301ax is
because of the slimness and weight advantage. Market price: Rs. 27,500 4. Acer Aspire V5-571-323c4G50Makk Intel Core i5 – 3217U @ 1.8GHz processor, 4GB
RAM, 500GB hard drive, 15.6-inch display,
Windows 8 (64-bit) preloaded Weight is always a concern, as these machines
need to be lugged around quite often. In this
respect, the Aspire V5 makes a lot of sense,
featuring a slim, ultralight design, and very good
build quality. The performance is fairly good
throughout, but do not expect this to do any gaming. The bright display with crisp rendering
will make text readability easier. Worth
considering, if this is within your budget. Market price: Rs. 35,000 5. Samsung NP300E5C-U01IN Intel Core i5 – 3210M @ 2.5GHz, 4GB, 1TB hard
drive, Nvidia GeForce GT620M, 1TB hard drive,
15.6-inch display, Windows 7 (64-bit) For what the Samsung NP300E5C offers at this
price tag, it can be considered a steal of a deal. If
portability is your primary concern, and you don’t
need the graphics card anyway, go for the Acer
Aspire V5. Otherwise, this machine is one that will
allow you to sneak in a light gaming session in the midst of the assignment submission
madness. There are some rough edges to the
build, but it surely will not fall apart. The keyboard
isn’t one that you will get used to immediately,
mostly because of the slightly soft response while
typing. Market price: Rs. 37,500 6. Asus VivoBook F202E-CT148H Intel Core i3 – 3217U @ 1.8GHz, 4GB, 500GB hard
drive, 11.6-inch touchscreen display, Windows 8
(64-bit) preloaded Among all laptops that we tested, the VivoBook is
a refreshing change. The very good quality 11.6-
inch touch display also means it is compact, light
and portable. The build quality is worthy of a
much more expensive machine. We found the
keyboard to be surprisingly comfortable to use, and precise. Yes, the Core i3 processor means it is
not setting the test score sheets on fire, but is
more than enough to not hamper your work at all.
We would recommend this to anyone who needs
a light and easy to carry around machine for basic
computing tasks. And it does not cost a bomb. Market price: Rs. 39,990 7. HP Envy 6-1011TU Sleekbook Intel Core i3 – 3217U @ 1.8GHz processor, 4GB,
500GB hard drive, 15.6-inch display, Windows 7
(64-bit) The HP Envy 6-11001TU has been around for a few
months now, but we recommend this still
because it offers very good battery life, and fairly
consistent performance. The build quality is very
good, and again, the keyboard is very good.
Worth considering, if you want a stylish laptop that also performs well. This is the closest a
laptop has come to an ultrabook’s dimensions
and design. Market price: Rs. 43,000 8. Lenovo Ideapad U310 (59-341070) Intel Core i3 – 2365U @ 1.4GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB
hard drive + 24GB SSD, 13.3-inch display,
Windows 7 (64-bit) This is an ultrabook that you can buy at this price,
particularly if battery life is a huge concern for you.
The IdeaPad U310 offers very stable performance,
with excellent battery life. Built well, and the
slimness and lightweight chassis making it easy
to carry around. When an ultrabook comes out of your bag in the classroom, or outside when with
friends, no will actually dare ask “how much is it
for?”! Market price: Rs. 43,000 9. Lenovo Ideapad Z580 ( 59-333347) Intel Core i5 – 3210M @ 2.5GHz, 4GB RAM, Nvidia
GeForce GT630M, 500GB hard drive, 15.6-inch
display, Windows 7 (64-bit) The Ideapad Z580 has been around for quite a
while, but is still as good a deal as ever. The Core
i7 version of this laptop offers almost 200
minutes in the stressful battery life tests, which is
an illustrative example of how good the battery
life on the slower-clocking Core i5 would be. It is built well, and has various colour options
available. The display is slightly on the dimmer
side, something you would notice when using
this outdoors with brightness below 40%. All in
all, it is a very good performer, and totally worth
every penny. Market price: Rs. 45,000 10. HP Envydv6-7206tx Intel Core i7 – 3630QM @ 2.4GHz, 8GB, Nvidia
GeForce GT630M, 1TB hard drive, 15.6-inch
display, Windows 8 (64-bit) preloaded This is the laptop that you will get if your daddy is
buying the laptop for you, and is in a good mood.
