The sub-Php30k Laptop Round-Up

Abe Olandres July 11, 2010 · 1 min read

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This is a little overdue, especially for those who emailed and left comments asking for recommendations with purchasing a new laptop. But to those who are still in the look out, check out the sub-Php30k laptop round-up after the jump.

We have here 14 laptops under Php30,000. I’ve already trimmed them down from over 2 dozens in the initial list and most of the laptop manufacturers are represented — Acer/eMachines, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, HP/Compaq, MSI, Neo.

We even have a surprise entry from Across with its own Core i3 laptop.

Click on the image to view full specs line-up.

Note that there are 4 laptops in the list that sports a Core i3 330M CPU coming from eMachines, MSI, Across and Neo. Those 4 units should be on top of your list if you’re getting a new one with a tight budget. Also note the ones that have Windows pre-installed in the units as these will give you a better bargain.

I’ll update the list whenever I bump into new ones but for the meantime, I think the chart above should do. Besides, from all the emails I regularly get, Php30k seems to be the sweet spot on laptop prices.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

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62 Comments

Cars Philippines · 15 years ago

Acer Aspire 4736Z features a floating type keyboard keys for the ease of typing. Convenient for everybody. It’s a must have.

Kielicous · 16 years ago

Thanks yugatech! I’ll definitely go for the eMD730. P26K on PC Corner. Sweet!

PS: one thing, GUYS: not all girls or gays are fascinated with fancy colors or designs. Some are after the specs. Psh.

aiesalas · 16 years ago

sino nakatry ng DELL iMini 1012 N450 ? maganda po ba to?

neon · 16 years ago

thanks yugatech. this list is great. !

Iyan Sommerset · 16 years ago

Recently helped a friend of mine get an Acer Aspire 4741 (29.9k). Pretty sweet machine, another sub-30k i3 worth looking at.

Have a feeling it’s the same exact chassis as the eMachines d730, in a nicer package.

Krysia – Freelance Writing Philippines · 16 years ago

Hey DK,

I guess asusph answered your question na. As for me, It’s very useful for multitasking. I’ve got Chrome, WMP, Granado Espada, Adobe Reader and MS Word running – and I’ve never experienced major slowness. Except nalang when I was running Sims 3 :))

Hope that helps. It’s really a great buy. Plus it doesn’t break my shoulder when I bring it to school!

asusph · 16 years ago

Yes the 1201N is used by many here in the office who actually have like 10 spreadsheets of excel files open at the same time. :) (sales related work kasi sila) and it handles them pretty well. :)

dk · 16 years ago

hi krysia

ask ko lang if kaya ng asus 1201n ang multi-taksing
at madaming open na excel files

my work kasi is heavy sa paggamit ng excel at powerpoint

and i find netbooks very slow

pero mukhang promising yung asus 1201n

bench · 16 years ago

well, I am using the latest one HP DM3 pavilion…price there i think is around 40k but here in UAE you can have this for 2199dhs which is around 27110k only…angas parang macbook nga ang design nya..

Krysia – Freelance Writing Philippines · 16 years ago

I’ve recently purchased an Asus 1201N for school..although most people would classify this as a netbook, not a laptop (but this one’s still below 30k – around 26,500). BUT it runs Sims 3 quite well, and a handful of 3D MMORPG Games, as well.

Dual core atom processor + nVidia Ion feels quite promising. I’ve practically stopped using my 5-year old Dell E1505 since I got this baby :O

sleepygeepy · 16 years ago

Well one good reason to get Intel graphics is if you are looking for longer battery life. Of course they are not powerful enough to play current 3D games but at least they are powerful enough for playback of HD videos. Especially if you get the Intel HD graphics that come with Intel Core i3, Core i5, Core i7 mobile processors.

You can get the best of both worlds by buying a notebook with an Intel Core i-series processor and dedicated graphics like the MSI CX420. You can switch to the dedicated graphics when playing games, or switch to the Intel HD graphics when browsing, watching movies, or if you need to conserve battery life :)

Tetchie · 16 years ago

@manong

Ouch! My laptop right now is silver (though if there’s a choice of pretty pink I would probably have chosen it) … maybe more of ‘light and slim’.

manong · 16 years ago

notebooks are again showing who’s boss when it comes to 25-30k budget! i really find it funny when netbooks sells as much as 29k which in my opinion should stay below 17k…

not to mention smartphones that cost 45k! to think they cost less to produce…

manong · 16 years ago

@mon bangi

somewhat agree with you since most boys’ personal (not business as ric pointed out) laptops are usually used for games.. then end up disappointed w/ its performance lalo n mga netbooks.

girls (and gays) just wanted them pink and slim.. dun naman ako agree kay ric.. aayyy!

acer aspire AS4553G is a very good budget gaming option though! mahal kasi nung msi CX420.. sna bumababa p below 29k!

lawrence · 16 years ago

I have msi cr400 core2duo version (phased out na) which I got for 27k. MSi is good value for money talaga, kaso may mga issues s design layout. keyboard at mousepad ay magkalapt masyado causing mistypings. hardware materials range from mediocre to poor.. pero kun maingat k nmn and aiming for good specs at low price point, go for MSI!!

Ric · 16 years ago

@ Bangi(n)

Kesa naman sa mga walang kwentang comment mo….

Ric · 16 years ago

@ Bangi(n)

Kesa naman sa mga walang kwentang comment mo

Mon Bangi · 16 years ago

@Ric

hahaha! dami mong satsat

lolipown · 16 years ago

@Ric
you just got trolled dude

Ric · 16 years ago

@ Mon Bangi – What’s wrong with the Intel GMA? I mean not everyone plays games on their laptops. Heck even Thinkpads have them on their higher end configs.

Some people just bash tech without even knowing the logic behind them. What a pity!

Another thing, you might want to tell that to the thousands of corporate users who have IGPs on their notebooks.

sleepygeepy · 16 years ago

Very helpful list :)

You might also want to add the following notebook:

Acer Aspire AS4553G
– AMD Phenom II N830 Processor (Triple-Core)
– ATi Radeon HD 5470 dedicated graphics
– 2GB Memory
– 250GB Harddrive
– 14-inch LED screen
– Php 27.5K ~ Php 29K price

This model rivals the MSI CX420 which has the same dedicated graphics but uses an Intel Core i3 processor.