So, you’ve come right here in search of a laptop computer below $500. Luckily for you, the PCWorld staff has been ramping up its protection of finances, sub-$500 laptops during the last couple of months. Laptops at this worth level usually include compromises, so it’s essential to buy good. In this class, you’ll usually discover Windows machines with Intel Core i3 or i5 processors or low-powered Chromebooks. While each decide in our listing under has its execs and cons, one Windows laptop computer actually stood out from the remaining: The Acer Aspire 5.
Not solely is the Aspire 5 Windows PC moderately priced, it additionally affords a great number of ports and a cushty keyboard. The Core i5 processor retains issues comparatively snappy and the 1080p show is brilliant. If you’re in search of one thing completely different, we’ve received a few Chromebook choices, together with a pill with a removable keyboard and a convertible with a elaborate OLED show. These particular machines run on low-powered processors, so you may anticipate good battery life. And being Chromebooks, they’re much less weak to malware. Read on to get the very best bang in your buck in a finances laptop computer.
If you’re in a position to stretch your finances a bit extra, take a look at our best laptops roundup, because it has extra Windows PC choices.
Acer Aspire 5 – Best sub-$500 laptop computer general
Pros
- Affordable worth
- Rugged construct
- Great keyboard
- Good number of ports
Cons
- Subpar webcam
- Annoying bloatware comes pre-installed
- Touchpad is just a little onerous to make use of
MSRP:
$369 (base mannequin) $499 (as reviewed)
With its reasonably priced worth level, first rate efficiency, and strong construct, the Acer Aspire 5 is a wonderful sub-$500 possibility. The Intel Core i5 processor retains issues comparatively zippy, and efficiency is quick sufficient for general-use duties like writing emails and looking the net. The 14-inch LCD 1080p show is fairly sharp and vibrant, which is nice for engaged on paperwork or streaming video. This machine additionally comes with 8GB of RAM, which is lots for rapidly firing up purposes. The keyboard is relatively good, too.
In our evaluation, the tester was pleasantly shocked by the keyboard’s “durable feel.” It has a spacious structure, which is ideal for longer typing classes. Although the keyboard lacks backlighting (not stunning given the value) and the touchpad is a bit tough to make use of, we really feel the professionals far outweigh the cons right here. If you’re buying round for a stable on a regular basis laptop computer that received’t break the financial institution, the Aspire 5 is certainly price a glance.
Read our full
Acer Aspire 5 review
Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 – Best sub-$500 Chromebook
Pros
- Attractive design
- Affordable
- Punchy audio
- Excellent keyboard
Cons
- Mediocre efficiency
- Subpar battery life
Between its affordable worth and very good keyboard, the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 is sweet all-arounder. Thanks to the Intel Pentium Gold 7505 processor, this Chromebook is provided to deal with internet looking, enhancing paperwork, and different easy duties. However, in accordance with our evaluation, it might “feel taxed by demanding tasks.” For instance when the tester opened up a number of tabs, he seen some lag in efficiency. The port choice is a pleasant mixture of outdated and new: It has two USB-C ports, a single USB-A port, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and a microSD card reader. The 13.3-inch 1080p IPS touchscreen is a giant perk at this worth level, too.
Regarding the keyboard, our tester favored the “crisp and taut” really feel of the keys. It’s pretty snug, making it appropriate for marathon typing classes. Although this laptop computer is a 2-in-1—that means the display screen can fold again to make it operate extra like a pill—it weighs nearly 3 kilos, which is on the heavier aspect for a convertible. It is probably not essentially the most moveable laptop computer on the earth, however that flexibility can nonetheless be good for purposes that favor a pill type issue. Overall, the Flex 5 has lots going for it.
