Top 7 Best Laptops under $600 To Buy in 2022

Cheap doesn’t mean slow. We will prove that despite a limited budget, you can find powerful laptops that will suit all your needs: from business and studying to games.

When we are looking for a new laptop, we expect that it will work smoothly without lags, right? But when the budget on the laptop is limited, everyone is afraid of buying low-quality devices that won’t last long and will work too slow.

Here we will prove that there are great laptops under $600 with excellent performance that will suit any needs, from performing some casual tasks to gaming. So let’s start!

Our top picks

How did we decide

Our review is not like the hundreds of reviews you can find on the Internet. We have conducted extended and unbiased research based on the experience of real customers to find out all the pros and cons of each model to make the process of decision making much easier.

To come up with the best 7 laptops under $600 on the market we conducted research that included:

  1. Analysis of 11 models with the highest rating;
  2. Studying over 100 customers’ reviews;
  3. Picking the most important quality criteria for laptops under $600;
  4. Ranking all the laptops due to these criteria and picking the best laptops.

Povverful® analysis methodology

What to look for in a laptop under $600?

What owners say

As our research has shown, people after buying a laptop considered the most important criteria the following:

Quick pages load

You won’t wait for ages until all the pages in the browser, google docs, media files load. This feature is extremely important if you are looking for a laptop primarily for business or studying. RAM is the most important in dealing with quick page load. It stores information currently required to be available and work with. The more RAM, the faster communication with the processor and as a result, faster loading time.

Asus VivoBook 15 (review) gained the highest scores in this criteria, and HP Pavilion 14 (review) will be perfect for studying and business purposes. Both models have 8 GB of RAM that is more than enough for loading lots of tabs simultaneously.

High-quality display

The picture is clear, with perfect color rendering. Such a result can be achieved if the laptop has an IPS display. As a bonus, the laptops should have an anti-reflection screen coating, that prevents sun glare on the screen. It makes the laptop perfect for media consumption and photo or video editing. 

Acer Aspire 5 (review) and Microsoft Surface Go (review) have gained the highest scores in this criteria. Both laptops have an anti-reflection coating, so working near a window exposed to sunlight won’t be a problem. Acer Aspire 5 has an IPS display that provides perfect color rendering. Besides, Microsoft Surface Go has a touchscreen, so you can use a stylus pen for more detailed and easier editing.

High portability

It includes lightweight, thin, and easy to carry around. If you are studying or working remotely and looking for a highly portable laptop to be able to do your stuff from different places, then we recommend paying attention to 2-in-1 laptops; they are more portable than usual laptops. On average, 2-in-1 laptops are 2 times more lightweight (1.5 lbs) than usual laptops (3.5 lbs).

In our list, we came up with the two best models of 2-in-1 laptops — Microsoft Surface Go (review) and Lenovo Flex 14 (review). Microsoft Surface Go will be more lightweight than Lenovo Flex 14 since it is a detachable laptop (you can remove the keyboard if needed). 

Backlit keyboard

The keyboard has a light underneath the keys, they are illuminated making them visible in low light environments.

Can be upgraded overtime

That’s an important feature since you cannot expect from the laptop under $600 run intensive tasks (e.g. high-end games or software), over time you may want to make the laptop work faster. With laptops, you can upgrade storage and memory (RAM).

Jump to the section on how to make your laptop work faster for more details.

Technical Specs

Processor

The processor is the laptop’s part that cannot be upgraded over time, so it is crucial to pick up the one that will fit your needs perfectly.

If you need a laptop for business or studying, AMD Ryzen 3 and AMD Ryzen 5 will be great for you. However, if you need a laptop for performing some graphic tasks such as photo/video editing or playing games, it is better to look for a laptop on Intel Core i3 or Intel Core i5.

Memory (RAM)

The laptops for under $600 will be 4 or 8 GB. Both 4 and 8 GB will be enough for all the basic everyday tasks such as media streaming, browsing, and working with docs.

For heavy load with multitasking or playing games, the more memory the better. The good news is that memory can be upgraded in the laptops over time. Jump to how to make your laptop work faster to find out more.

