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Asus DB31 review: Asus DB31

Asus DB31 review: Asus DB31

The Asus Zenbook was one of the first entrants in the new ultrabook category when it launched in late 2011. We liked that original system, despite a few serious flaws, as the all-metal design marked it as a direct competitor to the MacBook Air.

Since then, ultrabooks have become both more common and less expensive. Asus now makes several UX variations, including three that we are reviewing, the UX31A, UX32A, and UX32VD. At $779, the Zenbook UX32A is the least expensive of the current crop, but for good reason.

The UX32A still has a previous-generation Intel Core i5 CPU. That generation of chip is known by the code name Sandy Bridge, as opposed to the latest generation, released in the second half of 2012, and known as Ivy Bridge. The UX32A is also missing other Intel improvements, most notably the HD 4000 integrated graphics, which offer improved gaming performance in other notebooks.

By way of comparison, the 13-inch Asus Zenbook UX32VD comes alluringly close to being an ultrabook without compromise. For $1,299 it includes an Intel Core i7 CPU, a full HD 1,920x1,080-pixel-resolution display, and a discrete Nvida 620M GPU. That model is the closest hybrid of a 13-inch ultrabook and a full-power mainstream laptop to date, and easily my favorite of this collection of Zenbooks, despite its higher price.

The UX31A is a more upscale design variant, thinner with a more unibody chassis, which skips the GPU, but keeps the high-res screen and Ivy Bridge internal hardware. But at about $1,079, it doesn't make the most compelling value case.

If you just love the Zenbook look and feel, then this third version, the UX32A, is a way to get it for under $800, albeit with outdated components and some performance compromises. If your ultrabook needs are that basic, there are many other worthwhile options out there to consider at around the same price.

Asus Zenbook models compared

	CPU	GPU	Storage	Display	Price
UX32VD	1.7GHz Core i7-3517U	Nvidia GeForce 620M	500GB HDD/24GB SSD	1,920x1,080	$1,299
UX32A	1.4GHz Intel i3-2367M	Intel HD 3000	320GB HDD/32GB SSD	1,333x768	$779
UX31A	1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U	Intel HD 4000	128GB SSD	1,920x1,080	$1,079

Asus Zenbook UX32A specs

Price as reviewed	$779
Processor	1.4GHz Intel Core i3-2367M
Memory	4GB, 1,333MHz DDR3
Hard drive	500GB 5,400rpm / 32GB SSD
Chipset	Intel HM76
Graphics	Intel HD 3000
Operating system	Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Dimensions (WD)	12.8x8.8 inches
Height	0.2 - 0.7 inch
Screen size (diagonal)	13.3 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter	3.3 pounds / 3.8 pounds
Category	13-inch

The look and feel of the Zenbook line has changed little since last year. The tapered aluminum design of the original Zenbook was both minimalist and the most Air-like of the early ultrabooks (at least until the Dell XPS 13 came around). But it also had a few design miscues. The lid on the original Zenbook was notoriously hard to open. That's been fixed in the UX32A, and the touch pad also feels more responsive than the older models', especially after a last-minute software update from Asus, although it's still one of the system's weak points.

The original Zenbook was thinner and lighter than this version, but both the more tapered Zenbooks (such as the current UX31A) and this one have a sharp front lip that can be murder on the heels of your hands, depending on your typing style. Ergonomics aside, the solid-feeling aluminum body is not as streamlined in its construction as a MacBook, but the parts fit together well, with minimal screws and seams.

The keyboard was a weak point on the original Zenbook, with shallow, clacky keys. The UX32A and UX32VD both have a slightly thicker and heavier body, and that extra depth lets the keyboard have a little more space. Keystrokes on the UX32A feel more like they do on a standard laptop than on the thinner, more tapered UX31A (which is more like the original 2011 Zenbook). The keyboard is also backlit, a must-have feature on any modern ultrabook.

The large but finicky clickpad on that original UX31 was one of our main problems. If you make sure to install the latest touch-pad drivers (version 1.0.26), which are available via Asus Live Update if not preinstalled on the system, the touch-pad experience is much improved, but it's still nowhere near as intuitive or responsive as a MacBook trackpad -- a Windows-wide problem. There is, however, a decent set of multitouch gestures, demoed and controlled by the Asus Smart Gesture software app. One nice feature is that you can set a two-finger tap to indicate a right-click, a very Mac-like move that I've seen popping up in a few Windows laptops lately.

In the UX32VD and UX31A models, the display has been upgraded to an IPS screen in full HD, with a 1,920x1,080-pixel native resolution. In this less-expensive model, you're still stuck with a 1,366x768 native resolution. Most 13-inch laptops, including some very expensive ones, have 1,366x768-pixel screens. That's fine for $800 or so, so it's not out of place in this configuration. That said, an upscale ultrabook could really benefit from at least a 1,600x900-pixel display, which feels to me like the sweet spot for a 13-inch laptop. The screen itself looked decent, and was thankfully not excessively glossy, which often causes annoying glare from nearby lights.

Audio through a speaker grille at the very top of the keyboard tray was predictably thin, despite the Bang & Olufsen ICE Power branding (which you'll find on all three Zenbooks). Audio volume controls are mapped to alternate F-key functions, so you'll need to hit, for example, Fn+F10 to mute the sound.

	Asus Zenbook UX32A	Average for category [13-inch]
Video	HDMI, Mini-DisplayPort (plus VGA via dongle)	HDMI or DisplayPort
Audio	Stereo speakers, headphone jack	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data	3 USB 3.0, SD card slot	2 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, SD card reader
Networking	Ethernet via dongle, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband
Optical drive	None	DVD burner

With dual video outputs and three USB 3.0 jacks, the UX32A makes good use of its slightly thicker body to fit in more ports. Going all-3.0 is especially impressive considering the $779 price (thank the Intel HM76 chipset). Ethernet is still relegated to an external dongle, but this system does include Intel's Wireless Display feature, which enables you to send the screen image to a TV or other monitor via a $99 sold-separately receiver box.

The other two Zenbook laptops we're reviewing for summer 2012 have made the jump to Intel's third-generation Core i-series processors, but not this one. That puts the UX32A at a considerable disadvantage. The $1,299 UX32VD has a 1.7GHz Intel Core i7-3517U along with a 500GB hard drive/24GB solid-state drive (SSD) combo drive, and Nvidia GeForce 620M graphics. The $779 UX32A has a previous-generation 1.4GHz Intel i3-2367M CPU, 320GB HDD/24GB SSD, and Intel HD 3000 graphics, and the $1,079 UX31A has a 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U CPU, 128GB SSD, and Intel HD 4000 graphics, plus a slightly thinner body.

