TOP 6 BEST LAPTOPS UNDER 800 DOLLARS IN 2021 – Pros & Cons, In-Depth Review

One thing can say confidently, you can easily find best laptops under 800 for running heavy-ended software like PhotoShop and can also enjoy playing all latest games. The stiff competition in laptops industry compels the brands to come up with best specifications under budget for potential buyers.

You cannot choose a best laptop as long as you do not know what exactly you are looking for and why you want to buy a laptop. Any laptop under $800, either comes up with high-end CPU or high-end GPU or offering both hardware at average.

To buy a laptop with high-end CPU is good decision when you have professional software in use which requires high processing speed, but does not include any graphic details. High-end GPU is critical for playing high-end latest games which requires loading heavy graphic data. Gamers, graphic designers are video editors are advised to go for high-end GPU.

You can also find a laptop when you need it for both gaming and professional usage. Best laptop under 800 dollars is a big budget in highly competitive industry, brands are fighting to win customers from all segments, one should expect amazing specs laptop on such a big ticket purchase.

What Should Be the Expectations From Laptop Available Under 800 Dollars ?

User should be having good idea to make a best choice of laptop available under 800 dollars, this much expensive laptop must be having below specifications.

Powerful Processor

A powerful processor should be expecting from 800 dollars laptop, which have at least four cores and 8 threads to fully utilize its processing power. Its CPU speed must be in between 2.4 to 3.2 which makes it powerful enough to perform all heavy duty tasks including video and photo editing functions.

Trusted Graphic Card

800 dollars laptop must be offering a graphic card that meets the benchmark of smoothly running software like PhotoShop and Adobe illustrator. Moreover, a graphic card should be powerful enough to run all the latest games on low settings. It would be unfair to expect to play big games on high / ultra settings in this price range.

RAM

8GB RAM has become the basic standard on budget laptops and the same goes here. There is no way to expect less than 8GB of RAM on a laptop available for under 800 dollars. To have 8GB RAM, user will be capable of performing extreme level multitasking.

Best Laptops Under 800 Dollars

We have listed down the best laptops under 800 dollars, also explaining the Pros and Cons of each laptop.     

Acer Aspire 7 ( A715-41G-R7X4 )

Acer itself is such a competitive brand that has been launching budget laptops with high-end specifications, Nitro 5 is one example. Acer Aspire 7 also comes with multitude of features and hits the home run with amazing specifications from all ends.

It comes with 15.6-inches screen size which is neither too small nor too big for a laptop, its Full HD IPS display is a good feature for enjoying Netflix and YouTube videos at 1080p. Its viewing angles are good and boost the viewing experience.

Its powerful process makes much difference in providing a better user experience while running resource-intensive applications without a single lapse. Its Quad-Core processor can boost its processing speed up to 3.7GHz which is a lot.

This processor has proved better performance in several benchmark tests; the test was applied on software used for developing 3D videos.

It comes with 8GB DDR4 RAM which may not be enough for any user segment; they can upgrade it up to any amount they want because two empty RAM slots are provided on laptop. RAM is essential for multi-tasking and user wants to it to manage the workload in shortest time period.

It also has NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 which is award-winning graphic card; the reason is its well-designed architecture and overall built. It can play latest games at Ultra quality on 1080 resolution in more than 50 FPS. This performance has also been proved on benchmarks test, it was applied on games like Assassin Creed Valhalla released in 2020.

Its other useful features includes backlit keyboard which offers smooth typing experience even in dark surroundings. Acer Aspire 7 provides multiple connectivity options through USB Type-C, two 3.2 USB’s, HDMI and many more.

Acer Aspire 7 also have its Cons and drawbacks, it does not offer USB Type-C port which performance is better than other types of USB ports. It is good at fastest data transferring and user always prefers it over other types of ports.

Secondly, its battery is only seven hours and cannot survive more. We should be expecting longer battery hours from a laptop witch such amazing specifications; one has to buy Power Bank to keep it charged while travelling.  

ASUS TUF FX505DT 

ASUS is known for manufacturing powerful laptops, ASUS TUF FX505DT is also one of them. It not only offers powerful performance but amazing display technology.

Its 15.6-inches screen will improve your working experience and no stress in eyes even after working for long hours. Its 1920 x 1080 resolution offers more pixels in one frame which better defines the images, videos and other type of content. 1080 resolution also includes more content in single frame means less scroll down on your part.

In the benchmark test applied on Cinebech software, this processor performed better than Intel Core i7-10710U which shows its power level is above Intel’s one. It can run for you any complex software used by professionals like engineers, architectures, I.T. experts and other technical professionals.

It comes with 8GB DDR4 RAM which shows its multi-tasking muscles for the users who usually engages in multi-tasking to reduce the workload. There are two empty RAM slots and you can enjoy best multi-tasking experience by adding RAMs on both slots. It will make wonders with already installed powerful processor in ASUS TUF FX505DT.

