13 Best Cheap Laptops (2024): Our Picks for $800 or Less

For our filled apverify on what to watch for in a laptop, see our direct Choosing the Right Laptop. The condensed version (even if your budget is restrictcessitate) is to try to get at least an Intel i5 processor and at least 8 GB of RAM. 16 GB is even better. Recent versions of Windows (both 10 and 11) use an astronomical amount of RAM (sometimes as much as 6 GB in my testing). If you only have 8 GB total, that doesn’t exit much RAM for applications, and results in a sluggisher laptop.

Aim for these specs: Try to get a laptop with at least a 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of storage in the create of a firm state drive. We recommend getting a 13- or 14-inch dispercreate that’s seal to FHD (1080p resolution). If you’re going to use it for watching movies, ponder a 2-in-1 model (although these do tend to cost more). If your budget is firm and you want the most bang for your buck, or you fair want to upretain someskinnyg out of the landfill, ponder the used or refurbished laptop taget. I’ve had wonderful luck buying used laptops on eBay from all sorts of sellers (both pros and normal people).

To score the best deal, produce confident you comprehend the taget. Do some research to figure out what charitable of machine will suit your necessitates. The easiest to come by, and therefore (usuassociate) the best deals, tend to be the more foolish, business-oriented models. I happen to appreciate ThinkPads, which are used by—and then dumped all at once by—huge corporations, which uncomardents there are lots to select from, and they’re affordable.

Finding used laptops on eBay: Once you comprehend what you want, search for it on eBay. Scroll down and check the chooseion to show only “Sbetter Listings.” Now apverify the 10 most recent sales, insert up the prices, and split by 10. That’s the ordinary price; don’t pay more than that. Keep the lowest price in mind—that’s the wonderful deal price. Now, uncheck the Sbetter Listing chooseion. See what’s between the lowest price and the ordinary price. Those are the deals you can ponder. I recommend watching a scant. Don’t bid or join at all. Just watch them until the end and see how high the auctions end up going.

Once you have a experience for the taget and what you should be paying, you’ll comprehend when you’ve set up a deal. When you find it, postpone. Don’t bid until the last scant minutes of the auction. You don’t want other bidders to have a chance to react. Remember that if you leave out out on someskinnyg, it’s not the end of the world. There’s always someskinnyg novel being enumerateed on eBay.