Storage

This includes Solid State Drive (SSD) and Hard Disk Drive (HDD). We recommend you looking for an SSD due to several reasons. Firstly, it is faster than HDD; laptops with SSD boots up just in a few seconds. Laptops with SSD consume less energy (since they have no moving parts) and have less heat output.

The optimal storage capacity for such a price is 128 or 256 GB. As with memory (RAM), you can upgrade the storage after buying. Jump to how to make your laptop work faster for more details.

Video Card

Just as a Processor, a Video Card cannot be upgraded. The key characteristics that matter in a video card are clock speed, memory size, and whether it is an integrated or dedicated graphics card.

If you are not going to perform a lot of tasks connected with graphics (photo/video editing or playing games), an integrated graphics card with 1100 MHz of clock speed.

But if you need a laptop to perform graphics tasks and playing games, it is better to pay attention to laptops with dedicated cards that have 1485 MHz of clock speed and 4 GB memory size.

Overall, AMD Radeon usually offers the best options in this price segment.

Display Resolution

The higher screen resolution, the crisper visuals, brighter screen, and better color rendering. In laptops for under $600 the display resolution starts with 1366 x 768, it will be enough if you are going to use the laptop for work in docs, sending emails, and watching movies sometimes.

But if you need a laptop for tasks more connected with graphics or you just appreciate excellent picture quality, it is better to look for laptops with 1800 x 1200 and 1920 x 1080 display resolution.

Operating System

Currently, there are three OS: Windows, Mac, and Chrome OS. Most of the laptops in this price category run on Windows OS. It is the most versatile option for those who need a laptop for studying or business.

To find laptops running on Mac with the same tech specs as laptops on our list is almost impossible. However, you can buy a used Macbook Air for this price — check the prices on eBay. Make sure it’s made in at least 2017 and has a good battery. As for Chrome OS, it is the newest OS, it just gives you a more Android-like experience.

A detailed review of each laptop:

Acer Aspire 5 — Best overall

Who is it perfect for? For all who need a laptop for work and studying, video and photo editing. It will also work great if you want to play light games sometimes or play via Stream.

What do we like the most about this laptop? We ranked Acer Aspire 5 as the best laptop for under $600 and here we will explain why this laptop is certainly worth your attention.

With AMD Ryzen 5 3500U processor, this laptop can easily deal with basic tasks such as browsing, work in docs, media streaming. The pages loading and switching between pages is really fast.

Along with Microsoft Surface Go (review), this laptop has a great display. Acer Aspire 5 has a 15.6″ Full HD IPS screen that has the best color rendering and viewing angles among other display panels (TN, VA). This laptop will be great for photo and video editing.

Acer Aspire 5 is also pretty portable, its weight is just 4 pounds (1.8 kgs). But if you are looking for a light laptop, we recommend paying attention to our most portable pick Microsoft Surface Go (review).

This laptop will also work great for gaming via Stream and for some older games (like Dawn of War II, WarCraft, CS: Go) to play onboard. But if you are looking for a gaming laptop, we highly recommend you Acer Nitro 5 (review).

Acer Aspire 5 has also a backlit keyboard, so it will be easier for you to type in low light conditions. The plus is that the backlit goes away if you don’t type for some time; if you are watching the movie, the light from the keyboard won’t bother you.

Finally, you can easily upgrade the laptop and make it work faster if needed. You can expand storage and memory (RAM) without even reinstalling OS. Jump to the section on how to make your laptop work faster to get to know what you will need for an upgrade.

Pros:

  • Easily deals with everyday tasks, just as HP Pavilion 14;
  • Fast pages load and switch between pages;
  • Excellent display with great color rendering;
  • Has a backlit keyboard;
  • The easiest to upgrade (add RAM and storage).

⛔️ Cons:

  • Can run only older games or via Stream. For onboard gaming take a look at Acer Nitro 5 (review).

HP Pavilion 14 — Best for studying and business

Who is it perfect for? An excellent option for those who need a laptop for conducting basic everyday tasks such as browsing, work in Microsoft Office, and spreadsheets. It will also suit if you need a pretty lightweight laptop with long battery life to move it around.

