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The Best Bargain Laptops

August 2023 update. If price is the most important criteria for you when purchasing a new laptop then maybe this list will help you narrow your choices down. The following table contains an overview over the best laptops for less than 600 Euros reviewed by us.
Laptop Windows Deal Charts

Every month, Notebookcheck reviews various affordable devices that have to undergo the exact same tests and identical review process as their premium siblings. The price bracket of less than 600 Euros is occupied by a number of notebooks made by various manufacturers competing for the price-conscious customer’s attention. Constant marketing emphasizing Gigahertz and Gigabytes carries the risk to lose sight of what is really important in a notebook. The following top lists might be interesting for your purchase decision as well:

The Best Cheap Notebooks For Less Than 600 Euros

Position
Total Rating
Date
Image
Model
Size
Resolution
Screen
Height
Weight
185.1 %
11/2022
Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G3 ACL 21A400B2GELenovo ThinkBook 15 G3 ACL 21A400B2GE
AMD Ryzen 5 5500U
AMD Radeon RX Vega 7
8 GB Memory, 256 GB SSD		15.60"1920x1080matte18.9 mm1.7 kg
284.2 %
03/2023
Huawei MateBook D 15 2023-53013BSJHuawei MateBook D 15 2023-53013BSJ
Intel Core i5-1155G7
Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs
16 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD		15.60"1920x1080matte16 mm1.6 kg
383.4 %
12/2022
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16
Intel Core i5-1235U
Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs
8 GB Memory, 256 GB SSD		16.00"2560x1600matte19.95 mm1.8 kg
482.6 %
02/2023
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14ALC6-82KT0077GELenovo IdeaPad 3 14ALC6-82KT0077GE
AMD Ryzen 3 5300U
AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000)
8 GB Memory, 256 GB SSD		14.00"1920x1080matte19 mm1.4 kg
582.2 %
11/2022
Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-P8NZAcer Aspire 5 A515-56-P8NZ
Intel Pentium Gold 7505
Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs
8 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD		15.60"1920x1080matte17.95 mm1.7 kg
680.1 %
12/2022
Asus ExpertBook L1 L1401CDA-EK0457RAsus ExpertBook L1 L1401CDA-EK0457R
AMD Ryzen 3 3250U
AMD Radeon RX Vega 3
8 GB Memory, 256 GB SSD		14.00"1920x1080matte19.2 mm1.5 kg
779.4 %
02/2023
Lenovo V14 G2 IJL-82QX002LGELenovo V14 G2 IJL-82QX002LGE
Intel Pentium Silver N6000
Intel UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 32 EU)
8 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD		14.00"1920x1080matte19.9 mm1.3 kg
878.4 %
02/2023
Asus F415EA-EK115WAsus F415EA-EK115W
Intel Core i5-1135G7
Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs
8 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD		14.00"1920x1080matte19.9 mm1.6 kg
977.9 %
07/2023
new!
ACEMagician Ace ‎AX15, N95ACEMagician Ace ‎AX15, N95
Intel Processor N95
Intel UHD Graphics Xe 16EUs (Tiger Lake-H)
16 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD		15.60"1920x108019 mm1.7 kg
1077.5 %
01/2023
Asus P1511CEA-BQ753RAsus P1511CEA-BQ753R
Intel Core i3-1115G4
Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs
8 GB Memory, 256 GB SSD		15.60"1920x1080matte19.9 mm1.8 kg

The table above contains an overview over the best notebooks for less than 500 Euros reviewed by Notebookcheck over the course of the past 12 months as well as still relevant and available older products. In cases of identical score the more recent device is listed first. All prices in above table and price comparisons are updated daily and can thus differ.
Link: all devices in this class reviewed

Editors' Comments

Last month, the ACEMagician Ace AX15 was added to the list. There are no newcomers in August, but we still changed the list a bit and gave the Gaming ChromeBook 16 a chance, for example. In addition, we now list alternative devices here in the comments that either just did not make it into the list (e.g. because of the rating or the price) or that had to leave the list due to age, but are still worth a look.

Alternatives that just did not make it into the list:

Former top ten devices up to 600 Euros:

1st – Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G3 ACL (R5 5500U, Vega 7)

Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G3 ACL
Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G3 ACL

The ThinkBook 15 scores with a Ryzen 5 APU, moderate emissions and good battery runtimes. Windows 11 Pro serves as the operating system. Positive: USB-C power delivery is offered. The total package is priced at around 600 Euros (~$600).

Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G3 ACL - a well-rounded office notebook with Windows 11 Pro.

Currently, the ThinkBook 15 G3 ACL is available on Amazon US for around $760.

