Our pick: Best gaming laptops under Rs 40,000

When someone mentions gaming laptops, the first few thoughts that race into our minds are ‘Alienware’, ‘expensive’ and the ever popular ‘I can build a more powerful gaming rig for that budget’. While these are all valid thoughts, gaming on-the-go is not necessarily restricted to these 1 lakh and above beasts. Today, you can enjoy a relatively decent gaming experience even on a budget so now we’ll be taking a look at some very good multimedia notebooks at Rs 40,000 which can easily double up as a gaming notebook.

Now before we go further, we want to clear up your expectations of the kind of performance you can expect from these notebooks. Don’t think you can crank up the eye-candy to max on games like Crysis 3 or Battlefield 3 and expect smooth frame rates because that’s simply unrealistic. The primary reason for picking these notebooks is that you can expect to play most of last year’s A-rated titles and some of this year’s too at medium settings with comfortable frame rates. The type of performance will vary depending on how well the engine can scale on lower end hardware.

For instance, Codemaster’s EGO 2.0 engine used in Dirt 3 doesn’t require a very beefy system for smooth performance while Splinter Cell: Blacklist will be tougher to run at the same settings. Have a look at this very in-depth comparison between different notebook GPUs with a mix of new and old titles. So, without further ado, here’s a list of the top 5 notebooks for you trigger happy gamers. 

 
Asus S56CM-XO177H [Ultrabook>

This Ultrabook will set you back Rs 39,800 on Flipkart . The gadget measures 380x266x21mm and weighs in at a hefty 2.3kg, surprising given the category of laptops it falls under. Design-wise, the laptop comes with a one-piece moulding top casing for reinforced strength and rigidity.

A good option to look at

The specifications sheet starts off with a 15.6-inch HD Non-glare display with a resolution of 1266x768 pixels. The laptop, for all your processing needs, comes with an Intel Core i3 (third generation) CPU clocked at 1.8GHz as well as an NVIDIA GT 635M graphic processor. The gadget also comes with 2GB of DDR3 dedicated graphics memory. Overall, the system comes with 4GB of system memory, which can be expanded up to 8GB through the two memory slots.

The Ultrabook also comes with 500GB 5400RPM+24GB SSD HDD capacity. Also packed in is a SuperMulti DVD RW optical drive with dual layer support. The laptop comes with Windows 8 along with an HD webcam. Audio is taken care of with the company’s Sonic Master Lite integrated with stereo speakers. The S56CM-XO177H also comes with one combo audio jack, a VGA port as well as a Mini D-sub 15-pin for an external monitor, two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 as well as an HDMI port. The gadget also comes with an SD card reader as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support. Rounding up this particular offering is a 4 cell 63W AC adapter

Samsung NP350E5C-202IN The NP350E5C kicks off the specifications sheet with a 15.6-inch HD LED anti-reflective display with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The laptop measures 372.5x243x34.1 mm and weighs in at 2.33kg, making the dimensions more or less the same as what we saw with the Asus S56, and is priced at Rs 37,999 . The gadget is available in silver, doing away with the standard black option that we normally see in the laptop category now-a-days.

Under the hood, the laptop comes with Intel’s Core i3 processor 3120 clocked at 2.5GHz along with an AMD Radeon HD 7670M graphics processor coupled with 2GB of dedicated graphic memory. Overall, the NP350E5C comes with 4GB of DDR3 system memory that can be bumped up to 8GB through the two memory slots. Like most other machines seen today, the laptop relies on Windows 8.

Samsung’s offering on this list comes with pretty good HDD capacity

The NP350E5C comes with 750GB S-ATA II (5400PRM) hard drive as well as a super multi dual layer optical disk drive. On the audio front, the laptop comes with two 1.5W stereo speakers integrated with the company’s trademarked SoundAlive technology. In terms of connectivity, the laptop comes with the standard wired Ethernet LAN, wireless LAN and Bluetooth support.

