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How Glorious Is the GMMK Pro Keyboard?

How Glorious Is the GMMK Pro Keyboard?

It's 2022 and you're thinking of buying the Glorious Modular Mechanical Keyboard Pro you've heard so much about. But it's also expensive and was released over a year ago by Glorious Gaming so you might be asking yourself "is it still worth putting in your shopping cart?" And my answer to that is an overwhelming "yes!" not only because modular keyboards often have a longer lifecycle but because there is nothing else quite like the GMMK Pro. It took the keyboard community by storm for its ease of assembly, hot swapability and zero-solder modifications. It's a glorious example of a modular keyboard.

Fair warning: It will spoil you. I ran the keyboard, and myself, through the gauntlet, taking it apart and rebuilding it dozens of times to experiment with different configurations and it held up through all of my abuse. Now the idea of buying a premade keyboard seems like a relic of the past. Simply taking any other keyboard apart can void the warranty, but not this one.

The GMMK Pro has a 75% layout, which is slightly more compact than a tenkeyless (TKL) keyboard, which keeps keys like PgUp and Home, but moves them towards the side. Did I mention this keyboard is heavy? It weighs three and a half pounds, and is tough enough to use for defense during a zombie apocalypse or two. 

The RGB lighting diffusion is massively improved using Glorious' Polycarbonate back plate. 

Chase Evans/CNET

The GMMK Pro starts at $170 for the base and from there you choose the components that you want, starting with your preferred key switches and keycaps that best suit your style. While $170 may seem like a steep cost for a keyboard, its rugged design will stand the test of time as you take it apart and rebuild it throughout its life and you can often find it on sale for $140 if you're patient. 

If you don't want to pay so much just for the shell, Glorious offers other DIY keyboards from their latest GMMK 2 models to the original GMMK 1 full size keyboard all of which start at $70 for their respective barebones kit. If building it yourself isn't your forte, you can order them prebuilt by Glorious for a fee.

Beyond that there are also O-rings that you can attach to the keycaps for a quieter sound, a fancy aviator-style USB-C cable that comes in different colors and multiple forms of wrist rests to choose from. If you're one of those power users that can't live without a numpad, Glorious also just announced the GMMK Numpad, a wireless keypad for macros with a slider and extra rotary knob in matching style. 

Why DIY?

The advantage of DIY aside from customizability is you can always upgrade it. Even better, if something breaks you're not stuck having to buy a completely new keyboard, just swap out the components that you want to repair/upgrade and you're Gucci.

Dissembled GMMK Pro with Polycarbonate backplate installed and Glorious Panda switches.

Chase Evans/CNET

While I think the GMKK Pro is certainly worth every penny, the different customizations can really begin to add up on you fast. If you want the absolute best keyboard then it will cost, however you don't need to get everything all at once and you can always upgrade/swap components over the lifetime of the keyboard. 

It's all very straightforward to build and perfect for right-to-repair folks out there who enjoy tinkering and repairing the products they use everyday. Indeed the possibilities of customization here are endless with this keyboard, and Glorious makes it super easy to customize by offering everything directly from their website. 

Fully assembled GMMK Pro with Glorious Model D wireless mouse and Glorious gaming keyboard tools.

Chase Evans/CNET

Those new to building their keyboards should start by prioritizing features that are important to you. Do you prefer the best lighting possible, or the best typing experience, or both? If you primarily care about sound, then you should choose tactile switches in combination with their polycarbonate switch plate along with a set of their GPBT keycaps. 

There are also tons of YouTube tutorials available about tuning the sound of the GMMK Pro even further, such as using tape mods and aftermarket stabilizers, and it's worth mentioning that you can save money by lubing the switches yourself if you have the time -- only the Glorious switches are sold as pre-lubed. 

