Category: Guides

Most people would say that laptops are inefficient for gaming. While that is true in most cases, the reality is that gaming on a laptop at ultra-settings for today’s AAA games are costly. In order for someone to play Shadow of Mordor at ultra settings, one must invest close to a Php100k for a gaming laptop, where a 30k desktop PC is already capable enough in playing under the same settings.

That much is true. There is no such laptop within the Php30k price range that is capable in going toe-to-toe with a desktop PC. In any case, with more or less a Php30k budget, what can you possibly get for the price?

Well, one can expect to have a decent laptop capable of playing Dota 2, CS:GO on mixed medium/high settings at 1080p that’s also capable in playing today’s AAA games at mixed low settings at possibly around 720p or so (depending on the game).

While I always prefer gaming on desktop PCs rather than laptops due to several reason, there will be instances that we’d prefer portability over performance. So this is where this guide comes along.

Here we bring you the Top 10 Gaming Laptops within the Php30,000 price range. We chose laptops that we’re sure are capable in playing Dota 2, CS:GO, and other mainstream online games with at least medium/high settings at 1080p, while it also capable in playing some of today’s AAA games in low settings at 720p.

In this guide, we didn’t just focus on a single price point. We want you guys to have the flexibility of choosing, so starting from atleast 24k up to 33k, we hope that you’ll have an insight as to what laptop you will buy in the future.

Take note that these laptops are arranged by price, not by performance.

1. Lenovo 305-14IBD – PHP 24,990

SPECS:
CPU: Intel i3 5005u 2.0Ghz
GPU: R5-M330
RAM: 4GB DDR3L 1600MHZ
SCREEN SIZE: 14″ (1366X768)
STORAGE: 1TB

The cheapest of all our selections, the Lenovo 305-14IBD is good for casual gaming and entertainment. Powered by an Intel Core i3-5005u and an AMD R5-M330, it is good enough for simple tasks such as Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, movies, and casual games such as Dota 2, and CS:GO.

The R5-M330 is a downgrade from a 940 but is comparable to a 920 at best. Performance of the card is okay in terms of casual gaming. You can definitely play Dota 2 and CS:GO on this at a decent frame-rates. Don’t expect rendering or playing today’s AAA games such as Rise of the Tomb Raider in high settings though.

This Laptop is perfect for:

• Casual Users
• High School/College Students looking for a cheap and decent laptop.
• Average Gamers

This Laptop is NOT for:

• Intense Gamers
• Renderers

Once again, don’t expect playing Dota 2 at ultra, let alone playing GTA V or the latest Hitman at high settings. Also, the good thing about this is that, PC Express is giving away a FREE 128GB USB 3.0 until June 30.

2. Lenovo (G4080-80E400J8PH) – PHP 25,990

SPECS:
CPU: Intel Core i5-5200u 2.2Ghz with turbo boost up to 2.7Ghz
GPU: R5 M330
RAM: 4GB DDR3L 1600MHZ
SCREEN SIZE: 14″ (1366X768)
STORAGE: 500GB

The second cheapest in our guide, the Lenovo G4080-80E400JSPH is almost the same as the one above, although it has a faster processor but lower storage size.

Performance wise, this is faster than the Lenovo 305-14IBD due to its i5-5200u processor. Despite belonging to the same family, the i3-5005u only runs at 2.0GHz, while the i5-5200u runs at a base clock of 2.2GHz that features Intel Turbo Boost that goes up to 2.7Ghz.

For the graphics card, it is the same as the one above. Once again, the R5-M330 is comparable with a NVidia GeForce 920M and is capable of playing Dota 2 and CS:GO at mixed settings. Don’t expect playing GTA V here, okay?

This Laptop is perfect for:

• Casual Users
• High School/College Students looking for a cheap and decent laptop.
• Average Gamers
• Mild renderers

This Laptop is NOT for:

• Intense Gamers
• Intense Renderers

Despite the 500GB drop compared to the Lenovo 305-14IBD, the Php1,000 price difference goes to the processor. The i5-5200u is once again faster than the i3-5005u. Based on personal experience, I have no trouble with this processor. It isn’t the fastest out there, but it sure definitely is better than lower end processors out there in the market.

