Laptops have become an inevitable part of modern life. There are plenty of laptop models in the market and it is very easy to get confused on which will actually serve your purpose. In most of the cases the first factor which we consider while selecting a laptop is the price. That is the reason why we decided to write about cheap laptops under 200.
Some may want some high performance laptops and price may or may not bother them, while others might be shopping for a new laptop on a very limited budget. In this article we will see how to select the perfect budget laptop for your specific interests. We will consider cheap laptops under 200 US Dollars.
The first thing you have to consider while selecting a laptop is what you actually need. It is a fact that everyone requires a laptop nowadays but their specific requirements differ a lot. From accessing the internet, to running memory exhaustive applications to gaming, each of these specific uses leads to various laptop specifications which we have to consider while buying a laptop.
Here are some specifications! What you should look for when buying cheap laptops under 200:
1. Cheap laptops under 200 Operating System
The first thing which you would want to know about a cheap laptop under $200 is its operating system. If your sole purpose of having a laptop is to access the internet then Google’s Web Browser based Chrome OS will be the best choice for you. If its gaming or running some other memory eating application that interests you then Windows 7 will be suggested because it supports most of the popular games and applications. Even XP would serve the purpose. If it is the look and feel of the user interface which you care for then Apple’s Mac OS-X is the best. If you want to use all of the latest features of Windows then use Windows 8.
2. Cheap laptops under 200 RAM power
The next biggest thing which you should check is the memory capacity of the laptop. While most of the cheap laptops under 200 dollars come with 2 GB RAM, higher options is preferable if you are a real hardcore gamer. A minimum of 3 GB RAM is suggested for gaming purposes else the constant hanging up will ruin your gaming experience.
3. Cheap laptops under 200 Processor Strength
Most of the good and cheap laptops under 200 dollars have Dual Core processors. The best processor you can get in this price range are i3 processors from Intel. Here again when games and memory exhaustive applications come into picture, then laptops with Quad core processors (if available) will be preferable over normal Dual core processors.
4. Cheap laptops under 200 Storage Space
If you are a person who stores a lot of data like videos, pictures, movies, documents etc. then a hard disk of at least 250 GB is advisable. Then again with the advent of cloud technology, by which data can be stored online, the hard disk capacity of the laptops in this price range have dropped greatly. The trend now is 16 GB hard disk (which is the case with most of the Chromebooks). Such laptops come with free storage space in Google drive and other such cloud backup providers. But it requires internet connection and the first option of more than 250 GB hard disk is advisable in other cases.
Other than these standard specifications, people who wants to run games in their laptop should also consider a good graphics card while selecting their laptop. Good graphics card manufacturers include NVidia, AMD, Asus and so on. We will briefly see about the review of one such laptop which holds all the features discussed in the category of laptops under 200 $.
5. Why is Acer C720 Chromebook considered as the best among cheap laptops under 200
Summary : Taking into account all this reviews and features the Acer C720 Chromebook will be easily recommended to anyone who wants a budget laptop and is satisfied with online apps and games.Review Overview
Design
Specifications
Price
Acer C720 Chromebook - Highly Recommended
The Acer C720 Chromebook is one of the most powerful 11 inch Chromebooks you can get for this price. It has sleek design and can easily fit into a bag, hence is portable also. It has lightning fast boot speed (which is the case with most Chromebook) and has built in virus protection so that you don’t have to worry about a separate antivirus software to be installed. The latest Intel processor based on Haswell Micro-architecture is the reason behind its great processing speed, allowing you to zip through your tasks. It also has an exceptional battery life of 8.5 hours. In short it is one of the best laptop you can get if you are satisfied with using web based applications and if majority of your work is done online.
5.1 Intel Celeron 2955U 1.4 GHz (Haswell micro-architecture) Microprocessor
With the advent of i3 processors the price of Acer C720 dropped to $199.99. But that does not mean that the hardware has become obsolete. The Intel Celetron 1.4GHz microprocessor based on Haswell Micro-architecture is more than sufficient for handling the Chrome OS and almost every app runs in it flawlessly. The Chrome apps and games haven’t yet fully evolved to fully utilize more powerful processors and graphic cards. The Acer C720 Chromebook is one of the most powerful budget Chromebooks currently available in the market.
5.2 8.5 hour battery life
The battery life of Acer C720 gives it an added edge against other budget Chromebooks and laptops. Some people have even reported that the battery lasts up to 9 hours with screen full brightness and while streaming videos online. This exceptionally long battery life makes it one of the favourites for people who travel a lot and it can save from the power outlet wars at airports and other public transport. This combined with the 11.6 inch Anti-Glare Screen and Intel HD graphics offer the most user friendly Chromebook experience.
5.3 Other Features and Specifications
- Built-in dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n – flawlessly connect and use wifi on the go.
- 16 GB Solid-State Drive- enough storage space for storing music, videos and more.
- HDMI port- HDMI output allows you to connect to a HD TV
- Touch Screen available( specification may vary)
- Startup time of less than 7 seconds
- Comes with in-built virus protection
- Intel HD graphics(sufficient for running almost all of the Chrome OS apps and games)
- Weight- 2.76 pounds
- Memory- 2 GB DDR3L SDRAM (which is again more than enough for running the Chrome OS and all of its web based apps)
- Price- $199.99
5.4 Customer Reviews And Scores
At the time of writing this article Acer C720 Chromebook was reviewed by 2470 customers and was given an average score of 4.4 stars out of 5. From this it is pretty evident that it is one of the favourites at the low end of the price tag. On the whole everyone has expressed their satisfaction with the product.
A major drawback which has been expressed is the absence of a skype app. But one can always use google hangouts for video chatting.
5.5 Conclusion
Taking into account all this reviews and features the Acer C720 Chromebook will be easily recommended to anyone who wants a budget laptop and is satisfied with online apps and games. It is one of the most powerful Chromebook you can get for this price and it even beats some windows laptops at this price range. And if you have $100 more you can read our article about laptops under 300.
