Greatest laptops below $500 in 2024 – Cyber Tech

Who it is for:

Gaming Chromebooks are an fascinating sort of laptop computer to sort out as a result of they don’t seem to be precisely what you’d consider while you hear the phrases “gaming laptop computer.” In truth, they’re in a class of their very own — gaming Chromebooks are just about solely used for cloud gaming, as they do not have the specs to run performance-heavy video games or software program natively. The tradeoff, although, is which you could get one for an incredible value.

Living proof: The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16. This laptop computer is a incredible worth at simply $429 in case you do not thoughts utilizing it just for cloud gaming along with common net looking, productiveness duties, and streaming.

Why we picked this:

Throughout our testing, we had no points booting up Xbox Recreation Cross and hopping into video games like Starfield and Sea of Thieves (they ran decently nicely, too). Controller setup was fast and painless by way of speedy Bluetooth connection. In addition to its cloud gaming capabilities, the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16 additionally made a very good impression with its keyboard, which feels very nice to sort on, and construct high quality that hardly feels budget-level. The show is not something to jot down residence about, nevertheless it’s not dangerous both. We appreciated the 120Hz refresh fee, however we wished the max brightness was only a little bit brighter.

Battery life is about common for a Chromebook, which is to say that it is fairly darn good. Throughout testing, we received about 10.5 hours out of the machine earlier than needing to recharge. The Chromebook’s bonus perks sweeten the general package deal, which incorporates three months of YouTube Premium, a yr’s price of Google One cloud storage, and a month of entry to Boosteroid.

As for cons, there aren’t many, and it is arduous to harp on them while you’re getting such a stellar worth. They actually come right down to the audio options — at max quantity, the audio system sounded a bit tinny, and lacked depth general. The microphone is not a robust level, both, and did not sound superb on the opposite finish of voice calls. And like we stated, it isn’t a full-on powerhouse gaming laptop computer, however so long as what you are getting (a cloud gaming machine), you may’t beat that value.