Of those three, the UX32VD is the most expensive, but also by far the most universally useful. It was also much faster at running our benchmark tests, beating out the other two Zenbooks, but falling behind an Intel Core i5 MacBook Air. In everyday use, I found all three to be more than responsive enough for common computer tasks, from social networking to working in Microsoft Office to running Photoshop. But there's definitely a difference between Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge performance.

If you're at all interested in gaming, the UX32VD is the Zenbook for you. Even then, the Nvidia GeForce 620M GPU is an entry-level part, and not great for high-detail settings at full 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution. The Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics in the UX32A ran our very forgiving Street Fighter IV test at 1,366x768 pixels and only 19.9 frames per second, making it not very well suited for anything beyond simple casual games and maybe a few vintage games.

All three of the Asus Zenbook models we tested had solid battery life, to varying degrees. The UX32A ran for 5 hours and 16 minutes -- decent if not spectacular -- in our video-playback battery drain test, while the UX31A ran for 6 hours and 16 minutes. The UX32VD has higher-end components, so it may be forgiven for only running for 5 hours and 13 minutes. Some other ultrabooks can run for 1 to 2 hours longer, but all these times should get you through a full day if you close the lid and put the laptop to sleep when not actively using it.

Asus offers a one-year mail-in warranty on each of these ultrabooks. The Asus Web site can get a little confusing to navigate, but 24-7 phone support is available at 888-678-3688. The simplest way to find the Asus support section for your specific model is to ignore the frustrating pop-up navigation menus and simply type the model number into the support page search box.

The Asus Zenbook UX32A shares a chassis with the UX32VD model we also reviewed, but little else. It's stuck with an older CPU, lacks the graphics and battery-life advantages of Intel's new Ivy Bridge platform, and has a lower-resolution screen. That said, if you love the look and feel, which is nicely MacBook-like, this model is about $500 less.

Find out more about how we test laptops.

System configurations:

Asus Zenbook Prime UX32A
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.4GHz Intel Core i3-2367M; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,333MHz; 64MB (Dedicated) Intel HD 4000; 320GB Hitachi 5,400rpm

Acer Aspire S5-391-9880
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,333MHz; 128MB (Dedicated) Intel HD 4000; 256GB Lite-On IT SSD (2x RAID 0)

Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.9GHz Intel Core i7-3517U; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,333MHz; 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 620M / 64MB (Dedicated) Intel HD 4000; 500GB Hitachi 5,400rpm

Apple MacBook Air 13.3-inch (Summer 2012)
OS X 10.7.4 Lion; 1.8GHz Intel Core i5; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 384MB (Shared) Intel HD 4000; 128GB Apple SSD

Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 64MB (Dedicated) Intel HD 4000; 128GB Adata XM11 SSD

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Source

https://nichols.my.id/how-to-cook-yellow-lentils.html

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Apple macbook 12 inch 2016 macbook air 2015 12 inch apple 12 inch macbook apple macbook 12 inch 2016 macbook pro 2015 12 inch apple macbook 12 inch 2017 apple macbook 12 inch battery replacement apple macbook 12 inch accessories apple macbook 12 inch retina display apple macbook 12 gold apple macbook student discount apple macbook pro m1

Apple MacBook (12-inch, 2015) review: A minimalist MacBook that proves less can be more

Apple MacBook (12-inch, 2015) review: A minimalist MacBook that proves less can be more

Editors' note (June 27, 2017):  The12-inch MacBook, reviewed in full below, was updated in 2016 and then again in June 2017, at Apple's   Worldwide Developers Conference . The new  $1,299 12-inch MacBook and $999 13-inch MacBook Air now have faster, more powerful Intel  processors. The current crop of MacBook Pros --  the $1,299 13-inch, $1,799 13-inch with Touch Bar, and $2,399 15-inch with Touch Bar  -- have those new chips, too, along with upgraded graphics hardware. 

Otherwise, aside from a RAM bump here and a slight price drop there, the 2017 batch is very similar to the one from 2016, with the same enclosures, ports, trackpads and screens. But be forewarned: Buying a new MacBook Pro may require you to invest in a  variety of adapters  for your legacy devices. Also note that the  13-inch MacBook Pro from 2015  has been discontinued, though the $1,999  15-inch model  from that year remains available for those who want all the ports and fewer dongles.

The complaints started even before Apple's first new MacBook demo ended. During the March 2015 press event, observers fretted about the new, slimmer, lighter 12-inch MacBook. "It's underpowered," they said. "The battery life will be short. The new keyboard is too shallow. The no-click touchpad is a gimmick."

The outcry, which ranged from deriding the new, singular USB-C port to the overall price was reminiscent of the world's reaction to the original iPad in 2010. And like that groundbreaking tablet, the new 12-inch MacBook won't do everything and isn't for everyone. But its strictly enforced minimalism will make this laptop the model that industrial designers will strive to copy for the next several years.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The 12-inch MacBook is a system that ditches the Air and Pro monikers and returns to a simpler designation not seen since the classic black and white polycarbonate MacBooks of the mid-2000s (the ones you still occasionally see in coffee shops despite being their being discontinued in 2011).

Starting at $1,299, it includes a high-resolution Retina screen (much sharper than that on the Air), 8GB of RAM and 256GB of solid state storage. Unlike other laptops with removable drives or RAM, everything here is (permanently) packed into a tiny custom motherboard that leaves maximum room for a large battery. A second version, priced at $1,599, adds a 512GB hard drive and a tiny processor speed bump. In the UK and Australia, the prices start at £1,049 and AU$1,799 for the base model and hit £1,299 and AU$2,199 for the upgrade. More expensive build-to-order models are available, too. (The MacBook can be ordered online at 12:00 a.m. PT tonight, the same time as the Apple Watch, and should be available in store -- presumably in limited quantities -- on Friday, April 10.)

By way of comparison, the 13-inch MacBook Air starts at $999, but a similar 8GB/256GB configuration will cost the same $1,299. The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at the same $1,299 as this new MacBook, but with only half the storage. Upgrading that Pro model to the same 8GB/256GB will cost $1,499. And on the Windows side, a Samsung Ativ Book 9 with the same 8GB RAM/256GB flash drive and the same processor -- will cost you $1,399 (all prices in US dollars). So, in the context of its main rivals, the MacBook is actually priced rather competitively.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Looking only at a spec sheet, it's easy to see why this new MacBook might be a tough sell. The MacBook uses Intel's new Core M processor, designed for slim, light laptops, hybrids and tablets with premium prices. It's efficient enough that full laptops can even run fanless, allowing for quiet, cool operation. But, the Core M has disappointed in the handful of Windows systems in which we've already tested it, turning in sluggish performance and mediocre battery life, the latter an unforgivable flaw for computers designed to be as light and portable as possible.