My biggest gripe isn't even anything to do with the keyboard itself, but rather the wooden wrist wrest with the Golden Oak finish I got. While surprisingly comfy and totally just an accessory, it doesn't match the keyboard aesthetic as well as I thought it would. To make matters worse, the finish itself doesn't really hold-up well, with it succumbing to wear and tear from hardly much use and the finish flaking off in other areas. If you're looking for a good wrist wrest, I recommend the Glorious Stealth Slim Wrist Wrest.

Glorious wooden wrist wrest with Golden Oak finish is easily worn and scuffed.

Chase Evans/CNET

Recommended builds

I've experimented with a ton of different builds in search of the optimal combinations of components and switches. Here are my top configurations:

• Best starter build ($240):  GMMK Pro Base ($170) + Gateron Brown [Tactile] ($35) + Aura Keycaps ($35)
• Thocky and pretty ($262):  GMMK Pro Base ($170) + Polycarbonate Backplate ($20) + Kailh Speed Copper ($37) + Aura White Keycaps ($35)
• Thocky pick ($345):  GMMK Pro Base ($170) + Polycarbonate Backplate ($20) + Glorious Panda Tactile Switches [Lubed] ($105) + White Ice PBT keycaps ($50) = $345 total.
• The Works ($461):  GMMK Pro Base ($170) + Brass backplate ($50) + Glorious Lynxes Linear Switches [Lubed] ($105) + White Ice PBT keycaps ($50) + Gold Rotary Knob ($10) + Phantom Black Coiled Cable ($50) + Stealth Padded Wrist Wrest ($26)

GMMK Pro

Chase Evans/CNET

What to look for in a DIY

There are quite a few hot-swappable, DIY modular mechanical keyboards, but Glorious has successfully taken the GMMK Pro into the mainstream by making upgrades and customization easily accessible from one place: its website. Nothing is quite like it for price, community and mod support. There are a plethora of YouTube videos on how to modify it to your liking. The physical design combined with ease of upgrading and modding as well as the overall longevity of this keyboard stand out as well.

Glorious describes it as a gasket-mounted, build-it-yourself keyboard for enthusiasts, gamers, and professionals. "Gasket mounted" means the parts of the keyboard that mount it to the frame don't contact any metal. This produces a cleaner, isolated sound and a more cushioned feeling when typing that you don't get with a typical keyboard. It is compatible with most Cherry MX style switches, so Gaterons, Kailhs, or the higher quality Pandas switches will all work. 

GMMK Pro with White Ice keycaps and Glorious Model D wireless mouse in the background.

Chase Evans/CNET

The unique metal frame of the GMMK Pro includes customizable LED strips on the side for that premium lighting ambience that Glorious is known for, and it features a volume knob that has a nice tactile feel and which you can customize to match a certain aesthetic. The keyboard produces a pleasant "thock" sound thanks to those gasket mounts and lubricated stabilizers — all illustrious qualities in the world of mechanical keyboards. 

The frame is designed to be repeatedly taken apart and rebuilt. As with all custom keyboards, make sure you have the right tools: a keycap puller, switch removal tool and a Philips screwdriver. The ones that Glorious offers at check out aren't bad, but you can buy some tools on Amazon if you're trying to save a few bucks. 

GMMK Pro with White Ice keycaps and gold rotary knob. Glorious switch removal tool sits to the side.

Chase Evans/CNET

You can choose between a polycarbonate base plate, which helps diffuse the underglow of the RGB lighting and provides an even better-sounding thock, ideal for tactile switches or a brass backplate that is most ideal for linear switches... and adds a noticeable amount of weight to the already hefty keyboard. The latter is a stamped piece of brass, so it may require some straightening out of the box. But even so it screws into the board just fine. 

When picking a backplate, remember you won't even be able to see it once the keyboard's fully assembled. Swapping the backplate is a pain, so it's best to buy what you want up front rather than waiting to save money. I highly recommend the polycarbonate backplate for the extra $20 bucks.

If you do decide to dive in to DIY keyboards I highly encourage you to research the mods you can perform and attempt to do them yourself, it just brings your keyboard to an entirely new level and you won't regret it. 

