A few months ago my laptop saw its final day: It just went kaput, and in my business that’s a big deal. I needed a laptop fast, but didn’t think I could afford one. What did I do? I went to my local library and was happy to find a lot of different options, all for under $400. I was amazed, in fact I found that many of these laptops were more powerful than the laptop that I had spent so much money on and which had died on me, so I decided to write about it.
Today a laptop is an essential tool for everyone. So whether a student or professional you absolutely must have one to meet all of your work, study, research or even play needs. But when your budget is small then it becomes super important to find a laptop that is powerful, yet also very affordable. As such we’ve put together a list of the top 10 laptops to buy for under $400. Any of these will get the job done, no matter what project you have on hand.
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As computer experienced as we are, we know that buying a laptop is not just about aesthetics. You have to have all of the power within. That’s why we’ve selected this little Lenovo to top our list. So whether you are a computer engineer or a student this laptop can get the job done with its AMD APU A4-500 Quad Core Processor and 4 GB of memory. It comes with a 500GB hard drive and of course all the bells and whistles you want. At just $480 you can’t beat this machine. Besides Lenovo is a workhorse brand, and this machine will give you the speed you want, no matter how experienced or inexperienced you are.
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Dell has always been one of our favorites and the touch screen technology is so much fun to work with. Dell is a real work horse and this little machine can do just about anything you want it to do. If the name of the game is speed, the i3542 has got it with the 4th generation Intel Core i3 processor and its integrated 4 GB of RAM. There’s also a nice sized hard drive here of 500GB, which is quite surprising given the price. This dell comes with Windows 8, and is appropriate for both the novice and experienced user.
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When looking for a cool, light and maneuverable laptop, especially one that might be appropriate for portability, this little HP Stream 22 is ideal. At about $200 it makes for a nice laptop to carry everywhere with you. And it also comes with a really nice feature; Office 360 for a full year. This comes with an 11.6-Inch Screen, a smaller but still adequate 2.16 Intel Celeron processor, and 2 GB of RAM. The manufacturer has also included 1 USB 3.0 port and 1 USB 2.0 port with an HDMI connection for video transmission to TV or large screen, and one combined headphone/microphone port.
Now this might not be the ideal solution for a professional, it works well for students, teens and parents who only use the computer and the Internet for surfing.
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While HP may not be our favorite brand, HP has a lot to offer in this little laptop. This has an AMD 1.7 GHz processor, and while there are faster processors, this certainly gets what you need done. It also comes with a 1025 GB hard drive which gives you enough space for everything, a 15 inch screen, and surprisingly a lot of RAM memory with 8GB.
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When looking for a nice little computer for children, the Goldengulf offers an inexpensive option. This is a mini 7-inch laptop that comes with an Android 4.1 system. It has 512MB of RAM and a 4 GB hard drive. Now remember this is only a small option for a child. And at just 1.6 pounds it really is portable.
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This offers a nice laptop option, especially for those who love music. This comes with a MD Quad Core A4 1.0 GHz processor with RAM of 2 GB. However it only has a 32GB of hard drive space and 100 GB of Cloud Storage for 2 years. This is equipped wiht Windows 8 and a 6.5 hour battery life.
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At just $250 this Toshiba fits the bill for just about everything. It has a great AMD processor, a large 4GB RAM memory and a large 500 GB hard drive. With a screen of 15.6 LED screen this makes an excellent option for both professionals and students.
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This is a Dual Core Celeron 1.58 GHz processor with a 2GB RAM memory. This little Lenovo offers a lot of flexibility for students. It comes with a 10 inch screen and comes with Windows 8. With 500 GB hard drive this offers a great option for anyone who needs a portable laptop that functions also like a tablet.
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This is a very cool flexible laptop that offers a Pentium processor of 2.17 GHz with a Turbo Boost of up to 2.42 GHz. It offers versatility through its 360° flip design. This offers an 11 inch touch screen resolution and comes with a large 500GB hard drive and a 4GB RAM memory chip. This offers a nice little work computer for those who want a little more than a tablet but a little less than a full, large laptop screen.
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This is a lot of fun. It’s a laptop that converts into a tablet. It’s ultra portable and very affordable. this converts to a tablet quickly and has the power of Windows 8.1. For its size it is also very powerful with an 11 hour battery life, an Atom Z3736F processor, 2 GB of Ram memory and an adequate 32 GB hard drive.