Today in our article we will provide you information about laptops available for less than Rs 20,000.
Highlights
You'll find plenty of good options with Windows 10 in this segment.
You will have to compromise on RAM and display resolution
Laptops with screen sizes ranging from 11.6 inches to 15.6 inches are available in this segment.
Like smartphones, laptops have become ubiquitous these days, as we rely on them for most of our work. Gone are the days when people used to buy pre-assembled desktops. Buying a budget laptop is easier than assembling a desktop, and it's also more affordable. The advantages are clear: Laptops don't take up much space, so you don't need to allocate space in your living room or bedroom just for your laptop. Secondly, you can put your laptop in a backpack and take it anywhere. Before purchasing a laptop, you should consider your personal needs and consider the purpose and how you'll use it.
Why buy a laptop under Rs 20,000?
Not everyone needs a razor-thin laptop or a laptop to run high-end PC games. Sometimes a basic laptop is all you need for Skype calls, running Word, Excel, or other office applications, or watching movies or TV shows. Students living in hostels need a basic computer for their assignments and projects, and a budget laptop should suffice.
Sometimes you need a second computer at home for basic tasks for your children or other family members. Today's budget laptops are often good enough for basic photo editing, which you can't always do easily on your phone or tablet.
Best laptops under Rs 20,000
Acer Aspire 3 (A315-32)
Of all the laptops we've tested under ₹20,000, we found the Acer Aspire 3 (A315-32) to offer good performance and the best price. It's quite thin, which we liked. The plastic body is well-built, with no significant flex in the lid or keyboard area. The lid can tilt 180 degrees for comfortable work.
It's one of the few laptops in this segment that offers access to the RAM and hard drive through the bottom for easy upgrades. The laptop comes pre-installed with Windows 10, along with some handy apps to help keep drivers and software up to date. The laptop is equipped with an Intel Pentium Silver N5000 quad-core CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and Wi-Fi 802.11ac.
In tests like file compression and video encoding, the Aspire 3 (A315-32) took the least time compared to other laptops we tested. Battery life is also good, allowing you to get more done throughout the day on a single charge.
The Aspire 3 (A315-32) isn't a perfect laptop, and the reason behind this is that Acer has provided excellent specifications in this price segment, but has compromised slightly on the display and speakers. Viewing angles aren't the best, and brightness could have been better. The stereo speakers are located at the bottom, and when played at high volume, the sound isn't very good.
It's one of the heaviest laptops we've tested. Overall, if you need a large screen and don't mind a low resolution, the Aspire 3 (A315-32) could be a great option for you at ₹19,990.
iBall CompBook Netizen 4G
We've tested several iBall laptops over the past few years, but the company's recently launched CompBook Netizen 4G is a unique offering, especially considering its price. The laptop comes with a 4G SIM slot, allowing you to stay connected to the internet at all times.
This feature could prove useful for those who travel frequently and don't want to bother with a 4G dongle or tethering from their phone. Battery life is quite good, and we easily managed to complete a full day's workload on a light workload. The CompBook Netizen features a full-HD display, making images and text look sharp on the 14-inch panel.
The inbuilt storage is 64GB, which is good. The CompBook Netizen 4G has a compartment at the bottom where you can install a 2.5-inch SSD or hard drive. Some of the areas where it lags behind other competitors are its CPU power and build quality.
This laptop uses an Intel Celeron N3350 processor, which is quite old. Its single- and multi-core performance is also not good, which is why file compression and video encoding take a long time. The plastic body doesn't feel very sturdy and doesn't offer a premium look. This laptop is available in India for ₹14,990. Asus offers laptops with better looks in this range.
How we chose these best budget laptops under Rs 20,000
Our main criteria in this segment was that the laptop should have Windows 10 pre-installed. There are many options that come with only DOS or free Linux, which are sold at a lower price. Such laptops may be a better choice if you have already purchased a Windows license or are comfortable with Linux for general web browsing and similar tasks.
Secondly, we ignored older laptop models that come with weaker or older CPUs. This allowed us to limit our search. You can't expect an Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen CPU in the sub-₹20,000 price segment. You'll only find laptops equipped with Intel Pentium or Celeron CPUs in this segment.
We ignored laptops based on Intel's older Atom X5 series and AMD E2 and A-series APUs, as these are now quite outdated. The Intel Pentium Silver N5000 is a good CPU. It's new and also reduces power consumption. It comes with DDR4 memory support.
This price segment typically features laptops with the Pentium N3xxx series. This is a bit older, so some models only have four cores. Intel Celeron processors aren't as powerful as the Pentium series. The Celeron N4000 is a newer CPU, but it only has two cores.
We've focused on laptop models available on online e-commerce sites to make it easier for customers to purchase them. Most of these models should also be available at offline retail stores in India, if you're hesitant to buy a laptop online.
One thing you should know is that laptop prices fluctuate. Therefore, laptops under ₹20,000 on our list may see a slight increase in price.
Asus VivoBook X540MA
The VivoBook X540MA laptop is powered by an Intel Celeron N4000 CPU and comes with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. The laptop's USB ports are well-selected, although they are all placed too close to one another. If you're using a USB device with a wider-than-normal plug, it could block adjacent ports.
This model also comes with a DVD drive, which is useful when you need to back up. The laptop is a bit heavy. The plastic and color scheme make it look a bit cheap. Performance is slow, and the HD display has poor viewing angles. Battery life is also poor, and there are better options available for around 18,990.
Asus E203N
This Asus laptop is currently available for ₹12,990 . It uses the older Intel Celeron N3350 CPU, but its compact size may appeal to most people. It's thin and light, and also features a USB Type-C port, which isn't common in this segment. The 11.6-inch display isn't very large, but at least the HD resolution isn't too low for this size.
The laptop's biggest issue is its storage. Only 2GB of DDR3 RAM and 32GB of eMMC flash memory aren't sufficient for Windows and your applications. Windows boots quickly, but we weren't able to run many applications during testing due to storage issues. If you're using web-based apps or do most of your work in a browser, this shouldn't be a major issue. The Asus E203N has a microSD card slot, allowing you to expand storage if needed.
HP Notebook 15-Bs589TU
At the time of writing, the HP Notebook 15-BS589TU was priced at around ₹19,789. We weren't able to test this laptop, but for this price, you get an Intel Pentium N3710 quad-core CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, a DVD writer, three USB ports, an HDMI port, and a LAN port. It also comes with an HD webcam and a 41WHr battery.
iBall Compbook Premio v2.0
The CompBook Premio Version 2.0 features a powerful Intel Pentium N4200 CPU and 4GB of RAM. It's lightweight and portable, and comes with Windows 10. Battery life is also good. Priced at ₹17,235 , the 32GB of onboard flash storage isn't sufficient for applications and files. As we mentioned in our review, we found the plastic body to be easily bent. The display panel isn't very good either. Battery life, on the other hand, is quite good.
iBall Compbook Marvel 6
The iBall Compbook Marvel 6 is priced at around ₹11,990 . For this price, you get a full-HD 14-inch display, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. Storage may be a problem if you store a lot of files.
The CPU is good for basic tasks, but it's still a bit weak compared to other options. The body and trackpad aren't sturdy, but this laptop has a compartment on the bottom where you can add a 2.5-inch hard drive. Like the Compbook Premio Version 2.0, its battery life is also good.
