6. HP Pavilion 14

• Reviewed on: 21 August 13
• RRP: £339 inc. VAT
• Rating:

The Pavilion 14 provides good performance and value for money, and would be a good choice for students or other people who need a capable laptop but can't stretch to £400 or £500. Battery life could be better, though, so it's not the best choice if that's your main priority.

5. Compaq CQ58

• Reviewed on: 20 August 13
• RRP: £239 inc. VAT
• Rating:

It may be a bit slow, but the CQ58 will get you online for several hours at a time, and let you run Microsoft Office for less than £250.00. We'd recommend stepping up to the 4GB model if you can afford it, but the CQ58 definitely represents good value for money if you're on a really tight budget.

4. Lenovo Z580

• Reviewed on: 23 August 13
• RRP: £499 inc. VAT
• Rating:

The size and weight of the Lenovo Z580 mean that it’s not the most portable of laptops, and will probably spend most of its time indoors. However, its strong performance and low cost makes it an excellent choice for anyone that needs a powerful desktop-replacement system for use at home or in the office. 

3. Asus VivoBook S200E

• Reviewed on: 16 August 13
• RRP: £430 inc. VAT
• Rating:

Our only real complaint about the S200E is the annoyingly reflective screen. Performance and battery life are respectable rather than outstanding, but the S200E offers an attractive, lightweight design and build quality that are rarely seen in laptops costing less than £500.

2. Sony Vaio Fit 15E

• Reviewed on: 22 August 13
• RRP: £438 inc. VAT
• Rating:

It’s nice to see Sony making a real effort to produce a decent budget laptop, and the attractive display and speakers on the Sony Vaio Fit 15E make it a good choice for entertainment and web browsing. However, it is fairly heavy and battery life is relatively modest too, which means that the Fit 15E is probably more suited to life at home than in a backpack. 

1. Dell Inspiron 14z

• Reviewed on: 21 August 13
• RRP: £459 inc. VAT
• Rating:

The Inspiron 14z does a really good job of cramming a fully featured laptop into a compact, lightweight design. It's no gaming rig, but its good performance and battery life make it an attractive option for anyone on a tight budget.