Pricecompare

2nd – Huawei MateBook D 15

Huawei MateBook D 15
Huawei MateBook D 15

The Huawei MateBook D 15 office laptop convinces with a low price of 549 Euros, remains exceptionally quiet with a high system performance, offers a chic metal case and a matte IPS display with sufficient brightness. Keyboard and touchpad of the very portable 15.6-inch notebook are also convincing.

The robust Huawei MateBook D 15 (2021) is a compact and very quiet office companion with a good price-performance ratio.

Huawei devices are not available in North America. In the UK, Huawei offers the MateBook D 15 (2022) in Mystic Silver, with a Core i5-1155G7 for around £500.

Pricecompare

3rd – Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16 (i5-1235U)

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16

On paper, a 16-inch Chromebook with a 1,600p full-sRGB 120 Hz display sounds like overkill. However, after spending just a few minutes with the device, we can't look back. The Lenovo lives up to its name, being both a cloud gamer and a productive Chromebook.

A "gaming Chromebook" may sound strange at first, but there's no denying that the fast, large, and color-accurate display can be useful for other applications as well.

Currently, the IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16 is out of stock on Lenovo's online store. However, you can keep tabs on stores like Amazon, newegg, and Best Buy and wait for the device to appear here.

Pricecompare

4th – Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14 (R3 5300U, Vega 6)

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14

The smooth-running Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14 AMD offers all the important core aspects of an office laptop for a low price of mostly under 500 Euros: a sufficiently bright IPS display, high CPU power, really good input devices and expandable work and mass storage. Unlike the other IdeaPad 3 further down in our list, the AMD model has a Ryzen 3 5300U installed instead of a weaker Intel Celeron 6305.

If you are looking for an inexpensive mobile companion, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14 AMD meets all the important criteria.

Currently, various configurations of Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14 is available on Amazon US, prices starting at $499.

Pricecompare

5th – Acer Aspire 5 A515-56

Acer Aspire 5
Acer Aspire 5

The Aspire 5 has a Tiger-Lake processor on board, hardly heats up and only produces little noise. In addition, there is a backlit keyboard, acceptable battery runtimes and a 2-year warranty. The whole package is available for just under 500 Euros.

The Acer Aspire 5 A515-56 is a well-rounded office notebook for a small budget.

At the time of writing, it costs only less than $380 to get a variant of Acer Aspire 5 A515-56 on Amazon, which is equipped with a Core i3-1115G4 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a 128 GB NVMe SSD.

Pricecompare

6th – Asus ExpertBook L1 L1401CDA

Asus ExpertBook L1
Asus ExpertBook L1

The ExpertBook L1 has a Ryzen 3 APU on board, generally operates quietly, offers a backlit keyboard and scores with many connectivity options (including VGA). Windows 10 Pro serves as the operating system (an upgrade to Windows 11 is possible). The purchase price is around 330 Euros.

Asus delivers an affordable office notebook with the ExpertBook L1, which definitely has some advantages.

Currently, the device is not yet available in North America.

Pricecompare

7th – Lenovo V14 Gen 2 (Pentium Silver N6000)

Lenovo V14 Gen 2
Lenovo V14 Gen 2

The Lenovo V14 G2 costs only €349 (~$371) and gets a passive cooling, offers a good keyboard and some expansion options, while the Intel Pentium Silver N6000 quad core is sufficient for office tasks. However, the use on the external display should be in the foreground.

The Lenovo V14 is a silent and inexpensive office machine for primarily docked use.

In the US, the Lenovo V14 Gen 2 with Pentium Silver N6000 is hard to purchase at the time of writing. 

Pricecompare

8th – Asus F415EA (i5-1135G7)

Asus F415EA
Asus F415EA

Asus has a range of office notebooks from the lower price segment (around 330 to 550 euro) in its lineup with the F415 models. Many online stores assign the device to the Vivobook 14 series and use the term accordingly. The 14-inch notebook has a Tiger Lake processor on board, barely heats up and only produces little noise.

The 14-inch notebook scores with a combination of Core i5 processor and low emissions: The device hardly warms up, operates quietly most of the time and offers enough computing power for office and Internet use as well as frugal games.

 The Asus F415EA (Core i5-1135G7, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) is available on Amazon US for around $450.

Pricecompare

9th – ACEMAGIC Ace AX15

ACEMAGIC Ace AX15
ACEMAGIC Ace AX15

ACEMagician, known as a mini PC manufacturer, now has an office laptop in its portfolio with the ACEMAGIC Ace AX15, which is based on the Intel N95 with Alder Lake N genes. The ACEMAGIC Ace AX15 comes with 16 GB of working memory and 512 GB of mass storage for currently 399 Euros. Thus, the device is well equipped for simple office work.

With the Intel N95, the ACEMAGIC Ace AX15 offers a very frugal SoC with an adequate performance and surprises with a high-quality material selection.

The laptop is currently not yet available in North America.

