TOP 5 Inexpensive Laptops Under $400

The budget laptop model Lenovo IdeaPad V110 15 (V110-15IAP 80TG00AGRK) is primarily focused on the business segment, but in our opinion it will perfectly play the role of a multimedia center for study, work and entertainment

The laptop is designed in a pleasant to the touch case made of matte plastic. Dimensions are 380x262x22 mm and weigh 1.9 kg. This, of course, is not a compact ultrabook, but it will not burden the backpack too much either.

The heart of the laptop is a quad-core Pentium N4200 with a nominal frequency of 1.1 GHz and the ability to overclock to 2.5 GHz. It is paired with 4 GB of RAM, which can be expanded up to 8 GB in the future. Talking about hardware is completed by the built-in HDD drive with an impressive 500 GB of memory for SSD-accustomed laptops. This combination is more than enough for everyday and work tasks.

The IdeaPad V110 15 uses a TN+film screen with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. Not to say that the screen looks too grainy, but in the era of total Full HD, I would like a higher resolution from this laptop.

But this resolution has a positive effect on gaming capabilities, creating less load on the video card. Speaking of it: the laptop has an integrated Intel HD Graphics 505 video chip, which can pleasantly surprise you if you don't expect too much from it.

For example, it runs Half-Life 2 quite briskly at high graphics settings, and also manages to deliver a stable 25 FPS at low graphics settings in the first Crysis and STALKER.

The presence of a built-in video card and a processor with a floating frequency has a positive effect on the autonomy of the laptop. At medium screen brightness settings, the IdeaPad V110 15 confidently holds a charge of up to 6 hours.

From the switching ports there is a basic set of everything you need: HDMI, a card reader and a pair of USB - one class 2.0, the second class 3.0. If the lack of obsolete VGA in 2018 raises no questions, then just 2 USB ports are a little embarrassing. If you habitually use a mouse instead of a touchpad, then there is only 1 port for a flash drive, external speakers, a smartphone and any USB gadgets.

When Asus unveiled the Vivobook series of laptops, they said they were committed to making the perfect laptop for everyday tasks—thin, light, fast, and affordable.

The laptop measures 381x251x27.2 mm and weighs 2 kg. Although the case is made of plastic, the polished aluminium cover looks nice. In general, you can’t call it compact and elegant, but also bulky - too.

The 4-core processor Pentium N4200 operates at a frequency of 1.1 GHz in normal mode and in case of increased load it automatically overclocks to 2.5 GHz using TurboBoost technology. This flexible distribution of processor power helps conserve battery power without wasting it.

The integrated video chip Intel HD Graphics 505 paired with a TN+film monitor matrix (resolution 1366x768 pix) gives quite a colorful and clear picture. Throw in 4GB of RAM and you've got the power you need for everyday tasks like working with documents, surfing the web, and watching online HD videos.

The main disadvantage of the "iron" part of the Asus VivoBook 15X540NA is just one slot for RAM. That is, adding the bar in a year or two will not work.

Considering that the laptop is not at all gaming and will not store 50 GB toy distributions, the built-in 500 GB HDD will cover the needs of most users. If you keep a large collection of vacation photos or large working archives, then external hard drives or cloud services a la Google Drive will always come to the rescue. Fortunately, the laptop has everything to ensure a fast Internet connection.

In addition to Wi-Fi, a standard set of connectors is provided for communication with the world: HDMI, USB 2.0, 3.0, LAN ports, and a card reader slot. Fans of video chats will be pleased with a quite tolerable VGA camera and rather powerful speakers of the SonicMaster series, thanks to which the interlocutor will not have to constantly ask again. Considering the budget of the device, the speakers sound really good, and switching sound profiles adds variability.

The VivoBook 15X540NA comes pre-installed with Endless OS, which is a Linux distribution adapted to work offline. For example, there are pre-installed office programs and offline versions of educational software like the Wikipedia encyclopedia and Khan's virtual academy. The shell is convenient, and, unlike Windows, absolutely free.

Hewlett-Packard has been a leader in the manufacture of computer equipment in general for more than 15 years. The company's success in the laptop market is due to the company's ability to cater to the mass consumer without driving up prices. Model HP 250G6 2SX52EA is an excellent confirmation of this.

The laptop received a screen with an SVA matrix with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels and an anti-reflective coating. The laptop is powered by a dual-core Celeron N3350, the latest generation. The operating frequency of the processor ranges from 1.1 to 2.4 GHz.

The processor is not the most powerful, but energy efficient, which has a positive effect on the battery life of the laptop. Nearly 7 hours of operation at base load and average screen brightness is a serious result. Plus, the battery is removable and can be easily replaced when worn out.

