What are the best laptops under $500? Laptops, at this price point, have good performance, quality build in addition to a quality display. For around 500 dollars, you can use this laptop for school, work, and business. Tasks, that can be carried out on this device, include taking notes, using Microsoft Office programs, some light gaming, watching movies, in addition to browsing the web.
Several minimum specifications and features exist, for a laptop that costs around $500. These, have been taken into consideration, when coming up with this list.
First, lets talk about performance. When opening programs, you don’t want to be in a situation where they take several seconds to open. Or, they become unresponsive. For that reason, the laptop, has to have a minimum of an Intel Core i3. You can comfortably run most software with this processor.
Speaking of the RAM, 4GB, is the minimum. Anything less than that, you are looking at lags and performance issues when multi tasking. 4GB RAM, enables you to run several programs at the same time. You can intuitively switch between several programs at the same time without having to wait for them to load. Chrome, is known for hogging lots of RAM. Therefore, having more RAM ensures that your browsing experience is smooth.
One of the most subjective features in a laptop that costs less than $500, is the display size. Here, you can get 12 inch, 13, 14 and 15 inch laptops. Usually, most people find 14 inch laptops as the most suitable for their need. It combines a productive screen size, in a small form factor suitable for portability.
In your laptop, you need to be able to have several large files stored, thousand of music and photo files, in addition to some movies. At around 500 dollars, you should get 128GB SSD, or alternatively, 500GB HDD. The SSD, is significantly faster than the HDD. You’ll be trading storage capacity for improved speed.
One of the features most people overlook when buying a laptop, is the battery life. You need to be able to work, or watch movies from any part of a room, without worrying about sitting next to a power outlet. A minimum of 6 hours, of battery life, is what you should get. This is with moderate usage. The design and build quality should also be good since $500 is enough to get these qualities.
You can also take a look at the best laptops under $600 in addition to the best laptops under $300.
All the laptops in this list, meet the requirements set out above. This list of best laptops under $500 has brands such as HP, Lenovo, Acer, Asus, Dell.
The Following are the Best Laptops Under $500:
Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop
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| CPU | AMD Ryzen 3 3200U Dual Core Processor (Up to 3.5GHz) |
| GPU | AMD Radeon Vega 3 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | Full HD (1920 x 1080) |
| RAM | 4GB DDR4 Memory |
| Storage Space | 128GB PCIe NVMe SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Port, 2 USB 2.0 Ports & 1 HDMI Port with HDCP support |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.31 x 9.74 x 0.71 inches |
| Weight | 3.97 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Display Quality, Battery life |
| Cons | NA |
Lenovo 15.6 High Performance Laptop
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| CPU | 8th Generation Intel Core i3-8145U Dual Core Processor |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage Space | 128 GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | Ethernet, HDMI, USBs, SD Card Reader, CD Drive |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 20.2 x 12.2 x 2.9 CM |
| Weight | 3.96 pounds |
| Pros | Good performance |
| Cons | Storage capacity may be inadequate for some people |
Dell Inspiron 14 Laptop
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| CPU | 10th Gen Intel Core i5-1035G4 Processor @ 1. 10GHz (4 Cores, up to 3. 7GHz, 6MB Cache) |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics |
| Display Size | 14 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920x1080 pixels |
| RAM | 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 |
| Storage Space | 128GB PCIe SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| Ports | SD Card Reader | 2. USB 2. 0 | 3. Wedge-Shaped Lock Slot | 4. Power | 5. HDMI 1. 4b | 6. RJ45 | 7. USB 3. 1 Gen 1 | 8. USB 3. 1 Gen 1 | 9. Headphone & Microphone Audio Jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 15 x 13 x 1 inches |
| Weight | 5 pounds |
| Pros | Good Performance, Good Display Quality, Long battery life |
| Cons | Quite Heavy |
HP 14 inch Touchscreen Business Laptop
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| CPU | AMD Ryzen 3 3200U 2 cores, 4 threads, 2.6 GHz up to 3.5 GHz |
| GPU | Radeon Vega 3 Graphics |
| Display Size | 14 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| RAM | 8GB DDR4 Memory |
| Storage Space | 256GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USBs, HDMI, Ethernet, Audio Jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 8.9 x 12.9 x 0.8 inches |
| Weight | 4 pounds |
| Pros | Performance, Long battery life, Large Storage capacity |
| Cons | NA |
Lenovo IdeaPad 130 Notebook
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| CPU | AMD Dual-Core A9-9425 3.1GHz Upto 3.7GHz |
| GPU | AMD Radeon R5 Series |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| RAM | 8GB DDR4 RAM |
| Storage Space | 256GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USB, HDMI, Ethernet, Audio Jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 10 x 14.8 x 0.9 inches |
| Weight | 5.8 pounds |
| Pros | Good performance, Long battery life |
| Cons | Quite Heavy |
HP 15.6 HD Laptop i3-1005G1 8GB DDR4 RAM 128GB SSD
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| CPU | 10th Generation Intel Core i3-1005G1 1.2GHz up to 3.4GHz. |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1366x768 |
| RAM | 8GB DDR4 SDRAM 2666MHz |