To spare you the suspense, I can say that the new MacBook performs much better than any other Core M system we've tested to date, hitting 11 hours in our video playback test. That's not nearly as much as you'd get from a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro -- and it puts this system at a disadvantage compared to the longest-lasting laptops -- but battery life is definitely not the deal-breaker it could have been.

Heavy online use will drain the battery even more quickly, and I found myself frequently glancing up at the upper right corner of the screen to see the battery life percentage tick down as I worked. I've found it can last for a full work day of moderate usage, but unlike a current-gen MacBook Pro or Air, it'll be hard to go a few days without plugging it in at all.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Beyond that, the limitations of having a single USB-C port for all your connection needs (with the exception of a standard audio jack that also made the cut) is even more of a challenge, unless you're prepared to arm yourself with a pocketful of dongles and adaptors.

Other changes are easier to adapt to. We've previously gone into some detail about the new click-free pad, which Apple calls the Force Touch trackpad, which is also available in the updated MacBook Pro. It's a clever bit of space-saving engineering that replaces the old trackpad, with a hinged design for physically clicking down, with a flat glass surface augmented by a force feedback engine. The keyboard is an even more radical change, swapping out the long-standing Mac standard of deep island-style keys for a set of much shallower keys, but with larger actual key faces.

Using the new MacBook means accepting its limitations, some of which are deliberately self-imposed. That's especially noticeable when you look at another new laptop, the Samsung Ativ Book 9. It weighs the same as the MacBook, has a similar 12-inch high-res screen, and an Intel Core M processor, but manages to fit in two full-size USB ports and a micro-HDMI output (although it also has a proprietary power connection and lacks USB-C, which is set to become the new standard).

The new MacBook and the similar Samsung Book 9.

Sarah Tew/CNET

If your need for longer battery life, more powerful performance, or more ports doesn't automatically preclude you, then the in-person experience of using the new MacBook will far outshine the on-paper shortcomings. For writing, Web surfing, video viewing and social media, it's a pleasure to use, and makes the still-slim 13-inch MacBook Air feel a bit like a lumbering dinosaur, to say nothing of other ultrabook-style laptops. It's a perfect coffee shop companion.

Some of the critical reactions to this laptop remind me of another new Apple design introduction I covered seven years ago, the original MacBook Air. That system was also criticized for dropping ports and connections, such as an Ethernet and VGA, that people were convinced they still needed. And, much like the new MacBook, it included just a single USB port.

Back in 2008, I was correct that the Air's new, stripped-down design had real legs, and would set the standard for years to come. But also true was that future refinements down the road would turn the MacBook Air from a speciality product into a mainstream one. When the next 12-inch MacBook update arrives, I suspect it will at the very least add a second USB-C port, and that's when it will become much easier to recommend to a broader audience.

Apple MacBook (12-inch, 2015)

Price as reviewed	$1,299, £1,049, AU$1,799
Display size/resolution	12-inch 2,304x1,440 screen
PC CPU	1.1GHz Intel Core M 5Y31
PC Memory	8GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz
Graphics	1,536MB Intel HD Graphics 5300
Storage	256 SSD
Optical drive	None
Networking	802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
Operating system	Apple OSX 10.10.2 Yosemite

Design and features

This is the thinnest Mac that Apple has ever made: at its thickest point it's just 13.1mm (about half an inch), 24 percent thinner than the existing 11-inch MacBook Air. It's also the lightest MacBook, at 2.04 pounds (0.9 kg). Samsung's new Book 9 weighs 2.08 pounds, essentially the same, although it has a slightly larger footprint.

The overall shape and industrial design is familiar, based on the past seven-plus years of MacBook design, but with a few new twists, such as new colors. Besides the traditional silver, the new MacBook also comes in space grey or gold. Our test unit was gold, and like the iPhone color scheme it copies, the coloration is subtle, and gives off the impression that your laptop has a bronzed finish.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The keyboard, another big change, uses a new butterfly mechanism for keys that's thinner and more stable. The nearly edge-to-edge keyboard has larger key faces, yes, but the keys are also shallower, barely popping up above the keyboard tray and depressing into the chassis only slightly. It takes some getting used to, especially if you're accustomed to the deep, clicky physical feedback of the current MacBooks or the similar island-style keyboards of most other modern laptops.

The first time I tried the keyboard, I couldn't get through even a few sample sentences without several typos, because of the shallow keys and their lower level of tactile feedback. But when I tried again a couple of hours later, it was already much easier.

Sarah Tew/CNET

After using the new MacBook keyboard for the better part of a week, the shallowness of the keys, and a lack of a deeply satisfying click still bothers me. But, as someone who types very longform, the larger key faces and rock-solid stability make up for that, tipping the needle into the positive category. The keys are almost completely wobble-free, as opposed to the wiggle you can get under your fingers on a current MacBook keyboard.

The new trackpad, called the Force Touch, is even more of a change. Nearly the same size as the Air's, but squeezed into a smaller space, it dominates the lower half of the laptop and goes right up to the bottom edge. While previous trackpads had a hinge along the top in a kind of diving board design, the new pad works very differently. We took a deeper hands-on look at Force Touch when we tested it in the only other Apple product to support the new TrackPad right now, the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

Four sensors under the pad allow you to "click" anywhere on the surface, and the Force Click effect, which combines the sensors with haptic (or taptic) feedback, allows you to have two levels of perceived clicking within an app or task. That deep click feels to the finger and brain like the trackpad has a stepped physical mechanism, but in fact, the movement you feel is a small horizontal shift, which, even when fully explained, still feels like you're depressing the trackpad two levels.

Apple describes it like this: "With the Force Touch trackpad, force sensors detect your click anywhere on the surface and move the trackpad laterally toward you, although the feel is the same familiar downward motion you're accustomed to in a trackpad."

With that second, deeper click, you can access several types of contextual information, for example, highlighting a word and getting a Wikipedia pop-up, or seeing a map when deep-clicking on an address. Jumping into the preview view of a document or file works with the deep click, too, just as it does now by pressing the space bar in OS X. The most advanced use is probably fast-forwarding through a video clip in QuickTime, faster or slower, depending on how hard you press down on the trackpad.