What do we like the most about this laptop? HP Pavilion 14 is the best option if you are looking for a laptop for studying or business. It perfectly deals with mainstream tasks such as browsing, work in spreadsheets, Microsoft Office, media streaming. It has a pretty fast processor (AMD Ryzen 3 3200U with a speed up to 2.60 GHz) which is lower than in Acer Aspire 5 but still enough for basic tasks. You won’t overpay for specs that are not required for your purpose.

It has an excellent 14-inch screen that will be great for watching movies and media streaming. As a nice bonus, it has a touch screen. However, if you need the laptop for photo or video editing, we recommend you Acer Aspire 5 (review) or Microsoft Surface Go (review). The second one also has a touchscreen.

This laptop is also the most lightweight (just 3.25 pounds/1.4 kgs) among usual laptops on our list, so you can easily carry it around for studying purposes or to work outside the home or office. More lightweight is only 2-in-1 laptops. If lightweight and high portability play a key role for you, take a look at Microsoft Surface Go (review).

Pros:

  • The best specs for casual tasks (browsing, work in docs, etc.) without overpay;
  • The most lightweight laptop among the usual laptops. More portable will only be Microsoft Surface Go (review);
  • Has an excellent touchscreen with great color rendering.

⛔️ Cons:

  • It will work only for older games. If you need a “gaming beast” pay attention to Acer Nitro 5 (review);
  • Won’t be great for multitasking, HP Pavilion 15 (review) will deal with running a lot of programs and opening dozens of tabs in Chrome better;
  • Has no backlit keyboard.

Acer Nitro 5 — Best gaming laptop

Who is it perfect for? A great option for gamers who need a powerful laptop with quick games load and excellent graphics. Besides, it can be upgraded over time to load the newest games.

What do we like the most about this laptop? Acer Nitro 5 is the best laptop for those who are looking for a gaming laptop. For playing games, you should primarily look for a powerful video card and processor. Other things like memory and storage can be upgraded over time.

Acer Nitro 5 has the most powerful video card (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650) among other laptops on the list. Thanks to it, the objects and textures of a game will be perfectly rendered. This laptop has the quickest processor (up to 4.1 GHz) compared to other laptops on the list, so if you are playing games with a lot of physics (moving objects), the object’s moves will be really fast.

Memory (RAM) capacity is 8 GB. It will be enough for most of the games, but if you have a high-end game, a RAM upgrade can make it run faster (jump to the section on how to make your laptop work faster for more details). 

Pros:

  • The quickest processor among other laptops on the list;
  • The most powerful video card;
  • Can be easily upgraded for playing high-end games;
  • Has a backlit keyboard;

⛔️ Cons:

  • The heaviest on the list;
  • The fan produces minor noise;

Asus VivoBook 15 — A laptop with the longest battery life and quick load

Who is it perfect for? Perfect for those who are going to work for a long time without a power supply. It will also work great for those who need a laptop for programming on the go.

What do we like the most about this laptop? Asus VivoBook 15 has the longest battery life among other laptops on the list (it can work without a power supply for up to 10 hours).

Along with HP Pavilion 15 (review), this laptop has a pretty fast processor (up to 3.6 GHz). This laptop can load several programs quickly. Quick load in combination with long battery life becomes a great option if you need a laptop for programming on the go.

The customers also note its high tech design. It is sleek and compact. The laptop also has a comfortable to use a keyboard with backlit if you sit at the computer until late at night. It also has a numeric keyboard for calculator-style efficiency while entering numbers.

Pros:

  • Has the longest battery life among other laptops on the list (up to 10 hours);
  • The quickest programs loading due to the fast processor;
  • High tech looking;
  • Has a backlit keyboard.

⛔️ Cons:

  • Won’t work well for new onboard games, Acer Nitro 5 (review) will deal better with this task.

HP Pavilion 15 — Best for multitasking with a responsive touchscreen

Who is it perfect for? It will work great for those who are looking for a laptop that easily deals with running several programs simultaneously or opening a lot of tabs.

