Best Laptops under $500
The competition between the laptop manufacturers these days is extremely high, each brand is claiming to be the best one. As you probably know, lowering the price of any product is minimizing the competition to some extent.
Note: All of the models are new and their price is up-to-date. Last updated: 22dec. 2011.
How to choose the best laptop under $500
If you are about to choose a quality-based product that is cheap, you’ll have to forfeit some of the newest hardware components. Let me explain quickly what are the disadvantages of cheap laptops.
The main disadvantage of the best laptops under 500 dollars is the integrated graphics card, which is not that bad actually. The difference between the integrated and the separated video card is that the integrated one doesn’t have such a good performance as the separated one. However, there are a lot of expensive laptops that are also using an integrated video card, because it has some advantages, like battery saving.
The other disadvantage of the best laptops under $500 is the quality of the screen display. One of the most expensive part in a laptop is the display. It can be brighter, darker, glossy, gradient, etc. When choosing your laptop you have to keep that in mind.
Some of the best laptops under 500 for 2012
Here we are about to review some of the best laptops under 500 bucks.
Acer AS5755 – 15.6 inch – Glossy Black
Summary: Cheap; Good Quality of the display/screen; One of the greatest CPU’s of 2011 with many awards; Multitasking touchpad; Comes with Windows 7 and Office Starter Edition 2010.
Recently, Acer became one of the cheapest laptops on the market.
This model was released in October, 2011. It has very good specifications for its money, which makes it one of the best laptops under $500. Widescreen display; smooth multitasking; great CPU and RAM performance; quality screen; and fair graphics. It also comes with the Home Premium edition of Windows 7 and Office Starter 2010 installed .
- 15.6″ HD Widescreen CineCrystal™ LED-backlit Display: (1366 x 768) resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio
- 2nd gen Intel® Core™ i5-2430M Processor 2.40GHzwith Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.0GHz
- Windows® 7 Home Premium
- 500GB Hard Drive
- 4GB DDR3 Memory
- Intel® HD Graphics 3000
- High-Definition Audio Support
This laptop costs less than $500. Also, you may find it cheaper at the local store if there is any promotion.
Dell Inspiron 14RN i14RN-1364DBK – 14 inch laptop
Summary: Portable; Nice design; Good performance for its price; It may be a great choise for laptop for college.
If you have watched TV commercials, you may have heard about the Dell Inspiron series. For this competative price, the Dell Inspiron 14RN is among the best laptops for under 500$.
The 14″ display could definitely be an advantage for some users. For graphics, this model uses the popular Intel HD Graphics 3000, which is among the greatest integrated video cards on the market.
When it comes to design, Dell can offer you switching panels and smooth inferface lines.
- Intel Core i3-2330M Processor (Dual-Core, 2.2GHz, 3MB Cache)
- 4GB RAM, DDR3, 1333MHz, 1 DIMM (Max Memory – 2 DIMM, up to 8GB)
- 640GB 5400RPM
- 14″ High Definition (720p) WLED Display with TrueLife;
- Integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000
- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
This model was released in October 2011 and it costs under 500$. Like any other product, it could be found cheaper at the local store if there is any promotion.
Toshiba Satellite L755 15.6-Inch LED Laptop
Summary: Good quality display; Great for college work, watching movies, playing games that doesn’t require a lot of resources and good graphics.
When it comes to good quality combined with a fair price, Toshiba offers a really good product.
The new Satelitte L755, is a great addition to our collection of laptop under $500.
Many reviewers really enjoy the design, which is supported with a great performance. Let’s take a look at the specifications:
- Intel Core i3-2330M Processor 2.2 GHz with 3MB Cache
- 4GB DDR3 1333MHz
- 640GB (5400 RPM) HDD
- Integrated HD Graphics Card
- 15.6″ diagonal widescreen TruBrite TFT LED display (720p HD)
- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
- 6 cell Li-Ion battery for up to 5 hours, 42 minutes battery life
Unfortunately, the prices for this model may vary. If you search for the model in Amazon you can find it at the best price of under 500$. There is also an option for 530$, which includes a nice 16″ case and a wireless mouse.
Think outside the box
There are many good deals which are not under 500$ and you should consider their advantages. If you pickup a laptop under 500 you can have some problems and then spend more and more money in fixing these problems – i.e. a cheap laptop can actually be more expensive than you think.
For example, choosing a laptop under 500 can cost you more in the future in upgrades, batteries, software, repair services, etc., so a cheap laptop can actually be more expensive than you think.
I may listen to you soon ;P
Yesterday I found that guide and right now I am writing from my Toshiba Satellite L755
PERFECT laptop for its price.
My brother recommended me one of these models and he used to be totally right. I will also try to get some discount and make it like $400. Thanks