I ended up using this trackpad just as I do almost every other one, Apple or otherwise, by tapping rather than clicking. It still bewilders me that Apple turns off tap-to-click by default, forcing you to hunt around the preferences menu to find it. Here's a tip: besides the tapping feature under the trackpad preferences menu, you may want to go to the accessibility menu and look under Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse & Trackpad > Trackpad options to turn on tap-to-drag.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The new MacBook has a 12-inch Retina display with a 2,304x1,440-pixel resolution. It, too, has a new design -- it's the thinnest ever built into a MacBook, at 0.88mm -- with a larger aperture for light and individual pixels in red, green and blue. The slightly unusual resolution is a combination of Apple's drive for a very high pixel-per-inch density, as well as an aspect ratio that sticks with 16:10, as opposed to nearly every other laptop available now, all of which use the same 16:9 aspect ratio as HDTV. (The 11-inch MacBook Air remains the only 16:9 MacBook.)

The screen looks clear and bright, and works from wide viewing angles. There's a glossy overlay, but I've seen much worse offenders when it comes to screen glare and light reflection. The screen bezel, that dead space between the actual display and the outer edge of the lid, is thinner here than on a MacBook Air, and the screen glass goes nearly edge to edge, giving the MacBook a seamless look much like the current Pro models. Thin bezels are definitely an important style note these days, although Dell does it much better with its current XPS 13 laptop, with an eye-catching barely there bezel.

The speaker grille above the keyboard is predictably thin-sounding -- this is a very small laptop after all, with little room for speaker cones to move air -- but it'll suffice for casual video viewing. With Beats Audio as part of the Apple family we may see a greater emphasis on audio in Macs in the future, just as Beats and HP had a successful partnership for several years.

Joe Kaminski/CNET

One spec that many feel was shortchanged in this new laptop is the built-in webcam. It's a simple 640x480 camera, and not as high-res as the 720p camera found in the Air or Pro laptops. The image above is taken from an iPhone 6, and shows my image, being transmitted from the 12-inch MacBook, via FaceTime. Note the softness of the image, which is an issue with viewing the 480p transmission on a much higher resolution screen.

Ports and connections

Video	USB 3.1 Type C
Audio	3.5mm audio jack
Data	USB 3.1 Type C
Networking	802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
Optical	None

Connections, performance and battery

While testing the new MacBook, I found myself frequently plugging and unplugging accessories. Starting with the power cable connected to the single USB-C port, I pulled the power out to plug in a short USB-C to USB-A cable (sold by Apple for $19, £15 or AU$29), and connected the USB dongle for a wireless mouse. When I wanted to use a USB data key, I had to disconnect the mouse, and use the same adaptor cable to connect my key.

Shortly, you will be able to connect video the same way, using a USB-C to HDMI, DisplayPort or VGA adaptor. Apple has two connections blocks that include either HDMI or VGA for $79, £65 or AU$119, but neither was available at the time of this review.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The official pitch is that MacBook users will use wireless connections for just about everything. Bluetooth for a mouse, Wi-Fi for Internet access, AirDrop for file transfer, and so on. Most of these assumptions are correct, but there's something to be said for being able to use a full-size USB or HDMI port to connect to any USB key or HDTV with minimal hassle.

One potentially very useful benefit of USB-C is that, because it's used to power the laptop battery, it can also draw power from the portable backup battery packs that so many people have lying around in drawers and laptop bags. Take a USB-C to male USB cable (we tried a $10 one sent by Monoprice), and you can get some extra battery power on the go without having to bring the whole power brick or have access to a power outlet. It won't fully charge the laptop, but it could offer enough juice to get you out of a jam.

Sadly, MagSafe, truly one of the great developments in the history of laptops, is gone, and the new USB-C power plug has no magnetic connection at all. It simply slots in. The connector is fairly shallow, so it may very well just pop out if you yank the cable by accidentally stepping on it, but it certainly doesn't feel as accident-proof as the MagSafe version does.

The new 12-inch MacBook also breaks from the rest of Apple's computer line in that it does not use a processor from Intel's Core i series. Mostly Macs use Core i5 chips from either the current fifth generation of those chips, or the previous fourth generation (although the professional-level Mac Pro desktop uses an Intel Xeon processor).

Instead, this laptop uses the Core M, a new entry in Intel's laptop family. The pitch for Core M is that it enables laptops to be very thin and light, but still powerful and long-lasting. That's an appealing pitch, and Core M chips are so far only found in premium-priced systems (the least expensive being the $700 Asus T300 Chi).

Sarah Tew/CNET

But, in the first three computers we've tested with Core M chips, the results have not lived up to the hype. Lenovo's Yoga 3 Pro had sluggish performance and weak battery life. The Asus T300 Chi did a little better, but still ran for less than 6 hours in our battery test. The Samsung Ativ Book 9, a 12-inch laptop very similar to this one, did a bit better both on performance and battery life, coming close to 8 hours.

Getting the most out of Core M may require your hardware and software, including the operating system, to be properly tuned for it. And as Apple can control every aspect of its OS and exactly what hardware is paired with it, it's not surprising that the company is able to get some of the best results to date from the Core M. In our benchmark tests, no one will confuse this system with even the basic 13-inch MacBook Air, but it was faster in our multitasking test than the other Core M laptops we've reviewed. More importantly, in day to day use, it often felt just as responsive as a MacBook Air, with a few important caveats.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Basic Web surfing worked flawlessly, as did streaming even 4K video from YouTube or HD video from Netflix. Even basic gaming via Steam was doable, and I could play older or simpler games such as Portal 2 or Telltale's The Walking Dead series if I dialed the in-game resolution down to 1,440x900 and played with middle-ground graphics settings.

Using a browser other than Apple's Safari, which is very well optimized for the OS X/Core M combination, can lead to some slowdown, as can loading up multiple video streams at once. Pushing apps such as Photoshop with challenging filters and high-resolution files is likewise going to be slower than most Windows laptops with Core i5 CPUs.

But for many laptop users, especially those primarily interested in a laptop's size and weight, battery life is of the utmost importance. That is the one area where Apple's use of the Core M platform has caused the most angst-ridden speculation. Other Core M systems, all slim laptops or hybrids, have all turned in battery life scores that are on the low side, from about five and a half hours (for the Yoga 3 Pro and Asus T300 Chi) to seven and a half hours (for the Samsung Book 9) in our video playback battery drain test.

Meanwhile, Apple's own current MacBook Air runs for an amazing 18 hours (thanks to its recently upgraded Broadwell Core i5 CPU) and the 13-inch Pro ran for 15 hours in the same test. Two recent slim, premium laptops, the Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre x360, both managed 12 hours.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The 12-inch MacBook doesn't last as long as those Core i5 laptops, but it does beat the other Core M systems by a large margin, running for 11 hours 3 minutes in our video playback battery drain test. Apple says it should give you at least 10 hours of video playback, so that's in line with the company's claims. Real-world scenarios, with more energy draining apps and frequent online use, will be shorter, and in a secondary test streaming online video non-stop over Wi-Fi, the system ran for 5 hours.