And if you are lucky enough to get this, thank your
stars and pray twice a day, daily. This packs in a
Core i7 processor, and that is helped along by 8GB
of RAM. If that is not enough power, the Nvidia GeForce GT630M graphics card will let you game
at fairly close to the higher end of the settings
spectrum. We love the keyboard on the ENVY dv6,
and anyone who has to write anything more than
100 words a day should be careful of the
keyboard comfort and response. This laptop tick marks all the right boxes. But it does cost a lot of
money. Market price: Rs. 66,800
distractions for anyone who wants to do serious
work? Ask any student, and they will say that
these machines can be very useful when you want
to get some serious work done. Or when you have
just 12 hours to finish the assignment, the one you completely forgot about! However, based on the reader queries that we get,
a lot of students are slightly confused about
which laptop to buy, and which one suits their
usage pattern. As we always say, there really is no
difference between a student’s usage, and the
usage of a person on a typical day at work. What you need to make sure of, is that your laptop has
adequate processing power, a good display,
decent battery life to get you through at least a
couple of hours on a single charge, and a
comfortable keyboard that makes typing a hassle-
free exercise. So, before your new session begins at college, do
take a look at these student laptop options, listed
in order of ascending price. We have kept a glass
ceiling for Rs. 45,000, in order to cover more
affordable laptops and keep this list very relevant. 1. HP Pavilion Sleekbook 14-b012au(C7D88PA) AMD Dual-Core E1-1200 @ 1.4GHz, A68M chipset,
2GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, 14-inch display,
Windows 8 (64-bit) preloaded The Pavilion Sleekbook is a brilliant machine
worth considering. For a bit more than Rs. 20,000,
you get a full-fledged laptop with a 14-inch
display. The Sleekbook offers a slightly bigger
hard drive than the Samsung 300 series
notebook, and a build quality that it also carries forward to its more expensive siblings. The
Sleekbook at 1.8kg weighs less than the Samsung
300 series, which tips the scales at 2.3kg. We
would recommend this for the excellent keyboard,
which is just worthy enough of a laptop a lot
more expensive. Consider this if you are on a stiff budget. Market price: Rs. 22,000 2. HP Pavilion G6-2301ax AMD Quad-Core A8-4500M @ 1.9GHz, 4GB RAM,
AMD Radeon HD 7640G/7670M Dual GPU (2 GB
DDR3 dedicated), 500GB hard drive, 15.6-inch,
Windows 8 (64-bit) preloaded This was truly a surprise, offering the kind of
performance it showed put most rivals in the
category in the shadow. The excellent gaming
performance adds to the overall value of the
product. The HP Pavilion G6-2301ax has very good
battery life, and a build quality that is much better than what you would expect for around Rs.
30,000. If you are on a tight budget, this is the
machine to consider. If you can extend the budget
a little bit, you can also consider the Intel Core i3
powered HP Pavilion G6-2227tu. These two
machines are the standout performers in this crowded category! Market price: Rs. 29,990 3. Lenovo Ideapad S300 59-355929 Intel Pentium dual core B987 @ 1.5GHz processor,
2GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, 13.3-inch display,
Windows 8 (64-bit) preloaded Along with the HP Sleekbook, this is one of the
slimmest laptops in this price category. The
display is very good, and the build quality is more
than acceptable. You will take a little time getting
used to the keyboard, but once you do, it should
be fun to use. But this if you want to carry around a laptop that looks a lot more expensive than it
actually is, and somehow pander to the
perception that Intel processors are the only ones
you want. The processor is an older generation
one, but should be more than enough if your
usage pattern will be the typical basic one – web browsing, document typing, music and movies
and floating amidst Excel worksheets! Why we
recommend this over the HP Pavilion G6-2301ax is
because of the slimness and weight advantage. Market price: Rs. 27,500 4. Acer Aspire V5-571-323c4G50Makk Intel Core i5 – 3217U @ 1.8GHz processor, 4GB
RAM, 500GB hard drive, 15.6-inch display,
Windows 8 (64-bit) preloaded Weight is always a concern, as these machines
need to be lugged around quite often. In this
respect, the Aspire V5 makes a lot of sense,
featuring a slim, ultralight design, and very good
build quality. The performance is fairly good
