Need a Cheap Laptop? These Are Our Favourites

[Karlston]

Need a Cheap Laptop? These Are Our Favourites

You don't have to spend a fortune to get a good notebook.

 

 

Computers have put people on the moon and sent cute robots to Mars. You'd think somewhere in the miraculous technological utopia of our age, we'd also be able to get a decent laptop without spending a fortune.

 

All I want is something portable enough that you don't get back strain toting it around for a day, and powerful enough to get some basic work done. A light, "fast enough" laptop for under $700—is that so much to ask? Fortunately, it is possible, but there are some trade-offs. You can't edit videos or play hardcore games on these machines. The displays won't be as sharp as more expensive models, either. We've tested a ton of cheap laptops, and for everyday tasks, these machines will do everything you ask of them—and leave some money in your bank account.

 

Be sure to check out our many buying guides, including our Best Laptops and Best MacBooks guides.

 

Updated May 2020: We've updated prices, removed out-of-stock items, changed our top pick, and added the Lenovo Duet, a ChromeOS tablet that's surprisingly good.

 

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  Photograph: Acer

  Best All-Around

  Acer Swift 3 (2020)

   

  WIRED:: Acer's 14-inch Swift 3 was formerly our top pick for those needing great battery life, but after spending some time with the updated 2020 model, I've come to think this is the best cheap laptop you can get. It wraps a midrange Intel Core i5 chip, 8 gigabytes of RAM, and a 1-terabyte hard drive in a no-nonsense design with a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel IPS LCD display (IPS is a little nicer than some types of LCD). The Swift 3 scored the best battery life in our video-based battery drain test, and it boasts four USB ports, including one USB-C port. I've also used the Intel i3 model, which gets even better battery life, but with a noticeable loss of computing power.

   

  TIRED: If you want to spend a little more you can get a dedicated Nvidia GPU, which would make light gaming possible.

   

  $674 at Adorama

  $698 at Acer

   

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  Photograph: Acer

  Best 15-inch Laptop

  Acer Aspire 5

   

  WIRED: The Acer Aspire 5 is the best 15-inch laptop I tested. You should get the model with an Intel Core i5, integrated graphics, 8 gigabytes of RAM, and a 15.6-inch IPS display (1,920 x 1,080 pixels). It's big, and the display is not the sharpest, but it won't strain your eyes. There are ports galore (ethernet, USB, USB-C, HDMI, headphone jack), and it's powerful enough to watch 4K video.

   

  TIRED: My only gripe is it's hard to open. The metal front is flush, and the hinge is tight, making it nearly impossible to open one-handed. The speakers aren't the loudest either.

   

  $670 at Amazon

   

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  Photograph: Amazon

  Best for $700

  Asus ZenBook 13

   

  WIRED: The Asus ZenBook is only under $700 on sale, but it goes on sale quite frequently. If you can find it for that price, it's a great laptop. The model we've linked to features an 8th-generation Intel Core i5, 8 gigabytes of RAM, and a speedy 512-gigabyte solid-state drive, something of a rarity in this price range. There's also a fingerprint reader. Much of the appeal here is the thin design and light weight; at 2.5 pounds, this is the lightest 13-inch laptop I tested.

   

  TIRED: My main complaint with the ZenBook is the default display calibration, which looked particularly poor to me. This is easy enough to fix using Windows' Intel Graphics settings, which I suggest using to tone down the default greenish cast.

  $750 $700 at Amazon

 

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  Photograph: HP

  Best for RAM-Hungry Tasks

  HP Pavilion X360 14-inch

   

  WIRED: The HP Pavilion line has been a stalwart of reliable, if somewhat boring, laptops for what seems like ages now. This 14-inch model ticks all the basic cheap laptop boxes with a 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, integrated graphics, and plenty of ports (including two USB-A, one USB-C, HDMI, and SD card reader). Where the Pavilion stands out is the extra RAM (12 GB instead of the usual 8 GB) and a 256-GB solid-state drive. You also get some decently loud speakers and a very nice keyboard.

   

  TIRED: What you don't get in the Pavilion is great battery life. It's also on the heavy side at nearly 4 pounds.

   

  $640 $600 at HP

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  Photograph: Acer

  Best for Chromebook Lovers

  Acer Chromebook 714

   

  WIRED: If you're all-in on Google's ChromeOS, Acer's Chromebook 714 offers the best experience you'll get outside of Google's much more expensive Pixelbook laptops. The 8 gigabytes of RAM and Intel Core i3 chip make ChromeOS plenty snappy, and the Chromebook 714 manages just about 12 hours of battery in our video drain test.

