Notebookcheck's Top 10 Budget Office/Business Laptops

The Lenovo ThinkPad E490 is visually similar to the ThinkPad E480, so the new E490 offers the same advantages and drawbacks as before. You once again only get a microSD card reader.

The only major change is the implementation of the new Whiskey Lake processor, which should be a bit fast compared to the previous Kaby Lake version. However, the E490 is only slightly ahead of the E480 in single-core scenarios, but it is slower in multi-thread tests. The Intel Core i5-8265U cannot utilize its full potential and is beaten by the old i5-8250U. The main reason is the very restrained cooling, which often enables a silent operation.

The Lenovo ThinkPad E480 is a good 14-inch office laptop for a fair price.

The HP ProBook 430 G6 (here in review) is an inexpensive business notebook designed for small companies, freelancers, and students. Our test unit of the 13.3-inch laptop is equipped with a modern Whiskey Lake CPU from Intel, 8 GB RAM, and 256 GB SSD storage. All in all, the device offers good CPU performance and the temperatures under load are still decent. The chassis is solid and HP fortunately does not waive the full-size SD card reader.

Our test unit also managed longer battery runtimes compared to the rivals. We determined almost 9.5 hours in our Wi-Fi test, which is excellent for an office device. The comfortable input device complete the good overall package.

Long battery runtimes, excellent upgrade options, and the light as well as solid case of the HP ProBook 430 G6 create a very interesting device. The price is also okay, because the list of features is good for about 800 Euros. 

However, there are also some issues we want to talk about. The display is pretty dim and the color space coverage is very limited. The warranty period of 12 months is also short; the competition often comes with 24 months. HP unfortunately waives Thunderbolt 3 for the ProBook 430 G6, which limits the expandability. The device also offers less business features compared to the EliteBook lineup.

Huawai wagt nun auch den Schritt und stattet das MateBook D 14 W00D [hier im Test] mit einer APU von AMD aus. Das Gerät auf Basis des AMD Ryzen 5 2500U schlägt sich im Test recht gut und kann es problemlos mit einem Intel Core i5-8250U aufnehmen. Darüber hinaus bietet das SoC mit der AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 eine deutlich schneller Grafikeinheit.

Insgesamt überzeugte uns das Huawei MateBook D 14 W00D mit einem modernen und stabilen Gehäuse und einem sehr guten Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis. Sehen lassen können sich auch die Akkulaufzeiten, denn bei unserem WLAN-Test bewies unser Testgerät mit rund neun Stunden ordentlich Ausdauer.

Mit dem AMD-Prozessor hat das Huawei MateBook D nun etwas mehr Leistung, aber die Schwächer der Intel-Version wurden nicht ausgemerzt.

Lenovo's E485 (here in review) is a ThinkPad based on AMD Ryzen processors. The AMD Ryzen 5 2500U is comparable to the Intel Core i5-8250U, but AMD's integrated GPU Radeon RX Vega 8 is much more powerful and it easily beats Intel's UHD Graphics 620.

Similar to other ThinkPads, the E485 also uses a sturdy chassis, and you do not have to waive excellent input devices, either. They are among the best on the market for years. Lenovo also uses a decent screen, even though the color gamut is not perfect.

The ThinkPad E485 with the AMD APU can unfortunately not quite keep up with its Intel powered counterpart. A lot of small thing, which are not immediately related to the AMD processor, results in a lower final score.

We have to criticize the device for the missing keyboard illumination, which cannot even be ordered as an optional extra. The potential of the AMD processor cannot be utilized completely, either. Lenovo also ships the devices with single-channel RAM by default. The build quality itself is good, but some materials are inferior to the Intel counterparts. It is hard to understand why the E485 gets cheaper materials. A base warranty of 12 months is not great, either, but HP's ProBook 430 G6 is not better in this respect, either.

The Fujitsu Lifebook A357 (here in review) is a working device through and through. The technology of the 15-inch laptop is therefore simple. Intel's Core i5-7200U is not the latest model, but is still powerful enough for office apps. It is also very efficient, which ensures long battery runtimes.

In combination with the SSD and the good input devices, the Fujitsu Lifebook A357 convinced us during the review. The device also features a large maintenance hatch, which should make many users happy. The Lifebook A357 is equipped with a fast card reader, which is getting rarer. This might actually influence the purchase decision of some potential buyers. 

The Fujitsu Lifebook A357 is a business device with a solid list of features for a fair price. 

The manufacturer implements a matte IPS display, but it could be a bit brighter and have a better contrast ratio. This SKU is still recommendable for a price of ~600 Euros. Fujitsu unfortunately only ships the device with a one-year warranty.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 330S (here in review) is an inexpensive office laptop with a sturdy aluminum case. our review showed it is a solid all-rounder that handles most applications. The Intel Core i5-8250U is powerful enough for smooth handling and 16 GB Optane memory support the conventional hard drive. Lenovo also sells SKUs of the Ideapad 330S with SSDs.

You have to make compromises in terms of display. You get a 1080p-IPS screen despite the low price, but the average luminance of around 250 nits is not very high. The integrated SD reader is not very fast, either, and does not break any records with USB 2.0 transfer speeds.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 330S gets a recommendation thanks to the good price-performance ratio.

The Lenovo V320 (here in review) convinced with good features without taxing your pockets too much. The device is equipped with an Intel Core i5-8250U, which performs very well. The specs with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD storage are solid for an office device. This is supported by the keyboard, which is good for typing, but it lacks background illumination.

The Lenovo V320-17IKB is a good 17.3-inch office laptop with a modern CPU.

The matte, bright, and high-contrast 1080p screen is good and once again shows that affordable devices can be equipped with decent panels. The laptop is also conveniently quiet and the chassis does not get overly warm under load.

There are limitations on regard to the battery runtime, because it is not a strong suit of the V320.

Unfortunately, the display turned out to be too dim, and we also disliked our review unit’s super-sensitive fan management. All things considered the Vostro 15 is an affordable office device with a dedicated GeForce MX130 GPU allowing you to enjoy games in reduced details.

The Dell Vostro 15 5581 is an average office device with a dedicated GPU.

Lenovo’s affordable IdeaPad L340 [see review here] comes equipped with an AMD APU and can thus offer a higher 3D performance than its Intel-equipped competitors. A 2.5-inch SSD ensures a snappy overall performance without long lags. A secondary storage device slot is available. However, installing said secondary storage device requires removal of the entire bottom cover since the 17.3-inch device does not have any maintenance openings.

Other benefits include decent battery life and a usable keyboard. Unfortunately, its display was abysmal. While the matte coating is certainly a big plus the panel is based on TN technology and thus offers very poor viewing angles. In addition, the low-contrast display is also very dim.

Another $50 will get you the same device with an IPS FHD display with wide viewing angles.

Lenovo’s IdeaPad L340 is a decent business notebook for home users. That said other SKUs may make more sense.

The HP 14 (here in review) is an affordable office laptop. It retails for about 600 Euros and features a powerful Intel Core i5-8250U CPU with 8 GB RAM and 1 TB HDD storage. The conventional hard disk is supported by 16 GB Intel Optane Memory. However, SSD prices are still dropping, so these SSD-cache options are not really necessary. You would get an M.2-SSD with much more storage for the price of an Intel Optane module.

The HP 14 unfortunately misses a better rating due to the outdated list of features. The CPU performance is still good, though.

HP equips the device with a matte screen, but the viewing angles are limited due to the TN technology. The HD resolution (1366x768 pixels) is not adequate in 2019. The Wi-Fi transfer rates are also pretty low, which is a result of the missing 802.11ac-support.