Low budget laptops

I need a laptop for very basic use. The main purpose here is portability so I'll need something with good battery life. Would be great if it lasted me a couple of years at least. I'm looking at something in the $300 range. Suggestions?

 

I bought my current laptop Compaq 510 for $480 and I have been using it for the last 7 years. I have not used Acer, however, users of Acer say, it is a good laptop on budget. Acer also has good battery backup.

 

Thanks that's helpful! 7 years is a really long time I must say. That's some pretty good service. I've heard a lot about Acer too. Will take a look at what they have to offer in my range.

 

There are quite a few options when it comes to buying a laptop for under $300. In reality, you will first need to decide what your specific requirements are though. Consider facts like:

• Do you need a Windows laptop specifically?
• Will a smaller sized laptop work for you?
• Do you have specific specs in mind?

Since you said you need a laptop for basic use, you can even go for something like a Chromebook. Many people don't like them, but they do provide an excellent set of productivity tools and some of them lasts very long.

As an example - you can get a Chromebook (Acer brand) on Amazon for $179.99 (https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Chromebook-CB3-131-C3SZ-11-6-Inch-Dual-Core/dp/B019G7VPTC), but the screen size and storage space is ridiculous (11.6 inch screen and 16GB SSD storage). On the upside, you can get approximately 9 hours of active time out of the laptop before you need to recharge.

If you're looking for something with a bit more of a punch, then you should look at the HP Pavilion. Amazon has one for $261.88 (https://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-Performance-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B01EMWKFEC) right now and it's got Windows, a quad-core processor and even 500GB of storage. MUCH better than a chromebook, plus lots more space on the screen (15.6 inch).

 

I am really surprised to read posts about costing of a laptop. Yesterday there was this $400 budget and now you are saying a $300 budget. We had gone to the computer store last month and the cheapest laptop we saw had a tag price of $500, so basic that my husband shook his head. For his needs, there was the Dell and Acer costing around $1,000 with its 15 inches of monitor and a newer model of processor. Our own budget is only a bit over $500 so we cannot find a prospect until now.

 

I recently purchased a fairly cheap laptop for my sister back in December. The HP Flyer at 15.6" will run you around 200 to 300 dollars depending on what retailer you purchase it from. Here are the specs:

• Intel Pentium N3540 processor

• 4GB memory

• 500GB hard drive

• Windows 10 Home

 

Just a few days ago you said you must have a laptop with 3.5GHZ CPU.
http://www.laptop-forums.com/threads/laptop-with-a-fast-processor.26066/

Now you just want a laptop for very basic use. That's a big difference.

$300 won't get you anything great. You certainly will not get a CPU at 3.5GHZ. Nor it will last you for many years. Low budget laptop are the ones people refer to "need a new one every two years".

 

Multiple purposes actually. The high speed one iss for something that I need for a new work avenue I'm pursuing. That laptop will not be something I'm using just for myself (will be a shared work computer). I've been working from home for a few years now and have been using a desktop which has suited all my needs. Right now I need something cheap that I can carry around since frequent travel has become a necessity. Hence the varied requirements.