This laptop has other features which makes this laptop very attractive includes RGB Keyboard. It turns on multiple colors on keyboard including yellow, green, blue and red which looks beautiful in dark surroundings. It will be amazing experience while playing games in dark.

It comes with 256GB SSD storage which is very limited for those get used to be downloading ample amount of data, they can upgrade it by adding 1TB SATA which makes it big enough for gamers, graphic-designers and video editors.

ASUS TUF FX505DT comes with two drawbacks which need to be discussed. First, it does not offer Wi-Fi 6 technology which offers internet speed boost and it mainly improves the network when number of devices is connected with Wi-Fi 6 device, this laptop comes with Wi-Fi 5 technology.

The second drawback, battery life could be better but user has to manage with it. If a user is used to travel a lot and staying outside for long hours while working on laptop, he would definitely require a Power Bank to keep it charge because it can only last up to 7 hours.

Acer Swift 3

Acer comes again in the list, as mentioned earlier highly competitive brand want to meet the requirements of its diversified target market. It comes with 14-inches screen and thin bezels make it look like bigger for the user. Its thin bezels also increase the user focus on screen; this design is more than just a good looking and more compact taking less room. Its weight is just 2.65 lbs which makes it very portable.

Its powerful processor AMD Ryzen 7 4700U Octa-Core is a higher-end member of Ryzen 4000 U series having eight processing cores. This shows that it can handle resource-intensive applications and programs without any lag; it wins the benchmark test from several other core processors including Intel processor.

Its Radeon graphics card provides its support by processing graphic related data and this work sharing between CPU and GPU ensures optimal performance of Acer Swift 3.

It also comes with 512GB SSD storage which allows the user to store ample amount of data without any worry, you can also upgrade it up to 2 TB by adding one more drive. You can buy a new one once the first one is full.

Its Wi-Fi 6 technology enhances and boost up the internet speed, also provides the better network to be connected with by multiple users. Its Fingerprint reader is very accurate and responsive, not allowing any unauthorized user to have access on it.

Acer Swift 3 also comes with its drawbacks and limitations. First of all, its battery is not impressive and it can only last up to 5 hours. It means user cannot spend all working day with fully charged laptop, have to recharge it at least once a day. The second drawback, it does not provide slot for SD card reader which can be used for storing data. SD cards are portable and very much in demand.

The unimpressive battery drawback should be the concern, otherwise Acer Swift 3 offers every feature which user requires in any laptop, this can be considered as one of the best laptops under 800 dollars.

Acer Nitro 5

Acer Nitro 5 laptop is popular for offering unbelievably high specifications under 800 dollars. You would not also believe its specification details once you read it. It is basically a gaming laptop which can load high graphics games and editing software so smoothly without any single lag.

It comes with 10th generation powerful processor Intel Core i5-10300H, this processor is mostly popular for its capability of performing heavy tasks like running photo and video editing software as well as games. It wins the benchmark tests from several other processors designed by AMD and even its own Intel brand.

This processor can run “Witcher 3” game at ultra settings on 1080p resolution while maintaining FPS from 27 to 43, this shows the power of processor but its GPU makes it more powerful for optimal performance.

It offers NVIDIA GTX 1650 Ti which experts believe one of the most powerful graphic processors in its price range. This GPU multiplies the power of its CPU Intel Core i5-10300H by using own advanced technology to boost up processing speed of main processor. You can easily play games like “Assassin Creed Odyssey” at ultra settings on 1080p with above 60 FPS.

You may not be satisfied with its 256GB SSD, definitely not enough for gamer; you can upgrade it by adding 1TB SSD into the empty slot provided for extending the space. Its SSD technology is blessing for gamers and video editors as they enjoy faster loading time for all resource-intensive software using.

You can also get impressed with its other specifications like backlit keyboard which red lights turns on in dark and looks stunning. Its DTS X Ultra sound technology improves the gaming experience with better sound quality.

There are two drawbacks in Acer Nitro 5 which overshadow the all impressive features offered by this laptop. The first drawback is, it does not offer micro-SD slot which is great source of data transferring and itself very portable. The second drawback is its meager sized 256GB SSD, user has to spend more money and buy the new 1TB SSD for storing more data.

According to industry experts, Acer Nitro 5 would be the most memorable laptop after a decade. Its amazing specifications include it in the list of best laptops under 800 dollars.

ASUS VivoBook 15  ( F512JA-AS54 )

The best laptops not only show optimal performance but also look good and premium. Its body is thin and overall light-weight laptop, only 3.50 lbs. This machine is perfect for backpack and carrying it around during travelling would be easy.   

It takes power from Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor and 8GB DDR4 RAM, these two hardware meets the system requirements of mostly heavy-ended software like PhotoShop or Adobe Premium Pro.