| Storage Space | 128GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | HDMI 1.4, 1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C, 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.11 x 9.53 x 0.71 inches |
| Weight | 4.4 pounds |
| Pros | Good performance, Long battery life |
| Cons | Quite Heavy |
Dell Inspiron 15.6 Inch Touchscreen High Performance Laptop
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| CPU | 7th Gen Intel Core i5-7200U mobile Processor |
| GPU | Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1366x768 pixels |
| RAM | 8GB of DDR4 |
| Storage Space | 256 GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | USBs, HDMI, Ethernet, Audio Jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 19.5 x 13.7 x 3 |
| Weight | 4.8 pounds |
| Pros | Good performance |
| Cons | Heavy |
HP Pavilion 14 Inch Premium Laptop
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| CPU | 3.1 GHz AMD A Series |
| GPU | AMD Radeon R5 |
| Display Size | 14 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Storage Space | 128 GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 S |
| Ports | HDMI, USBs, Ethernet, Audio Jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 12.8 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches |
| Weight | 3.3 pounds |
| Pros | Good performance, Lightweight and Portable, Long battery life |
| Cons | Storage capacity |
Lenovo 130-15AST 15.6 Laptop
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| CPU | AMD Radeon R5 A9-9425 Processor. |
| GPU | AMD R Graphics |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| RAM | 8GB DDR4 |
| Storage Space | 256GB Solid State Drive |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | HDMI, Ethernet, USBs, Audio Jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 10 x 14.8 x 0.9 inches |
| Weight | 4.6 pounds |
| Pros | Good performance |
| Cons | Might be heavy for some people |
Dell Inspiron i3583 15.6 HD Touch-Screen Laptop
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| CPU | Intel i3-8145U |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1366 x 768 HD resolution |
| RAM | 8GB ddr4 |
| Storage Space | 128GB Solid State Drive |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | Ethernet, Audio Jack, HDMI, USBs |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 15 x 10.2 x 0.8 inches |
| Weight | 4.4 pounds |
| Pros | Good performance, Long battery life |
| Cons | Storage space is a bit inadequate for some people |
Lenovo Flex 14 2-in-1 Convertible Laptop
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| CPU | 2.1 GHz Core i3 Family |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620 |
| Display Size | 14 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| RAM | 4 GB SO-DIMM |
| Storage Space | 128 GB Flash Memory Solid State |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 2 USB ports, 1 USB-C port, a card reader, HDMI port, and audio jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 12.9 x 9 x 0.7 inches |
| Weight | 3.52 pounds |
| Pros | Lightweight and Portable, Good performance |
| Cons | Storage capacity |
HP ProBook x360 11.6 2-in-1 LED Touchscreen Business Laptop
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| CPU | Intel Quad-Core Celeron N4100 with 1.1 GHz base frequency, up to 2.4 GHz burst frequency, 4 MB cache, 2cores |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 600 |
| Display Size | 11.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1366 x 768 |
| RAM | 4GB DDR4 RAM |
| Storage Space | 256GB SSD Solid State Drive |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Pro |
| Ports | 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1;1 USB Type-C (Data transfer, power delivery);1 RJ-45; HDMI; 1x headphone/microphone combo |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 11.6 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches |
| Weight | 3.17 pounds |
| Pros | Large Storage capacity, Long Battery Life, Portability |
| Cons | NA |
Lenovo IdeaPad S145 15.6 HD Business Laptop
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| CPU | AMD A6-9225 Dual-core Accelerated Processor (2. 6GHz up to 3. 0GHz) |
| GPU | AMD Radeon R4 Graphics |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1366x768 pixels |
| RAM | 8GB DDR4 Memory |
| Storage Space | 1TB HDD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 2 x USB 3. 1 Type-A, 1 x USB 2. 0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Headphone/microphone Combo Jack |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.3 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches |
| Weight | 4 pounds |
| Pros | Large storage apacity, Good performance |
| Cons | NA |
ASUS VivoBook 15 15.6 Inch Business Laptop
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| CPU | AMD Ryzen 3 3200U Processor (2.6 GHz base frequency up to 3.5 GHz, 2 Cores, 1MB Cache) |
| GPU | AMD Radeon Vega 3 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Storage Space | 128 GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 S |
| Ports | 1 x COMBO audio jack, 1 x Type-A USB 3.0 (USB 3.1 Gen 1), 1 x Type-C USB 3.0 (USB 3.1 Gen 1), 2 x USB 2.0 port(s), 1 x HDMI |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.4 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches |
| Weight | 3.75 pounds |
| Pros | Good performance, Quality Display, Ling battery life |
| Cons | Storage capacity may be inadequate for some |
Lenovo Ideapad S340 Laptop, 15.6 HD Narrow-Bezel Laptop
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| CPU | 8th Gen Intel Core i3-8145U 2.10GHz Dual-Core Processor (4MB Intel Smart Cache, up to 3.90GHz) |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Display Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage Space | 128 GB SSD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Ports | 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Combination Audio Jack, 1 x Multi-format SD Media Card Reader |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.1 x 9.6 x 0.7 inches |
| Weight | 3.96 pounds |
| Pros | Good performance, Long battery life |
| Cons | Storage Capacity |
