Best Laptops Under $800

The best laptops under $800 offer a wider range of laptop brands, unlike cheaper options like $400 laptops or that mostly feature Chromebooks and Windows OS laptops. This budget range balances performance and price to offer both Windows and MacBook options to choose from.

This balance is important depending on how you intend to use your laptop. Budget laptops can be used for entertainment, school or professional work, and even gaming.

We will delve deeper into the top options available that will offer great performance and still be priced under $800. To choose the very best option, you will need to consider performance, display quality, battery life, and connectivity. If you are looking for cheaper laptops under $300 or budget-friendly $600 options, check out our last posts.

Top Picks for Best Laptops Under $800

1. Apple MacBook Air M1: Best Overall
2. Acer Nitro 5: Gaming Laptops Under $800
3. Lenovo ThinkPad E16: Best for Professionals
4. Dell Inspiron 3511: Best for students

Apple MacBook Air M1: Best Laptops Under $800

• Screen: 13.3-inch 
• Resolution: 2560 x 1600 Px
• Processor: Apple M1 chip
• RAM: 8 GB
• Storage: 256 GB SSD
• Battery Life: Up to 18 hours
• Weight: 2.8 lbs

The Apple MacBook Air M1 is our top pick for both professionals and beginners. It combines a sleek design, innovation, and powerful performance in one compact device.

Its powerful M1 chip, dedicated GPU, and 8 GB of RAM make it easy to run complex tasks with ease, even if you are running more than one at a go. 

You will notice the laptop will run quietly even as you run powerful operations because it is designed without a fan and has a modern SSD hard drive without moving parts.

It features a large 13.3-inch screen size with Liquid Retina display, a stunning 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution, crystal-clear visuals, and P3 wide color support. This ensures you view your work in rich, vivid colors.

For portability, the light weight laptop only weighs 2.8 lbs and has a long 18-hour battery life, allowing you to use it on the go.

Overall, the great screen, powerful performance, and more make the Apple MacBook Air M1 a great choice for students, creatives, and professionals.

Acer Nitro 5: Best Gaming Laptop Under $800

• Processor: Intel Core i5/i7
• RAM: 8GB
• Storage: 512 GB SSD
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
• Display: 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080), 144Hz refresh rate
• Battery Life: Up to 8 hours

If you are on a budget but still need a good enough laptop for your gaming needs, we recommend the Acer Nitro 5. As the second best, it also packs powerful specs for a very affordable price range.

The screen is larger than the Apple Macbook Air M1 at 15.6 inches in size and 1920 x 1080 Pixels Full HD resolution. For the best gaming experience, the screen features a 144 Hz refresh rate and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Graphic Card for smooth gaming.

It features a powerful Intel Core i5 processor with a Core i7 option for more power. If you like saving files on your work laptop, it features up to 512 GB of storage space. Although it offers stellar gaming performance, the low 8 GB RAM will limit heavy gaming. It is really good for its price.

Lenovo ThinkPad E16: Best Laptop for Professional Use Under $800

• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5/7
• RAM: Massive 40 GB
• Storage: 1TB SSD
• Display: 16-inch Full HD
• Operating System: Windows 11 Pro
• Battery Life: Up to 10 hours

Whether you are working at home or on the go, the Lenovo ThinkPad E16 offers great productivity for a great price. It is the 3rd best pick in this review. 

It offers outstanding performance with a powerful AMD Ryzen processor and up to 40 GB of RAM. This RAM is bigger than all the others in this review, allowing the best multitasking experience.

It blends this powerful performance with a durable build and a large 1 TB storage space. If you are a professional or student looking for a powerful working laptop, this is the one for you.

Dell Newest Inspiron 3511:  Best laptop under $800 for students

1. Screen: 16 inches
2. 1920 x 1080 pixels
3.  Full HD Touchscreen
4. Processor: Intel Core i5
5. RAM: 16 GB
6. Storage: 1 TB SSD
7. Windows 11 Home

Dell Newest Inspiron 3511 is our best overall pick. This premium laptop packs enough power to run graphic design, basic animation, and video editing software.

It is a premium laptop at an astonishingly fair price. The screen size is large enough for comfortable use. The resolution is not 4K, but you do not need all that. It has a clear touch-sensitive screen with Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution.

This resolution and touch sensitivity make it usable both as a drawing tablet and still remain clear enough for rich and vivid color display.

Processing power is not a problem thanks to the Intel Core i5 processor and large 16 GB RAM that make it possible for multitasking. It runs on the Windows 11 Home operating system, which is both stable and easy to use. 

How to choose the Best Laptops Under $800

Performance

You will need to consider how fast your laptop performs different functions or your desired needs. Additionally, you need to check whether it is able to run many complex tasks without issues.

The RAM and processor are the first key considerations. For the best performance, we recommend an Intel Core i5 processor and at least 8 GB and above. 

Although the minimum is good for many professional functions like graphic design, you want to thrive and not just survive. For optimal performance, we recommend an Intel Core i5 or i7 and 16 GB of RAM and above.

Display Quality

The screen is another important factor that will influence your overall user experience. A minimum of 14 inches in size and 1920×1080 pixels Full HD resolution is recommended. 

For the screen type, consider IPS or OLED screens over older LCD displays.

Build and Design Quality

It is still possible to get a durable and modern design for this budget range. Consider laptops that are made with sturdy metallic materials but are still thin and light weight. This will allow easy portability, while the ergonomically designed keyboards and trackpads will offer a great user experience.

Battery Life

If portability is important to you, choose a laptop with a long battery life with fast charging capability. For the best experience, we recommend 8 hours and above of battery life with continued usage. This is equal to a full working day without power.

It is important to note that power consumption will sometimes be affected by the kind of tasks you undertake.

Storage Space

When working as a graphic designer, you will have to save large source files and different file formats. You will therefore need a large storage space to both save your files and install software.

We recommend 512 GB and above. However, if you are on a budget, you can start with 256 GB, but you might later on have to buy an additional external hard drive.

Connectivity and Port

Choose a laptop with a wide range of connectivity ports. Consider USB-C, HDMI, and multiple USB-A ports to add external devices like a mouse or screen.

For internet connectivity, a laptop with WiFi 6 compatibility will offer faster internet speeds. An Ethernet port is important if you use wired connections.

What is the Best Laptop Under $800

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