throughout, but do not expect this to do any gaming. The bright display with crisp rendering
will make text readability easier. Worth
considering, if this is within your budget. Market price: Rs. 35,000 5. Samsung NP300E5C-U01IN Intel Core i5 – 3210M @ 2.5GHz, 4GB, 1TB hard
drive, Nvidia GeForce GT620M, 1TB hard drive,
15.6-inch display, Windows 7 (64-bit) For what the Samsung NP300E5C offers at this
price tag, it can be considered a steal of a deal. If
portability is your primary concern, and you don’t
need the graphics card anyway, go for the Acer
Aspire V5. Otherwise, this machine is one that will
allow you to sneak in a light gaming session in the midst of the assignment submission
madness. There are some rough edges to the
build, but it surely will not fall apart. The keyboard
isn’t one that you will get used to immediately,
mostly because of the slightly soft response while
typing. Market price: Rs. 37,500 6. Asus VivoBook F202E-CT148H Intel Core i3 – 3217U @ 1.8GHz, 4GB, 500GB hard
drive, 11.6-inch touchscreen display, Windows 8
(64-bit) preloaded Among all laptops that we tested, the VivoBook is
a refreshing change. The very good quality 11.6-
inch touch display also means it is compact, light
and portable. The build quality is worthy of a
much more expensive machine. We found the
keyboard to be surprisingly comfortable to use, and precise. Yes, the Core i3 processor means it is
not setting the test score sheets on fire, but is
more than enough to not hamper your work at all.
We would recommend this to anyone who needs
a light and easy to carry around machine for basic
computing tasks. And it does not cost a bomb. Market price: Rs. 39,990 7. HP Envy 6-1011TU Sleekbook Intel Core i3 – 3217U @ 1.8GHz processor, 4GB,
500GB hard drive, 15.6-inch display, Windows 7
(64-bit) The HP Envy 6-11001TU has been around for a few
months now, but we recommend this still
because it offers very good battery life, and fairly
consistent performance. The build quality is very
good, and again, the keyboard is very good.
Worth considering, if you want a stylish laptop that also performs well. This is the closest a
laptop has come to an ultrabook’s dimensions
and design. Market price: Rs. 43,000 8. Lenovo Ideapad U310 (59-341070) Intel Core i3 – 2365U @ 1.4GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB
hard drive + 24GB SSD, 13.3-inch display,
Windows 7 (64-bit) This is an ultrabook that you can buy at this price,
particularly if battery life is a huge concern for you.
The IdeaPad U310 offers very stable performance,
with excellent battery life. Built well, and the
slimness and lightweight chassis making it easy
to carry around. When an ultrabook comes out of your bag in the classroom, or outside when with
friends, no will actually dare ask “how much is it
for?”! Market price: Rs. 43,000 9. Lenovo Ideapad Z580 ( 59-333347) Intel Core i5 – 3210M @ 2.5GHz, 4GB RAM, Nvidia
GeForce GT630M, 500GB hard drive, 15.6-inch
display, Windows 7 (64-bit) The Ideapad Z580 has been around for quite a
while, but is still as good a deal as ever. The Core
i7 version of this laptop offers almost 200
minutes in the stressful battery life tests, which is
an illustrative example of how good the battery
life on the slower-clocking Core i5 would be. It is built well, and has various colour options
available. The display is slightly on the dimmer
side, something you would notice when using
this outdoors with brightness below 40%. All in
all, it is a very good performer, and totally worth
every penny. Market price: Rs. 45,000 10. HP Envydv6-7206tx Intel Core i7 – 3630QM @ 2.4GHz, 8GB, Nvidia
GeForce GT630M, 1TB hard drive, 15.6-inch
display, Windows 8 (64-bit) preloaded This is the laptop that you will get if your daddy is
buying the laptop for you, and is in a good mood.
And if you are lucky enough to get this, thank your
stars and pray twice a day, daily. This packs in a
Core i7 processor, and that is helped along by 8GB
of RAM. If that is not enough power, the Nvidia GeForce GT630M graphics card will let you game
at fairly close to the higher end of the settings
spectrum. We love the keyboard on the ENVY dv6,
and anyone who has to write anything more than
100 words a day should be careful of the
keyboard comfort and response. This laptop tick marks all the right boxes. But it does cost a lot of
money. Market price: Rs. 66,800
These information states that we should double our care when it comes to laptops as they are highly sensitive and that there are very specific steps that me must follow to the letter should the unexpected happen
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