Looking for a new laptop, but a wallet that is not too thick? Then we have a few suggestions in this article. We can already reveal one thing: even if you are looking for a not too expensive laptop, you can expect a lot of luxury these days, such as an SSD and a full-HD screen. We test the best laptops up to 600 euros for you.
A luxury laptop with good performance: you have to reserve a decent amount of money for that. But if you look at the advertisements in the brochures, it seems that there is quite a nice laptop for sale for little money. Computer!Totaal started working with four different models. We set the bar at 600 euros, although not all manufacturers made full use of this budget. We invited all manufacturers and in the end we got models from Acer, ASUS, Lenovo and Medion. The cheapest is the laptop from Acer, which has a price tag of 449 euros. The most expensive are the Lenovo and the Medion, both of which cost 599 euros. Three models have a 15.6-inch screen, which has been the most popular format for years. Lenovo is the only exception and opts for a 14-inch model.
Although we have checked whether the reviewed laptops are for sale at the time of publication of this magazine and the manufacturers have confirmed this, we are taking a chance. Our experience shows that the configurations on offer change relatively quickly at this price point. It could therefore happen that the exact configurations tested are difficult to obtain. Usually there are variants for sale that resemble the tested laptops in terms of configuration.
Work comfortably
A 15.6 inch laptop remains quite large, but the time when a 15.6 inch laptop was also very heavy is definitely over. The advantage of the large screen is that it is sufficient to be able to work comfortably for a longer period of time. The keyboard with which the laptop is equipped also offers enough space to lose your fingers, so that you do not immediately long for a separate keyboard. The lightest laptop in the test is the smaller 14-inch laptop Lenovo 510S, which weighs just 1.52 kilograms. That is a big advantage if you want to take a laptop with you a lot. With a weight of 1.6 kilos, the ASUS is hardly heavier. It no longer feels like a brick that you have to carry. It's almost the weight of many smaller laptops. The weight reduction is one of the major improvements we've seen in recent years. The heaviest in the test is the Medion with a weight of no less than 2.3 kilos. Striking: a DVD burner is rarely standard these days. Only the Medion has one on board.
Storage and screen
An SSD is one of the other advantages of a modern laptop. Although there are still models with hard disks available, an SSD is much more pleasant in practice. The disadvantage is often the capacity. If you have a lot of files that you work with, you may not be able to handle an SSD with a capacity of only 128 GB.
While a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 was the standard for laptops for years, more and more models offer full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels). In practice, this is an ideal resolution. It offers sufficient sharpness with enough workspace to be able to view two pages in Word side by side, for example.
Acer Aspire ES1-533-P1SA
We'll start with the Acer Aspire ES1-533-P1SA, a laptop that stands out primarily for its very low price. It costs only 449 euros. For that amount you get a laptop that is powered by a Pentium processor. That is a model of the last generation that is fortunately no longer as slow as the previous model series. The chip is assisted by 6 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. In our opinion a great combination, as long as you do not intend to carry out very heavy work. The full-HD screen has a matte finish and is based on tn technology. The latter means that the viewing angle is not optimal. We would therefore not recommend it if photography is your passion and you would like to edit your photos on this laptop.
An advantage of this laptop is that it is equipped with a hatch with which you can easily access the disk and the memory in order to replace them if necessary. Of the tested laptops, the Acer offers the best battery life. It continues to work for about seven hours for simple tasks without having to be connected to the mains.
Acer Aspire ES1-533-P1SA
Price€ 449,-
Website
www.acer.nl 6 Score 60
- Pros
- Cheap
- Easy to upgrade
- SSD
- Battery working time
- Negatives
- Not the best full HD screen
- Processor is not fast
- Only one USB3.0 connection