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Apple iPad (8th-gen, 2020) review: The best iPad value by far

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Apple iPad (8th-gen, 2020) review: The best iPad value by far

The eighth-gen iPad feels familiar. It should be familiar: iPads don't change much. But the world certainly has. My whole family is trapped at home, working and going to school; remote connections are our whole lives. And iPads and Chromebooks are everywhere in our house.

My kids connect to their classes through devices: one on a Chromebook, the younger one on an iPad. iPads aren't ideal for school. They're convenient in a pinch, but not all apps work well, and not all input tools do, either.

Like

• Faster processor handles iPadOS better
• Supports Pencil and keyboard cases
• Faster charger included in box

Don't Like

• 10.2 inch screen feels cramped with two-app multitasking
• Doesn't support Pencil 2 or newer Magic Keyboard cases
• Older front-facing camera, still not great for landscape Zooming
• Entry-level 32GB storage too low to recommend

The basic iPad has been the "good enough" iPad for forever, while the Pro and Air have offered fancier features and better performance. This year, the iPad Air is getting a major revamp with a new processor, big display and USB-C, making it look much like an iPad Pro for less. But that new iPad Air starts at $599 (£579, AU$899). The new eighth-gen iPad I've been using, in the meantime, starts at $329 (£329, AU$499). Most stores will probably drop that to $300, and holiday sales could even bring it down further, if past years are any indication. 

So what about this new 2020 entry-level iPad? It's an iPad, just like the one before. But it's a bit faster now. Whether you get one is basically the same question as before.

There's not a lot to say about this new 10.2-inch iPad. It's the same device as last year with one key improvement: Now it has an A12 processor instead of last year's A10. That's a big difference, and makes this a great time to consider the upgrade if you have an iPad that's several years old. Last year's basic iPad increased screen size and added a smart connector on the side, but it didn't change the processor. Upgrading is a major overhaul.

But you should also know that this basic iPad is a lot like last year's 2019 iPad Air and iPad Mini. So much so that, really, they're variants on the same device. (That 2019 Air is gone from Apple's website, but the Mini remains.) Think of it as last year's Air for less, and it's a good deal. But it's also an older iPad design. It still has a Touch ID home button and a headphone jack. And it still uses Lightning to charge and connect accessories, even though the upcoming iPad Air and current Pros use USB-C.

Here are the key similarities and differences between this new iPad and last year's Air and Mini:

• The new eighth-gen iPad has the same processor and RAM as those iPads.
• It also comes with less base storage (32GB).
• The front-facing camera is worse on the eighth-gen iPad: 1.2 megapixels and 720p, versus 7 megapixels and 1080p on last year's Air and Mini.
• The eighth-gen iPad works with the first-gen Pencil, just like those older iPads. That means you'll have to stick it in your iPad's Lightning port to charge -- and lose track of the little pop-off Pencil cap on the end in the process.
• It works with the same Apple Smart Keyboard as the 2019 iPad Air, but that's not true of every Air case. Logitech's Combo Touch, for instance, has the same keyboard base but has two models to fit the Air and iPad's different thicknesses.
• The included charger is better and faster: It's 20 watts, and the cable is now Lightning-to-USB-C, allowing it to work better with recent MacBooks.
• The 10.2-inch display is a bit smaller and a hair less vivid than the 2019 Air. But it's still more than good enough.
• Now that the iPad supports trackpads and mice, it's also more versatile for web apps and tools.

A Lightning charger, still, but a faster 20-watt one.

Scott Stein/CNET

So this all adds up to: The iPad Is Totally Fine. More than fine, I'd say. I'm writing this review on it using the smart keyboard (editing and prepping on CNET's content management system is still best on a laptop).