Pricecompare

10th – Asus P1511CEA (i3-1115G4)

Asus P1511CEA
Asus P1511CEA

Asus has an office notebook in its range, the P1511CEA, which is aimed at private and professional customers. The 15.6-inch notebook from Asus has a Tiger Lake processor on board, barely warms up and is available at prices around 400 euro. One notebook, many names: While the correct name "Asus P1511CEA" is listed on the packaging, a sticker on the notebook's palm rest speaks of the "X515" - in other regions, the computer is marketed as Vivobook 15 X515. The name "ExpertBook P1" can also be found in various online stores.

The price level makes the P1511CEA attractive: You get a simple Tiger Lake notebook including Windows 10/11 Pro for about 400 Euros (~$430).

The device is currently available on Amazon US for $350.

Pricecompare

Size Comparison

❌
363.4 mm / 14.3 inch 238.4 mm / 9.39 inch 17.95 mm / 0.707 inch 1.7 kg3.64 lbs360 mm / 14.2 inch 235 mm / 9.25 inch 19.9 mm / 0.783 inch 1.8 kg3.97 lbs356.5 mm / 14 inch 253 mm / 9.96 inch 19.95 mm / 0.785 inch 1.8 kg4.02 lbs357 mm / 14.1 inch 235 mm / 9.25 inch 18.9 mm / 0.744 inch 1.7 kg3.75 lbs357 mm / 14.1 inch 230 mm / 9.06 inch 16 mm / 0.63 inch 1.6 kg3.54 lbs337 mm / 13.3 inch 229 mm / 9.02 inch 19 mm / 0.748 inch 1.7 kg3.73 lbs325.4 mm / 12.8 inch 216 mm / 8.5 inch 19.9 mm / 0.783 inch 1.6 kg3.42 lbs324 mm / 12.8 inch 215 mm / 8.46 inch 19.9 mm / 0.783 inch 1.3 kg2.91 lbs324 mm / 12.8 inch 215 mm / 8.46 inch 19 mm / 0.748 inch 1.4 kg3.04 lbs323.4 mm / 12.7 inch 215.6 mm / 8.49 inch 19.2 mm / 0.756 inch 1.5 kg3.31 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Test Results

Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G3 ACL 21A400B2GEHuawei MateBook D 15 2023-53013BSJLenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14ALC6-82KT0077GEAcer Aspire 5 A515-56-P8NZAsus ExpertBook L1 L1401CDA-EK0457RLenovo V14 G2 IJL-82QX002LGEAsus F415EA-EK115WACEMagician Ace ‎AX15, N95Asus P1511CEA-BQ753R
Display
Display P3 Coverage
43.8
40.7
35.8
37.1
34.7
36.6
34.6
39.6
42.8
sRGB Coverage
65.5
60.6
53.6
55.8
52.2
55
52
58.6
64.1
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
45.4
42
37
38.3
35.9
37.8
35.8
40.9
44.3
Response Times
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
30 ?(14, 16)
10 ?(5, 5)
19.2 ?(10, 9.2)
34 ?(16, 18)
37 ?(16, 21)
39 ?(21, 18)
41 ?(21, 20)
23 ?(6, 17)
31 ?(16, 15)
33 ?(16, 17)
Response Time Black / White *
21 ?(12, 9)
11 ?(3, 8)
14 ?(8.4, 5.6)
25 ?(13, 12)
28 ?(15, 13)
14 ?(10, 4)
13 ?(9, 4)
6 ?(3, 3)
18 ?(11, 7)
23 ?(13, 10)
PWM Frequency
6000 ?(100)
Screen
Brightness middle
291
291
364.2
327
252
260
262
246
229
269
Brightness
271
271
349
313
252
244
231
231
219
250
Brightness Distribution
86
82
89
87
85
80
82
76
91
85
Black Level *
0.375
0.18
0.32
0.33
0.14
0.63
0.415
0.7
0.2
0.67
Contrast
776
1617
1138
991
1800
413
631
351
1145
401
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
4.17
4.99
1.28
7.91
3.58
2.28
10.39
5.96
4.08
3.81
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
7.18
17.99
3.49
20.73
6.25
4.94
20.84
15.77
6.67
7.34
Greyscale dE 2000 *
3.31
2.98
2.4
5.71
1.38
1.64
13.22
6.25
1.91
2.46
Gamma
2.23 99%
2.37 93%
2.21 100%
2.11 104%
2.44 90%
2.37 93%
2.35 94%
2.26 97%
2.47 89%
6451 0%
CCT
6457 101%
7045 92%
6400 102%
6437 101%
6645 98%
6384 102%
11697 56%
6923 94%
6764 96%
6451 101%
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated *
4.21
4.85
2.16
5.5
4.1
3.91
Noise
off / environment *
25.5
26
23
26
25
26
26
25.1
26
Idle Minimum *
25.5
26
23
26
25
26
26
25.1
26
Idle Average *
25.5
26
24.6
26
25
26.9
26
25.2
29.5
Idle Maximum *
25.5
26
25
26
26.4
27.4
26
25.2
29.5
Load Average *
28.5
42.6
27.3
33
32
41.8
36.9
28.5
43.1
Load Maximum *
45.6
43
29.6
48
35.9
41.7
38.1
42.2
46
Heat
Maximum Upper Side *
42.2
37.6
35.2
37.1
36.9
42.9
40.3
36.4
38.2
40.3
Maximum Bottom *
48.8
38.5
40.8
41.9
34.4
48.1
46.1
26.2
37.7
39.2
Idle Upper Side *
27.8
28.5
26
27.9
28.4
38.6
29.4
27.1
33.8
27.3
Idle Bottom *
32.3
28.4
27.6
29.6
29.1
47.3
31.9
28.5
33.3
28.5
Battery Runtime
WiFi v1.3
486
588
405
502
471
367
372
354
344
309
H.264
724
348
Load
94
89
118
120
Reader / Idle
527
Power Consumption
Idle Minimum *
4.2
4.2
5.7
4
5
4.5
8.3
4.2
8
3.1
Idle Average *
8.3
7.5
9.8
6.7
6.4
6.6
11
7.4
8.5
7.3
Idle Maximum *
10.4
8.7
9.9
8.2
9
8.1
11.3
8.6
8.7
9
Load Average *
49
37
14.3
29.5
26.5
25.7
16.4
38.8
20.2
37
Witcher 3 ultra *
39.7
35.6
28.9
25
26
16.5
37.1
36.7
Load Maximum *
49.3
64.6
49.4
48
34
36.8
32
43.6
35.3
43

