Written by
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributor
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Contributor
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over two decades to helping users get the most from technology — whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera. Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs.
Full Bio
Posted in Hardware 2.0
on January 18, 2022
| Topic: Hardware
Dell Inspiron 15 3000
Modern design and styling
Jump to details
$300 at Dell
ASUS Aspire 5
Packs a punch
Jump to details
$350 at Asus
ASUS Laptop L406
Thin and light
Jump to details
$300 at Newegg
Dell Inspiron 11 3195 2-in-1
Need a tablet and a notebook?
Jump to details
$269 at Amazon
Not everyone wants to pay thousands of dollars for a new laptop.
Some are happy with cheap and cheerful systems that just get the job done without bells and whistles or fancy branding. Here are a handful of Windows 10 laptops, all priced under $350 and perfect for most day-to-day tasks.
Dell Inspiron 15 3000
Modern design and styling
A cheap yet stylish laptop that offers decent power and performance for under $300. A good, solid, reliable all-rounder.
Tech specs:
Intel Celeron Processor N4020 (4MB Cache, up to 2.8 GHz)15.6-inch HD (1366 x 768) Anti-glare LED-Backlit Non-touch Narrow Border DisplayWindows 11 Home (S mode)4GB, 1x4GB, DDR4, 2400MHzIntel UHD Graphics 600 with shared graphics memory128GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive
$300 at Dell
ASUS Aspire 5
Packs a punch
This is one of those budget laptops that not only looks premium, but also advanced features such as WiFi 6 and a decent amount of fast storage.
A perfect laptop for work of school.
Tech specs:
Windows 10 Home in S ModeIntel Core i3-1115G4 processor Dual-core 3GHz
Intel Iris Xe Graphics shared memory
14-inch HD (1366 x 768) 16:9
4 GB, DDR4 SDRAM
128GB SSD
$350 at Asus
ASUS Laptop L406
Thin and light
Thin and light aren’t limited to high-end, high-priced premium devices. Here we have a solid laptop that’s perfect for day-to-day tasks, and it has a modern design and premium feel.
Tech specs:
Intel Celeron N400014.0-inch 1366×768 HD matte display featuring ASUS NanoEdge Bezel4GB LPDDR4 RAM64GB eMMCWi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)Up to 12 hours of battery life
0.7-inch thin and 2.87 lbs light
$300 at Newegg
Dell Inspiron 11 3195 2-in-1
Need a tablet and a notebook?
A great device for those who can’t choose between a laptop and a tablet — with just a flip of a hinge you can swap between one configuration and another with ease. Choose between tablet mode, presentation mode, tent mode, and laptop mode.
The 64GB eMMC storage means this is a more robust platform, ideal for throwing into a messenger bag or school bag since there’s no hard drive to knock about.
Tech specs:
Windows 10 HomeAMD A9-9420E processorRadeon R5 graphics11 6-inch HD (1366 x 768) LED-backlit touch display4GB DDR4 RAM64GB eMMC storage
$269 at Amazon
FAQ
Q: Can all these laptops run Windows 11?
A: It is recommended that you check the manufacturer’s spec sheet for this information.
Q: What are budget laptops suited for?
A: You’re looking at a system that can handle the general activities people do at work or school (as long as they don’t include things like pro-grade photo and video editing and playing games and that sort of activities). These systems are general-purpose systems but don’t expect them to handle heavy workloads.
Q: What kind of battery life can I expect from a budget laptop?
A: Don’t expect more than a few hours under anything than the lightest of loads.
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