Read our full
Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 review
HP Chromebook x2 11 da0023dx – Best folio-style Chromebook
Pros
- Gorgeous 2K touchscreen
- Solid efficiency
- Excellent battery life
- Robust design
Cons
- Trackpad is just too delicate at occasions
- Light on ports
Yes, one other Chromebook—however the HP Chromebook x2 11 is among the greatest 2-in-1 machines you should purchase, contemplating its low-cost worth. While some could discover the detachable-keyboard design a ache to take care of, our reviewer actually favored this one. The pill’s aluminum chassis feels rugged and prefer it’ll final fairly some time. The removable keyboard took some getting used to, however ended up being nice for lengthy typing classes. The rear plate, which transforms right into a kickstand that holds up the pill for hands-free use, connects to the again of the pill by way of magnets. The reviewer discovered the connection to be each clear and powerful. As for the efficiency, it’s about what you’d anticipate out of a Chromebook: zippy sufficient for on a regular basis duties like looking the net and so forth.
The x2 11 is powered by a Snapdragon 7c processor, which is healthier than the MediaTek chips you’ll discover in most Chromebooks. That stated, the Intel Core i3 in Windows machines is solely extra highly effective by default. This HP additionally packs 8GB of RAM, which helps with internet browser efficiency, amongst different duties. The 11-inch 1440p touchscreen is on the smaller aspect, however that simply means it’s lighter and extra moveable than larger show choices. Plus, the 1440p decision is actually stunning. According to the tester, colours have been wealthy and shadows have been fairly darkish.
Read our full
HP Chromebook x2 11 da0023dx review
Lenovo IdeaPad Chromebook Duet 5 – Best sub-$500 Chromebook for OLED followers
Pros
- Gorgeous display screen
- Amazing battery life
- Good worth
Cons
- Awkward facet ratio
- No fingerprint or face scanning
The Lenovo IdeaPad Chromebook Duet 5, a Chrome OS pill that doubles as a laptop computer, has a stable keyboard and drop-dead beautiful 1080p OLED show that produces colourful photographs. Although the display screen’s 16:9 facet ratio may really feel awkward for some, it could be good for watching films. Lenovo’s keys have a good journey distance of 1.3mm and the removable keyboard as an entire doesn’t really feel too cramped. There’s additionally a kickstand that may be adjusted as much as 135 levels. The one tradeoff is that the USI-compatible pen prices further.
Let’s take a peek below the hood. For starters, this Chromebook is armed with a Snapdragon SC7180 processor. Again, it’s extra highly effective than the MediaTek chips. When it involves opening up purposes and internet pages, the 8GB of reminiscence affords a pleasant increase in pace. There’s 128GB of storage, however that’s not majorly essential, as you’ll retailer most issues within the cloud. But the star of the present right here is the 1080p OLED panel, which makes each little pixel actually pop. If you’re after a stunning OLED display screen with wonderful distinction and colour, the Duet 5 will hit the spot.
Read our full
Lenovo IdeaPad Chromebook Duet 5 review
How we examined
The PCWorld staff places each Windows laptop computer by a sequence of benchmarks that check GPU and CPU efficiency, battery life, and so forth. The thought is to push the laptop computer to its limits after which examine it towards others we’ve examined. Chromebooks, however, undergo a sequence of web-based checks. It wouldn’t be truthful or potential to run the identical sorts of checks on a Chromebook, as they’re Chrome OS-based machines. Below, you’ll discover a breakdown of every check and the the explanation why we run them.
Windows laptops
- PCMark 10: PCMark 10 is how we decide how effectively the laptop computer handles lighter duties like internet looking, phrase processing, spreadsheets, and so forth.
- HandBrake: HandBrake is extra intensive than PCMark 10. It principally measures how lengthy a laptop computer’s CPU takes to encode a beefy 30GB file.
- Cinebench: Cinebench is a short stress check of the CPU cores. It does this by rendering a 2D scene over a brief time period.
- 3DMark: 3DMark checks if 3D efficiency stays constant over time by operating graphic-intensive clips.
- Video rundown check: To gauge battery life, we loop a 4K video utilizing Windows 10’s Movies & TV app till the laptop computer dies.
Chromebooks
- CrXPRT 2: The CrXPRT 2 benchmark checks a Chromebook’s battery life.
- Speedometer 2.0: This check determines a Chromebook’s internet browser efficiency. It simulates this by including, finishing, and eradicating a to-do listing.
- Basemark Web 3.0: This benchmark gauges how effectively a Chromebook can deal with web-based purposes.
- Kraken 1.1: Kraken 1.1 is a JavaScript efficiency benchmark.