3. Asus X455LF-WX067D- PHP 27,500

SPECS:
CPU: Intel i5 5200u 2.2Ghz up to 2.7Ghz
GPU: 930M
RAM: 4GB DDR3L 1600MHZ
SCREEN SIZE: 14″ (1366X768)
STORAGE: 1TB

Pretty much the same as the first one, though on sale, the Asus X455LF-WX067D is the starting point for a balanced yet good gaming experience for Dota 2, CS:GO, and the likes. Powered by the same processor the Lenovo G4080-80E400JSPH has, computing performance will no doubt be the same.

GPU wise, this is much better compared to the two laptops above due to its 930M. While the 930M still isn’t a capable graphics card in playing GTA V at ULTRA SETTINGS and such, it IS capable enough, and is actually much better compared to the R5-M330, when playing games such as Dota 2, CS:GO, etc.

So if you’re pretty much unwilling to spend 30k, and is looking for a good laptop with a slightly better gaming performance than the Lenovo(s), then this is for you.

This Laptop is perfect for:

• Casual Users
• High School/College Students looking for a cheap and decent laptop.
• Average Gamers
• Mild renderers

This Laptop is NOT for:

• Intense Gamers
• Intense Renderers

4. Acer Aspire E5-475G-30KY – PHP 27,999

SPECS:
CPU: Intel i3 6100u 2.3Ghz
GPU: 940M
RAM: 4GB DDR4
SCREEN SIZE: 14″ (1366X768)
STORAGE: 1TB

Over here, things start to get tricky. The Acer Aspire E5-475G-30KY is a solid gaming laptop for only an additional Php500 compared to the Asus X455LF-WX067D. The major difference between the two is that this one has a much powerful GPU than the Asus X455LF-WX067D but at the same time, it has slightly weaker processor.

This one is pretty much on the same line, if not better, than the Asus X455LF-WX067D simply because is has a more powerful GPU and it has a newer processor.

Despite having an i3, doesn’t mean it’s weak. The i3-6100u has the same base clock speed as the i5-5500u. The only difference between the two is that the i3-6100 is the newer processor which features Intel’s latest Skylake micro-architecture (though it doesn’t feature Turbo-boost).

This laptop is better when compared to the Asus X455LF-WX067D because of its more powerful GPU and it’s almost similar processor in terms of performance. The only drawback compared to the Asus X455LF-WX067D is that when computing becomes intense, the i5-5500u will have an advantage due to the Turbo Boost feature, whereas the i3-6100u doesn’t have despite the same clock speed.

To sum things up, this is better in gaming but a bit weaker in computing. In most cases, you won’t really be using the additional speed whenever you’re just playing Dota 2 or using Microsoft Word.

This Laptop is perfect for:

• Casual Users
• High School/College Students looking for a cheap and decent laptop.
• Average Gamers

This Laptop is NOT for:

• Intense Gamers
• Renderers

5. Asus (K455LB-WX042T) – PHP 29,500

SPECS:
CPU: Intel Core i5-5200u at 2.2Ghz with turbo boost up to 2.7Ghz
GPU: 940M
RAM: 4GB DDR3L 1600MHZ
SCREEN SIZE: 14″ (1366X768)
STORAGE: 500GB

This laptop has the same specifications as the laptop that I am using right now. And based on experience, I find this as a good starting point. I had no issues whatsoever and the speed and performance is decent enough to the point where I use it casually for playing games despite having a desktop PC.

The Asus K455LB-WX042T that retails for around Php29,500 is what I’d say is the best place to start. Just like the Asus X455LF-WX067D, it features an Intel Core i5-5200u, and like the Acer Aspire E5-475G-30KY, it also features the 940M. By increasing your budget by Php1,500, you’d get a great performing laptop that so far I have no issues with.