The device also comes with two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, one HDMI and VGA port as well as a 3-in-1 multi-media card reader. Samsung has also integrated a security slot into the laptop for additional security. The laptop also comes with a 1.3-megapixel webcam. The company has also pre-installed a bunch of software for those interested, including Microsoft Office Trial, Norton Internet Security (60 days Trial) and Norton’s Online Backup (30 days Trial). Rounding up the package is a 6 cell 60 W/ 90 W AC adapter.

Sony VAIO Fit 15E F15213SN/B
A tad bit more expensive than the other machines on our list, the Sony VAIO Fit will set aspirants back by Rs 40,390. The laptop comes with a 15.5-inch TFT colour display with LED backlight and a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The device, similar to the others on this list, measures 380.3x260.8x25.1mm and weighs in at 2.5kg. You can only get this Sony laptop in black.

Under the hood, the system comes with an Intel Core i3 (third generation) CPU clocked at 1.9GHz along with an NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M graphic processor coupled with 1GB of graphic memory. Overall, the laptop sports 4GB of DDR3 system memory that can be expanded up to 8GB through the two memory slots.

The VAIO Fit may be a tad out of our budget, but is definitely worth mentioning

The system comes with 500GB (5400 RPM) of SATA HDD and Windows 8. Also packed in is a SuperMulti DVD RW Drive, VGA webcam and stereo speakers with subwoofer and ClearAudio Mode, S-Force Front Surround 3D, Clear Phase, Xloud AND VPT modes integrated. Connectivity options like Ethernet, Wireless LAN and Bluetooth are also supported.

The VAIO Fit comes with two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports (including one with charging function), an HDMI port as well as a multi-card slot. On the security front, the laptop comes with a lock port integrated and Sony has also put in a 1 year on-site warranty. The specs sheet rounds up with a 4 cell battery that the company says will give four hours of backup time.   

The Z580 comes with a 15.6-inch backlit LED HD display with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The system measures in at 377x245x34.3mm and weighs 2.65kg, making it the heaviest one on our list. You can pick up this model in metallic grey, and will set you back by Rs 30,900.

The model comes with an Intel Core i3 (third generation) CPU clocked at 2.5GHz as well as an NVIDIA GT630M graphic processor coupled with 1GB of graphic memory. Overall, the model comes with 4GB of DDR3 system memory which you can bump up to 8GB through the two memory slots onboard. The laptop also comes with 500GB (5400RPM) SATA HDD and a DVD RW optical drive.

The Z580 is a good option from the IdeaPad series

 
The Z580 comes with Windows 8, a 1-megapxiel 720p HD webcam, Dolby v4 Audio sound as well as the standard speakers and internal mic. In terms of connectivity, the laptop comes with the usual options like Ethernet, wireless LAN, Bluetooth and wireless LAN.

The laptop also comes with two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI and VGA port along with a multi-card slot. Lenovo has also included an OneKey Rescue System to safeguard all your data. Rounding up the package is a 6 cell, 65 W AC adapter that should give you backup of up to six hours.

Acer Aspire V3 571G
The Aspire V3 comes with a 15.6-inch TFT LCD with Active Matrix TFT Cloud and CineCrystal display technology integrated and a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The system measures 380.16x250.3x30.32mm and weighs in at 2.6kg. Acer is offering the laptop in midnight black with a price tag of Rs 41, 329.

Internally, the device comes with an Intel Core i3 (third generation) CPU clocked at 2.4GHz as well as an NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M graphics processor coupled with 2GB of dedicated graphic memory and 4GB of DDR3 system memory which can be expanded up to 8GB through the single memory slot. The V3 comes with 750GB of SATA (5400RPM) HDD and a DVD writer optical drive.

The Aspire V3 should definitely feature in your search list

You get the standard Wireless LAN, Ethernet LAN and Bluetooth support. As with every other system on the list, the V3 runs on Window 8. The laptop also comes with two USB 2.0 ports and one USB 3.0 port, as well as a memory card reader, a VGA (D-Sub) port and HDMI port. Rounding up the package is a 6 cell 4400mAh battery, which can give a maximum run time of five hours.

So there you have it. That’s our list of good gaming laptops that you can get around the Rs 40,000 price bracket. There are obviously more to pick from, but better specifications means you will have to shell out more.