Cheap laptops (350-700 USD)

Cheap laptops are good for the basic computing tasks (browsing the Net, e-mail, listening to music, watching movies...). While they are a bit more expensive than netbooks, they have higher performance, optical drive and, as keyboard and screen are larger, they are more comfortable to use as your main computer. They usually have 15-inch screens, but if you are going to use them as main computer and you are going to keep it on your desk, it could be a good idea to go for a laptop with 17-inch screen, even if it's a bit more expensive. Cheap laptops usually have an acceptable build quality and have short battery life (2-3 h).

Things to keep in mind:

• In order to keep prices low they sometimes lack features such as HDMI port, Bluetooth, webcam, ExpressCard slot... You should revise that the laptop you are considering has all the features you need.
• They usually have integrated Intel graphics that are not good for games, but in some cases they have low-end ATI or Nvidia graphics cards that are a bit better. If the main use for the laptop is going to be playing games, there are models with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 (it's going to run all the games, but sometimes at medium or low details) at around 700 USD, but jumping to a 800 USD laptop with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 or Nvidia GeForce GT 130M or similar is a good investment.
• I don't recommend single-core processors such as the Celeron or Sempron ones, the savings aren not worth the trouble. But if you don't mind the laptop to be slow or your are going to install Linux or Windows XP, there are real bargains at around 350 USD.
• In some cases cheap laptops are ignored by sites publishing reviews.

Core i7 laptops