The iPad still isn't as useful as a Chromebook for a lot of school tools, at least in my house. App support is amazing, and Apple's streaming-friendly ecosystem also helps it double as a fantastic little TV. But multitasking and file saving are still weird and frustrating, even with iPadOS 14 improvements.

iPads in my house tend to be free screens we grab to do things, and this basic iPad fits that role fantastically.

Do you wait for the 2020 iPad Air?

The fancier Air comes out soon, and it looks nice. It's also nearly twice the price. As a result, it's not the same product at all. The Air looks like it would make a lovely gift for someone who needs a more powerful iPad for art or graphics work, and wants to save over the Pro. But for most people I bet this iPad will be fine.

Why is the camera on the side?

Most annoying iPad feature in 2020: The front-facing camera is still on the side in landscape mode, which is the mode most of us do chats and Zooms in. My face ends up off-angle and strangely centered, staring off into space. The iPad's camera is good enough, even in a step-down mode, and better than most laptops. But it's terrible for centering your face. And everything now is Zoom. 

The Apple Pencil still goes in the Lightning port to charge.

Scott Stein/CNET

No great keyboard cases?

The Logitech Combo Touch has a trackpad, but its bulkier case and kickstand design aren't great for lap typing. It's perfectly usable, but at $150 it's an expensive accessory.

There's no Apple Magic Keyboard for this iPad, but you can use Apple's older smart connector Smart Keyboard cover, which is compact but lacks a trackpad. 

Trackpad and mouse support is the best 2020 iPad feature

Just like every other recent iPad, with iPadOS 14 you can connect a mouse or trackpad (or get a trackpad-enabled keyboard case). I find it a huge help with editing and navigating, especially while the iPad is propped up on a desk with a kickstand case.

The smart keyboard case and Apple Pencil work with this iPad, but they cost extra and aren't the most recent versions.

Scott Stein/CNET

Battery life so far: Pretty good, as always

I was able to do a Zoom for an hour without making much of a dent on a full charge. I multitasked, read, watched shows, played games, worked on stories, and the battery held. No surprise, since the iPad's claim of around 10 hours of battery life has been the same for years, though it varies a few hours more or less depending on the model. I haven't done a battery benchmark but it's doing a full day with ease. The included faster charger is welcome.

iPadOS 14 is here now, and you might want to eventually try it on your existing iPad first before upgrading iPads.

Scott Stein/CNET

What I miss most from better iPads

Compared to the higher-end iPads, this one lacks the extra screen real estate on its sides. This larger-bezeled iPad is fine, but in multitasking modes with two apps open it starts to feel cramped. The next iPad Air (or iPad Pros) feel considerably more expansive, even if it's just an inch or so. Most laptops, TVs and other screened devices make a big deal about how narrow their screen bezels are. Still, this only really matters if you need to multitask -- keeping Slack and Gmail on screen at once, for example, or writing while following news feeds. It can be done on this iPad, but it works better with a second screen that's narrower (like an email, Twitter or Slack stream).

I also miss the TrueTone on the 2019 iPad Air and iPad Pro (and iPhone). It auto-adjusts color temperature, and I've really gotten used to it. This iPad's display seems harsher or bluer than I'm used to. It also lacks the fancy 120Hz refresh of the iPad Pro, but you might not notice the difference. The 2,160x1,620-pixel display is otherwise great.

If you're looking for an iPad and have no idea which to get, this is the safe iPad bet and the one you should probably buy. It officially starts at $329, but many stores sell it for $299, which can drop to $250 during sales. And, yeah, I'd recommend going to the $429 128GB model for that extra storage security blanket if you're considering downloading more than a handful of apps. If you're a pro, and need pro-level features, then you're already considering the iPad Pro or the upcoming improved iPad Air. For everyone else -- families, students, anyone looking to pick up a good versatile extra screen -- this is where you're likely to start looking, and also where you're likely to end up. 

