The ever-expanding digital ecosystem has made it imperative for everyone to either join the bandwagon or be left behind. The laptop has become a critical tool in the digital ecosystem among other things. So whether you are a student, working professional, job seeker, or freelancer, you need to arm yourself with a laptop in order to do justice to your work. In India, Rs. 40,000 is usually the most common budget for having one, so it’s important to understand what to expect from a laptop for this budget. Read on.
Processing Power
At this price point, you can expect decent entry-level processing power from your laptop. If you are looking for a laptop for academic purposes, this is a sweet budget for you. You can easily get one powered by Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 CPU. With this kind of processing power, you are good to go for general office work, browsing, editing, assignments, online classes, etc.
Not only will you be able to run the latest OS like Windows 11 or Linux Ubuntu 22.04, but you will also be able to use the laptop for entry-level gaming. A good choice to check out for this budget is the HP Laptop 15s-eq2143AU. It which comes with a Ryzen 3 5300U CPU, which contains 4 Cores and 8 threads and also features integrated 6-core AMD Radeon Graphics SoC. With the boost clock speed of 3.8 GHz, you can even enjoy 4K video playback, 1080p video editing, multitasking, and gaming with a breeze.
Memory Clock
Most 40K laptops will feature Ryzen or Intel Core CPU, so you can expect DDR4 RAM support with a 3200 MHz clock speed. At this budget, any laptop would come with 8 GB RAM, but some will also come with an extra memory slot for future upgrades. If you choose carefully you may opt for a laptop that has two memory slots so that you can upgrade to 16 GB RAM later and increase the processing capability of your Laptop. Irrespective of your budget, if your laptop has 16 GB memory in 2022, it will perform decently for sure.
Display
In this budget, you will easily find a laptop with a 15.6” screen. However, 15.6” is not for everyone as a larger screen also makes the device a bit heavier. So, you could also opt for a 14” screen, which will work just as well. In fact, it will be lighter. Do note that display quality depends on the supported resolution by the display unit. Most laptops in this range feature a 1366x768p display, but some laptops also come with a 1080p display. The best laptops in this price segment will feature a micro-edge & anti-glare panel supporting 250 nits brightness & 45% NTSC.
Check out the HP Laptop 15s-fq2626TU which features an FHD (1920 x 1080), micro-edge, anti-glare, 250 nits, 45% NTSC display with a price tag of INR 38,000. This device is powered by Intel Core i3 and 8 GB RAM.
Storage
Laptops under 40k typically come with 1 TB HDDs and lower capacity SSDs. Going for HDD is not recommended, as it will just not give you the desired performance. It’s therefore recommended to go for an SSD. Look for a model that offers 512 GB SSD as the primary storage device. Otherwise, if there’s a 1 TB HDD, then check if there’s a slot in which you could add perhaps a 256 GB SSD and make it as the primary drive that runs the OS.
Gaming-grade GPU
At this price point, you can expect to have a decent integrated GPU for FHD, 2K video playbacks, and 1080p video recording & editing. But you should not expect designer-level or gaming-grade GPU at this point. If you are into gaming, then with such an integrated GPU you can enjoy entry-level gaming with no issues. Intel UHD GPU, AMD Radeon SoC, or even the Qualcomm Adreno 618 GPU is powerful enough to play games like Counter-Strike, League of Legends, Valorant, and DOTA at 60 FPS.
For video playback support, photoshop, or CAD applications you won’t face any problems. Most business laptops do feature the same kind of GPU which is meant for professional users. So, not having a professional-level dedicated GPU is not a drawback for academic, official, or consumer usage.
Connectivity
Most laptops from reliable brands at this price point will feature a 2 MP 720P webcam. So, make sure you are not opting for a laptop with a VGA cam by mistake just because you love the looks. In this budget laptop, you can expect Realtek 802.11 (2×2) Wi-Fi feature and Bluetooth 5 which are great as a starter combo.
Connectivity ports like Type A (SuperSpeed 5 Gbps), USB 3.1, MMC Reader, 3.5mm Audio jack, and HDMI ports are common in this segment. Some devices also feature premium ports like Type C USB, Micro USB, and Thunderbolt even under 40k.
Battery Life
While many high-end laptops also suffer from poor battery life, it is the brand that actually ensures premium battery quality and long battery backup. Even at a 40K budget, it is not much if you ask for a battery that gives you 4+ hours of battery backup. Especially while you are only browsing UHD videos, or playing music the battery tends to drain faster. To support the battery power requirements of these days, here I would recommend going for HP laptops only.
Personally, I have used multiple laptops to date, and apart from premium Apple laptops, HP is the only brand that provides excellent battery backup and quality. All the HP laptops come with batteries with 1000 life cycles that last for 2-3 years without hindrances. Also, HP is the only brand in India that features a 3-year of battery warranty on most of its laptops.
On the other hand, if you choose Chromebook you will automatically get extended hours of battery backup and the credit goes to Chrome OS. Chrome OS is renowned for being extremely power efficient, and so the HP Chromebook x360 14a-ca0504TU is a great option if battery backup is a huge concern for you. All HP Chromebooks feature 12+ hours of battery backup, and it’s the perfect choice for frequent travelers and remote cloud natives. You can also check out the previously discussed HP Laptop 15s-eq2143AU features 9+ hours of battery backup.
Many budget laptops are bulky
Always opt for a lightweight laptop for convenience. A heavy laptop will increase the weight of your EDC and it can cause shoulder pain in the long term. Especially while you are not opting for a gaming segment laptop, you must make sure your laptop is lightweight and extremely easy to carry. What weight you should opt for if you ask, the answer is less than 1.7 Kg. Most Chromebooks are usually as light as 1.5 Kg only. For the Windows segment laptops like HP Laptop 14s-dq3032TU weighs only 1.6 Kg.
Pen Support
At this budget, if you won’t find touch screen support in too many laptops, except for some, like HP Chromebooks, which come with pen tools. Also, PEN tools themselves typically come with the laptop means for designers and creators.
Conclusion
As you would understand, although there seem to be many decent laptops under 40K, choosing the right one is tricky. INR 40K is a decent investment, hence to maximize the value for money you should always go for the best components available. Depending upon your application requirements you can opt for either Intel Celeron CPU, Intel Core i3, AMD Ryzen 3 even Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c CPU. If you are a work-from-home employee, a freelance gig worker, or a cloud-native like me, then this is a very suitable budget for you without a second thought.
