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The back-to-school season is upon us once more, but with so many schools having moved to distance learning, good PC deals are harder to come by than before. Stores aren’t skimping—demand is just that high for budget laptops and Chromebooks. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find much of anything in stock under $250 right now.
With everyone so strapped for time these days, we did some digging to root out the best picks of what remains. The good news is, between the launch of Ryzen 4000 mobile parts and some careful hunting, we found several wallet-friendly options that provide great value.
Chromebooks
Samsung Chromebook 4
$230
SamsungThis Chromebook has stylish looks and great battery life for a little over $230—and most importantly, it’s in stock.
- CPU: Intel Celeron N4000
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 32GB
- Screen size: 11.6 inches
Finding a store that still has $200 Chromebooks is currently rough going—and the few models available often cut corners extremely deep. But the Samsung Chromebook 4 has a sleek look and great battery life, making it feel more premium than typically found at this price. It’s not perfect—screen is on the dim side, and it doesn’t support external monitors—but it’s still a shining option among slim pickings.
Samsung Chromebook 4+ 15.6”
$300
SamsungNeed a bigger screen? This larger “Plus” version of the Chromebook 5 has a 15.6-inch, 1080p display and costs just $300.
- CPU: Intel Celeron N4000
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 32GB
- Screen size: 15.6 inches
Looking for a Chromebook that doesn’t require squinting at the screen? Samsung comes once again to the rescue. This 15.6-inch “Plus” version of the Chromebook 4 ups the ante with a bigger screen that sports full HD resolution, while still keeping the clean design and solid battery life of the smaller 11-inch model. You don’t usually find Chromebooks at this price with a 1080p screen, much less with these looks and support for an external display.
Laptops
Lenovo IdeaPad 5
$480
LenovoDespite its affordable price, this budget 15.6-inch Windows 10 laptop sports a 1080p display and a slim profile.
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 4500U
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Screen size: 15.6 inches
This mid-tier Windows 10 laptop packs in modern hardware that strikes a good balance between affordability and performance—the IdeaPad 5 will handle everyday tasks like streaming, web browsing, document editing, and video calls with ease. More importantly, you’ll be able to do all of those things on a 1080p screen, which can be difficult to find in 15.6-inch laptops under $600.
Added bonus: Should an external hard drive not suit your needs, you can access the IdeaPad 5’s M.2 SSD slot for a future storage upgrade.
HP Omen
$950
HPThis HP Omen gaming laptop packs beefy hardware in an affordable package.
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 4800H
- Graphics: Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Screen: 15.6 inches
Whether for full-blown gaming or lighter content creation tasks, this HP Omen laptop can tackle work beyond the basics without sucking you dry of cash. To get this price, be sure to sign up for Student Deals with your My Best Buy loyalty account (otherwise you get the standard sale price of $1,050.)
Got a bigger budget and looking for more bells and whistles? Check out this $1,200 version of Acer’s Helios 300, which ups the ante with RTX 2060 graphics, more RAM, and a 144Hz IPS 1080p screen.
Accessories
In order to maintain harmony and sanity at home, certain accessories for laptops and Chromebooks are all but necessary—like headphones, which keep distracting noise in tight quarters to a minimum. Optional add-ons can help with productivity, be it an external monitor that makes more screen real estate available or a lap desk that allows a laptop to sit at a less neck-straining height.
Monoprice 9927 earbuds
$10
MonopriceBe diligent about winding up the cord (similar to the picture), and you should be able to avoid nasty tangles and broken wires.
This cult favorite is dirt cheap but has great sound and passive sound cancellation for the price. (Be sure to follow Monoprice’s suggestion of breaking them in with pink noise for 24 hours to get the most out of them.) The Monoprice 9927’s only downside is the cable, which tangles readily if not carefully wound up after use. But at $10, if these go lost or break, they’re easy to replace.
AOC 27V3H 27” 1080p monitor
$100
AOCHaving room to spread out your windows and browser tabs can make the day more productive.
This budget 27-inch AOC 1080p monitor packs an IPS panel and is compatible with VESA mounts—features you don’t always see in budget monitors. That said, some people prefer a more pixel dense display; hunt for a 24-inch monitor with similar specs and pricing to get a good deal, if that’s the case.
The best tech back-to-school sales
Need a different set of features than those found in our Chromebook and laptop suggestions? The following links will take you to all of the major sales happening right now:
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