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Best Multimedia Laptops Under Rs 40,000

Dushyant Khilnani July 14, 2010, 10:09:25 IST

Watch HD movies, and enjoy games and music on your laptop without spending a fortune.

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Best Multimedia Laptops Under Rs 40,000

Today, all laptop manufacturers have their products well segregated into categories specific to business, ultra-portability, performance, life-style and multi-media or entertainment. Yes, it makes sense to choose a laptop from one particular segment when you know exactly what you’re looking for. However, this doesn’t mean that a laptop from one segment cannot overlap into another. So if there’s a business laptop which is powerful enough to play games, you can use it for entertainment too. But of course, you wouldn’t want to take a fancy gaming laptop to the office.

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So, how does one categorize a multimedia laptop? If you can play HD-movies and games, and if the screen and sound quality are good, it’s safe to say that it’s a multimedia laptop. If you see features like dedicated volume controls, HDMI out, a good discrete graphics card and a sub-woofer underneath the unit, there is no argument that you’re looking at a multimedia laptop. Now, features like a sub-woofer and high-end speakers call for some serious spending, but other features are within reach, especially considering the budget we’re looking at, in this article. Today, we’ve listed multimedia laptops that come under the Rs 40,000 price bracket and are capable of light gaming, music and stutter-free HD-movie playback.

Sony
Sony VPC EB14 EN/BI

  • Price: 37,490
  • Weight: 2.7 kg
  • Screen size / resolution: 15.5-inch / 1366 x 768
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-330M, 2.13 GHz
  • RAM: 3 GB
  • Hard drive: 320 GB
  • Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 5470
  • Operating system: Windows 7 Home Basic

Sony VPC EB24 EN/WI/BI

  • Price: 39,400
  • Weight: 2.7 kg
  • Screen size / resolution: 15.5-inch / 1366 x 768
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-350M, 2.26 GHz
  • RAM: 3 GB
  • Hard drive: 320 GB
  • Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 5145
  • Operating system: Windows 7 Home Basic

Radeon HD 5470 v/s HD 5145: The Radeon HD 5145, which is actually a renamed version of the HD 4570, is slower than the Radeon HD 5470. So, if you’re looking for slightly better gaming muscle, go with a laptop which has the HD 5470 (though all the GPUs in this entire list fall into the entry-level category).
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Lenovo

Lenovo IdeaPad Z560

  • Price: Rs 36, 172
  • Weight: 2.6 kg
  • Screen size / resolution: 15.6-inch / 1366 x 768
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-350M, 2.26 GHz
  • RAM: 3 GB
  • Hard drive: 320 GB
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 310M
  • Operating system: Free DOS

There are number of variants in the Z560 series, starting from Rs 32,329 upto Rs 36,172, with minor changes in the hardware and features. Ideally, the Core i3 and i5 variants of the IdeaPad Y series of laptops are good for gaming and multimedia, but their price range starts from about Rs 46,000.

We’ve tried to restrict it to machines that feature discrete graphics, but, there are laptops with Intel HD graphics which, though weaker in comparison with discrete GPUs, turn out to be cheaper. So, if you are using a laptop with Intel HD graphics, chances are that you’ll find these prices higher in comparison.

Dell
Inspiron 15R- T540611IN8

  • Price: Rs 36, 700
  • Weight: 2.63 kg
  • Screen size / resolution: 15.6-inch / 1366 x 768
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-350M, 2.26 GHz
  • RAM: 3 GB
  • Hard drive: 320 GB
  • Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 5470
  • Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium

If you opt for Windows Home Basic instead of Home Premium, the price of this laptop dips from Rs 36,700 to Rs 34,900.
Side note: The Inspiron 14R is priced at Rs 36, 400 with similar specs and it features Intel’s HD graphics. However it has 4 GB RAM and a 500 GB hard drive as opposed to 3 GB RAM and a 320 GB hard drive, hence a higher price. Instead, you can go for the 14R variant with discrete graphics (Radeon HD 4330) which costs around Rs 35,400. But end of the day, Inspiron 15R is still a better choice. Also, if you’d like to stretch your budget slightly, to get the ruggedness of the Dell Studio, here’s your option:

Studio 15 T540620IN8

  • Price: Rs 40, 900
  • Weight: 2.65 kg
  • Screen size / resolution: 15.6-inch / 1366 x 768
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T6600, 2.2 GHz
  • RAM: 3 GB
  • Hard drive: 320 GB
  • Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4570
  • Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium

Although some of these laptops are capable of gaming at lower resolutions and settings, these are not gaming machines. We have listed them keeping in mind their multimedia capabilities which are ideal for home use. Also, if you notice, most of them resemble desktop replacements, specifically in terms of design, form factor and weight.

Acer Aspire 5740G

  • Price: 37, 594
  • Weight: 2.8 kg
  • Screen size / resolution: 15.6-inch / 1366 x 768
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-330M, 2.13 GHz
  • RAM: 4 GB
  • Hard drive: 320 GB
  • Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4570
  • Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium

Intel’s HD graphics perform better than Intel’s X4500 GPUs, which were common to most laptops. However, Intel’s HD GPU is good for playing movies and some very light games, such as the ones you play online. We’ve tested laptops that feature Intel’s HD 5470 GPU with games like Crysis and Left 4 Dead, and they are quite payable at lower to medium resolutions and settings. Despite being an entry-level GPU, the HD 5470 churns out playable frame rates like about 28 to 48 fps at medium and low settings respectively, which wouldn’t be the case with Intel’s onboard graphics.
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HP**
Compaq Presario CQ42-176TX

  • Price: 39, 703
  • Weight: 2.2 kg
  • Screen size / resolution: 14-inch / 1366 x 768
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-430M, 2.26 GHz
  • RAM: 4 GB
  • Hard drive: 500 GB
  • Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 5430
  • Operating system: Free DOS

Now this laptop weighs slightly over 2 kg and with a 14-inch form factor, it’s portable too. To top it off, it has a powerful CPU, but then, it also features a discrete GPU (though weaker), HDMI out and built-in Altec Lansing speakers. Looking at the features, especially the CPU, we’d say it offers good value for money. Also, it’s one of the cheapest HP notebooks with discrete graphics. But again, in the case of multimedia, you have better options included in this list.

Side note: The HP Pavilion DV4-2126TX features an Intel Core i3-350M CPU, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB hard drive, 14.1-inch screen and discrete graphics, but it costs around Rs 44,000, which again, doesn’t come under our 40K radar.

ASUS-A52JR-SX126R

  • Price: 39, 500
  • Weight: 2.5 kg
  • Screen size / resolution: 15.5-inch / 1366 x 768
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-350M, 2.26 GHz
  • RAM: 4 GB
  • Hard drive: 320 GB
  • Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 5470
  • Operating system: Windows 7 Home Basic

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Toshiba L650-I5310 (Onboard graphics)**

  • Price: Rs 40, 000
  • Weight: 2.6 kg
  • Screen size / resolution: 15.6-inch / 1366 x 768
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-350M, 2.26 GHz
  • RAM: 2 GB
  • Hard drive: 320 GB
  • Graphics: Intel HD
  • Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium

Other L650 and the L640 laptop variants are available with discrete graphics (ATI M92XT-S2) but then, their prices are likely to go beyond the 40K mark. It’s worth mentioning though, that with these laptops, you may avail the TATA Photon Plus Offer, plus, you get a backpack and a mouse free.

HCL ME AE1V0677-I (Onboard graphics)

  • Price: Rs 34, 350
  • Weight: 2.2 kg
  • Screen size / resolution: 14-inch / 1366 x 768
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-330M, 2.13 GHz
  • RAM: 3 GB
  • Hard drive: 320 GB
  • Graphics: Intel HD
  • Operating system: Free DOS
  • Free MTV backpack with the unit

HCL offers good bang for the buck when it comes to standard laptops for home and office use. However, in this case, since we’re looking for discrete graphics for multimedia applications, there are other laptops in this list that offer much more value for money in comparative terms.

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