{"id":2177,"date":"2017-12-03T11:05:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-03T11:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/?p=2177"},"modified":"2017-12-03T11:05:00","modified_gmt":"2017-12-03T11:05:00","slug":"holiday-notebook-buyers-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/holiday-notebook-buyers-guide.htm","title":{"rendered":"Holiday notebook buyer&#8217;s guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The discount and discounts of the laptop are starting to fall from the sky during the holidays. We will help you screen the configuration options and find cheap goods sold in a $500 model and a price range of $750. We also checked some of the current notebook specifications to show what you can get.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/acer\/aspire-4520-battery.htm\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2178\" src=\"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Acer-aspire-4520-laptop-battery-battaussie-1024x640.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Acer-aspire-4520-laptop-battery-battaussie-1024x640.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Acer-aspire-4520-laptop-battery-battaussie-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Acer-aspire-4520-laptop-battery-battaussie-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Acer-aspire-4520-laptop-battery-battaussie.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Of course, you could always cut to the chase by picking one of the\u00a0best laptops\u00a0we&#8217;ve tested ourselves. For gaming, be sure to read our companion guide on\u00a0how to pick the best GPU\u00a0for your laptop, though we\u2019ll touch on the basics here.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"toc-1\" class=\"toc\">What to look for in a laptop under $500<\/h2>\n<p>The sub-$500 category is the most tricky, because all throughout the year you\u2019ll find both gems and dogs for basically the same cash. That situation gets worse during sale deluges like Black Friday, when $400 laptops with negligible discounts and $700 laptops with steep discounts all mix together.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the important specs to look at:<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"body\">CPU<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best:<\/strong>\u00a0Intel Core i3 or Core i5 (any generation)<br \/>\n<strong>OK:<\/strong>\u00a0AMD\u2019s E-series APU<br \/>\n<strong>Barely adequate:<\/strong>\u00a0Intel N-series Pentium,\u00a0Intel N-series Celeron, or Intel Z-series Atom<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why:<\/strong>\u00a0CPUs still do the brunt of the work in a laptop, so we recommend going with the best you can afford if you want a more responsive laptop.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"body\">RAM<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best:<\/strong>\u00a08GB<br \/>\n<strong>OK:<\/strong>\u00a04GB<br \/>\n<strong>Barely adequate:<\/strong>\u00a02GB<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why:\u00a0<\/strong>Insufficient RAM can drag down even faster CPUs, so we recommend a minimum of 4GB. Sure, 2GB technically works, but the experience isn\u2019t pretty. Don\u2019t worry about DDR3 vs. LPDDR3 vs. DDR4, as you won\u2019t be able to tell the difference when using a budget laptop.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"nativo-promo smartphone tablet desktop\"><\/aside>\n<h3 class=\"body\">Storage<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best:<\/strong>\u00a0128GB to 256GB SSD<br \/>\n<strong>OK:<\/strong>\u00a01TB or 500GB hard drive<br \/>\n<strong>Barely adequate:<\/strong>\u00a032GB eMMC or SSD<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why:<\/strong>\u00a0A solid-state drive (SSD) is a game changer, but that relative speed is offset if the SSD is so small as to be virtually useless. Windows 10 on a 32GB drive is barely enough to run the OS. So get a decent-sized SSD, or go with a hard-disk drive.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"body\">Screen resolution<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Tie:\u00a0<\/strong>720p, 1080p<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why:<\/strong>\u00a0If battery life is important to you\u00a0<em>and\u00a0<\/em>you\u2019re interested in laptops that normally sell for $400 and under, a 1366&#215;768 screen is the better choice.<\/p>\n<p>However, we tend to like 1080p screens because the higher resolution can display more information on-screen, be it in a spreadsheet or browser tab. Videos look crisper and more detailed, too. During times of heavy discounts (like Black Friday), 1080p laptops\u00a0in the\u00a0<em>sale<\/em>\u00a0range of $400 to $500 should provide adequate\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/product_model.php\/29288+ACER+Aspire-5513WLMi+Laptop-Battery\"><b>ACER Aspire 5513WLMi Laptop Battery\u00a0<\/b><\/a>life.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"body\">GPU<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best:<\/strong>\u00a0GeForce 940MX, GeForce MX150, Radeon M7<br \/>\n<strong>OK:<\/strong>\u00a0Integrated Radeon graphics<br \/>\n<strong>Barely adequate:<\/strong>\u00a0Intel integrated graphics<br \/>\n<strong>Why:\u00a0<\/strong>First, it\u2019s important to note that questions about the GPU are\u00a0really for gaming.\u00a0If that\u2019s not of interest to you, Intel\u2019s integrated graphics are actually preferred. While it\u2019s difficult to get a discrete GeForce graphics chip into a $500 laptop, it can be done. Other than that, AMD\u2019s integrated Radeon is the next best option for gaming.<\/p>\n<h2>Examples of laptops under $500<\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s apply some of our guidelines to a few current laptops to see how they play out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Barely adequate:<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0<span class=\"productLink\" data-productid=\"1439701\">Lenovo IdeaPad 110S<\/span>\u00a0is a typical $200 range laptop. It comes with 2GB of RAM, a 32GB eMMC, and runs on an N-class CPU. It works, but just barely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OK:<\/strong>\u00a0With the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/acer\/\">Acer<\/a> E 15, you get a Core-class CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 1080p screen. At $349, this is a great deal for a basic Windows laptop: It\u2019s not that portable, but gets the computing job done well. Drop the price to $300 and it becomes even more appealing, since you can use the savings to bump up the amount of RAM.