The amount of RAM is 4 GB, which, if desired, can be increased up to 16 GB. The type of memory used is the most modern - DDR4. And this is strange, because if it were not for the limitations of the processor power, then this model would be a good fit for the future.

The second strange moment is the presence of a DVD burner. Perhaps HP was counting on some specific category of buyers, but for most people it looks like a stranger from the past. But what definitely will not be superfluous is an impressive 1 TB HDD.

The weight of the model is 1.86 kg with dimensions of 380x253.8x23.8 mm. The surface of the case made of matte plastic, according to user reviews, is very easily soiled, so that fingerprints have to be constantly wiped off. And, although usually matte plastic does not sin like this, here we have an unfavorable exception.

By default, Windows 10 Home is installed on the laptop, which will appeal to the vast majority of users who have never worked with Linux and are not eager to bother with reinstalling the operating system.

In general, the HP 250G6 2SX52EA is a good laptop option at an adequate price for practical people who prefer storing large archives of information and a large margin of autonomy.

Asus laptops in the entry-level segment offer some of the best solutions. And the Asus X507MA-EJ012 is a direct confirmation of this - this is a laptop in a thin and light body, almost an ultrabook. But with the price tag of a basic work laptop.

Nothing in the appearance of the model betrays its budget, outwardly it subtly resembles the "Macbooks" of the previous generation with a black screen border, a black keyboard and a light silver base. The body material is matte plastic, which looks like aluminium. Also, it boasts a low weight (only 1.68 kg versus an average of 2 kg) and a moderately thin almost ultra- beech case of 21.9 mm.

The laptop is equipped with a TN+film matrix with FullHD resolution (1920x1080 pixels) with adequate transmission and good contrast. But the viewing angles leave much to be desired, with a noticeable deviation in the direction of color, the pictures immediately begin to swim. A nice bonus is the presence of the Splendid application, which allows you to adjust the saturation, temperature, and even turn on the "evening" mode.

The basis of the Asus X507MA (EJ012) is a new generation quad-core processor Intel Pentium N5000. Operating frequencies are only 1.1 GHz, but thanks to TurboBoost technology, they automatically accelerate to 2.7 GHz. Inside is a massive 1TB hard drive and one stick of 4GB DDR4 RAM. RAM can be expanded up to 8 GB, but there is only one slot, so the new RAM can only be installed instead of the old one. Two slots would definitely be more convenient.

Together with the integrated Intel HD Graphics 605 graphics card, this power is enough for both everyday tasks (surfing, documents, work applications), and for quite comfortable playing games of the past generation at low settings like Dead Space 3, StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3.

For external connections, a basic set of HDMI, a card reader, two USB 2.0 ports and one USB 3.1 is provided. Right out of the box, the laptop runs the Endless operating system, which is much less demanding on resources than Windows 10, but not for everyone due to the unusual set of programs and interface.

The Taiwanese company Acer produces high-performance laptops in a wide price range. Acer Aspire 3 A315-21G 40SM is a full-fledged representative of the middle class of devices. It has a minimalistic design that is more suitable for an office, while at the same time good performance.

The screen is made using TN + film technology with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels and viewing angles that are unusually good for this type of matrix. The matte finish protects the eyes from glare, but somewhat hides the saturation of the image.

Acer Aspire 3 A315-21G 40SM is equipped with a sixth generation Fusion A4 dual-core processor with a frequency of 2.2 - 2.5 GHz. While not the most powerful processor on paper, in most synthetic benchmarks it is practically on par with the previous generation quad-core processors found in most laptops under $400. Also important is the fact that the base 4 GB of RAM can be increased up to 12 GB. Moreover, a new bar can be added to the old one, and not replaced - there are two slots for RAM.

But what pleasantly surprises is a video card atypical for the class. Instead of a simple integrated video chip, the laptop has a discrete Radeon 520 with 2 GB of video memory. And this gives the model an interesting balance: two processor cores are enough for work and everyday tasks, and the video card provides access to full-fledged gaming. Of course, it won’t work to drive completely fresh shooters on it, but it’s quite possible to play at medium graphics settings in Battlefield 4 or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

The laptop weighs 2.1 kg with rather compact dimensions of 381.6x259x21.6 mm. Such a mass is explained by the fact that its body is made of thick and durable plastic. It looks angular, but assembled in good conscience - no backlash, and the lid and the space for the hands sag only with a slight effort.

In terms of switching, we see a classic picture: one HDMI port, a pair of USB class 2.0, one USB 3.0 port, a card reader and a LAN connector for connecting an Internet cable directly.

Another reason for the more than 2 kg weight is a capacious battery, which will easily last for 6.5 hours at full resource. True, it will not be possible to replace it with a new one as it wears out, because it is non-removable.