   

  TIRED: The 14-inch touchscreen is sharp, though not the brightest. ChromeOS is not for everyone though, you won't be editing images in Photoshop or gaming much, but if most of your work is web-based anyway, it might be a good fit for you.

   

  $600 $500 at Amazon

  $614 at B&H

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  Photograph: Apple

  Best Tablet for Under $400

  Apple iPad (10.2-Inch, 2019)

   

  WIRED: Do you really need a cheap laptop? Could you get by with a tablet? The 2019 10.2-inch Apple iPad will be the perfect laptop replacement for some people. If you want great battery life, something that doubles as a way to browse the web from the couch, watch movies in bed, and still get a bit of work done during the day, the iPad fits the bill.

   

  TIRED: The rub, or potential rub, lies in that last bit: getting work done during the day. It really depends on what sort of work you need to get done. If you're mostly working with word processing documents, web-based tools, video calls, and other tasks the iPad is good at, it works great. I wrote and created this entire article using an iPad. But if your work involves software that doesn't run on the iPad, get a real laptop.

   

  $279 at Amazon

  $329 at Apple

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  Photograph: Lenovo

  Best Chrome OS Tablet

  Lenovo Duet Chromebook

   

  WIRED: The Lenovo Chromebook Duet (8/10 WIRED Recommends) is the most fun you'll find in a Chromebook in 2020. Some tasks like editing photos are a challenge on its tiny screen, but it's perfect for browsing the web, emailing, editing documents online, and staying in touch with family via video chat. It's compact, lightweight, surprisingly well built, and the keyboard is as good as what you get with the more expensive iPad or Surface Go.

   

  TIRED: There's no SD card slot to expand your memory, so go for the more expensive 1-terabyte-drive model. The caveats about ChromeOS apply here as well.

   

  $279 at Lenovo

  $299 at Best Buy

 

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  Photograph: Microsoft 

  Best Cheap Windows Tablet

  Microsoft Surface Go 2

   

  WIRED: The Surface Go 2 gives you most, though not all, the power of Windows in a very lightweight, portable form factor. It can also double as a media tablet when you're not working. There's much here to love: It's fanless, the updated 10.5-inch display is sharper, battery life has been improved, there's a MicroSD slot to expand the storage, and the cover is a really lovely little keyboard.

   

  TIRED: The very nice keyboard cover is still sold separately for $129. To get 8 GB of RAM and the keyboard, the price gets close to doubling.

   

  $400 at Microsoft

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  Photograph: Getty Images

  How to Find a Good Laptop

  Laptop Buying Tips

   

  If your budget is tight and you want the most bang for your buck, or you just want to keep something out of the landfill, the used or refurbished laptop market is worth considering. I've had great luck buying used laptops on eBay from all sorts of sellers (both pro and regular people).

   

  To score the best deal, make sure you know the market. Do some research first to figure out a machine that suits your needs. The easiest to come by, and therefore (usually) the best deals tend to be on more boring, business-oriented models. I happen to like ThinkPads, which are used by and then dumped all at once by large corporations, which means there are lots to choose from and they're cheap.

   

  Aim for these specs: Try to get a laptop with at least an 8th-generation Intel Core i3 processor, 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage (preferably a solid-state drive, also called SSD), and at least a 13-inch display that's close to HD.

   

  Finding used laptops on eBay: Once you know what you want, search for it on eBay. Scroll down and check the option to only show "Sold Listings." Now take the 10 most recent sales, add up the prices, and divide by 10. That's the average price; don't pay more than that. Keep the lowest price in mind—that's the great deal price. Now, uncheck the Sold Listing option. See what's between the lowest price and that average price. Those are the deals you can consider. I suggest watching a few. Don't bid or participate at all. Just watch them until the end and see how high the auctions end up going.

   

  Once you have a feel for the market and what you should be paying, you'll know when you've found a deal. When you find it, wait. Don't bid until the last few minutes of the auction. You don't want other bidders to have a chance to react. Remember that if you miss out on something it's not the end of the world. There's always something new being listed on eBay.

 

Source: Need a Cheap Laptop? These Are Our Favorites (Wired)

[x3r0]

If you're going for Acer, I need to warn you about its after sales: in my country before you can send in your units for repairs, you need to sign an statement with a billed stamp states that you won't sue Acer for if any mis-repair process occurs in later days and so forth. This includes any kind of Acer laptop and products, home or business. A s***y business practice from Acer.