TechSpot Laptop Buying Guide

Budget Machines

Laptops in this category are usually popular among students and users who need something more powerful than the average netbook without hurting the wallet. Budget notebooks offer a good blend of price and features, but slim form factors are not necessarily a priority. These commonly equip 14 or 15-inch displays -- 10- to 11-inch for netbooks but we've avoided those -- integrated graphics and essential connectivity options.

For around $450 to $600 you can expect to find an Intel Core i3, i5 or AMD A/E-Series processor, integrated graphics, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, a DVD burner, and around 4 hours of battery life.

Samsung Series 3 305E5A

The Samsung Series 3 features a brushed metal look exterior with brushed chrome trim. Although it features a 15.6" display the thin bezel allows for a smaller chasis overall compared to other 15.6" laptops. Inside you'll find an AMD A-Series chip, which isn't quite up to par with Intel's latest Core i5 offerings, but it does have an edge when it comes to graphics performance and it's a steal at $430.

There was a similar model with an A8 processor, 6GB RAM and 640GB hard drive for $500. It appears to be sold out now but if you shop around you'll likely find a pretty good deal on a Series 3.

Additional views:

Quick specs | Full specs	Starting price: $430
Processor: AMD A6-3420M 1.5GHz	Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6520G
Memory: 4GB DDR3	Storage: 500GB 5,200RPM HDD
Display size: 15.6" (1366 x 768) LED-backlit display	Optical: DVD Super Multi
Weight: 5.07 pounds (2.3 kg)	Battery: ~4 hours

Lenovo Essential G570

The Lenovo Essential G570 features a simple, no-frills design with a plastic and blocky chasis but the built quality is solid enough for a budget laptop. It offers a full sized keyboard with number pad that's in line with recent IdeaPad models and a good size touch pad, in addition to a bright and clear display. This machine is powered by a previous-generation Sandy Bridge processor (it seems Ivy Bridge is taking its time to trickle down the budget segment) but still offers enough performance for basic computing tasks.

For around $600 on Lenovo's website you can get the G570 with a faster Intel Core i5-2450M processor and 8GB of RAM.

Additional views:

Quick specs | Full specs	Starting price: $500
Processor: Intel Core i3-2350M 2.3GHz	Graphics: Intel HD 3000
Memory: 4GB DDR3	Storage: 500GB 5,400RPM HDD
Display size: 15.6" (1366 x 768) LED-backlit	Optical: DVD RW
Weight: 5.73 pounds (2.6 kg)	Battery: ~4 hours

Acer Aspire AS5560

The Acer Aspire AS5560 offers quad-core processing performance through an AMD A-Series processor and integrated Radeon graphics for a responsive PC experience. Although it's not a gaming machine you'll be able to play some modern games with modest graphics settings and use the HDMI-out port to watch movies on the big screen. In terms of design this laptop won't turn heads -- as is the case with most budget laptops -- but for $550 it's a good deal.

Additional views:

Quick specs | Full specs	Starting price: $400 ($550 as configured)
Processor: AMD A-Series A8-3500M 1.5GHz	Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6620G 512MB
Memory: 4GB DDR3	Storage: 500GB 5,200RPM HDD
Display size: 15.6" (1366 x 768) LED-backlit display	Optical: DVD Super Multi
Weight: 5.74 pounds (2.6 kg)	Battery: ~4.5 hours

Lenovo IdeaPad U310

This one is priced a bit outside of what we would normally consider a budget laptop but if you can spend the extra $200 you'll get an Ultrabook-style machine with a sleek design, great built quality and solid performance. The machine is powered by a third-generation Intel Core i5-3317U processor with built-in HD 4000 graphics and its 500GB HDD is complemented with a 32GB SSD for faster boot times and snappier overall performance.

Additional views:

Quick specs | Full specs	Starting price: $700-$750
Processor: Intel Core i5-3317U 1.8GHz	Graphics: Intel HD 4000
Memory: 4GB DDR3	Storage: 500GB 5,400RPM HDD, 32GB SSD
Display size: 13.3" (1366 x 768) LED-backlit display	Optical: none
Weight: 3.7 pounds (1.67 kg)	Battery: ~5 hours

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