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3 laptops under $300 you can (and should) buy today

You could say that it’s fall, with winter on the horizon, but you could also call it “laptop season.” Now, more than ever — with many months inside ahead of us  — we need a laptop that can move with us, from room to room and beyond. A laptop lets you get mobile with your computing, which, in these times of isolation and quarantine, can be a lifesaver.  And it’s a great time to buy one. Right now, Amazon has some amazing deals on Chromebooks and other affordable PC laptops that can not only add a necessary laptop to your life, they could save it.

Asus Chromebook 11.6

— $220, was $270

Image used with permission by copyright holder

This Asus Chromebook is a basic approach to work and play, and the price reflects it, but that doesn’t mean it’s without some fantastic features. This is a perfect little workhouse if you, or your kids, just need a machine to get the job done. It has an Intel Celeron N3350 chip, which means it can handle the workload and it’s backed up by 4GB RAM with 16GB of storage space. Now, that’s not enough room to stash all your movies and music, but it’s plenty to store work files (the rest you can place on the cloud). This Chromebook is only 2.2 pounds and has a battery that lasts 10 hours, which means it’s the perfect machine to toss in your bag on the way to work or school and will carry you throughout the day without a charge.

Lenovo IdeaPad 14

— $235, was $309

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Unlike the Lenovo Flex, this laptop’s hinge only folds one way, but it’s also half the price of a Flex and can handle much the same workload. This is a great laptop if a bigger screen is what you need for work projects, or for gaming or watching your favorite shows. We don’t see 14-inch laptops for this cheap very often, but it boasts brilliant 1366 x 768 HD resolution, as well as an energy-efficient LED backlight. There’s some muscle, too, including dual-core processing in the AMD A6-9220e accelerated processor, 4GB of RAM backing it up, and a 64GB storage drive. Important here: That storage drive is a flash drive, which means that accessing files will be quicker, and the storage more reliable. You’ll be surprised by the multitasking and the size of the apps and games this machine can handle. It’s loaded with Windows 10, as well, so it comes ready to work.

HP Chromebook 14

— $270, was $298

Image used with permission by copyright holder

HP Chromebooks are sleek, look fantastic, and carry all the legendary performance qualities that HP’s name brings. First of all, it looks great; it’s sleek, thin, and subtle. It’s powered by an Intel Celeron N4000 processor, backed up by 4GB RAM and has 32GB storage, which are all pretty standard for a laptop this size and price. What’s neat here are the special little adds that HP has provided, like its super-sensitive touchpad that has gesture capabilities. And then there’s the screen, which is a micro-edge 1080 HD display. But what’s really awesome is the sound: The audio boasts dual speakers produced from Bang & Olufsen. Finally, the battery lasts an impressive 13 hours — that’s as long as we’ve seen on a Chromebook.

We’ve also found Black Friday laptop deals for those that want to be saving money on some of the best laptops out there.

Jacob Silver
An avid cook, boxer, reader, and binger of Netflix (and Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon and more) Jacob Silver writes deals posts about…
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Why you should buy the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 challenges the performance of the best laptops with its 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics, and 16GB of RAM that our guide on how much RAM do you need says is similar to what you'll find in top-tier machines. The device comes with a 14-inch touchscreen with WUXGA resolution for sharp details and bright colors, a 1TB SSD for ample storage space for your files, and Windows 11 Pro pre-installed so that you can access the more advanced capabilities of the operating system.

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Stop what you’re doing and buy this 17-inch laptop right now
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Do you need a new laptop but your budget is pretty tight? There’s a big discount on a HP 17-inch laptop at HP right now and it’s easily one of the best laptop deals for anyone keen to save money. Usually costing $500, you can buy this laptop for just $280 thereby saving $230. For a 17-inch laptop, that’s a huge discount so if you’re looking for a cheap desktop replacement, this is well worth checking out. It’s the latest example of what great value you can get from laptops these days. Here’s what you need to know about it if you need a little more convincing.

Why you should buy the HP Laptop 17z
Knowing what to buy when seeking a new laptop can feel pretty complicated. There are so many options around and when your budget doesn’t allow for something from the best laptops list, what do you do? Prioritize certain parts of the laptop and think deeply about what you need. Here’s a quick overview of why you should buy this particular HP 17-inch laptop.
You need a huge screen
Laptops typically focus on offering either 13-inch or 15-inch screens. 17-inch screens are available but they’re not as common meaning they aren’t discounted as frequently. With this laptop, you get a 17-inch HD+ screen. That means an increased resolution of 1600 x 900 which adds to the flexibility that comes here. You’ll have more screen space for juggling many windows or simply being able to see things more clearly. It also has 250 nits of brightness which isn’t high but isn’t bad going either.
You’re happy with a basic spec
The HP Laptop 17z isn’t the fastest of laptops but it’s just fine for typing up documents, browsing online and other basic but daily duties. Most people don’t need anything too fast other than gamers or video editors so this model will suffice. It has an AMD Athlon Gold 7220U processor along with 8GB of memory and 128GB of SSD storage. That’s all you need for daily usage.
You want reliability
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