If you're after the best laptop for under 500, you're in the right place. Let's be open - it can be a little tricky at times to find something which ticks all the boxes within a budget.
Spending the big bucks on a laptop is great, but many of us out there need something with sufficient power, a decent display, and enough memory to not have to slog through day-to-day tasks.
Of course, you could go for one of the best gaming laptops out there if you're looking for serious performance, but these picks still pack a punch...especially for the price tag.
There are a few things you'll want to keep in mind before we go diving in.
The screen size, the processor, how much RAM is installed, and if it features a graphics card are all areas you'll want to consider before purchasing.
The laptop’s screen size will dramatically change the laptop’s portability, and the installed processor denotes how powerful the computer would be as many don’t feature a graphics card, which does limit the performance (especially with gaming).
For RAM; we'd say go for anywhere between 4 GB up to 8 GB for the best results at this price range. While that 32 GB of RAM will be enough for the most demanding of computing tasks, it's probably overkill for a budget laptop - and just a bit out of the price range.
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Best Laptop Under 500
UK
US
- 2021 Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Intel Core i3-1005G1 Processor
- 2020 Lenovo IdeaPad 3 AMD Ryzen 5 3500U Quad-Core Processor
Best Intel Laptop Under 500 Amazon UK: HP Pavilion x360 14-dw1012na (£479.99)
Convertible Design: Allowing for high usability of the Touch screen!
The HP Pavilion X360 laptop features a 14-inch touch screen that features a 1080p resolution that is powered by Intel Iris X graphics.
While this laptop may only feature 4 GB of RAM, it is more than enough for everyday use, including reading a word document, browsing YouTube, and changing an excel document.
This significantly lowered amount of RAM can be a limitation when trying to edit a photo or a video; the RAM limitation and when paired with the Intel Pentium Gold 7505 makes this laptop not ideal for gaming as it would struggle to run most modern games.
But if you’re looking for a laptop for office work or occasionally running some retro games, we'd say go for it!
Best AMD Laptop Under 500 Amazon UK: Dell Inspiron 3000 (£499.00)
AMD: More CPU Power!
Most AMD laptops offer more RAM, with the Dell Inspiron 3000 offering 8 GB of RAM compared to the previous laptop’s 4 GB.
Since it's double the RAM - you can load twice as many chrome tabs...good for those who have a million and one tabs on at one time (guilty as charged).
Asking how many GB a laptop should have is a tough question, but with 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD, the Dell Inspiron 3000 has more than enough for a budget device.
This laptop utilizes the Ryzen 5 3500U processor, which features a max boost clock of 3.7 GHz and a total of four core and eight threads.
To run the display, it utilizes the included GPU, which features eight cores.
So in other words...this laptop packs a punch, and at the top end of the price bracket, we'd expect nothing less!
Best Intel Laptop Under 500 Amazon US: 2021 Lenovo IdeaPad 3 ($499.00)
Fantastic Features: WiFi 5, Bluetooth all in a Platnium Gray casing!
The 2021 IdeaPad 3 features a 15.6-inch screen which offers a large screen and high portability, and this screen features a 1080p resolution.
This laptop uses an Intel Core i3-1005G1 processor, which features two cores and four threads and a max turbo speed of 3.40 GHz while the base frequency is 1.20 GHz.
It features 8 GB of RAM and uses a 256 GB SSD, which can store many games and data before needing to use an external hard drive.
And let's face it...this is one great-looking laptop, if we do say so ourselves.
Best AMD Laptop Under 500 Amazon US: 2020 Newest Lenovo IdeaPad 3 ($492.00)
Back To School: Google Classroom Compatible!
If you're looking for something to accompany you on those late-night cramming sessions and essays, this laptop may be the best bet for you.
On the power side, it delivers the good, and uses a Ryzen 5 3500U processor, offering four cores and eight threads with a Max Boost clock speed of 3.7 GHz.
This processor is paired with 8GB of RAM and 256 GB of SSD storage....handy for both browsing and storing a ton of photos, videos, and more.
It also features a 15.6-inch display with a 1080p resolution encased in an Abyss Blue aluminium casing - a unique look that we love over here.
Those are some of the best laptops under a 500 price tag on both Amazon US and Amazon UK, which feature either an AMD or an Intel processor. While some best laptops for under 300 prefer to use eMMC over SSD storage, all these laptops also use SSD storage for the fastest loading around.
Be sure to check back in with us soon and if you're on the hunt for something super powerful, why not check out our top picks for pre-build gaming PCs right here!
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