You can definitely play Dota 2, and CS:GO here at high settings, and even render videos. This is the best starting price for the laptops listed here.

This Laptop is perfect for:

• Casual Users
• High School/College Students looking for a good laptop.
• Average Gamers
• Mild Renderers

This Laptop is NOT for:

• Intense Gamers
• Intense Renderers

6. Acer Aspire E5-551G-F57K – PHP 29,990

SPECS:
CPU: AMD QUAD-CORE FX7500 2.1Ghz up to 3.3Ghz
GPU: R7 M265
RAM: 4GB DDR3L 1600MHZ
SCREEN SIZE: 15.6″ (1366X768)
STORAGE: 1TB

If you can add Php500 more, this is the best option that you can get at exactly Php30,000. The AMD FX7500 is a good quad-core processor with a base block of 2.1GHz that can go up to 3.3GHz.

It also features an R7-265M which is pretty much at par with the 940M. You can expect this laptop to be almost the same, if not better, overall performance compared to the K455LB-WX042T.

One misconception that everybody believes is that, just because a processor has more cores doesn’t mean it’s more powerful. All of the Intel Processors prior to this one are dual-cores, with Hyper-Threading enabled. While we can say that performance will vary depending on the usage, the FX7500 is a sweet spot for average gaming.

This Laptop is perfect for:

• Casual Users
• High School/College Students looking for a good laptop.
• Average Gamers
• Mild Renderers

This Laptop is NOT for:

• Intense Gamers
• Intense Renderers

7. Lenovo (300-15ISK 80Q700ALPH l AMPH) – PHP 30,500

SPECS:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6200u 2.3Ghz with turbo boost up to 2.8Ghz
GPU: R5 M330
RAM: 4GB DDR3L 1600MHZ
SCREEN SIZE: 15.6″ (1366X768)
STORAGE: 1TB

Over here, we have different scenario. The Lenovo 300-I5ISK 80Q700ALPH I AMPH features an Intel Core i5-6200u which utilizes Intel’s latest Skylake micro-architecture. Compared with its predecessor (i5-5200u), the i5-6200u has a faster clock speed and turbo boost speed, but only by 100Mhz more. Despite that, thisslight improvement in terms of performance is something you won’t really notice at all.

Advantages of the i5-6200u, however, is that it has a lower power consumption and a slightly high L3 Cache. Something to keep in mind.

For the GPU, this is where things take a step backward. The laptop features an AMD R5-M330, which is as I’ve said before, is on par with a 920M. Expect gaming performance to be the same as this guide’s first two laptops.

This Laptop is perfect for:

• Casual Users
• High School/College Students looking for a good laptop.
• Average Gamers
• Mild Renderers

This Laptop is NOT for:

• Intense Gamers
• Intense Renderers

8. Asus (X556UB-XX030T) – PHP 30,500

SPECS:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6200u 2.3Ghz with turbo boost up to 2.8Ghz
GPU: 940M
RAM: 4GB DDR3L 1600MHZ
SCREEN SIZE: 15.6″
STORAGE: 1TB

This is for me the best laptop that is literally within 30k in this guide. The Asus X556UB-XX030T, not only features an Intel Core i5-6200u, a 940, and 4GBs of RAM, but also has a 1TB harddrive, and it 15.6”.

As I’ve said earlier, judging from the specs we can clearly see that this laptop is a good choice. Gaming performance is good, capable of playing Dota 2 and CS:GO at high settings, and even GTA V, at 720p, and is faster than the i5-5200u.

It is also larger that features a numpad which is excellent for those accountants or very busy people.