* ... smaller is better

Benchmarks

PCMark 8 | 3DMark 11 | 3DMark
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-P8NZ
UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs, Pentium 7505, SK Hynix BC511 HFM512GDJTNI
3228 Points
Work Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-P8NZ
UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs, Pentium 7505, SK Hynix BC511 HFM512GDJTNI
2679 Points
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G3 ACL 21A400B2GE
Vega 7, R5 5500U, Samsung PM991A MZALQ256HBJD
3324 Points
Huawei MateBook D 15 2023-53013BSJ
Iris Xe G7 80EUs, i5-1155G7, 511BS0512HB-TX01
6328 Points
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14ALC6-82KT0077GE
Vega 6, R3 5300U, Lenovo UMIS RPJTJ256MEE1OWX
4067 Points
Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-P8NZ
UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs, Pentium 7505, SK Hynix BC511 HFM512GDJTNI
2875 Points
Asus ExpertBook L1 L1401CDA-EK0457R
Vega 3, R3 3250U, WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-265G
1763 Points
Asus F415EA-EK115W
Iris Xe G7 80EUs, i5-1135G7, Intel SSD 670p SSDPEKNU512GZ
5178 Points
ACEMagician Ace ‎AX15, N95
UHD Graphics Xe 16EUs (Tiger Lake-H), N95, Netac NS512GSSD340
1684 Points
Asus P1511CEA-BQ753R
UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs, i3-1115G4, Kingston OM8PDP3256B
3844 Points
3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Score (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkBook 15 G3 ACL 21A400B2GE
Vega 7, R5 5500U, Samsung PM991A MZALQ256HBJD
12657 Points
Huawei MateBook D 15 2023-53013BSJ
Iris Xe G7 80EUs, i5-1155G7, 511BS0512HB-TX01
19608 Points
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14ALC6-82KT0077GE
Vega 6, R3 5300U, Lenovo UMIS RPJTJ256MEE1OWX
14351 Points
Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-P8NZ
UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs, Pentium 7505, SK Hynix BC511 HFM512GDJTNI
8312 Points
Asus ExpertBook L1 L1401CDA-EK0457R
Vega 3, R3 3250U, WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-265G
6113 Points
Lenovo V14 G2 IJL-82QX002LGE
UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 32 EU), Pentium N6000, Toshiba BG4 KBG40ZNT512G
4709 Points
Asus F415EA-EK115W
Iris Xe G7 80EUs, i5-1135G7, Intel SSD 670p SSDPEKNU512GZ
14782 Points
ACEMagician Ace ‎AX15, N95
UHD Graphics Xe 16EUs (Tiger Lake-H), N95, Netac NS512GSSD340
6660 Points
Asus P1511CEA-BQ753R
UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs, i3-1115G4, Kingston OM8PDP3256B
11081 Points
1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Score (sort by value)
ACEMagician Ace ‎AX15, N95
UHD Graphics Xe 16EUs (Tiger Lake-H), N95, Netac NS512GSSD340
37623 Points
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