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

For our brimming get on what to see for in a laptop, see our direct Choosing the Right Laptop. The condensed version (even if your budget is confineed) 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) engage an astronomical amount of RAM (sometimes as much as 6 GB in my testing). If you only have 8 GB total, that doesn’t depart 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 establish of a firm state drive. We propose getting a 13- or 14-inch distake part that’s shut to FHD (1080p resolution). If you’re going to engage it for watching movies, ponder a 2-in-1 model (although these do tfinish to cost more). If your budget is defended and you want the most bang for your buck, or you equitable want to defend someskinnyg out of the landfill, ponder the engaged or refurbished laptop labelet. I’ve had fantastic luck buying engaged laptops on eBay from all sorts of sellers (both pros and normal people).

To score the best deal, originate certain you understand the labelet. Do some research to figure out what benevolent of machine will suit your needs. The easiest to come by, and therefore (usupartner) the best deals, tfinish to be the more unininestablishigent, business-oriented models. I happen to appreciate ThinkPads, which are engaged by—and then dumped all at once by—huge corporations, which nastys there are lots to pick from, and they’re inexpensive.

Finding engaged laptops on eBay: Once you understand what you want, search for it on eBay. Scroll down and verify the selection to show only “Selderly Listings.” Now get the 10 most recent sales, insert up the prices, and split by 10. That’s the unrelabelable price; don’t pay more than that. Keep the lowest price in mind—that’s the fantastic deal price. Now, unverify the Selderly Listing selection. See what’s between the lowest price and the unrelabelable price. Those are the deals you can ponder. I propose watching a scant. Don’t bid or join at all. Just watch them until the finish and see how high the auctions finish up going.

Once you have a experience for the labelet and what you should be paying, you’ll understand when you’ve set up a deal. When you discover it, defer. 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 finish of the world. There’s always someskinnyg new being enumerateed on eBay.