Let’s be real: RM2,500 won’t likely get you a high-end laptop. You shouldn’t expect to do heavy-duty editing or gaming on these laptops but you should be able to do some light editing along with the basic everyday tasks.
These laptops are ideal for college students who work with programs like Microsoft Excel, Word and so on. They are reliable enough to pull you through assignments without crashing suddenly.
These laptops are also good for people who just want a relatively high-performance laptop for their day to day use that is reliable enough to use most of the basic applications out there.
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Can’t afford to make full payment on your laptop? Be sure to check my guide on how to use the installment plan options on 11Street and Lazada.
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My top pick of the best laptop under RM2,500 is the Asus Zenbook UX330CA-FCO44T. At this budget, you really can’t get better than the Asus Zenbook UX330CA. It is a good performing laptop that is also light enough to be carried around like a notebook and beautiful enough to make you feel great about working on it.
[su_box title=”Our Top Choice: Asus Zenbook UX330CA-FCO44T” style=”soft” box_color=”#0574de”]
A sleek laptop you can carry around and work with for an entire day on a single charge. Ideal for college students and people who want to have a beautiful laptop to work with on a day to day basis.
[su_button url=”https://www.lazada.com.my/asus-zenbook-ux330ca-fc044t-13334-fhd-laptop-grey-m3-7y304gb128gb-intel-w10-18173008.html?” target=”blank” style=”3d” background=”#ef8b13″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″]RM2,453 from Lazada[/su_button]
[su_button url=”http://www.11street.my/productdetail/asus-zenbook-ux330c-afc044t-grey-m3-7y30-4gb-128gb-50281374″ target=”blank” style=”3d” background=”#ef8b13″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″]RM2,499 from 11Street[/su_button]
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My top pick is the Asus Zenbook UX330CA-FCO44T. The Asus Zenbook UX330CA-FCO44T is packed with 128GB SATA drive, 4G DDR3 and Intel Core m3-7Y30. This configuration is good enough to support web browsing and some light editing.
Though the 128GB storage can be too small for some users, the performance, design features and price of the Asus Zenbook UX330CA-FCO44T more than make up for this. The laptop can go on for 7 – 9 hours on a single charge, making it ideal for people who won’t always have access to a charging port.
Here’s what you need to know before buying a laptop under RM2,500
RM2,500 is the minimum budget for a laptop you plan to work on. Although you can definitely get relatively good laptops for an even lower budget, I really wouldn’t recommend it if you see yourself using it every day for some kind of work. In the end, you will feel quite frustrated if your laptop keeps crashing or when you find that your laptop can’t even support the basic programs you need to use.
Graphics. Although it is unlikely for you to do any kind of heavy-duty editing on a laptop at this budget, you can expect to do some light editing, although you might experience some lagging.
Gaming abilities. Light gaming is possible for laptops at this budget but it is unlikely for you to play games with high graphics requirements. If you are a hard-core gamer, you will be quite disappointed as these laptops are usually not equipped with the high-end graphics card and DDR to support heavy-duty gameplay. Set your budget higher if you need a good gaming laptop.
(Looking for a gaming laptop? Why not check out our review on the best gaming laptops in Malaysia)
Screen resolution. You can expect to get at least 1920×1080 IPS on a 13″ screen resolution for this budget range. This is the minimum resolution for a laptop before the screen begins to get grainy and uncomfortable to look at for long periods of time.
SSD storage. You can expect to be equipped with the fast-performing SSD storage which won’t be available on cheaper laptops. SSD hard disks are faster than normal HDDs and these days, that’s the minimum you should expect when you want to work fast. Two of the three laptops recommended in this guide have the SSD storage.
No frills. At this budget, don’t expect any nice-to-haves like fingerprint scanning, face recognition and so on. What you can expect is a reliable laptop that you can work on for days on end without fail.
