Not everybody can afford a high-end ultra-advanced laptop for thousands of dollars, and the things is: not everybody needs to. If you are looking for a laptop that will be your reliable friend for working with documents, browsing and watching stuff on the Internet and even playing some games, then opt for a laptop that is under $800.
The good thing about these budget laptops is obvious: they can offer you optimal performance while not draining your wallet. Yes, they won’t be able to multitask properly, but they can definitely satisfy your needs.
We’ve put together a chart that lists the best laptops under $800 available at the moment.
Top 6 Laptops Under $800 Overview Chart
| Picture | Name | Screen Size | Rating (1-5) |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1. Apple MacBook Air MD711LL/B 11.6-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) | 11.6 inches | 4.5 |
 | 2. Hewlett Packard E0J75UARABA Hp Pavilion 17-e049wm Amd A10-5750m X4 2.5ghz 8gb 750gb Dvd+/-rw 17.3 Win8 | 17.3 inches | 4.5 |
 | 3. Dell Inspiron i15RV-8574BLK 15.6-Inch Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Core i5-4200U Processor, 6GB DDR3L, 750GB HDD, Windows 8) Black | 15.6 inches | 4.4 |
 | 4. Acer Aspire V3-572G-54L9 15.6-Inch Laptop (Platinum Silver) | 15.6 inches | 4.3 |
 | 5. HP ENVY 15-inch Touchscreen Core i5 Laptop with Beats Audio (15-k016nr) | 15.6 inches | 4.1 |
 | 6. Lenovo Thinkpad E545 20B20011US 15.6-Inch Laptop | 15.6 inches | 3.9 |
Windows 8.1 vs OS X Mavericks
- The “war” between Windows and OS X has long been known for its ferociousness. To compare them, and thus determine the positive and negative sides of both operating systems, let’s look at the current “players”: Windows 8.1 and OS X Mavericks.
- First of all, when buying a laptop and deciding between either Windows or OS X, you must opt for the OS that is most suitable for YOU. Therefore, if you have been using Windows for years, a rational decision would be to continue using Windows as you’ve gotten used to it. If you want new experiences, then sure: choose OS X.
- In terms of multitasking, Windows is the winner as it allows you to run up to four apps on the screen at once. While Maverick’s Mission Control shows only what is open and doesn’t allow you to close any apps from this view, Windows’ Snap lets you have two apps open side by side.
- While Apple hasn’t upgraded its iCloud much and lets you access files exclusively with iOS, Windows’s SkyDrive lets you access files stored both locally and in the cloud itself. Furthermore, with SkyDrive, you can access your files using Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, iOS as well as Android devices. Therefore, SkyDrive is the winner and scores one more point for Windows.
- As for gaming, Windows gets 100 points, as Macs do not support most of top games. Most of the times, in order to play a new game on Mac, you have to wait some time for it to be released for OS X. Therefore, if you are a hardcore gamer: look for the best laptops under $800 that are Windows-based.
- As for web browsing, we’ll give a point to OS X Mavericks. Its Safari’s sidebar includes your bookmarks as well as the new ‘Shared Links’ feature, which shows what your social media contacts are posting. In general, Mavericks wins in terms of its improved social integration. Although Windows has upgraded its browser, Internet Explorer 11, too. As an example, you can now have unlimited number of tabs open (before, it was only 10 tabs) as well as snap two pages side by side.
Top 3 Best Laptops Under 800 Bucks Reviews
1. Apple MacBook Air MD711LL/B
The 11.6-inch MacBook Air (MD711LL/B) features a 1.4 GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core processor and has a battery life of up to 9 hours. The Turbo Boost feature lets you have up to 2.7 GHz, which provides your laptop with a quicker response time.
11.6-inch MacBook Air can definitely be named the best laptop under $800 as it provides you with optimal experience for web browsing, checking email, watching YouTube videos, social networking etc.
It runs very quiet and turns off and on in an instant. Furthermore, the Core i5 and the HD5000 GPU is able to handle many games very well.
2. Hewlett Packard E0J75UARABA Pavilion
Hewlett Packard E0J75UARABA is easily one of the best laptops under $800 as it has a large 17.3-inch screen and offers you a gaming laptop-like experience.
Fast and powerful, this laptop has AMD Quad-Core A10-5750M Accelerated Processor 2.5GHz up to 3.5GHz, and having 3.5GHz in a budget laptop is a rare thing.
It offers optimal experience for work, traveling, watching videos, playing games (not too graphically demanding though) and even editing in Photoshop.
3. Dell Inspiron i15RV-8574BLK
Another great laptop, which has made it to the top 3 of the best budget laptops and is very snappy and light.
Thanks to its Intel Core processor, Dell Inspiron 15 is able to balance fast processing with efficient power use.
Overall, it is a decent laptop for everyday work at home. However, just like any laptop of this price range, you shouldn’t expect it to do an excellent job in multitasking.