This Laptop is perfect for:

• Casual Users
• High School/College Students looking for a good laptop.
• Average Gamers
• Mild Renderers

This Laptop is NOT for:

• Intense Gamers
• Intense Renderers

9. Aspire E5-473G-598N – PHP 31,990

SPECS:
CPU: Intel i5 5200u 2.2Ghz up to 2.7Ghz
GPU: 940M
RAM: 4GB DDR3L 1600MHZ
SCREEN SIZE: 14″ (1366X768)
STORAGE: 1TB

I honestly wouldn’t really suggest this laptop because it’s a step backward, but if for some reason you can’t seem to buy those above, then this one is a guarantee.

The specifications itself is good. It features an Intel Core it-5200u, 940M, and 4GB’s of RAM. You might’ve noticed that it is weaker compared to sum of the laptops above, but the reason why we added this to our list is because, this is Acer’s most common model. If for some reason you can’t get one of the laptops above, we’re absolutely sure that you can pick one of these guys at a store.

This Laptop is perfect for:

• Casual Users
• High School/College Students looking for a good laptop.
• Average Gamers
• Mild Renderers

This Laptop is NOT for:

• Intense Gamers
• Intense Renderers

10. MSI (GP62 2QD Leopard) – ON SALE FOR PHP33,900

SPECS:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4210H 2.9Ghz with turbo boost up to 3.5Ghz
GPU: 940M
RAM: 4GB DDR3L 1600MHZ
SCREEN SIZE: 15.6″
STORAGE: 500GB

The most expensive laptop that we have here in this guide. Though not the most powerful. Below you’ll see much more powerful laptop, but the reason why we added this in the top 10 is because, according to DynaquestPC, there are still several stocks of this particular model, where as the one below is only limited.

So, you might’ve noticed that the main components are pretty much the same. 940M, 4GBs of RAM, etc etc. But there is one thing standing out in this laptop. It’s the Intel Core i5-4210H.

So basically, to make things clearer for you, Intel has several kinds of mobile processors. If you’ve noticed, Intel adds letters to the end of each processor, such as for desktops, Intel Core i7-4790k (which means unlocked), and Intel Core i7-5690X (which is extreme). So compared to the ones above, you’ve noticed that they are all “u”. This means that those laptops are “Ultra-Low Voltage”. They are designed to be efficient at the same time consuming as much little power as possible. The only drawbacks there is that, it isn’t the most efficient processor.

So for here, we have the Intel Core i5-4210H. The “H” stands for High-performance. The i5-4210H, despite is 2 generations away from Skylake (6xxx to 4xxx), is significantly faster and more efficient in terms of both gaming and rendering/computing than any of the processors above.

So to sum things up, this is pretty much the best choice if you want a fast laptop that is capable in rendering and video editing, with the sacrifice of abit more money and higher power consumption.

This Laptop is perfect for:

• Casual Users
• High School/College Students looking for a good laptop.
• Average Gamers
• Moderately-High Renderers

This Laptop is NOT for:

• Intense Gamers
• Intense Renderers

BONUS:

As I’ve mentioned above, if you’re willing to spend abit more and is planning to purchase the product online, PCExpress has a sweet deal on the DELL INSPIRON 14 7447-I54210H for only 33k! Yes that is abit over the budget, but from the specifications it is the best deal that you could find.

SPECIFICATIONS:

 

• Processor: INTEL CORE i5-4210H (2.9GHZ)
• Operating System: WINDOWS 8.1
• Memory: 4GB DDR3
• Graphics: NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 850M 4GB
• Display Size: 14″ HD DISPLAY
• Storage: 500GB HDD SATA

From the looks of things, this is the most powerful laptop within our selection. Why is that? Well starting from the processor, an i5-4210H has a base clock speed of 2.9ghz, and goes up to 3.5Ghz on turbo boost, the same as the MSI GP62QD. Other than that, the laptop has a GTX850M with 4GB’s of memory. The additional memory doesn’t really mean better performance, but the GTX850M in general is significantly faster than a 940M. The additional 2GB’s of memory helps alot when playing games requiring memory more than 2GB.

The post Top 10 Gaming Laptops within Php30,000 appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines News & Tech Reviews.