New year’s buying guide: Our top picks for laptops under Tk. 70,000/-

If you are a graphic designer, moderate video editor, or even a half-decent 3D artist who needs a bit of firepower but cannot spend lakhs, you might want to take a look at our top five laptops priced under Tk. 70,000/-. 
 

Choosing a mid-range machine can be a smart choice as PC component prices don't seem to be going down anytime soon. However, they are quite capable of handling your daily workloads while letting you stay mobile. They are surely not workstation alternatives, but their true limits are yours to explore.

ASUS VivoBook X415EA

Price: Tk. 62,490/-

Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7 (8M Cache, 2.40 GHz up to 4.20 GHz)

RAM: 8GB DDR4 3200 MHz

Storage: 512GB PCIe G3 SSD

Display: 14.0-inch (1920 x 1080) IPS

Assuming that you are looking for a snappy system with the 11th gen i5 processor at the lowest price possible, you should consider ASUS VivoVook X415EA. With the gen3 SSD speed, you will breeze through everyday tasks, all the while using Photoshop with the help of the improved Intel Iris Xe graphics. You can even do 1080p video editing without issues.

Moderate gaming is possible but don't expect 60 FPS during graphically heavy games. There is an extra RAM slot and a 2.5 inch SATA HDD slot if you feel limited. It's moderately light, has a fingerprint sensor and a TPM security chip. It comes with two years of international warranty and one year for battery and adapter.

MSI Modern 14 B5M

Price: Tk. 62,000/-

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5500U (8M Cache, 2.1GHz up to 4.0GHz, 6 cores)

RAM: 8GB DDR4 3200 MHz

Storage: 256GB NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 SSD

Display: 14.0-inch (1920 x 1080) IPS

If you are a Red Team player, then this is the cheapest way to get the latest Ryzen CPU with a solid build. The abundant 6 cores and reinforced Radeon graphics make MSI Modern 14 B5M very appealing for the price. Light gaming and media production is going to be no bother for this machine.

Productivity workloads are going to benefit from the extra cores. Furthermore, this power-efficient system will give you better battery life than the competition. You can add an extra stick of ram to it, but the storage is not expandable. This lightweight, thin-bezel beauty is packed in an aluminium body and comes with two years of warranty.

Dell Inspiron 15 3501

Price: Tk. 62,800/-

Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7 (8M Cache, 2.40 GHz up to 4.20 GHz)

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX330 2GB GDDR5

RAM: 4GB DDR4 3200MHz

Storage: 1TB HDD

Display: 15.6 inch (1920x1080)

Dell Inspiron 15 3501 is surprisingly powerful at this price range. It has an i5-1135G7 coupled with 2GBs of dedicated Nvidia graphics. Not only will it do photo editing or graphic designing with ease, but it will also play a lot of games in mid settings with good FPS output.

You can even do some 4k video editing on this machine. It will fall short of memory but you can always add an extra stick. It also has an M.2 Nvme SSD slot if you want a smoother experience. This chunky 2.2 kg boy comes with two years of warranty.

Xiaomi RedmiBook 14

Price: Tk. 69,000/-

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 4500U Processor (6 Cores, 2.3GHz- 4.0GHz, L3 Cache: 8MB)

RAM: 16GB DDR4 2666Mhz

Storage: Samsung M.2 512GB NVMe SSD

Display: 14 Inch (1920 x 1080) IPS

The highlight of the RedmiBook 14 is its extra gigs of RAM. As the integrated Vega 6 GPU will need as much memory as the system can spare, the 16 gigs will come into play. The 4500U is a generation old but still topples many new processors at multi-core speeds.

It will do well in productivity workloads as well as light gaming. RedmiBook Ryzen edition comes with MiDrop feature which lets users share files between PCs and smartphones regardless of file formats, the number of files and network connections. An original copy of Windows 10 will be installed on this lightweight, stylish notebook.

Acer Aspire 3 A315-58G

Price: Tk. 71,000/-

Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7 (8M Cache, 2.40 GHz up to 4.20 GHz)

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX350 2GB GDDR5

RAM: 8GB DDR4

Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD

Display: 15.6 inch (1920x1080)

For those of us in need of an ultra-portable powerhouse, the Acer Aspire delivers just that, for just a thousand taka more. Weighing only 1.14 kg, this is the most lightweight notebook with dedicated DDR5 graphics. Image processing and video rendering will benefit from the dedicated GPU, and the whole system will run fluidly with the help of the NVMe SSD.

Expect games to run at average FPS with decent graphics. If you feel like the memory is falling short, there is an extra slot to keep your anxieties down. It's a great media machine too with the 15.6 inch ComfyView display. The portable Acer Aspire 3 comes with two years of warranty.