The best laptops under £1,000

Remember when laptops were the poorer cousin of the humble desktop? Well, you’ll be as shocked as we are to see just how much time has changed. The humble laptop has managed to turn the tides, now becoming the most sought-after workstation, and packing in incredibly juicy-looking specs.

That said, the more you want from your laptop, the more it’ll cost you… normally. There are always exceptions to the rule when you know where to look, and you can actually grab some great deals on mid-range laptops that give you beefy stats and performance for a cut-price cost. These laptops aren’t even last-gen or outdated - you can still get something relevant for your hard-earned cash.

Best laptops under £1,000 at a glance:

• Apple MacBook Air 2020 - View at Amazon
• Honor Magic Book 15 - [View at Amazon]{href='https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUAWEI-Matebook-Windows-Intel-Laptop/dp/B09M8K4RYQ/?tag=wtbarticle299-21' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow'}
• Acer Aspire 5 A515-56 - [View at Amazon]{href='https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-A515-56-15-6-Laptop/dp/B09LR7VW84/?tag=wtbarticle299-21' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow'}
• HP Pavilion x360 2-in-1 - View at Amazon

Shop laptop deals on : Amazon | John Lewis | Currys | AO | Laptops Direct

If a laptop doesn't quite take your fancy, seems far too bulky, or just isn't your style, you might just be interested in our picks for the best tablets for students. Of course, if £1,000 is too much, you can always check out our best budget laptops to get you on the ladder without destroying your finances.

We’ve searched the internet to find the best laptops for under £1,000 that don’t know the meaning of compromise. Among our favourites, you’ll find plenty of RAM and meaty processors, allowing you to run image editing apps such as Photoshop, and even pull out some gaming. For gaming dominance, you might just need a little more throttle on your side, here are the best laptops for gaming for top-tier performance. Our round-up of the best laptops under £1,000 has some brilliant prices, check out our top picks below:

The best laptops under £1,000 in detail:

Please note: All prices correct at time of writing. Prices, stock and deals subject to change without notice.

How much RAM do I need?

Here's a rundown of what you can expect to get for your RAM:

2GB - At the lowest end, you'll only really find 2GB in tablets, which is fine for browsing the internet and video calling - though, not usually at the same time.

4GB - Seen on basic laptops and notebooks, it's good for daily computer use, word processing and browsing.

8GB - Most users will be happy with 8GB for their daily use, low-level gaming needs and even some photo editing.

16GB - Suited to professionals and more demanding games.

32GB upwards - Made for hardcore gamers and video editors.

What graphics hardware do I need?

Most budget laptops come with a built-in graphics card which will perform well enough for general use, but laptops with GPUs like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 will give you a much smoother ride when it comes to gaming.

What's the difference between HDD and SSD?

Hard drive disks (HDD) write and read their memory on spinning disks with the help of an actuator arm, which moves across the platter. These platters are broken down into a series of tracks and sectors, and it is in these that data is stored and addressed.

Solid State Drives (SSD) write and read on flash memory, much like USB flash drives. Data is stored in grids and blocks, and though the process is more complicated than in HDD, the available space is used more efficiently thanks to a series of process that go on behind the scenes.

For more information on the intricacies of SSD storage, and why they're generally better than HDD, then check out our little guide on What is an SSD? SSDs explained

If we've convinced you to peruse the internet for a storage upgrade, might we recommend first checking out The best SSDs of the year? You won't regret it.

HDD is reliable, though they are large in size and rely on mechanical procedures to store, write and read memory. SSD is a newer technology, but as it uses no moving parts, is far quicker at data retrieval, is smaller in size and runs more efficiently. SSDs are very popular within the gaming community due to their rapid load times.

Screen resolution guide:

HD: 1280×720

Full HD: 1920×1080

Ultra HD/4K: 3840×2160

Kirk Schwarz is one of our resident tech experts. A tech-addicted photographer with more than a decade's experience, Kirk's used to putting new gear through extreme field testing.

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