How did Apple manage to get better battery life from the notoriously fickle Core M? Part of it may be the optimization Apple can do as the creator of both the hardware and operating system. But a big part of it may be the large 39.7-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery crammed into the small MacBook's body. The actual motherboard and all the internal components have been shrunk down to be only fraction of the size of a typical laptop motherboard. Instead, the entire rest of the system interior is filled with a battery designed to fit into every nook and cranny of available space.

Conclusion

My initial impression of the original MacBook Air from 2008 feels timely and fitting here. Of that laptop, which was considered both groundbreaking and frustratingly limited, I said:

Sarah Tew/CNET

Likewise, this new MacBook will also be the right fit for a smaller segment of a public than the more universally useful 13-inch MacBook Air or Pro. But those who can work with the limitations -- primarily a lack of ports, shorter battery life, performance that's not suited for pro-level photo and video editing, and a shallow keyboard that takes some getting used to -- will love its sharp display, slim and light body, and responsive touchpad.

My primary caveat is this -- if history is any guide, you can count on a near-future generation of this laptop boosting its utility by doubling the number of USB-C ports to at least two. So like many new technology products, it may be worth waiting for the next version, even if having a 12-inch, two-pound gold MacBook right now will make you the coolest kid at the coffee shop.

Handbrake Multimedia Multitasking test

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2015) 370 Dell XPS 13 (2015, non-touch) 428 Apple MacBook (12-inch, 2015) 465 Samsung Ativ Book 9 (2015) 563 Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro 682

Note: Shorter bars indicate better performance (in seconds)

Adobe Photoshop CS5 image-processing test

Dell XPS 13 (2015, non-touch) 263 Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2015) 268 Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro 294 Apple MacBook (12-inch, 2015) 307 Samsung Ativ Book 9 (2015) 311

Note: Shorter bars indicate better performance (in seconds)

Apple iTunes encoding test

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2015) 107 Dell XPS 13 (2015, non-touch) 112 Apple MacBook (12-inch, 2015) 130 Samsung Ativ Book 9 (2015) 130 Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro 142

Note: Shorter bars indicate better performance (in seconds)

Video playback battery drain test

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2015) 1080 Apple MacBook (12-inch, 2015) 747 Dell XPS 13 (2015, non-touch) 726 Samsung Ativ Book 9 (2015) 457 Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro 346

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance (in minutes)

System Configurations

Apple MacBook (12-inch, 2015)	OSX 10.10.2 Yosemite; 1.1GHz Intel Core M-5Y31; 8GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 1,536MB Intel HD Graphics 5300; 256GB SSD
Dell XPS 13 (2015, non-touch)	Windows 8.1 (64.bit); 2.2GHz Intel Core i5-5200U; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 2,000MB (shared) Intel HD 5500 Graphics; 128GB SSD
Lenovo Yoga Pro 3	Windows 8.1 (64-bit); 1.1GHz Intel Core M-5Y60; 8GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 3,839MB (shared) Intel HD Graphics 5300; 256GB SSD
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2015)	Yosimite OSX 10.10.2; 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-5250U; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 1,536MB Intel HD Graphis 6000; 128GB SSD
Samsung Ativ Book 9 (2015)	Windows 8.1 (64.bit); 1.1GHz Intel Core M-5Y31; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 2,005MB (shared) Intel HD 5300 Graphics; 128GB SSD

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Dell xps 13 plus review this slim premium laptop computers dell xps 13 plus review this slim premium laptop cases dell xps 13 plus review this thing dell xps 13 plus reviews dell xps 13 9370 dell xps 13 price dell xps 8940

Dell XPS 13 Plus Review: This Slim Premium Laptop Isn't Afraid to Shake Things Up

Dell XPS 13 Plus Review: This Slim Premium Laptop Isn't Afraid to Shake Things Up

When you open up the XPS 13 Plus, three things will immediately strike you as... unusual. Those design choices make the XPS 13 Plus stand out so much visually, but they also make for an unconventional experience. Not necessarily a bad one, but certainly one that fights years of laptop design muscle memory. 

First is the touchpad, which sits, disguised, along the edge-to-edge palm rest. It's there, but you can't actually see it. The touch-sensitive part of that front area is indistinguishable from the part you just rest your hands on. 

Apple laptops still have a distinct panel for touch, some laptops from Dell's own Alienware line have touchpads that literally glow in different colors, but here it's guesswork. In practice, however, I found the touch-sensitive area relatively easy to use. It runs from the left edge of the spacebar on one side to the right edge of the Alt key on the other. Sure, it would be cool to have the touchpad run the entire length of the body, but that would be a nightmare for palm rejection AI and probably not as useful as you'd think.

Like

• Inventive new design
• Very slim and light
• Excellent performance
• Great OLED display
• Included USB-C dongles

Don't Like

• You might not love the new touchpad, keyboard and function keys
• Underwhelming battery life
• Heat and fan noise
• Low-resolution webcam
• No headphone port

But the larger point remains -- people are used to how touchpads work and what they look like, so you mess with that shared experience at your own peril. In this case, the touchpad's overall feel is good for a Windows laptop, but it could also feel either too sensitive or not sensitive enough, depending on what I was doing. The best word for an overall vibe would be "floaty," and it suffers in comparison by landing on my desk immediately after the latest MacBook Air, which is the platonic ideal of touchpad feel and functionality. 

Dell makes a big deal of the haptics of the touchpad. It feels like you can click it down, but it's not actually depressing. MacBook touchpads have worked the same way for years. Personally, I'm a tapper, not a clicker, so it didn't make a huge difference to me. 

The invisible touchpad. 

Dan Ackerman/CNET

Next is the keyboard, which ditches the standard island-style keys -- flat with a modest space between each one -- for an edge-to-edge design, where each key brushes up against its neighbor. It's a style that popped up occasionally in the 2010s, but one I haven't seen in a while. It lets you offer a larger top surface for each key and in some cases, helps make a laptop thinner. I got used to it quickly but, again, my muscle memory fought it. It also lacks the satisfying snap of a good island-style keyboard. 

The last big change is to the Function key row. It reminds me of the now-deprecated Apple Touch Bar, as it's a backlit row of touch-sensitive icons. The media and system commands are lit by default -- brightness, volume, keyboard backlight and so on. Hold the Fn key and you see the typical F1 to F12 keys. You can swap the behavior the other way if you prefer. 