- Jetstream 2: Jetstream 2 is a mixture of WebAssembly and JavaScript benchmarks. This is a solution to gauge how effectively a Chromebook runs superior workloads.
What form of laptop computer must you get?
Ah, right here we’re on the billion greenback query. Do you spring for a fundamental Chromebook or go for a Windows laptop computer with extra options? Well, it actually depends upon your life-style and your expectations of a sub-$500 machine. At this worth level, you’re not going to discover a highly effective workhorse. However, there are many reasonably priced laptops on the market for many who want the fundamentals.
Chromebooks, for instance, are an excellent low-cost possibility and supply phenomenal battery life. I take advantage of a Chromebook as my major work laptop computer, because it has every little thing I want for each enhancing and writing. If you journey for work, it’s most likely a good suggestion to put money into a laptop computer that weighs lower than three kilos. If you’re nonetheless uncertain, don’t sweat it. I’ve put collectively a listing of fast shopping for suggestions under.
- Laptop kind: There are many various laptop computer varieties that fall within the sub-$500 class: clamshells, 2-in-1’s, Chromebooks, and way more. The shows on convertible laptops (aka 2-in-1’s), for instance, can swing round 360 levels. This permits you to use the laptop computer like a pill. They will also be propped up like a tent for viewing films or collaborating in video calls. Chromebooks are available in numerous sizes and styles, and solely run Google’s web-focused Chrome OS. With a Chromebook, all you want is a Gmail account and, growth, you’re in.
- CPU: When it involves the sub-$500 Windows laptops, you may anticipate finding Intel Core i3 or i5 processors. An i5 processor clearly gives just a little extra oomph. That stated, fundamental workplace and internet work does simply nice on a Core i3. As for AMD choices, the Ryzen 3 is nice for fundamental productiveness and internet looking, whereas Ryzen 5 chips rival Intel’s Core i5 as stable all-arounders. For Chromebooks, Snapdragon and Pentium processors are extra highly effective than MediaTek chips.
- Graphics: At this worth vary, you most likely received’t discover a laptop computer with a strong discrete graphics card. Instead, you’ll encounter laptops with built-in graphics, that are built-in with the CPU and use much less energy because of this. This is completely nice for on a regular basis duties, particularly in the event you’re not doing something that’s graphics-intensive—like 3D gaming.
- RAM: Always go for 8GB of RAM. That’s lots sufficient for firing up purposes and loading internet pages. Most Chromebooks are geared up with 4GB of RAM, which is the naked minimal. You want a good quantity of reminiscence on these machines, as they’re primarily web-based. If there’s an 8GB RAM possibility, I’d suggest springing for that.
- Display dimension: If you’re a video editor or somebody who does a whole lot of multimedia work, you’ll desire a show that’s wherever from 15- to 17-inches (however these machines normally value excess of $500). The candy spot for finances laptops is absolutely wherever from 13- to 14-inches. The larger the show, the heavier your laptop computer goes to be. A 13- or 14-inch show is the very best by way of portability and worth.
- Resolution: I wouldn’t go for something lower than 1080p, as there’s nothing extra annoying than a barely fuzzy picture. 1080p produces an image that’s sharp sufficient for watching Netflix or working in Excel. At this worth vary, you received’t actually discover many (if any) laptops with 1440p decision or greater.
- Battery life: If you propose on taking your laptop computer wherever with you, goal for one thing that may final 10 to 12 hours on a single cost. That’s greater than a full work day, so it ought to theoretically get you thru lengthy flights or a day of lessons. Obviously, extra is all the time higher. Just know that the larger the battery, the heavier the laptop computer.
- Price: The worth actually depends upon your finances. If you’re strapped for money (been there, belief me), go for a Chromebook or an entry-level enterprise laptop computer. These laptops are a good selection for college students or younger professionals. If you store good, you may even discover 2-in-1’s within the $500 vary.
- Ports: A big selection of ports is all the time a plus, because it eliminates the necessity for an adapter. I’d suggest a laptop computer that has each USB-C and USB-A. An HDMI port is nice, too. This is particularly helpful for hooking as much as an exterior monitor.