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best:<\/strong>\u00a0Okay, it\u2019s actually a smidge over $500, but this upgraded\u00a0Acer E 15with 8GB of RAM, a Core i5, a 256GB SSD, and a GeForce 940MX is a really good buy for general use. The only downside is its relative bulk.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"product product-sb\"><\/aside>\n<p><strong>Best (alternate):<\/strong>\u00a0If portability is important, the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/asus\">Asus <\/a>ZenBook Flip UX360CA\u00a0is a good buy. This budget ultra-portable gives you a convertible laptop with touchscreen, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and Core-class CPU for just $500 on sale. That\u2019s less than what people pay for a smartphone today, and a hell of a deal.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"toc-2\" class=\"toc\">What to look for in a laptop under $750<\/h2>\n<p>At $750, you\u2019ve really stepped up in hardware quality. Here\u2019s what to consider for general-use laptops and ultraportables in this price range.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"body\">CPU<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best: 8th-generation Core i7 or Core i5<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Better:<\/strong>\u00a07th-generation Core i7<br \/>\n<strong>Good:<\/strong>\u00a06th- or 7th-generation Core i5 or Y-series<br \/>\n<strong>Why:<\/strong>\u00a0What\u2019s great about this price range is there really are no bad CPUs. All are great\u2014some are just faster. Today, Intel\u2019s 8th-gen parts are the ones to beat.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"large \"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"body\">RAM<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best:<\/strong>\u00a016GB (kinda)<br \/>\n<strong>Good:<\/strong>\u00a08GB<br \/>\n<strong>Why:<\/strong>\u00a0For the average person, 8GB is more than enough. You should only shell out for 16GB if you\u2019re a content creator. Generally, LPDDR3 is preferred for power savings, but DDR4 is fine too.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"body\">Storage<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best:\u00a0<\/strong>512GB SSD<strong><br \/>\nBetter:<\/strong>\u00a0256GB SSD<br \/>\n<strong>Good:<\/strong>\u00a0128GB SSD<strong><br \/>\nWhy:<\/strong>\u00a0You could get a hard drive in this price range, but we don\u2019t recommend it. With SSDs, it comes down to buying the largest one you get. For most folks, there\u2019s no point in worrying about NVMe vs. SATA either. Both will yield excellent response.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"body\">Screen resolution<\/h3>\n<p class=\"body\"><strong>Best:<\/strong>\u00a01080p<br \/>\n<strong>Why:<\/strong>\u00a0Any machine that\u2019s on sale for $500 or more should come with a 1920&#215;1080 resolution screen at minimum. Period.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"body\">Panel type<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best:<\/strong>\u00a0IPS<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>OK:\u00a0<\/strong>VA<br \/>\n<strong>Barely adequate:\u00a0<\/strong>TN<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why:<\/strong>\u00a0At this price, it should be IPS or bust. If you\u2019re paying between $500 and $750 for a laptop when\u00a0<em>everything<\/em>\u00a0is on sale (like\u00a0Black Friday or Cyber Monday), you shouldn\u2019t suffer poor viewing angles or color reproduction from what you\u2019ll stare at most. The exception is if you find a gaming laptop with incredible hardware stuffed inside, and the one compromise is a VA panel.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"body\">GPU<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Best:<\/strong>\u00a0GeForce GTX 1050 or Radeon Pro<strong><br \/>\nBetter:<\/strong>\u00a0GeForce MX150 or Radeon R9<strong><br \/>\nGood:<\/strong>\u00a0GeForce 940 MX or Radeon R7<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s pretty simple: Faster GPUs yield better graphics performance.<\/p>\n<h2>Examples of laptops<strong>\u00a0under $750<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In this price range, there are fewer piles of crap to avoid. Instead, you can focus more purely on getting the most bang for your buck\u2014like hardware you\u2019d normally see in laptops that sell closer to $1,000.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Good:<\/strong>\u00a0Typically $600, the\u00a0Asus VivoBook F510UA\u00a0is a steal if you can find it for $500. This 15.6-inch laptop nets you quad-core power with an 8th-gen Core i5-8250U, 8GB RAM, and a 1TB hard drive. Even at its normal price of $600, it\u2019s a good buy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Better:<\/strong>\u00a0The 14-inch the\u00a0Acer Swift 3\u00a0is a fairly portable and fairly powerful laptop with 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, a GeForce MX150 GPU, an IPS panel and quad-core Core i5-8250U CPU, for just a little over $700.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Better (alternate):<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0Asus ZenBook 3 UX390UA\u00a0has a 7th-gen Core i5 dual-core, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. At a sale price of $749, this 12.5-inch ultra portable laptop gives you luxury features at a non-luxury price.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The discount and discounts of the laptop are starting to fall from the sky during the holidays. We will help you screen the configuration options and find cheap goods sold in a $500 model and a price range of $750. We also checked some of the current notebook specifications to show what you can get. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,6],"tags":[902,689],"class_list":["post-2177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-battery-knowledge-base","category-laptop-batteries-tips","category-tech-info","tag-acer-aspire-4520-laptop-battery","tag-acer-aspire-5513wlmi-laptop-battery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2177"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2179,"href":"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177\/revisions\/2179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battaussie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}