The 4 best cheap Windows laptops of 2022

July 27, 2022

Back to school time can get expensive and not everyone wants to pay thousands of dollars for a new laptop.

Students can be perfectly happy with cheap and cheerful systems that just get the job done without bells and whistles or fancy branding.

Here are a handful of Windows 10 laptops, all priced under $400 and perfect for most of the day-to-day tasks students undertake.

Acer

This is one of those budget laptops that not only looks premium, but also advanced features such as Wi-Fi 6 and a decent amount of fast storage. It makes the perfect laptop for work or school.

Pros:

Affordable price
Great display
Efficient processor

Cons:

Finicky touchpad

Dell

Specs: Intel Celeron Processor N4020 (4MB Cache, up to 2.8 GHz) | 15.6-inch HD (1366 x 768) Anti-glare LED-Backlit Non-touch Narrow Border Display | Windows 11 Home (S mode) | 4GB, 1x4GB, DDR4, 2400MHz | Intel UHD Graphics 600 with shared graphics memory | 128GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive

The Dell Inspiron 15 3000 is a cheap yet stylish laptop that offers decent power and performance, all for under $300. It is a good, solid, and reliable all-rounder.

Pros:

Great battery life
Easy-to-use keyboard

Cons:

No SSD
No USB-C ports

ASUS

Dell

The Dell Inspiron 11 is a great device for those who can’t choose between a laptop and a tablet—with just a flip of a hinge you can swap between one configuration and another with ease. Choose between tablet mode, presentation mode, tent mode, and laptop mode.

The 64GB eMMC storage means this is a more robust platform, ideal for throwing into a messenger bag or school bag since there’s no hard drive to knock about.

Pros:

Compact
Doubles as a touchscreen tablet
Great color and design

Cons:

Battery life could be better
Dimmer display

Acer Aspire 5 is the best cheap Windows laptop. Whether you need a budget Windows laptop for work or school the Acer Aspire 5 packs a punch at a very affordable price. It is compatible with Windows 10 and Windows 11, and certainly gets the job done.

Any of these cheap Windows laptops are great options—it ultimately comes down to what qualities are important to you (CPU, RAM, display, etc.), what size and weight you prefer, and what you’re willing to spend.

We chose these laptops after extensive research into the product category. We compared factors like pricing, reviews (both good and bad), different specs, as well as renowned brand names in the space.

It’s always recommended that you check the tech specs and user manual of your laptop to see what version of Windows it’s running. But the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 has Windows 11 already installed, and the Acer Aspire 5 is eligible for a free Windows 11 upgrade.

You’re looking at a system that can handle the general activities people do at work or school (as long as they don’t include things like pro-grade photo and video editing and playing games and that sort of activities). These systems are general-purpose systems but don’t expect them to handle heavy workloads.

Battery life all depends on how you’re using your laptop. If you’re doing very light workloads like web browsing or word processing, you’ll get the maximum run time out of your new laptop. For example: the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 has a maximum battery life of 7.5 hours. So if you’re just catching up on news headlines or your kids are doing homework, you’ll get fairly close to that number. But if you’re streaming music, movies, or shows, you’ll get a bit less, and your laptop will die fairly quickly if you’re trying to edit photos and videos.

Here are a few other options to look into:

Article source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-cheap-windows-laptop/#ftag=RSSbaffb68