Chromebooks: The Crème de la Cheap?Ĭhromebooks used to be little more than glorified netbooks running Google's Chrome OS. (See our picks for the best touch-screen laptops.) Any 2-in-1 convertible machine, though, will by definition have a touch screen, as having one is necessary for using the machine as a tablet or in other orientations where the keyboard is covered up. You shouldn't always expect a touch-screen display, however. Wi-Fi 6, hasn't made it down to the budget brigade yet in widespread fashion, though you will see it in a few models.)Īn HDMI output and a USB-C port are definite pluses, and you can find these on even some of the very cheapest models. A Wi-Fi radio that uses the speedy 802.11ac protocol is also the norm now. In terms of features, budget laptops will come with (almost always) at least one USB 3.0 port, and possibly a USB 2.0 port or two. This is not the same as the flash memory used in a true solid-state drive (SSD), and it will feel a tad sluggish if you're used to an SSD. Also, know that some of these budget machines, including many Chromebooks, use what is called "eMMC memory" as their main storage. Of course, as with anything cloud-based, you'll need to be online to access it.
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Other budget systems, particularly Chromebooks and some under-$400 Windows laptops, will have only a small allotment (32GB or 64GB) of local storage, but compensate for it with generous offers of additional free cloud storage. If you can get by with the capacity of a small SSD, we strongly favor opting for one, even over a roomier platter-based hard drive, for their durability. When it comes to storage, some inexpensive systems still use spinning hard drives, with capacities often at 500GB, but increasingly, inexpensive Windows machines opt for small-capacity solid-state drives (SSDs) of 128GB or 256GB capacity. (A lower-resolution screen, which is a feature of some of these machines, can consume less power, all else being equal, and end up being a benefit of sorts.) (Photo: Zlata Ivleva) The battery life for a cheap laptop should come in at a minimum of seven or eight hours, and these days, many will last quite a bit longer. (A 4GB RAM count remains more common in Chromebooks and under-$300 Windows laptops.) In terms of batteries, an ideal budget laptop has one with six cells or more. In years past, many of the barest-budget Windows laptops would come with just 2GB or 4GB of main system memory, but nowadays, at least in the Windows sphere, most come with 8GB. (If money is no object, check out our top-rated gaming laptops and ultraportables, as well as our favorite cheap gaming laptops.) The higher demands of AAA titles, though, still require a discrete GPU, which you won't find in this price range. The newest integrated graphics solutions can hold their own in browser-based games and even some online games like World of Warcraft. Opt for these CPU lines if you need more than just the basics.Īll of these CPUs also host the silicon that runs the laptop's graphics.
(That's especially true with Chromebooks more on them later.) That said, the $400-to-$700 Windows laptop market is mostly populated by systems based on the much peppier Core i3, Core i5, Ryzen 3, and Ryzen 5 families of processors. Intel's Celeron and Pentium processors (which power most of the under-$400 laptop set) have evolved to the point that they can support most of your web browsing and basic productivity needs without feeling sluggish. The good news is that you'll have to accept fewer compromises with the budget laptops of today than you did in the past. Best Hosted Endpoint Protection and Security SoftwareĬomponents and Connectivity: What to Know.
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