Low Cost Laptop Processors Compared

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.

AMD E-1800 APU - 856 points

A good place to start will be with AMD's 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.

Intel Celeron 847 - 1043 points 

Intel Celeron 857 - 1135 points

Intel Celeron 877 - 1368 points

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.

AMD A6-4455M - 1296

AMD A6-4400M - 1643

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

Intel Pentium 997 - 1548 points

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.

Intel Core i3-2367M - 1764 points

Intel Core i3-2365M - 1807 points

Intel Core i3-2377M - 1851 points

Intel Core i3-2328M - 2615 points

The Core i3 is probably powerful enough for the typical consumer. Even these older Sandy Bridge based processors give good performance. This is what are found in 14-inch Lenovo's ideapad S400, or the 11.6-inch Acer TravelMate B113-M, both of which retails for just under Php24,000.

Intel Core i3-3217U - 2226 points

Intel Core i3-3110M - 2921 points

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. 

AMD A8-4555M - 2596 points

AMD A8-4500M - 2706 points

AMD's A8 is their equivalent for Intel's Core i3. This is found in the HP Probook 4445s or Samsung Slimbook which will set you back Php23,000 to Php28,000.