Asus ZenBook UX330-CA
[su_box title=”Our Top Choice: Asus Zenbook UX330CA-FCO44T” style=”soft” box_color=”#0574de”]
A sleek laptop you can carry around and work with for an entire day on a single charge. Ideal for college students and people who want to have a beautiful laptop to work with on a day to day basis.
[su_button url=”https://www.lazada.com.my/asus-zenbook-ux330ca-fc044t-13334-fhd-laptop-grey-m3-7y304gb128gb-intel-w10-18173008.html?” target=”blank” style=”3d” background=”#ef8b13″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″]RM2,453 from Lazada[/su_button]
[su_button url=”http://www.11street.my/productdetail/asus-zenbook-ux330c-afc044t-grey-m3-7y30-4gb-128gb-50281374″ target=”blank” style=”3d” background=”#ef8b13″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″]RM2,499 from 11Street[/su_button]
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Asus ZenBook UX-330CA: The Good
Beautiful design
One of the best features of the Asus Zenbook series is their design. Their sleek design and solid built remind you a little of Apple’s famous MacBook Air. If you like the idea of working on a beautiful machine, you cannot go wrong with the Asus Zenbook.
Lightweight
The laptop weighs just under 1.5kg, the weight of a hardcover notebook. You won’t feel the weight of it when you pack it in your bag or carry it in your hands.
SSD Storage
The Asus Zenbook UX330CA comes with SSD storage that makes you work on it faster than having normal HDDs.
Backlit keyboard
The backlit keyboards are useful when you need to work under low light conditions.
Asus ZenBook UX-330CA: The Bad
Can’t upgrade specs
Since the Asus Zenbook UX-330CA is an ultrabook, the RAM and storage are fixed. You won’t be able to change them out for higher specs even if you can afford it. So if you need higher performance, you’ll likely need to drop your Asus Zenbook UX-330CA for a higher performance one.
Mousepad is not the best
Compared to other mousepads, the mousepad can feel a bit unintuitive. Though so it is still a useful one if you are not picky. If you can’t get used to the mousepad, you can also opt to get an external mouse.
Matte screen
The matte screen may not be the best for graphics display but if you don’t have any special preference for your screens it is good enough.
Second best Pick: Acer Spin 5 SP513-15-30G5
[su_box title=”Our Second Choice: Acer Spin 5 SP513-15-30G5″ style=”soft” box_color=”#0574de”]
An affordable 2-in-1 with 360degree rotation for you to use as a laptop and a tablet. Ideal for those who want to enjoy the flexibility of having both a laptop and a tablet for the price of one.
[su_button url=”https://www.lazada.com.my/acer-spin-5-sp513-51-30g5-133-fhd-i3-7100u-4gb128gbw10black-22062559.html?” target=”blank” style=”3d” background=”#ef8b13″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″]RM2,399 from Lazada[/su_button]
[su_button url=”http://www.11street.my/productdetail/acer-spin-5-sp513-51-30g5-13-3-fhd-i3-7100u-4gb-32293779″ target=”blank” style=”3d” background=”#ef8b13″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″]RM2,399 from 11Street[/su_button]
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The Acer Spin 5 is a 2-in-1 laptop which you can easily turn into a touchscreen tablet. This laptop is ideal for those who do a lot of presentations and may find a tablet handy.
It comes packed with the Intel i3, a 128GB SSD and 4GB DDR4. Though the Intel i3 is a few generations behind the latest Intel processor, it is still a decent processor to use for basic work. (If you want a newer processor though you can consider getting the Acer Spin 5 with Intel i5. Though it will cost you RM2,000 more than the Aspire Spin 5 with the Intel i3 processor).
Acer Spin 5: The Good
There are three main advantages the Acer Spin 5 has over our top choice, the Asus Zenbook UX330CA:
2-in-1: Laptop + Tablet
With the Acer Spin 5, you get a tablet along with the laptop. You can rotate the touchscreen at any angle.
