Science
7 Best Deals On Laptops Under $500
Despite what you’ve heard, a laptop doesn’t have to cost you your whole savings. If you need a computer for editing your feature film or running massive programs, it might. But if you’re interested in basic internet browsing, document writing, and video streaming, these seven bad boys are going to do the trick.
All of these laptops are under $500, so don’t expect a $2,000 value. You get what you pay for in terms of features and hard drive space, but all of these computers run of high-speed processors, are super lightweight, and some even come with free subscriptions of Office 365 Personal, which adds serious value.
And despite most of them having basic features, they all run the most up-to-date applications, and the Chromebooks run built-in a Chrome OS application. With the tablet craze, it’s no surprise that a number of the laptops feature touchscreen capabilities and fold either 180 or 360 degrees, essentially converting them into tablets. So whatever you’re looking for, you’re bound to find something in your budget on this list.
Acer Aspire
Price: $379.99
Amazon Rating: 4/5 Stars
Best Feature: 13.5 hours of battery life and an 8th generation Intel Core i3 processor.
Best User Review: “The 8th gen Core i3 2.2 Ghz CPU and 6 GB memory combine to give swift performance for most common tasks like word processing, web browsing in many tabs, and streaming video. One shocking thing to me is how well it handled running its own 1080p screen, a second 1080p screen over USB 3.0, and a third 2560x1440 screen all at once without issue.”
Why You Need This: It’s perfect for the everyday computer user who wants to use the internet and stream HD video without spending a fortune.
HP Chromebook
Price: $249
Amazon Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Best Feature: Built-in Chrome allows you to easily access Android apps through Google Play. It also comes with 100GB of Google Drive storage.
Best User Review: “I Bought this Chromebook as an upgrade to a laptop that was no longer getting the job done. Now as a student, I needed a device that was durable, had a long battery life, was small enough in size and weight to fit in my backpack without being encumbering while also having a big enough display to prevent eye strain, and ran all the programs I’d need as a student (such as all Microsoft office programs). These are the criteria I based my opinion on and I can say, I am far from displeased.”
Why You Need This: It has a touchscreen and can convert into a tablet.
Samsung Chromebook 3
Price: $188.86
Amazon Rating: 4/5 Stars
Best Feature: It has a spill-resistant keyboard.
Best User Review: “This thing is great! I bought the 4GB model which will hopefully last me a few years but it’s nice and snappy now. The 16GB of SSD storage is perfect as I use it for school and the biggest file I might be storing would be a picture. It integrates perfectly with my google account! This thing boots up super quick and it sleek and beautiful. It’s lightweight, has a long battery life and although it’s smaller than a standard laptop, the keyboard is easy to use.”
Why You Need This: It weighs in at 2.54 pounds, has built-in Chrome OS, and has an 11-hour battery life.
Acer Convertible Touchscreen Chromebook
Price: $238.45
Amazon Rating: 4/5 Stars
Best Feature: 360 degree flip-and-fold design allows you to easily turn the laptop into a tablet.
Best User Review: “This is the third Acer Chromebook I have purchased in the past 4 years, I bought yet another one for a good reason: they are perfect for what I use them for and they are definitely rugged, for all the banging, dropping and spilling I have done. While there are many reasons for someone who is interested in a true PC laptop to not like a Chromebook, I have discovered that they are the best, most versatile vehicle for surfing the internet, writing e-mails and blogging, and managing cloud based files and photos I can imagine.”
Why You Need This: It has a multi-touch touch screen and is scratch- and drop-resistant (to minor impact damage, that is).
Lenovo Ideapad
Price: $299
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Best Feature: It’s focused on being streamlined and clutter-free, so its preload contains six hand-selected apps dedicated to productivity.
Best User Review: “Perfect transaction. I had another Lenovo laptop but this one for wife. Excellent performance to date. Very quick boot up compared to my other PC / laptops. Will need to spend a few hours updating Windows 10 and Lenovo system files. This was expected and was easy to accomplish. Very pleased with purchase.”
Why You Need This: You can customize the amount of RAM space you want as well as choose from a touch-screen model.
HP Stream
Price: $162.16
Amazon Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Best Feature: Comes fully loaded with Office 365 Personal free for a year and 1TB of OneDrive storage.
Best User Review: “I’ve had this computer for about a month. I use this laptop for my online class. I had to uninstall some bloatware and change some settings to get it to work faster, but it is a great little laptop. Don’t expect to play an intensive games or edit movies with this laptop. It’s good for doing work or school related things, browsing the Internet, and watching Netflix.”
Why You Need This: It’s lightweight at 2.57 pounds and runs high-speed Windows 10 for fast web browsing and video streaming.
ASUS VivoBook
Price: $169
Amazon Rating: 4/5 Stars
Best Feature: At 2.2 pounds and 10 hours of battery life, it’s one of the fastest laptop for its size.
Best User Review: “This is a great system at it’s purchase price. I had decided to switch over to Windows10 Pro before receiving my product. Was pleasantly surprised how simple the process was and how quickly my new PC was up and running. Very crisp images from this bitty screen, had the computer running for 5 hours and is still cool to the touch.”
Why You Need This: It has a 180 degree hinge that allows you to lay the laptop flat on a table. It also comes with custom True2Life technology that optimizes the sharpness and contrast of every pixel by 150 percent.
