Cheap laptops buying guide

Cheap laptops buyer recommendations: Having a dedicated graphics card (GPU) means that a laptop has its own dedicated graphics chip inside, unlike integrated graphics which are built in to the processor and far less powerful. Dedicated graphics have their own memory (RAM) and are significantly faster, offering up to (and sometimes even more than) 20x more performance than their integrated counterparts, depending on model. You need a dedicated GPU if you intend on using your laptop for gaming, video editing, rendering or design work. Popular graphics cards include NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX and GTX ranges, as well as AMD Radeon cards such as RX560X.

Before you drop a grand or two on a gaming laptop, you should know what you’re getting for your money. Powerful quad-core processors are par for the course, with Intel Core i7 chips pushing serious performance even for non-gaming applications. Discrete GPUs from Nvidia and AMD provide silky-smooth graphics and impressive frame rates; some high-end rigs come with two GPUs, helping justify their high prices. External GPU docks are also an option, connected to the laptop via a Thunderbolt 3 cable. Additional features to watch for include high-resolution displays and hard drives that offer 1TB or more of local storage space, so you can store your entire game library on the machine.

The LG Gram 14Z980 is the best ultrabook out there right now. It manages to cram three USB 3.0 ports (including USB-C), a microSD card reader, and an HDMI port into a tiny, lightweight frame. Despite the name, the LG Gram 14Z980 weighs a fraction less than 1kg. Despite the slender build and lightweight frame, battery life, processing power and overall performance is exceptional. The LG Gram 14Z980’s display is also impressive, offering decent maximum brightness, and respectable colour space reproduction. Netflix and YouTube looks fantastic. With the LG Gram covering 94.9% of the sRGB gamut, designers ought to be able to work easily on this too, though the low Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 colour gamut scores of 67.5% and 70.6% mean this isn’t one for photographers. Discover even more information at Best Dell Laptops.

The Asus VivoBook Flip 14 has 64 GB of speedy eMMC storage, a good-enough Intel Core m3 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a bright, 14-inch screen with a 1920×1080 resolution. Its keyboard and trackpad are comfortable and responsive, and while the case isn’t as we’d like, it’s still of better quality than other laptops in this price range. But the VivoBook Flip’s 4 GB of memory is a bit limiting, its battery won’t last a full day like the Chromebook’s, and like all Windows laptops, it comes with a lot of bloatware. Choosing a budget laptop is tricky, because you’ll find dozens—even hundreds—of configurations at a given time. Their prices fluctuate constantly, too, and companies release and discontinue models with no warning. If our pick isn’t available, you should look for the following specs in an all-purpose budget laptop: seventh- or eighth-generation Intel Core i3 or i5 processor (they’ll have model names that start with i3 or i5 and end with 7xxx or 8xxx), 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM, a solid-state drive, and a 1366×768 or better screen resolution.

When it comes to the best Chromebook laptop, you have a choice between two stark alternatives. There’s the premium Chromebook Pixel, which we list further down this page, and then there’s the excellent Asus Chromebook Flip C302, which combines premium features in a much more affordable package. For many people, Chromebooks are excellent and affordable laptops that are perfect for students, and the Asus Chromebook Flip C302 is easily one of the best Chromebooks, and one of the best laptops, money can buy. It comes with an Intel Core processor, full 1080p display, touchscreen, backlit keyboard and USB-C port. Read even more details on this website.