Buyer's guide: Best laptops for personal use under Rs 35,000

I would like to buy a laptop for personal use. What are my options within a budget of Rs 35,000 and what sort of performance can I expect from such a machine?

Benoy EP, Pradeep Padmanabhan, Deven Saini, Aakash Sarnobat
Laptops under Rs 35,000 are equipped to handle basic computing tasks: internet browsing, social networking and e-mails; office productivity jobs such as working with documents, spreadsheets and presentations; basic photo editing using Photoshop and Gimp; and even for entertainment like watching high definition videos and listening to music.

Sub-35k laptops that include a dedicated graphics card can also smoothly run older-generation games like Call of Duty: Ghosts, Batman: Arkham Origins and The Elder Scrolls Online, but at medium-to-low quality settings.

Depending on your preference, you can choose between a 14- or 15.6-inch display...

* Lenovo Flex 2-14D (59-427873) — Rs 32,490 It sports a 14-inch touchscreen that can be swivelled all the way back - to 300 degrees - to be used as a tablet, or while watching movies. It is powered by an AMD A6 quad-core processor, and a dedicated AMD Sun Pro graphics card. This laptop comes with an 8GB solid state drive (SSD) for faster boot times.

* Dell Vostro V3446 — Rs 35,000 Alternatively, you can opt for the 14-inch Dell Vostro V3446, which is not equipped with a touchscreen, but is powered by a fourth-gen Intel Core i3 processor and an nVidia GeForce (2GB) GT620M graphics card.

* HP 15-r007TU (G8D27PA) — Rs 32,000
If you need a laptop with a larger display, check out the HP 15-r007TU (G8D27PA). It is kitted with a fourth-gen Intel Core i3 processor.

*Lenovo G50-70 (59-422406) — Rs 35,000
The Lenovo G50-70 (59-422406) is also a great big-screen budget laptop. It is also powered by a fourth-gen Intel Core i3 processor, and includes a dedicated 2GB graphics card (ATI R5 M230).

All the laptops mentioned here run the Windows 8.1 operating system, support a display resolution of 1366x768px (HD), 4GB RAM, a 500GB hard drive, Ethernet for wired connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, an HDMI port, and a memory card reader. Additionally, all these machines - except the Lenovo Flex 2 - are fitted with a DVD-RW optical drive.

Before you make a buying decision, visit a local store to check the device for its build quality, its display for viewing angles and visibility in bright light, speakers for audio, and its keyboard for typing comfort.