Why buy a laptop for less than 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 to make a Skype call, run Word, Excel or other office applications, or watch a movie or TV show. Students staying in hostels require a basic computer for their assignments and projects for which a budget laptop should suffice.
Sometimes you need a second computer at home for basic tasks for your children or any other family member. 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 available for less than Rs 20,000
Acer Aspire 3 (A315-32)
Among all the laptops we tested under Rs 20,000, we found that Acer Aspire 3 (A315-32) Better performance and available at the best price. It's quite thin which we liked. The plastic body is well constructed, with not much flex in the lid or keyboard area. The lid can tilt up to 180 degrees so you can work comfortably.
It is one of the few laptops in this segment in which the RAM and hard drive are accessible through the bottom for easy upgrades. Windows 10 will be pre-installed in the laptop, along with some useful apps that help in keeping the drivers and software up to date. The laptop is equipped with an Intel Pentium Silver N5000 quad-core CPU, 4GB RAM, 1TB hard drive, and Wi-Fi 802.11ac.
On 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, on a single charge you will be able to do more of your work throughout the day.
Aspire 3 (A315-32) is not a perfect laptop and the reason behind this is that Acer has given so many specifications in this price segment but has compromised a bit with the display and speakers. The viewing angle is also not the best and the brightness could have been better. The stereo speakers are at the bottom and when turned up at high volume, the sound doesn't sound a bit good.
It's one of the heaviest laptops we've tested. Overall, if you want a big screen and low resolution is not a problem for you, then Aspire 3 (A315-32) for Rs 19,990 can prove to be a great option for you.
iBall CompBook Netizen 4G
We've tested several laptops from iBall over the years, but the company launched a while ago CompBook Netizen 4G A unique offering, especially considering its price. This laptop comes with 4G SIM slot with the help of which you can stay connected to the internet all the time.
This feature can prove useful for those who frequently travel and do not want to bother with a 4G dongle or tethering to the phone. Battery life is quite good and on light workload, we easily completed all the day's work on it. The CompBook Netizen features a full-HD display, which makes images and text appear sharp on the 14-inch panel.
Inbuilt storage is 64 GB which is better. The CompBook Netizen 4G has a compartment on the bottom where you can install a 2.5-inch SSD or hard drive. A few things where it lags behind other competing devices are its CPU power and its build quality.
Intel Celeron N3350 processor was used in this laptop which is quite old. Its single and multi-core performance is also not good, due to which file compression and video encoding takes more time. The plastic body does not seem very strong nor does it look premium. This laptop is available in India for Rs 14,990. In this range, Asus provides better looking laptops.
This is 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 just DOS or free Linux that are sold at lower prices. Such laptops may prove to be a better option for you only if you have already purchased a Windows license or are comfortable with Linux for general web browsing and such tasks.
Secondly, we have ignored older laptop models that come with weak and old CPUs. This allows us to limit our search. You can't expect an Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen CPU in the sub-Rs 20,000 price segment. In this segment, you will only find laptops equipped with Intel Pentium or Celeron CPU.
We've 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. This is new and also reduces power consumption. It comes with DDR4 memory support.
Generally only Pentium N3xxx series laptops are available in this price segment. It is a bit old so in some models you will get only four cores. Intel Celeron processors are not as powerful as the Pentium series. The Celeron N4000 is a new CPU but it only has two cores.
We have focused on laptop models that are available on online e-commerce sites so that customers can easily purchase them if they wish. Most of these models should also be available at offline retail stores in India if you are hesitant about buying a laptop online.
One thing you should know is that laptop prices keep fluctuating. In such a situation, there may be a slight increase in the price of laptops in our list which are around Rs 20,000.
Asus VivoBook
The VivoBook X540MA laptop is based on Intel Celeron N4000 CPU and comes with 4GB RAM and 500GB hard drive. This laptop has a good selection of USB ports, although they are all placed too close to each other. In such a situation, if you are using a USB device with a plug that is wider than normal, it may block the adjacent port.
You get a DVD drive in this model, making it useful for you when you need to take backups. This laptop is a bit heavy. The plastic and color scheme give it a slightly cheap look. Performance is also slow, viewing angles of the HD display are also weak. Its battery life is also not good and there are many better options available for around Rs 18,990.
Asus E203N
This laptop of Asus brand now Rs 12,990 Available in. It uses the older Intel Celeron N3350 CPU, but its compact size may appeal to most people. Not only is it thin and light, it also has a USB Type-C port which is not seen in this segment. The 11.6-inch display isn't huge, but at least the HD resolution isn't too low at this size.
The biggest problem is the storage of the laptop. Only 2GB DDR3 RAM and 32GB eMMC flash memory is not enough for Windows and your applications. Windows boot is fast but we couldn't run many things during testing because of storage issues. If you're going to use web-based apps or do most of your work in a browser, this shouldn't be a big problem for you. Asus E203N has a microSD card slot with the help of which you can increase the storage if needed.
HP Notebook 15-Bs589TU
At the time of writing this article, the price of HP Notebook 15-BS589TU was around Rs 19,789. We were not able to test this laptop but at this price you will get Intel Pentium N3710 quad-core CPU, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB hard drive, DVD writer, three USB ports, HDMI and LAN port in this laptop. It comes with HD webcam and 41WHr battery.
iBall Compbook Premio v2.0
CompBook Premio Version2.0 It has a strong Intel Pentium N4200 CPU and comes with 4 GB RAM. It's light and portable, plus it comes with Windows 10. Its battery life is also good. it Rs 17,235 Available in the US, 32GB of onboard flash storage is too little for applications and files. As we mentioned in our review, we found that the plastic body bends easily. The display panel is also not very good. On the other hand, battery life is quite good.
iBall Compbook Marvel 6
iBall Compbook Marvel 6 price of Rs 11,990 Is around. At this price you get full-HD 14-inch display, 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage. Storage can be a problem for you if you store many files.
The CPU is good for basic tasks but still a bit weak compared to other options. The body and trackpad aren't sturdy, but there is a compartment on the bottom of this laptop where you can add a 2.5-inch hard drive. Like CompBook Premio Version 2.0, its battery life is also good.