Memory: For less than $500, you rarely get more than 4 GB of memory without sacrificing flash storage, a decent processor, or a 1080p screen.

In our tests we found these processors to be unusable with more than a single open app. Avoid AMD processors like the dual-core A9 also steer clear of Intel Pentium and Celeron processors like the N4200 and N5000. The Core i3 and Ryzen 3 processors are fine for casual use and basic schoolwork but aren’t the best for multitasking the Core i5 and Ryzen 5 are faster and better at multitasking but rare in this price range.

Processor: We recommend a 10th- or 11th-generation Intel Core i3 or Core i5 processor or a 4000- or 5000-series AMD Ryzen 3 or Ryzen 5 processor.

You could buy a laptop with a hard drive and replace the drive with an SSD later to save some money, but that’s more upgrading than most people feel comfortable doing, so we concentrated on models that came with flash storage. But avoid Windows laptops with less than 64 GB of flash storage-you can’t even run Windows updates on them without an external drive. In our testing, we found that having flash storage (ideally an SSD, but an eMMC drive is also fast enough) instead of a traditional hard drive dramatically improved everyday performance, even more than a faster processor or more memory.

Storage: Most cheap Windows laptops have spinning hard drives or hybrid drives that feel unbearably slow-booting the laptop, launching apps, and browsing files each take so long that you have time to sip coffee and stretch before you can do anything.

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