Deals on light laptops you can save big on in 2023

3 Budget laptops for casual tasks

Let's clear things up a bit. Laptops are portable clamshell computers that are battery/AC operated. These days they are called, "Chromebook", "Netbook", "Notebook" and well simply laptops. These small form factor PCs usually run a version of a desktop operating system like Microsoft Windows but some can run cloud-based OSes like Google's ChromeOS or the feature-limited Windows S mode.

I should also make it very clear that if you require a "Laptop" computer to do heavy work like animation, video/audio editing these listed here will not perform well unless it's very light versions of these tasks using simple software from the different app stores not anything like Adobe Premier Pro!

College students use their laptops in the classrooms to take notes, for homework, general research, curricular and extracurricular activities. This has been the norm for at least the past 12 years - perhaps where the term "notebook computer" was popularized from carrying them class to class in a backpack.

These three laptops offer good value for money to anyone looking for one to do casual daily tasks like word-processing, research, firing off a batch of emails, reading, watching videos and listening to music. Students, people in admin jobs and even senior citizens can save a lot with these.

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1. Acer Aspire 5 Intel-A514-54-501Z ★★★★☆

The Best Windows 11 budget Laptop

SPECIFICATIONS 📝

Display: 14" Full HD (1920 x 1080) 16:9
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7 Quad core 2.4Ghz
GPU: Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics shared memory
RAM: 8GB DDR4
Storage: 256GB SSD
Weight: 3.2 pounds
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PROS ✔️	CONS ❌
+Very good performance	-Can run quite warm
+Responsive keyboard	-Speaker position not so good
	-Webcam quality can better

Acer Aspire 5 - Image Credit: Acer

This an excellent choice for a Windows 11 budget laptop. For under $500, the Acer Aspire 5 is a full Windows 11 machine and has all the requirements you will expect from a budget PC. It should breeze through most daily tasks with ease given its mid-level core i5 processor and will excel at the normal word processing, music, videos, surfing and light editing. With many ports for connecting external devices, ample onboard storage, sharp display, good design and light weight, it's an ideal PC for younger college students looking to save some money.

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2. Microsoft Surface Go 3 ★★★☆☆

The best budget Windows 2 in 1

SPECIFICATIONS 📝

Display: Screen: 10.5” PixelSense™ 1920 x 1280 (220 PPI)
CPU: Dual-core Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y processor
GPU: Intel® UHD Graphics 615
RAM: 4GB LPDDR3
Storage: eMMC 64GB Drive
Weight: 1.22 pounds (1.75 pounds with type cover)
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PROS ✔️	CONS ❌
+Vibrant color screen	-Not so good processing power
+Very good battery life	-Type cover has a learning curve
+Excellent webcam

Microsoft Surface Go 3 with attached Type Cover - Image credit: Microsoft

This is not a full-fledged laptop but more like a very capable Windows 11 tablet that doubles as a laptop when needed, with the Type Cover accessory (sold separately). For about $385 plus another $70 or so you can have the full laptop experience. The battery life won't leave you always hunting for a charger and will get you through daily tasks like basic browsing, videos, emails and word processing. To keep things less than $500 you only get a Pentium Gold with 64 eMMC storage and 4GB RAM which aren't mighty specs but good enough for those wanting a very light-weight 2 in 1 device.

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3. Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 XE530QDA-KA1US
★★★★☆

The best budget Chromebook for most

SPECIFICATIONS 📝

Display: 13.3" QLED Display (1920 x 1080)
CPU: Intel® Core™ i3-10110U Dual core
GPU: Intel® UHD Graphics
RAM: 8 GB LPDDR3
Storage: 256GB SSD
Weight: 2.7 pounds
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PROS ✔️	CONS ❌
+Attractive design	-Touch input can be bit better
+Improved battery life	-Key travel can be impproved
+Beautiful QLED display

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 - Image credit: Samsung

This Chromebook is ideal for those wanting a simpler operating system more for entertainment. Chrome OS being cloud-based, is targeted to those who have most of their files on Google Cloud services but can still be used to store a fair amount of local content and being very light-weight, Chrome OS runs beautifully smooth on this machine with its 8GB RAM and aging 10th gen core i3. Videos and browsing content-rich pages will look amazing on the QLED screen and all this with decent battery life. The Fiesta red color stands out nicely though the key travel feels less tactile than other similar devices. It's a superb bargain for those who like using their Android apps on larger screens.

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Conclusion

Though a phone is ok for some video entertainment, listening to music, sending some emails and intermittent reading of news and other articles while on the move, it can be tedious for many to do more traditional tasks on it like writing an essay, reworking a resume for a new job, a professional letter or doing more extensive research to write a detailed report.

These three devices can be had for less than $500 saving you a lot if you do casual moderate daily tasks with your computer. If however, your daily tasks include heavier processing and extended use, I suggest saving for something like one of Apple's offerings such as the MacBook AIR or MacBook PRO that's designed with heavy tasking in mind but comes at a premium price.