---

Source

Apple iPad (8th-gen, 2020) review: The best iPad value by far

Apple iPad (8th-gen, 2020) review: The best iPad value by far

The eighth-gen iPad feels familiar. It should be familiar: iPads don't change much. But the world certainly has. My whole family is trapped at home, working and going to school; remote connections are our whole lives. And iPads and Chromebooks are everywhere in our house.

My kids connect to their classes through devices: one on a Chromebook, the younger one on an iPad. iPads aren't ideal for school. They're convenient in a pinch, but not all apps work well, and not all input tools do, either.

Like

• Faster processor handles iPadOS better
• Supports Pencil and keyboard cases
• Faster charger included in box

Don't Like

• 10.2 inch screen feels cramped with two-app multitasking
• Doesn't support Pencil 2 or newer Magic Keyboard cases
• Older front-facing camera, still not great for landscape Zooming
• Entry-level 32GB storage too low to recommend

The basic iPad has been the "good enough" iPad for forever, while the Pro and Air have offered fancier features and better performance. This year, the iPad Air is getting a major revamp with a new processor, big display and USB-C, making it look much like an iPad Pro for less. But that new iPad Air starts at $599 (£579, AU$899). The new eighth-gen iPad I've been using, in the meantime, starts at $329 (£329, AU$499). Most stores will probably drop that to $300, and holiday sales could even bring it down further, if past years are any indication. 

So what about this new 2020 entry-level iPad? It's an iPad, just like the one before. But it's a bit faster now. Whether you get one is basically the same question as before.

There's not a lot to say about this new 10.2-inch iPad. It's the same device as last year with one key improvement: Now it has an A12 processor instead of last year's A10. That's a big difference, and makes this a great time to consider the upgrade if you have an iPad that's several years old. Last year's basic iPad increased screen size and added a smart connector on the side, but it didn't change the processor. Upgrading is a major overhaul.

But you should also know that this basic iPad is a lot like last year's 2019 iPad Air and iPad Mini. So much so that, really, they're variants on the same device. (That 2019 Air is gone from Apple's website, but the Mini remains.) Think of it as last year's Air for less, and it's a good deal. But it's also an older iPad design. It still has a Touch ID home button and a headphone jack. And it still uses Lightning to charge and connect accessories, even though the upcoming iPad Air and current Pros use USB-C.

Here are the key similarities and differences between this new iPad and last year's Air and Mini:

• The new eighth-gen iPad has the same processor and RAM as those iPads.
• It also comes with less base storage (32GB).
• The front-facing camera is worse on the eighth-gen iPad: 1.2 megapixels and 720p, versus 7 megapixels and 1080p on last year's Air and Mini.
• The eighth-gen iPad works with the first-gen Pencil, just like those older iPads. That means you'll have to stick it in your iPad's Lightning port to charge -- and lose track of the little pop-off Pencil cap on the end in the process.
• It works with the same Apple Smart Keyboard as the 2019 iPad Air, but that's not true of every Air case. Logitech's Combo Touch, for instance, has the same keyboard base but has two models to fit the Air and iPad's different thicknesses.
• The included charger is better and faster: It's 20 watts, and the cable is now Lightning-to-USB-C, allowing it to work better with recent MacBooks.
• The 10.2-inch display is a bit smaller and a hair less vivid than the 2019 Air. But it's still more than good enough.
• Now that the iPad supports trackpads and mice, it's also more versatile for web apps and tools.

A Lightning charger, still, but a faster 20-watt one.

Scott Stein/CNET

So this all adds up to: The iPad Is Totally Fine. More than fine, I'd say. I'm writing this review on it using the smart keyboard (editing and prepping on CNET's content management system is still best on a laptop).

The iPad still isn't as useful as a Chromebook for a lot of school tools, at least in my house. App support is amazing, and Apple's streaming-friendly ecosystem also helps it double as a fantastic little TV. But multitasking and file saving are still weird and frustrating, even with iPadOS 14 improvements.

iPads in my house tend to be free screens we grab to do things, and this basic iPad fits that role fantastically.

