notebook/laptop recommendation

May 30, 2015 10:47 AM

I need a new notebook, ideally $500 or less.

Mostly used for work, I use it to run Chrome (several tabs at a time), Office, watch movies and listen to music. 13" seems most comfortable for me. Battery is fairly important - I'd like for it to last a good few hours unconnected.

Also, I've seen a lot of relevant PCs with Pentium and Atom processors - will that cut it or should I look for Core i3?

I do not want a chromebook.

posted by alon to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

You're not going to get a great screen for that price, but if you go to Dell and pick deals -> laptop deals you'll find a few things to choose from. Spend the money to avoid the Atom processors and get at least 4GB RAM, but otherwise they're going to be able to do the job you want. When the time comes, you'll be able to upgrade the spinny-disk to an SSD, and that will feel like getting a whole new computer.
posted by mhoye at 1:55 PM on May 30, 2015

Here's the Wirecutter's recommendations for budget laptops, some of which are less than $500.

I also hear good things about Lenovo's laptops (formerly owned by IBM). They frequently have deals on their online store, although you'll probably get better deals if you go up to 14" screen size (smaller/lighter is more expensive in the laptop game.) Here's one, just make sure you comb through reviews on the pros/cons of specific models.

You can always go to the SuggestALaptop forum on Reddit. Just make sure you fill out their official form to get help.

I'll just mention that I got a great deal on a 13" Macbook Air from Best Buy for ~$750. It's light and has a 12 hour battery life. I love it, but it's a bit outside your price range and not a Windows machine.
posted by bluecore at 2:08 PM on May 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

If you can increase your budget $150. I have an eBay alert set for mid-2013 Macbook Airs and they are starting around $650 for Buy Now items. That's the first model with the longer battery life, recommended by Wirecutter as a good choice.
posted by humboldt32 at 2:27 PM on May 30, 2015 [1 favorite]