DDR4
Compared to the Asus Zenbook UX330, the Acer Spin 5 boasts a faster DDR4 ROM. DDR4 is a new generation of ROM compared with the DDR3.
Upgrade options available
Unlike the Asus Zenbook UX330, the Acer Spin 5 is not an ultrabook so you can upgrade the ROM and storage to higher spec ones if you are interested.
Acer Spin 5: The Bad
Bulky design
The most evident disadvantage that the Acer Spin 5 has over the Asus Zenbook UX330CA is its bulky design compared to the Asus Zenbook’s sleek and slim one. This makes the Acer Spin 5 unstylish and not as portable as the Asus Zenbook.
Acer A515-51G-54RN
[su_box title=”Our Third Choice: Acer A515 51G-54RN ” style=”soft” box_color=”#0574de”]
A basic, no frills laptop with relatively good performance. Ideal for people who want a good laptop at a budget.
[su_button url=”https://www.lazada.com.my/acer-aspire-a515-51g-54rn-notebook-grey-intel-i5-4gb-1tb-mx150-2gb-61348188.html?” target=”blank” style=”3d” background=”#ef8b13″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″]RM2,419 from Lazada[/su_button]
[su_button url=”http://www.11street.my/productdetail/acer-spin-5-sp513-51-30g5-13-3-fhd-i3-7100u-4gb-32293779″ target=”blank” style=”3d” background=”#ef8b13″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″]RM2,399 from 11Street[/su_button]
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Acer A515: The Good
Faster processor
Compared to our second choice, the Acer Spin 5, the Acer A515 comes with a faster Intel i5 instead of Intel i3 processor.
Larger storage space
At 1TB, the Acer A515 comes with the largest storage space of the three laptops compared. Though, the storage is not SSD, but HDD, which is a slower performing storage option.
Larger screen
The Acer A515 also has the largest screen of the three laptops at 15.6″.
Newer generation, higher performance RAM
Unlike the Asus Zenbook and Acer Spin 5, the Acer A515 packs a DDR5 instead of DDR3 and DDR4 respectively. DDR5 is a newer generation and higher performance RAM compared to DDR4 and DDR5.
Relatively good quality webcam
Of the three, the Acer A515 has the best quality webcam. Whereas the webcams on the Asus Zenbook UX330 and the Acer Spin 5 are decent at best, the webcam on the Acer A515 is a good 1280 x 720 resolution one.
Upgrade options available
Unlike the Asus Zenbook UX330, the Acer A515 is also not an ultrabook so you can upgrade the ROM and storage to higher spec ones if you are interested.
Acer A515: The Bad
HDD
The Acer A515 comes with a normal HDD, making it the one with the slowest hard disk we have compared. Though so, it slightly makes up for this by having a faster processor than the Acer Spin 5.
Minimal features
Other than being a reliable laptop, the Acer A515 is a reliable but otherwise ordinary looking laptop. It does not have the 2-in-1 capabilities of the Acer Spin 5 or the sleek design of the Asus Zenbook UX330CA. If you don’t see these features as important to you, then the Acer A515 may be a good fit for you.
Conclusion: Which Laptop Should You Go For?
These are three of the best laptops I can recommend you, but the one you buy depends on what you are looking for on a laptop.
If you want a sleek looking laptop that’s reliable and easy to carry around and don’t mind the limited storage space and upgrade options, you can go for the Asus Zenbook UX330CA.
However, if you want to have some upgrade options along with 2-in-1 features, you can consider the Acer Spin 5.
On the other hand, if you prefer higher storage and a newer generation Intel processor, then the Acer A515 could be the best option for you.
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Pro Tip: Take good care of your laptop if you want it to last long
No matter what laptop you buy, you need to take good care of it to make sure you can use it for as long as you can. This means not overcharging your battery, shutting it down before you go bed so it does not overheat etc.
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References:
www.wirecutter.com