Do you wait for the 2020 iPad Air?

The fancier Air comes out soon, and it looks nice. It's also nearly twice the price. As a result, it's not the same product at all. The Air looks like it would make a lovely gift for someone who needs a more powerful iPad for art or graphics work, and wants to save over the Pro. But for most people I bet this iPad will be fine.

Why is the camera on the side?

Most annoying iPad feature in 2020: The front-facing camera is still on the side in landscape mode, which is the mode most of us do chats and Zooms in. My face ends up off-angle and strangely centered, staring off into space. The iPad's camera is good enough, even in a step-down mode, and better than most laptops. But it's terrible for centering your face. And everything now is Zoom. 

The Apple Pencil still goes in the Lightning port to charge.

Scott Stein/CNET

No great keyboard cases?

The Logitech Combo Touch has a trackpad, but its bulkier case and kickstand design aren't great for lap typing. It's perfectly usable, but at $150 it's an expensive accessory.

There's no Apple Magic Keyboard for this iPad, but you can use Apple's older smart connector Smart Keyboard cover, which is compact but lacks a trackpad. 

Trackpad and mouse support is the best 2020 iPad feature

Just like every other recent iPad, with iPadOS 14 you can connect a mouse or trackpad (or get a trackpad-enabled keyboard case). I find it a huge help with editing and navigating, especially while the iPad is propped up on a desk with a kickstand case.

The smart keyboard case and Apple Pencil work with this iPad, but they cost extra and aren't the most recent versions.

Scott Stein/CNET

Battery life so far: Pretty good, as always

I was able to do a Zoom for an hour without making much of a dent on a full charge. I multitasked, read, watched shows, played games, worked on stories, and the battery held. No surprise, since the iPad's claim of around 10 hours of battery life has been the same for years, though it varies a few hours more or less depending on the model. I haven't done a battery benchmark but it's doing a full day with ease. The included faster charger is welcome.

iPadOS 14 is here now, and you might want to eventually try it on your existing iPad first before upgrading iPads.

Scott Stein/CNET

What I miss most from better iPads

Compared to the higher-end iPads, this one lacks the extra screen real estate on its sides. This larger-bezeled iPad is fine, but in multitasking modes with two apps open it starts to feel cramped. The next iPad Air (or iPad Pros) feel considerably more expansive, even if it's just an inch or so. Most laptops, TVs and other screened devices make a big deal about how narrow their screen bezels are. Still, this only really matters if you need to multitask -- keeping Slack and Gmail on screen at once, for example, or writing while following news feeds. It can be done on this iPad, but it works better with a second screen that's narrower (like an email, Twitter or Slack stream).

I also miss the TrueTone on the 2019 iPad Air and iPad Pro (and iPhone). It auto-adjusts color temperature, and I've really gotten used to it. This iPad's display seems harsher or bluer than I'm used to. It also lacks the fancy 120Hz refresh of the iPad Pro, but you might not notice the difference. The 2,160x1,620-pixel display is otherwise great.

If you're looking for an iPad and have no idea which to get, this is the safe iPad bet and the one you should probably buy. It officially starts at $329, but many stores sell it for $299, which can drop to $250 during sales. And, yeah, I'd recommend going to the $429 128GB model for that extra storage security blanket if you're considering downloading more than a handful of apps. If you're a pro, and need pro-level features, then you're already considering the iPad Pro or the upcoming improved iPad Air. For everyone else -- families, students, anyone looking to pick up a good versatile extra screen -- this is where you're likely to start looking, and also where you're likely to end up. 

---

Source

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• Apple Ipad 8th Generation Review
• Ipad 8th Gen New
• Apple Ipad 8th Gen 2020 10 2in Wi Fi 128gb
• Apple Ipad 8th Generation 128gb
• Apple Ipad 8th Generation Price
• Apple Ipad 8th Generation Release Date
• Apple Ipad 8th Generation Case
• Apple Ipad 10th Generation

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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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