New laptop for the next school year? This is the best for a maximum of 500 euros | Tech

This is a shortened version of a extensive comparison on Best Tested. Note: The run-through of models in the laptop market is currently moving at a rapid pace. As a result, it can happen that some models are sold out quickly.

In this price range, it is often a matter of choosing between a sturdy or a fast laptop. Fortunately, there is also a model that does it well on both fronts. The Lenovo ThinkBook 14 offers a good hybrid between private and business use. It runs on Windows 10 Pro, it’s sturdy (especially the back, because it’s metal) and it has many connections.

The AMD Ryzen 3 processor is reasonable in our opinion: you will not find faster for this price. The screen is above average and has a high color saturation, especially compared to other laptops in its class.

The battery lasts for about nine hours when browsing the web. If you spend a lot of time on YouTube, you can subtract four hours from that. If your battery needs to be replaced after some time, you can: you can easily remove and replace the battery yourself.

With a laptop of five hundred euros you can expect less than with one of the double price. That is especially the case now that there is a lot of scarcity on the market, which has caused prices to rise. Still, we found one for 500 euros that still excels: the Acer Aspire 5. The 14-inch screen of this laptop has a Full HD resolution and contains an IPS panel, which is a better display type than TN, because the viewing angles and contrast are better. The monitor doesn’t excel in terms of brightness, but in that respect it falls roughly on the average of the reviewed laptops.

The plastic housing of this laptop resembles aluminum due to its color and processing, but only the back of the display is actually made of aluminum, which gives it a slightly more luxurious look than if it were completely plastic.

Acer has clearly saved on the keyboard: it does give a lot when you type fairly hard, it has no fingerprint scanner and the keyboard lighting is missing. However, the plastic also has an advantage: it feels quite light as a result, which is another big plus for on the road.

At least as important for on the road is the battery life, which is surprisingly good with this laptop. The Acer Aspire 5 can last almost 8 hours in battery life when browsing. To future-proof this machine, Acer has left open the option to upgrade a memory module or add an additional SATA SSD.

In this section we write about technological devices that have been reviewed by BestGetest. This is a collaboration between the independent editors of this site and BestGetest. BestGetest’s advice is established in collaboration with the Tweakers test lab, where battery life, speed and other important aspects of the product are tested. Hundreds of products are tested in the lab every year.

The editors of BestGetest are completely independent. Companies do not pay in any way to be covered in these articles.