What do we like the most about this laptop? HP Pavilion 15 along with Asus VivoBook 15 (review) has a really quick processor (up to 3.6 GHz), so it will quickly load a lot of pages or programs at the same time.

Since this laptop has gained the highest score in the category of the responsive touchscreen, along with a stylus pen (sold separately), HP Pavilion 15 can be used for some detailed work such as photo editing. However, if you are looking for a laptop for photo or video editing primarily, we will recommend you Microsoft Surface Go (review), because it has a better Graphics Card and screen resolution.

Although HP Pavilion 15 is a little more expensive than $600, it will be a great investment and here we will explain why. Overpaying just several tens of dollars, you will get an excellent, much better processor than in other laptops (Intel 10th Gen Quad-Core i5-1035G1); keep in mind that the processor is the part of the laptop that cannot be upgraded over time. In the long run, it is a great investment for maximum smooth laptop operation.

Pros:

  • The best option for running several programs and opening a lot of tabs at the same time;
  • Has the most responsive touchscreen;
  • Has a backlit keyboard.

⛔️ Cons:

  • Poor quality inbuilt webcam.

Microsoft Surface Go — The most portable laptop

Who is it perfect for? Microsoft Surface Go will perfectly suit you if you are traveling a lot and need a lightweight device that fits any bag and can work without a power supply for a long time. It will also work great for photo and video editing.

What do we like the most about this laptop? Microsoft Surface Go belongs to the category of 2-in-1 laptops. The difference between Microsoft Surface Go and Lenovo Flex 14  (also a 2-in-1 laptop) is that Microsoft Surface Go has a detachable keyboard and Lenovo Flex 14 has a convertible keyboard. 

It is the most portable laptop on the list. Its weight is just 1 pound (less than 1 kg) which makes it the most lightweight laptop on the list.

Microsoft Surface Go has one of the longest battery life (up to 9 hours) among other laptops on the list. You will appreciate this feature if you are going to use it during the trips or you work remotely from different locations.

Thanks to the powerful video card (Intel HD Graphics 615), this laptop will easily deal with photo and video editing. Unlike Acer Aspire 5 (review), Microsoft Surface Go has a touchscreen, in the combination with a stylus pen (sold separately), it will be great for detailed photo editing.

Pros:

  • The most lightweight and compact laptop on the list;
  • Will easily deal with video and photo editing;
  • Has a touchscreen;
  • Can be used as a laptop and tablet because of the detachable keyboard;
  • Long battery life (up to 9 hours).

⛔️ Cons:

  • Keyboard and  stylus pen are sold separately;
  • The keyboard doesn’t have a backlit.

Accessories for Microsoft Surface Go

The sad point with 2-in-1 laptops is that they sometimes don’t include some accessories (e.g. keyboard, a stylus pen) that can be essential for users. But here we will fix this problem and provide you with the highest quality accessories at the best price.

Microsoft Surface Go Mobile Mouse

✅ Light and highly portable mouse;
✅ No cords, it connects directly to your laptop via Bluetooth;
✅ Available in 3 colors: Burgundy, Silver, Cobalt Blue.

Microsoft Surface Go Keyboard

✅ Slim and compact keyboard with the performance of full-sized one;
✅ Has a full keyset and backlit;
✅ Available in 4 colors: Poppy Red, Black, Ice Blue, Platinum.

Microsoft Surface Go Stylus pen

✅ Writes on the screen just like a pen on the paper;
✅ The perfect tool for writing and drawing;
✅ Available in 4 colors: Burgundy, Black, Cobalt Blue, Platinum.

Lenovo Flex 14  — Best 2-in-1 laptop

Who is it perfect for? Excellent if you need a laptop and tablet in one device to conduct some basic tasks (browsing, media streaming, work with docs).

What do we like the most about this laptop? Lenovo Flex 14 combines the characteristics of both laptop and tablet (2-in-1 laptop). Unlike Microsoft Surface Go, this laptop is convertible, so it will be a little bit heavier than Microsoft Surface Go.

