Ranking: Best affordable all-around laptops

The 2024 Aspire 16 is a powerful multimedia notebook ideal for everyday multitasking, creative tasks, and media consumption. Its large 16-inch display provides plenty of screen real estate, driven by an Intel Core 7 150U CPU, 16 GB DDR5 RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 GPU for solid overall application and gaming performance. The notebook offers good connectivity, including Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6E, ensuring future-proof usage. Its slim design and long battery life make it great for both work and leisure.

Thanks to the Core 7 150U and RTX 2050 graphics, the Acer Aspire 16 makes everyday computing effortless.

The SKU tested is available for 899 euros at Notebooksbilliger. Please note that the RTX 2050 is a rather old discrete graphics adapter and is not much faster than powerful iGPUs such as AMD's Radeon 890M.

The OmniBook 5 16 is a modern 16-inch notebook designed for everyday use in studies, the office and at home. It is aimed at users who are looking for a large display, decent performance and modern features. Powered by the latest-gen Intel Core Ultra processors (Core Ultra 7 255U SKU tested), the machine offers sufficient computing power for office applications, Web browsing, video conferencing and media playback. The fast RAM and SSD ensure short start-up and loading times as well as smooth user experience.

The 16:10 1200p display offers plenty of screen real estate and is well suited for productive work, even if it is not designed for professional color-critical work. The slim, functional and well-made casing and underline is complemented by modern connectivity options, the latest wireless standards, a high-quality webcam for online meetings and solid battery life.

The Pavilion 16 is a versatile 16-inch laptop with AMD's Ryzen 5 8540U, an efficient six-core processor with clock speeds of up to 4.9 GHz. It offers good performance for everyday tasks, some multitasking and light creative applications. The anti-glare WUXGA display (1,920 x 1,200 pixels) is adequate for the job. With 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a 1 TB SSD, the SKU tested has no memory problem. The integrated AMD Radeon 740M GPU enables smooth media playback and some very basic 3D graphics processing. In terms of the ports, all the basics are onboard, like USB 3.0, HDMI and Wi-Fi 6. The laptop also impresses with long battery life of up to 11 hours, making it ideal for mobile use.

The Aspire 17 is a simple multimedia notebook that is suitable for everyday use and light creative applications. It is powered by an Intel Core 7 150U processor with ten CPU cores and a maximum Turbo clock speed of 5.4 GHz. Together with 16 GB DDR4 RAM and a 1-TB SSD, this makes for a solid basic configuration. An Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 Laptop GPU is installed as the dedicated graphics card; keep in mind that this aging graphics adapter is not much faster than powerful iGPUs such as the Radeon 890M.

Key advantages of the Acer Aspire include its stylish visual design, low temperatures and Thunderbolt 4 support.

Lenovo's IdeaPad Slim 5 is a versatile, compact 16-inch notebook designed for productivity and daily tasks. The Intel Core 7 150U processor provides excellent performance for the price. The notebook includes 16 GB DDR5 RAM and a fast PCIe SSD for quick startup and seamless operation. Highlights include long battery life, fast Wi-Fi 6, and a comprehensive set of ports, such as USB-C and HDMI.

With its slim design and lightweight build, the IdeaPad Slim 5 is perfect for mobile users seeking reliable performance.  

The SKU tested is not easy to find, but Lenovo Germany offers a reasonably similar configuration (Intel Core 5 120U, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD) for 780 euros.

The IdeaPad Slim 3 is a lightweight, everyday 15-inch laptop with the fresh Intel Core 5 210H. It is well suited for office work, surfing, streaming and simple image editing. Its keyboard and large touchpad are comfortable to use. In terms of battery life, the IdeaPad Slim impressed in our testing for an entire working day. The matte IPS display offers Full HD+ resolution, but is only just mediocre in terms of brightness and color reproduction. Performance reserves are sufficient for everyday use, but the integrated Intel graphics is hardly suitable for gaming or demanding 3D applications. The port selection is solid, as modern options such as USB-C are available. Overall, the IdeaPad is a good companion for school, studies and the office - but without any real highlights considering the price.

The IdeaPad Slim 3i is a budget-friendly, portable notebook suitable for everyday computing needs. Its 15.6-inch display is large and usable enough without hampering portability. Powered by an Intel Core 5 120U, it comfortably handles tasks such as Web browsing, streaming Web videos and doing office work. The configuration tested features 16 GB DDR5 RAM and a 1 TB PCIe SSD, that's ample storage space combined with fast data access. The integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics is sufficient for general multimedia use but not for any real gaming.

With its Core 5 120U, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i doesn't significantly outperform its predecessor equipped with a 13th-generation Core i5 CPU.

The configuration tested is not available to buy, as of this writing. Lenovo Germany offers somewhat different SKUs, such as this one based on a Core 7 150U, 16 GB RAM and a 256 GB SSD. It can be had for 790 euros.