You may not enjoy the optimal performance on these two big applications but overall the experience would be good and satisfactory. You may miss some features of PS 2020 on this laptop which actually requires high graphics and more processing cores & threads.

PhotoShop example is mostly given because it is one of the high graphic software which requires powerful CPU and GPU both.

It offers ideal 15.6-inches screen with Full HD display. Mostly users find this screen size is perfect for both watching experience and working for long hours. Though, people are complaining about its quality which is not competing with similar prince range laptops.

It also offers 1920 x 1080 screen resolution which allows more content in single frame and no need to keep scrolling down by user.

It is already providing ample 512GB SSD storage; mostly users would find it more than enough space to store data. Its SSD technology seeks data in less time on processor request and saves user’s time.

As far as its drawbacks are concerned, its battery life is not great and can only last up to 5 hours. In these days, laptops are coming with twelve hours battery life which makes us to consider its drawback. The second drawback is made of cheap plastic and build-up quality is poor, this looks premium but feels cheaper. The third drawback, its screen quality is not impressive as it should have been considering its $600 price.

Dell Inspiron 17 3793

Dell is one of the most trusting brands among laptop users; it mostly offers amazing budget laptops. Dell Inspiron 17 3793 is mid-range laptop which shows its muscles through offering high-end specifications under 800 dollars.

Its processor is 10th generation built and named Intel Core i5-1035G1with turbo speed up to 3.60GHz. It has 4 cores and 8 threads which makes perfect combination for running heavy-graphic software without heat up issues. In the benchmarking testing in category “Value for Money”, this processor rated as top.

This processor can run software like PhotoShop for you and overall provides good data processing experience.

It comes with 16GB RAM which reduces great amount of burden from processor and starts processing the all data through its temporary memory. The more RAM you have, the faster your processor can process the data. 16GB RAM is going to make big difference here in the processor efficiency and overall improvement. User can open two software like PhotoShop at the same time for multi-tasking without single lag.

Its display performance makes you speechless; 17.3-inches Full HD screen improves your streaming and watching experience. You can enjoy more on bigger screen at 1080p resolution like Netflix, Games and YouTube. You will have better experience of online sessions through Webcam, apps like “Zoom” is more useful experience on 17.3-inches screen comparing to smaller screens.

You can never fill the full space of storage capacity provided on Dell Inspiron 3793. It offers 512GB SSD + 1TB HDD which in total is more than 1.5TB. One can imagine this capacity when a 4K movie not takes more than 3GB to download. You can download more than five hundred 4K movies to fill its full space.

As far as its drawbacks are concerned, its first drawback is poor build quality which feels cheaper. Its overall construction is also not impressive and looks like made of low quality plastic. The second drawback is, it comes without backlit keyboard which has become essential feature in any laptop. Backlit keyboard introduces technology which enables the user to turn on the lights placed beneath its keys so its keys can visible for accurate typing.

Overall, there is no doubt Dell Inspiron 17 3793 is one of the best laptops under 800 dollars.

Frequently Asked Questions

We are going to answer your most frequently asked questions on this topic.

– What benchmark should processor meet on 800 dollars laptop ?

A processor must be capable of smoothly running applications like PhotoShop, Adobe Premiere Pro, and also moderate-level gaming. Its processing speed must be faster and clocks at between 2.0 and 3.2. It must be having four cores and 8 threads that can be executed simultaneously because featuring hyper-threatening. But, these benchmarks shared would be considered as ideal benchmark.

– What size of RAM should be expected from 800 dollars laptop?

Mostly laptops will get you 8GB of RAM in this price range, though there are few laptops offering even 16GB of RAM but then compromising on the powerful processor. 8GB RAM is the fair expectation from 800 dollars laptop.

– Can we play all latest games on high settings on 800 dollars laptop ?

You cannot find all laptops which can run all latest games on high settings, in this price range. But, Acer Nitro 5 is the best choice in this list for the same.

Verdict

One thing can say for sure, one can easily search a laptop for gaming and video editing purpose under 800 dollars. The only issue is going to be that user would not be able to access some advanced features of editing software or have to make little compromise on game graphics settings.

You should be expecting mid-range CPU and GPU in laptop under $800, to have high-end hardware expectations would be wrong and unrealistic.

On the display side, you must not be compromising on below 1080p screen resolution as more pixels create sharp images and more defined. You may settle below 1920 x 1080 resolutions when screen size is 14-inches which make adjustment accordingly.

Features like Backlit Keyboard, multiple USB ports and premium looking body definitely adds the value and buyer can consider them while making decision, these features ease up the things and keep your working life convenient. As far as battery life is concerned, it should not be below five hours in any case and ten hours life is considered as excellent. You can manage with weak batteries through having a power bank.