You asked for a Laptop costing under £500

You told me that you needed a light use laptop – for light email and web-browsing. You also added the following additional information: Just for email thanks.

I searched a range of different shops for something that would suit your needs. I have chosen the three options below as the best ones to suit your requirements. However, we all have our own tastes (and of course, prices can change), so I have also included search links for each shop at the bottom of this page in case you’d like to browse further.

I always choose three options – the best performing option within your budget (i.e. best suited to meet your needs for the longest possible time), the cheapest option that still meets your needs effectively and a mid-range option which is a compromise between the two. If you are able to, I would usually recommend the first option as it is likely to be powerful enough to meet your needs for the longest before it needs replacing. However, I specify three choices so that you can pick the one that best suits your circumstances.

Prices correct as of 13th Jan 2022


1. Best overall performance: Asus VivoBook Ryzen 5 8GB 512GB SSD 15.6" FHD Win10 Home Laptop
£499.98

Key features:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500U 2.1GHz
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 512GB
Graphics: AMD Radeon Graphics
This choice represents the best overall performance I could get from your budget. I chose it primarily based on its CPU and value for money, both of which are very good.


2. Cheapest option: Lenovo V14 Ryzen 3 3250U 8GB 256GB 14" Win 10 Home Laptop
£399.99

Key features:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3250U 2.6GHz
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 256GB
Graphics: AMD Radeon Vega Graphics
This choice represents the cheapest device I could find that still meets your needs. I chose it primarily based on its value for money, which is excellent.


3. Best of both worlds option: Lenovo V15 G2 ALC AMD Ryzen 5 5500U, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 15.6" Full HD, Windows 10 Home Laptop – 82KD002LUK
£499.98

Key features:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500U 2.1GHz
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 512GB
Graphics: AMD Radeon Graphics
This choice represents the best of both worlds – cheaper than choice 1 but more powerful than choice 2. I chose it primarily based on its CPU and value for money, both of which are very good.


Why did I choose these for you?

It is important that you understand what the components of a laptop do so that you can make an informed choice. Here is my very basic explanation for each:

  • CPU: The brain of your laptop. A better one makes your laptop faster.
  • RAM: Your laptop’s short term memory – more of this means it can cope well with doing more things at once.
  • Storage: How much space your laptop has to store files, photos, apps etc. More storage means you can store more stuff.
  • Graphics: Your laptop has a graphics processor (GPU) responsible for how things appear on the screen. A better GPU will mean your device will cope better with more complicated graphics, such as in 3D games.

If you would like to browse the shops I searched for yourself, here are some links that will take you directly to the search results you require:

Some of the links on this page are affiliate links – that means if you go on to buy after clicking one of them, I may receive a small payment. This is how I am able to provide this service for free. It does not affect the price you pay, nor does it affect the recommendations I make – I will always recommend the best I can find to fit your usage, regardless of what shop it is from or any affiliation.

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