Looking for the best Windows or ChromeOS laptop for under $ 500? You and billions of other bargain hunters too. As more people work from home, it’s hard to find a cheap laptop under $ 500 these days. Sales of PCs and accessories have skyrocketed in recent weeks as more and more people are telecommuting. That, coupled with supply chain problems also resulting from the coronavirus crisis has made laptops more difficult to find than ever. Despite that, we’ve put together a list of models that are still available for under $ 500, as long as you manage your expectations when it comes to options and specs, you can still get quite a bit of power in a budget model, and that includes a good one. Battery life and a reasonably light body – and the good news is, you don’t have to settle for a traditional fixed-screen laptop with keyboard, either. You can also buy a convertible (aka hybrid or 2-in-1). One thing you won’t find here is a MacBook or any other Apple laptop. Even an iPad Air will cost you over $ 500 once you buy the optional keyboard.It’s easier to find low-cost Chromebooks than Windows laptops, making it one of the most popular categories of budget-friendly laptops on the market, though We are also seeing many more Chromebooks in the $ 500 to $ 1,000 range. This is because Google’s Chrome operating system does not consume as much power as Windows, so it can run on a lower-end processor, slower storage, and less screen or memory resolution, just a few of the components to do. A laptop is expensive, but the flip side is that while ChromeOS doesn’t need as much power as Windows, Chrome itself is unfortunately more of a memory drain than you’d expect, and if the processor goes too low, the The system will still seem slow to you. Now, as they are cloud devices, you don’t need a large amount of built-in storage. That also means that if you spend most of your time roaming the web, writing, streaming videos, or playing Android games, Chromebooks are a good fit.Read More: The Best Chromebook of 2020
But some people need a Windows operating system to use heavier apps than those that work with ChromeOS. That means a faster processor, more money (8GB is the minimum) and more storage for applications and the operating system itself. Solid state drives (SSDs) can greatly impact the way a system works. Windows compared to hard disk drives (HDDs). But they also make the price go up. So if your budget is a little more generous, maybe you should consider going up to the 128GB SSD option. The good news is that you can get a 2-in-1 (a computer with a screen that swivels to become a tablet. ) for a fairly reasonable price, for both Windows and ChromeOS. All 2-in-1s have touchscreens, taking into account all the specs and options, from battery life to storage space, screen resolution, screen size, core processor performance and Overall machine and battery performance, here are some of our top picks for the best Windows PCs and Chromebooks of 2020 on a budget of $ 500. We also tell you what are its pros and cons.
Lenovo
Slim, sleek, and decently set up for $ 429, the Lenovo IdeaPad 330 with 8GB RAM has a quad-core processor and 256GB of storage, which is pretty good for its class.
Read more: These are the best hybrids of 2020
Sarah Tew / CNET
For less than $ 400 (although high-end configurations can top $ 500), this Acer Chromebook is pretty much a bargain. It is a thin and light laptop, but it is sturdy and has excellent battery life. In addition, it has a fingerprint reader and Citrix certification.
Read more: These are the best student laptops
Acer
With just 4GB of memory and a dual-core Intel i3-8130U chip, the 14-inch Spin 3 hybrid laptop and tablet system doesn’t provide power for much work. However, its design and features are adapted to Web browsing, video streaming and other basic tasks.
HP
The HP 15 doesn’t have a real HD display, but its other specs are pretty good for under $ 500. They include Ryzen 5 3500U processor, 256GB solid state drive and 12GB of RAM.
Asus
Don’t confuse this model for the Vivobook S15, which is thinner, lighter and more expensive. But this computer has Ryzen 3 3200U, 128GB SSD and 4GB of memory.
Sarah Tew / CNET
For its price, the HP 15-inch Chromebook offers good components and features, plus a comfortable numeric keypad and fantastic battery life.
Read more.
Asus
You get the basics with this attractive and functional Chromebook: Celeron N3350 processor, 4GB of memory and 32GB of storage. All this for $ 300.
Dell
For about $ 460, you can get this laptop with a 15-inch screen and a fairly decent configuration: an Intel Core i3 processor, 12GB RAM, 1TB of storage and an HD screen.
Lenovo
This computer has Celeron N4000 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. It has a modern design, real HD screen and costs less than $ 300.
The most important news in the technology industry, every day.
