File Update

Buying a new low cost Windows 7 or 8 laptop. In selecting your laptop it is to go to a retailer, look at several, try the keyboards and trackpads and see which one feels most comfortable to you. What you will not be able to test is how fast they are. To find out which are good deals, ask about the innards. What processor does it have?

Using Passmarks benchmarks we can compare the performance of processors you will find in low end units. As a baseline, the fastest netbooks were powered by Intel Atom N2800 processors, which score a decent 723 points in Passmarks CPU benchmarks, but fall short in terms of video performance. We will be looking for devices which are faster than a netbook.

A good place to start will be with AMDs E-1800 APU. You will find this in the lowest cost laptops like the 14-inch Asus  X401u, priced at Php18,990, or the 11.6-inch HP DM1-4304AU, at Php19,900. This will provide performance marginally faster than a netbook in most tasks, but will be much faster in 3D applications. I would probably recommend you avoid lower power units with the AMD E-1200 or C60 APU.

The Celeron is back, and unlike what you may remember from a decade ago, the new Celeron are pretty good. These are found in the touchscreen 11.6-inch Asus ViVobook 202e or the 14-inch Acer Aspire V5-431-887B2G50Ma, both priced at Php20,990.

AMDs A6 is their equivalent for Intels Celeron. This is found in the HP Probook 4445s or Samsung Slimbook which will set you back Php23,000 to Php28,000.

The Intel Pentium 997 is a more powerful processor than  but you will only find it in larger 13 to 14-inch laptops since it generates for heat than the Celeron series. This is found in the 13-inch Lenovo ideapad S300 which sells for just Php18,500.

The newer Ivy Bridge based Intel Core i3 are a step up from their Sandy Bridge counterparts. You will find this in the new 14-inch HP Sleekbooks and higher end more of the 11.6-inch Asus ViVobook 202e which will set you back about Php27,000.