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Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Buying Guide: Good Laptops Under $1,000
If you're not looking for a laptop for heavy gaming or video production, you're probably just looking for one that can accommodate a variety of basic user needs. A dedicated graphics chip or an SSD would be nice additions, but you'd rather have the extra cash.
You can't skimp on the basics, though. Does the laptop have a solid processor? Will you have enough RAM for busy workdays or a big enough hard drive for your music, and maybe a couple of movies? These laptops have it covered.
We've gathered five laptops that will meet—and sometimes exceed—your basic computing needs. All earned a rating of 3 or 3.5 stars out of a possible 5 stars from PCMag analysts. They may not be the most powerful or aggressive laptops on the market (unless we're talking aggressively priced), but they do deliver the most value for your dollar.
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Asus N53SM-DS71
$979.99
Short on luxury features (except for its sound), the Asus N53SM-DS71 laptop offers plenty of performance and storage. Read the full review ››
Asus K53SD-DS51
$779.99
The Asus K53SD-DS51 is a competent 15.6-inch laptop that's one or two features shy of being a bargain. Read the full review ››
Asus Zenbook UX21E-DH52
$999.00
A mix of ultrabook and ultraportable, the Asus Zenbook UX21E-DH52 is a formidable challenger to the 11-inch MacBook Air. Read the full review ››
Sony VAIO VPC-YB35KX
$549.99
The Sony VAIO VPC-YB35KX is a competent netbook, with an AMD APU that offers a decent combination of processing and graphics, and a healthy feature set that includes stereo Bluetooth, HDMI, and two card reader slots. Its battery life is a bit of a letdown, but it's not so bad as to be a deal breaker. Read the full review ››
Lenovo IdeaPad Z570-10249ZU
$699.99
From its 8GB of RAM to its 750GB hard drive, the 15.6-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Z570-10249ZU packs features you'd never expect to find in a $700 laptop. Read the full review ››