8 best laptops for £599 or less

Laptop prices tumbled towards the latter end of 2008, meaning there’s now more choice than ever at the entry-level end of the market. As such, we’ve gathered together eight of the best machines from your favourite manufacturers, and we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Despite the low-end price tags, these laptops are high on features, big on style and even more impressive when it comes to value. You’ll find impressive build quality, great usability and, although most use integrated graphics cards, performance is still good enough for everyday use. With screen sizes ranging from 12.1 inches to 17 inches, we’re certain we have all types of user covered.

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Featured laptops:

Acer Aspire 2920-302G25Mi
£399 (inc. VAT)
A lightweight, affordable choice, but the design is starting to look old

Asus N20A
£599 (inc. VAT)
An entry-level machine with good all-round power and a great battery life

Dell Studio 15
£599 (inc. VAT)
Comfortable and stylish, and one of the best mainstream laptops available

FSC Amilo Pi 3625
£599 (inc. VAT)
A capable desktop replacement system, but poor multimedia abilities

Hi-Grade Notino W5800
£599 (inc. VAT)
Powerful processor but, sadly, there are few other reasons to buy this laptop

HP 6830s
£599 (inc. VAT)
A highly affordable Blu-ray machine but, unfortunately, it’s not without its problems

Lenovo ThinkPad SL300
£549 (inc. VAT)
A simply fantastic corporate laptop offering excellent usability and connectivity

Toshiba Satellite Pro U400-13A
£523 (inc. VAT)
A good portable machine, but it’s let down by a poor battery life

Group test first featured in What Laptop Issue 120