Why do this? Again, I believe it's to shave some thickness from the system and allow for its hinge mechanism. I'm not against the idea in principle, but the MacBook Pro's rough go of it shows that people aren't itching to swap physical buttons for virtual ones. And this isn't a full-color user-assignable OLED screen strip like Apple's version, either. But in the end, the only thing I think you'll miss is having a physical Esc key, which can be important in your day to day use. I liked how clear the icons were and how they were boldly backlit. 

Function keys are replaced by a touch strip. 

Dan Ackerman/CNET

Configuration and performance

Once you put aside those three breaks with laptop design orthodoxy, the rest of the XPS 13 Plus is a conventional and mostly excellent premium 13-inch laptop experience. The XPS 13 line has always been one of my favorite Windows laptops, and this looks and feels like a high-end machine that will be a conversation piece whenever you whip it out. 

The XPS 13 Plus starts at $1,299 and the model I tested is currently $1,949. It includes an upgraded CPU, RAM and display. I liked that there are four 13.4-inch screen options, both OLED and LCD, ranging from a 1,920x1,080 non-touch screen to a 3,840x2,400 touchscreen.

Inside, the version here has a 12th-gen Intel Core i7-1280P, and all the engineering to squeeze it into this 15mm-thick body is impressive. That said, the fans spin up audibly, sometimes sounding like a little white noise machine in the background, and even then, the system got very warm, especially on the bottom panel. 

Dan Ackerman/CNET

Performance with that 12th-gen Core i7 is a highlight, and it's nice to have this much raw horsepower in a high-design, executive-class laptop. I've compared it to Apple's latest mainstream and Pro laptops, as well as comparable Windows systems. It's part of Intel's Evo program, which is a designation for premium slim laptop designs with good performance. If you go with the least expensive configuration, you get a Core i5 from the same generation. 

In the preloaded My Dell app, you can switch between performance presets (navigate from My Dell > Power > Thermal). The Performance mode was indeed faster, but also cranked the fans up even more, created a lot of heat, and certainly didn't help the already limp battery life. 

Display and webcam 

The display is also a highlight. I tested the 3,456x2,160-pixel touchscreen version, which is an impressive-looking OLED panel. Dell calls this 3.5K and you can also get a true 4K version, but that's no OLED panel. Either one is a $300 upgrade from the base non-touch Full HD 1,920x1,080-pixel model. There's also a FHD touch panel for $100 more, and if you're looking to cut costs, it's probably where I'd go. On a relatively small laptop, you can get away with FHD resolution, but adding touch is going to be valuable. 

I'm less pleased with the 720p webcam. Premium laptops have made a major switch to FHD cameras in the past couple of years, even dragging long-time holdout Apple in with the latest MacBook Air Dell says the lower-res camera here benefits from image processing help on the software side, but I found it to be merely ok. Jumping into a Zoom meeting in low light, I had a distinct orange hue. Adding a higher-resolution camera would likely mean a thicker lid, so I get that there's a size-versus-functionality tradeoff. 

A great webcam, this is not. 

Dan Ackerman/CNET

The camera is also used for Dell's presence-detection features, which I find interesting. It can wake from sleep mode when the camera detects your face, or it can lock itself when you walk away. But the feature I liked most was called Look Away Detect, which will dim the screen if it sees you looking away. That's good for both battery life and privacy, and worked so well that I think more laptops should have a feature like that. 

It has just two Thunderbolt USB-C ports, which is frankly fine for most people these days, and it matches the most recent 13-inch MacBook Pro. But, Dell kills the headphone jack, which might be rarely used, but is a notable exclusion nonetheless. A USB-C-to-audio dongle is included in the box, as is a USB-C-to-USB-A one. That's a nice bonus, and one that some companies (ahem, Apple...) would probably make you pay extra for. The downside is, if you keep it plugged into power and use the headphone adaptor at the same time, you're out of ports. 

Battery life and roadworthiness 

Despite focusing on some of the unusual design choices and limitations, there's a lot I love about the XPS 13 Plus. I love a sharp, original design and am willing to trade a little familiarity to push the edges a bit. This level of performance in a slim, light laptop like this is enviable (as long as we're sticking on the non-dedicated GPU side of things), and the hidden performance modes offer more flexibility than I'm used to seeing in similar laptops. 

But there's one more wrinkle in the formula. Battery life. In benchmark testing, the XPS 13 Plus ran on the short side, at about 4 hours while streaming online video, which is far from the most strenuous thing you might ask it to do. In hands-on use, it felt a little better depending on what I was doing, but it also dropped from almost 70% to under 30% in less than 2 hours while I was writing this review. 

Ports are limited, but dongles are included. 

Dan Ackerman/CNET

Use the optimized performance preset, turn down the screen brightness, close unused apps and you can likely push the battery life to a better place. But I don't feel confident that I could pick up this laptop in the morning and work on it all day without charging. It helps that there's an express charging preset for powering up part of the battery quickly. 

The nearly 4K screen doesn't do the battery any favors, although the fact that it's an OLED panel should help. That's one reason I'm cautious about recommending 4K laptops -- higher-resolution screens are a battery killer. 

The XPS 13 Plus has a lot of innovative ideas -- some of which are important, while others seem like change for the sake of change. We may even disagree on which is which. If I were working on the next generation of this laptop, I'd keep the design updates but suggest sacrificing a little thickness for a bigger battery so this could be a more travel-ready companion. 

Geekbench 5 (multicore)

Acer Swift 5 (SF514-56T-797T)

Lenovo Yoga 9i (14-inch, Gen 7)

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)

Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320

Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

Cinebench R23 (multicore)

Acer Swift 5 (SF514-56T-797T)

Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320

Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED

Lenovo Yoga 9i (14-inch, Gen 7)

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

3DMark Wild Life Extreme

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)

Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320

Lenovo Yoga 9i (14-inch, Gen 7)

Acer Swift 5 (SF514-56T-797T)

Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

Online streaming battery drain test

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)

Lenovo Yoga 9i (14-inch, Gen 7)

Acer Swift 5 (SF514-56T-797T)

Note:

Longer bars indicate better performance

System Configurations

Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320	Windows 11 Home; 1.8GHz Intel Core i7-1280P; 16GB DDR5 6,400MHz RAM; 128MB Intel Iris Xe Graphics; 512GB SSD
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)	MacOS Monterey 12.4; Apple M2 8-core chip; 8GB RAM; Apple 10-core GPU; 256GB SSD
Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED	Windows 11 Pro; 2.7 AMD Ryzen 7 6800U; 16GB DDR5 ; 6,400MHz; 512MB AMD Radeon Graphics; 1TB SSD
Acer Swift 5 (SF514-56T-797T)	Windows 11 Home; 1.8GHz Intel Core i7-1280P; 16GB DDR5 6,400MHz RAM; 128MB Intel Iris Xe Graphics; 512GB SSD
Lenovo Yoga 9i (14-inch, Gen 7)	Windows 11 Home; 2.1GHz Intel Core i7-1260P; 16GB DDR5 5.200GHz RAM; 128MB Intel Iris Xe Graphics; 512GB SSD

How we test computers

The review process for laptops, desktops, tablets and other computer-like devices consists of two parts: performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs and extensive hands-on use by our expert reviewers. This includes evaluating a device's aesthetics, ergonomics and features. A final review verdict is a combination of both those objective and subjective judgments. 