Due to a faster processor (Intel Pentium Gold 5405U), enough memory (4 GB), and storage (128 GB), it will deal with all basic tasks (media streaming, work with docs, and browsing). We must say, if you don’t care a lot about high portability and need a laptop for business or studying only, we recommend paying attention to HP Pavilion 14 (review) since it has better characteristics and will work faster.

As HP Pavilion 15 (review), this laptop has a highly responsive screen and in combination with a stylus pen (sold separately), it will be a great option for students who need to take notes quickly, just directly on the screen.

Lenovo Flex 14 offers a 14-inch touchscreen display with full HD resolution, so this laptop will be excellent for photo and movie viewing. But if you need a laptop for photo or video editing, we recommend you Acer Aspire 5 (review) or Microsoft Surface Go (review).

Pros:

  • Can be used as both laptop and tablet;
  • Great display for photo and movie viewing;
  • Pretty lightweight and compact, but Microsoft Surface Go (review) will be more portable;
  • Has a touchscreen;

⛔️ Cons:

  • The stylus pen is not included in the complect;
  • Doesn’t have a backlit keyboard.

Accessories for Lenovo Flex 14

The problem with 2-in-1 laptops is that they often don’t include accessories that may be useful for buyers. Here will provide you with the highest quality items for Lenovo Flex 14 at the best price.

Lenovo Stylus Pen

✅ A perfect tool for notes taking on the go;
✅ Includes three replacement pen tips for long use;
✅ Has a durable metal body design.

Hard Shell Case for Lenovo Flex 14

✅ Shatter-proof cover that will protect your laptop all around;
✅ 2-piece shell easily snaps on and off;
✅ Available in 9 colors: Pink, Black, Blue, Green, Orange, Red, Aqua, Clear, Purple.

Compare tech specs

Where to buy the best laptop for under $600?

Compared to dozens of stores, we highly recommend you purchasing on Amazon. 

First of all, Amazon helps you save money on purchases. You can find a beneficial deal, moreover, throughout the year there are a lot of discounts on Amazon.

Secondly, excellent customer support. You won’t worry about the quality of the laptop and its safe delivery. If your device comes damaged, you can always count on an A-to-Z guarantee. You won’t be left with your problems if you have any. Amazon always takes the interests of the customers in the first place.

How to make your laptop work faster?

The solution for faster performance is an upgrade. Two components can be improved after buying a laptop — memory (RAM) and storage

Memory (RAM) upgrade will make Internet surfing noticeably faster, web browsers will load pages quicker, regardless of Internet connection speed. Some programs will become available since they may require a set of memory to run properly. The games will run more smoothly and the visual will become clearer and brighter.

The maximum memory you can upgrade to will differ per the laptop model. Usually, it will be up to 16 – 32 GB.

Storage upgrades will allow you to use loads of programs at once. Storage upgrades will make pages loading much faster. The games will also boot faster and eliminate any hitching.

The storage capacity can increase up to 2 TB for each laptop.

FAQs

🔎 What features to look for in a laptop for under $600?

The main tech specs for laptops include 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage, and Intel core i-3, i-5, or AMD Ryzen 3 or Ryzen 5 processor, a full list of features you can find in our article.

🤔 Which are the best touchscreen laptops for under $600?

According to our research, HP Pavilion 15 has the most responsive touchscreen among other laptops on the list. Read the full review with pros & cons in our article.

📌 Which are the best i5 laptops for under $600?

The best laptops with i5 will depend on your purpose. For instance, if you need a laptop for casual use, it will be better to pay attention to HP Pavilion 15; for gaming, Acer Nitro 5 will work great.

💻 What are the best business laptops under $600?

For business purposes, HP Pavilion 14 will work great. However, if you need a laptop for multitasking, it is better to pay attention to HP Pavilion 15. The full review and all the pros and cons of each laptop you can find in our article.

💵 Where to buy great gaming laptops under $600?

You can buy the best gaming laptop at the best deal on Amazon. We have ranked Acer Nitro 5 as the best option for such a purpose and in our article, you can find the best deal on this laptop.

Total
0
Shares
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts
Povverful
1