2024 is the year in which computing performance is seen to increase at a very great rate, driven by the wider use of artificial intelligence technology by all walks of life.
In parallel with this, we want to give some recommendations for laptops at a price of around RM2500-RM2800 for productivity use in the ivory tower, especially for students majoring in IT and programming. These selected laptops are offered by IT brands in the local market.
Acer Swift Go 14 (AMD) – RM2699
Acer Swift Go 14 (AMD) is among the compact laptops in this list, where it comes with a 14.0-inch screen display with Full HD resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. It is powered by two chip options, namely AMD Ryzen 7 7730U or AMD Ryzen 5 7530U and paired with 8GB memory and 512GB storage.
If you have deeper pockets, you can also choose to get a model that comes with 16GB of RAM, allowing you to take advantage of the CoPilot intelligence feature that Microsoft will introduce directly to the Windows 11 operating system soon.
In the meantime, the Acer Swift Go 14 also comes with various new features such as the use of a USB4 plug for faster data transmission rates and also support for WiFi 6E internet connection and also a long battery life.
ASUS Vivobook 15 (Intel) – RM2499
ASUS is a brand that is no stranger to variety of laptop offerings. For the purpose of this article, our recommendation is that you get the ASUS Vivobook 15 laptop powered by Intel's 12th generation Alder Lake processor chip.
Yes, there are models with newer 13th generation Intel processing chips, but among the reasons why we recommend you get a model one generation older is because models with 12th generation Intel chips come with more RAM (16GB compared to 8GB on newer models) and also a cheaper price tag.
This laptop also still comes with plugs such as USB 3.2, HDMI 1.4 and also support for WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 internet connections which are still used today.
Illegear Atomic 14 (Intel) – RM2699
Illegear is a local laptop brand known for their gaming class laptop offerings. But Illegear is also seen to have diversified their laptop offering and has introduced several productivity class offerings.
Illegear Atomic 14 is their best laptop in the productivity class. Just like the Acer Swift Go 14, it comes with a 14-inch screen display and Full HD resolution. It is powered by an Intel Core i5-12450H processor chip with 4GB of DDR5 memory and 500GB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage.
For the memory component, if you buy this laptop during the Chinese New Year promotion, you can get a free upgrade to 8GB memory, and even, if you don't mind spending a little more, it can be further upgraded to 16GB or 32GB if you want.
In the meantime, the displayed price can be further reduced if this laptop is purchased in cash, making it even cheaper.
MSI Modern 15 (AMD) – RM2799
The MSI Modern 15 is a productivity laptop powered by a choice of AMD Ryzen processing chips, and comes with a choice of AMD Ryzen 7 7730U or AMD Ryzen 57530U models and 8GB RAM along with 512GB SSD storage.
It is also equipped with a 15.6-inch screen display with Full HD resolution, this display is large enough to show the programming software interface comfortably, and if you still want a larger display, you can connect this laptop to the display via the built-in HDMI plug without problem.
Weighing only 1.3kg, this MSI Modern 15 laptop is also easy to carry anywhere and with a 37.3Wh battery, it has a battery life of 5-6 hours with a full charge that allows you to be productive no matter where you are.
Lenovo V15 Gen4 (Intel) – RM2541
Lenovo V15 Gen4 is another laptop that doesn't stand out, but comes with all-new powerful components and is very useful for practical purposes, especially for student productivity.
This laptop comes with several configurations, but what we recommend you choose is the Intel Core i5-13420H processing chip, the memory upgrade to 16GB DDR4, the 512GB PCIe4 SSD storage and the 15.6-inch IPS display upgrade compared to the TN display.
You can also choose to use the 13th generation Intel Core-U processing chip, but although it comes with more efficient power consumption, the cost of purchasing this laptop will increase dramatically when compared to the Intel Core-H processing chip.