The list of benchmarking software we use changes over time as the devices we test evolve. The most important core tests we're currently running on every compatible computer include: Primate Labs Geekbench 5, Cinebench R23, PCMark 10 and 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra. 

A more detailed description of each benchmark and how we use it can be found in our How We Test Computers page. 

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Best Budget Laptop Under $500 for 2022

Best Budget Laptop Under $500 for 2022

Shopping for a new laptop can be a little intimidating with the vast range of models out there. You can't tell the difference between an expensive and an affordable laptop by looks alone, and their performance and functionality can vary greatly. However, such a huge market also means that you can find plenty of high-quality laptops at an affordable price, with plenty of great models starting at less than $500. In fact, it might even be worth it to grab one for yourself as an extra device for work or for games.

If you're searching for a laptop under $500, here are the best budget laptops you can buy right now. If you're not sure what to look for in a good budget laptop -- other than price -- jump to our buying advice right below our recommendations. This advice is based on our years of testing and review experience to figure out what to expect from a laptop priced under $500. It will also let you know what to look for if you want to continue your budget laptop hunt on your own. 

Use these picks to sort through the competition. Because there are a lot of cheap laptops that aren't worth it, try not to make rash decisions when buying. 

Josh Goldman/CNET

Gateway was best known for low-cost desktops and laptops back in the '90s. In 2020, the brand was revived for a new lineup of laptops and tablets sold exclusively through Walmart. Those models were recently updated with 11th-gen Intel processors and we tested both 15.6- and 14.1-inch models. The latter gets our vote as an inexpensive option for getting school work done while still being light enough to carry around campus for the day. 

The attention-grabber is the Intel Core i5 processor that provides reliable performance, despite being paired with cheaper components. The keyboard is comfortable, but not backlit, and the touchpad isn't the most precise. Also, the built-in fingerprint reader is hit-or-miss. Still, it has lots of ports so connecting a mouse or an external display isn't an issue and the full-HD display is decent too, all things considered. Plus, the battery lasted a couple minutes shy of 10 hours on our streaming video test.

Sarah Tew/CNET

This Lenovo Chromebook IdeaPad Duet is essentially a Chrome version of the first Microsoft Surface Go. Like the Go, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is a 10-inch tablet with a detachable keyboard and touchpad-- making it a compact touch screen laptop. Unlike Microsoft, though, Lenovo includes the keyboard. The Lenovo Duet is essentially a smaller, albeit less powerful, Pixel Slate that makes more sense for more people with a cheap laptop price that's more in line with what people expect a Chromebook to cost.

The Chromebook Duet screen is small, however, so if you're regularly using it at a desk, we recommend attaching an external monitor to its USB-C port. You'll probably want to connect a wireless keyboard and mouse, too. 

Sarah Tew/CNET

The Acer Aspire 5 15-inch clamshell continues to be one of the best laptop deals available. This sub-4-pound Windows laptop includes an AMD Ryzen 3 3350U processor, 4GB of memory and a speedy 128GB SSD. This budget laptop also features a USB 3.2 Gen 1 USB-C port, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, Ethernet and an HDMI port. 

The Acer Aspire even has a backlit keyboard and fingerprint reader for quick sign-ins -- rarities at this price. The 4GB RAM and 128GB solid-state drive storage don't allow you to have many programs or lots of browser tabs open simultaneously but you can add more of both down the road. 

Asus

Amazon currently offers an older Core i3 8GB model for under $450, a reasonable price for a Windows laptop with an Intel Core processor. You'll also see listings with 4GB RAM, but that's way too little memory for Windows, which barely gets by on 8GB. Don't confuse it with the thinner, lighter, more expensive Asus VivoBook S15.

Lenovo

The Windows version of the Flex two-in-one has the beefed up specs (at least over a Chromebook) necessary to run Windows, though probably not very fast -- the dual-core Intel Core i3 processor and 4GB of RAM are the reasons the price is low. But it has a bigger full HD screen than the Chromebook model.

Are laptops under $500 any good?

As a rule of thumb, resist buying out of desperation -- don't spend $500 because you can't find a cheaper laptop deal available, for example. Buying a need-it-now laptop can be like shopping for food while hungry. Even for a laptop, $500 can be a lot of money, and you'll likely be holding onto it for at least three years, if the statistics Intel and PC manufacturers hurl at us are correct.

You can also try to make your current laptop last a little longer. If you need something to tide you over for a few months, dig into possible places to buy refurbished machines and explore nonprofit or educational discounts if you're eligible. Also, if there's something you really want in a laptop, like a touchscreen, a backlit keyboard, DDR4 RAM, an HD webcam, Intel UHD Graphics, AMD Radeon Vega Graphics or an HDMI port, check the manufacturer's specs closely to make sure it has it. You'll regret it if you don't.

If you suspect you'll be holding onto your new laptop for a while, see if you can stretch your budget to buy a slightly more expensive laptop to accommodate more than 8GB of RAM or a processor with more cores than you were otherwise considering. If you haven't thought about it, look at AMD Ryzen processors as alternatives to Intel Core for Windows laptops or alternatives to Intel Celeron and Pentium for Chromebooks.

Even better, if you're comfortable with it, think about an affordable laptop with a replaceable battery (if you can find one), upgradable memory, graphics card and storage, or all of the above. Furthermore, while you might be working remotely now, you won't be stuck at home forever. Remember to consider whether having a lighter, thinner laptop or a touchscreen laptop with a good battery life will be important to you in the future. 

Read more: Best Monitors Under $200 You Can Get Right Now

You can always add an external drive or two (or five, if you're me) at some point down the road. But if your internal storage is the type of slow-spinning hard drive that comes in a lot of cheap laptop models, fast external storage is unlikely to help speed up loading Windows or applications. You can frequently set a system to boot from an external solid-state drive if necessary.

You may see references to Intel Optane in conjunction with slow (5,400rpm) spinning hard drives; Optane is fast solid-state memory that acts as a temporary storage space for frequently accessed files on the hard drive to speed things up. It helps, but not as much as an SSD drive. 

