Budget i3 Notebooks

i3 notebooks are no longer a thing of a past, upcoming laptops will be using i3 cores as a standard since they are now the standard in processor technology.  Diy Computer Repairs gets you updated with some of the budget i3 notebooks that have been released recently.

These new power houses contain not only a fast processor but also a powerful graphic card.  They cost no more then $1K USD and are good alternatives if you simply hate to spend money to buy netbooks that come with crap processors and crap graphics.

What’s more these budget notebooks are so much faster then a netbook and if you are a casual gamer, these notebooks can run the latest games in the lowest settings.  Using such notebooks for office and videos will be a breeze.



Acer Aspire 4551G


Given a powerful graphic card 1GB ATI HD 5650 and AMD Phenom II X3 Core 2.1 Ghz, this laptop cost less than $1500.  You are able to play high end games like Crysis 2 and Modern Warefare 2 in high resolution.  The 3DMark06 score is 7191 which is quite high for a machine of its price.  Maybe all the dough has been given to the processor and GPU such that the touch pad ends up clumsy and hard to use.  You will need to be able to accept the fact that this machine heats up real quickly.






Specifications

CPU:  AMD Phenom II X3 Core 2.1 Ghz

Rams:  4 GB

GPU:  1GB ATI HD 5650

Hard disk:  640 Gig

Screen:  14 inch ( 1,336 x 768 )


Dell Inspiron 14 R


A powerful i5-430 2.27 Ghz processor coupled with a ATI mobility 1Gig Radeon HD 5470 is pumped into this budget laptop.  Despite given a newer processor technology, the bench mark score pales with only 4576.  The slightly lower end video card did a lot of damage in reducing the overall performance.  But it tries to put in some better hardware like the new eSata port that has faster data transfer rates then the normal USB and works on making the size smaller.  The inbuilt speakers are very loud and makes a good portable entertainment package.





Specifications

CPU:  i5-430 2.27 Ghz

Rams:  4 GB

GPU:  1GB ATI HD 5470

Hard disk:  320 Gig

Screen:  14 inch ( 1,336 x 768 )




Lenovo G460


IBM Lenovo always had one common trend, for the same price against other machines, Lenovo always has lower specs.  This machine could only bear to part with a i3-350M 2.26 Ghz with 2Gigs Ram and a 512 MB Nvdia Geforce 310M.  Looks like Acer is more generous to offer better technology for the same price.  But I know that Lenovo has always been best when it comes to overall handling such as better feel when typing on the keyboard.  The benchmark score is only 3,741 since the processor and the graphic card are more of the lower end.





Specifications

CPU:  i3-350 2.26 Ghz

Rams:  2 GB

GPU:  512MB Nvdia 310M

Hard disk:  500 Gig

Screen:  14 inch ( 1,336 x 768 )



Toshiba Satellite L640


This budget laptop is surprisingly impressive despite the fact that it uses a very low end CPU.  It is able to churn out a benchmark score of 4,965 with a configuration of i3-330 with a 512 MB ATI Radeon Mobility 5145.  It clearly shows the importance of having a powerful video card makes a hell lot of difference.  This is one of the cheapest choices in the group that offers great performance.






Specifications

CPU:  i3-330 2.13 Ghz

Rams:  2 GB

GPU:  512MB Nvdia Ati Radeon Mobility 5145

Hard disk:  500 Gig

Screen:  14 inch ( 1,336 x 768 )


Fujitsu LH530


If you are really on a tight budget and will do anything to save a couple extra dollars, this one is for you.  Priced at around 1K, getting a netbook is cheaper, but if you cannot tolerate Atom cores, this one uses a i3-330M 2.13 Ghz core.  But in order to give you the savings, it has stripped itself down to bare bones like including only a Intel HD integrated graphics and a 320 Gig hard disk.  That is why this notebook is definitely not for games since the benchmark score is only 1,489.  But it is more than adequate for web browsing and office applications and watching of movies.





Specifications

CPU:  i3-330 2.13 Ghz

Rams:  2 GB

GPU:  Intel integrated HD graphics

Hard disk:  320 Gig

Screen:  14 inch ( 1,336 x 768 )



Gateway NV59C


Gateway is not miser when it pops in a powerful i5 -430M 2.27Ghz processor with a 1Gig Nvdia 320M graphic card and yet is selling for a low price.  It scores pretty well in 3D benchmark score with 4397 points.  But that is not all; this laptop comes with a bigger 15 inch monitor to outshine its contenders.  A large screen means more typing room and better viewing pleasure.  Speakers included are also impressive








Specifications

CPU:  i5-430 2.27 Ghz

Rams:  4 GB

GPU:  Nvdia 1 Gig 310M

Hard disk:  640 Gig

Screen:  15 inch ( 1,336 x 768 )



HP Compaq Presario CQ42


Compaq produces laptops that are of the average quality, you cannot say they are terrible but they are not very good either.  The CPU is a i5-430 2.27 Ghz similar to the Gateway but it cuts back on Rams with only 2 Gig.  The keyboard is very pleasant to use and you should be able to type faster with it.  The graphic card included is also decent, ATI Radeon 5430, this machine was able to achieve a bench mark score of 3851.






Specifications

CPU:  i5-340 2.27 Ghz

Rams:  2 GB

GPU:  ATI Radeon 5430

Hard disk:  500 Gig

Screen:  14 inch ( 1,336 x 768 )


With these recommended i3 notebooks in 2010, users who do not want to splurge on powerful systems yet hate cheap Atom CPUs that come in netbooks now have this range of choices.  Given powerful CPU coupled with an above average graphics card will make this a suitable work horse for the impatient office warriors who need efficiency.