And finally, if you're replacing an old Windows laptop that's not up to running Windows anymore, consider turning it into a Chromebook.

What are the trade-offs on laptops under $500?

As long as you manage your expectations when it comes to options and specs, you can still get quite a bit from a budget laptop model, including good battery life and a reasonably lightweight laptop body. 

A bright spot is you don't have to settle for a traditional clamshell laptop with a fixed display and keyboard. You can also get a convertible laptop (aka a two-in-one), which has a screen that flips around to turn the screen into a tablet, to position it for comfortable streaming or to do a presentation. Keep in mind that all convertibles work as both laptops and tablets. A touchscreen is a prerequisite for tablet operation, and many support styluses (aka pens) for handwritten and sketched input. Don't assume a stylus is included, though.

One thing you won't find at these cheap laptop prices: a MacBook or any other Apple laptop. An iPad will run you more than $500 once you buy the optional keyboard (though it might work out to less if you look for sales on the tablet or keyboard), which is above our budget here. A base-model iPad with an inexpensive Bluetooth keyboard and cheap stand for the iPad might suffice.

You'll see a lot of cheap laptops listed as coming with Windows 10 S, a stripped-down and locked-down version of the operating system intended for use by schools -- it only allows you to install applications from the Windows Store, forces you to use Microsoft's Edge browser and includes a subset of the administrative tools in Windows 10 Pro. You can upgrade to the full version for free, though.

It doesn't feel like there's much to make the new Windows 11 a must-have upgrade, but if it's going to be important to you for some reason, be careful about checking that the laptop will meet the requirements. These inexpensive models can be especially at risk of not making the cut.

It's easier to find inexpensive Chromebooks than Windows laptops, making them one of the most popular budget laptops on the market, though we're also seeing a lot more Chromebooks in the $500-to-$1,000 range. That's because Google's Chrome OS isn't nearly as power-hungry as Windows (check the specs), so you can get by with a lower-end processor, slower storage and less screen resolution or RAM -- just a few of the components that make a laptop expensive. 

But the flip side is Chrome and Google apps are more of a memory hog than you'd expect, and if you go too low with the processor or skimp on memory, the system will still feel slow. Chrome OS is also a much different experience than Windows; make sure the applications you need have a Chrome app, Android app or Linux app before making the leap.

Since Chromebooks are cloud-first devices, however, you don't need a lot of storage built-in. That also means if you spend most of your time roaming the web, writing, streaming video or playing Android games, they're a good fit. If you hope to play Android games, make sure you get a touchscreen Chromebook.

For a cheap gaming laptop, though, you'll still have to break the $500 ceiling to support most games. The least expensive budget laptops suitable for a solid gaming performance experience -- those with moderately powerful discrete graphics processors -- will run you closer to $700. Here are our recommendations if you're looking for the best gaming laptop under $1,000. 

Although, if you like to live on the bleeding edge, cloud gaming services such as Google Stadia and Microsoft Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's Game Streaming will let you play games on laptops with specs that hit the under-$500 mark. 

What to look for in laptops under $500

While Chromebooks can run Chrome OS-specific and Android apps, some people need the full Windows OS to run heftier applications, such as video-editing suites. If you want a good video editing laptop, the HP Chromebook with Intel Celeron processors provides 5.4 times high-resolution video editing than the basic HP laptop. With that comes a need for a faster processor with more cores, more memory -- 8GB RAM is the bare minimum -- and more storage for applications and the operating system itself. A lot of these have 4GB or 6GB, which, in conjunction with a spinning hard disk, can make for a frustratingly slow Windows laptop experience. But demands on Chromebooks are growing, so if your Chrome needs to run beyond the basics you should think about paying more for more memory and a faster processor.

• A lot of Windows laptops in this range use AMD Athlon and lower-end A series or Intel Celeron and Pentium processors to hit the lower price. I don't really recommend going with an Athlon instead of a Ryzen or a Celeron/Pentium instead of a Core: Windows is too heavy for them, and in conjunction with the 4GB memory a lot of them have, you may find them abysmally slow at best.
• Because of their low prices, 11.6-inch Chromebooks are attractive. Samsung Chromebook has a fantastic screen and nearly 10 hours of battery life. But we don't recommend that size for any but the youngest students. And if you're both going to be looking at the screen frequently for remote learning, 11 inches can get really cramped.
• SSDs can make a big difference in how fast Windows performance feels compared with a spinning hard disk, but they also push the price up. So if your budget can stretch a little and you want more storage, you may want to consider stepping up from base storage options to a 128GB SSD. 
• In the budget price range, you have to watch out for screen terminology when it comes to specs: An "HD" screen may not always be a truly high-definition screen. HD, which has a resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels, is called "Full HD" so marketers can refer to lesser-resolution displays (1,280x720 pixels) as HD. In Chromebooks, HD usually refers to a screen with a resolution of 1,366x768 pixels. On the upside, the boom in 14-inch laptops trickles down to this price range, which allows for more FHD options in the size. 
• A frequent complaint I see is about "washed-out" looking displays with poor viewing angles. Unfortunately, that's one of the trade-offs: A lot of these use TN (twisted nematic) screen technology, which is cheap but meh.
• Pay attention to networking. Inexpensive models with older chipsets may only support Wi-Fi 3 (or 802.11b/g/n). Wi-Fi 3 is limited to 2.4GHz channels; those are slower than more recent chipsets with Wi-Fi 4 (aka 802.11ac) that add a 5GHz channel as well. I haven't seen any laptops in this price range with Wi-Fi 6, the newest version; chances are you won't have any Wi-Fi 6 access points to connect to, though, so you likely won't miss it now. The specifications aren't always correct on the shopping sites, so if you see a model that doesn't seem to have Wi-Fi 4, double-check on the manufacturer's site before ruling it out. Remember, Chromebooks are designed to work predominantly over the internet, so Wi-Fi speed and stability are crucial. 

Considering all specs and options -- battery life, storage space, screen resolution, screen size, core processor performance, general machine and battery performance -- you'll find some of our top picks for 2022's best Windows laptops and Chromebooks under the $500 budget in the list above, along with their pros and cons.

How we test computers

The review process for laptops, desktops, tablets and other computer-like devices consists of two parts: performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs and extensive hands-on use by our expert reviewers. This includes evaluating a device's aesthetics, ergonomics and features. A final review verdict is a combination of both those objective and subjective judgments. 

The list of benchmarking software we use changes over time as the devices we test evolve. The most important core tests we're currently running on every compatible computer include: Primate Labs Geekbench 5, Cinebench R23, PCMark 10 and 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra. 

A more detailed description of each benchmark and how we use it can be found in our How We Test Computers page. 

The best laptops in every category

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