Score Acer’s Aspire 14 AI touchscreen laptop with 16GB RAM for $400

For shoppers hunting for laptop deals, Acer’s eBay store has become a safe haven in a storm of rising prices. The company has been selling refurbished machines at incredible discounts for a while, and it’s one of the only reliable sources I’ve found this year. Take this deal, for example: a 14-inch touchscreen laptop with a Core Ultra 5, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD for just $399.99 (was $579.99).

That’s a fantastic discount on an already solid machine, as you can see from PCWorld’s review of this exact model. This Acer Aspire 14 AI has an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V CPU (very recent for a budget model) with great power, Arc graphics, and long battery life. 16GB of DDR5 RAM is as low as I would go for a new Windows 11 machine, and the 1TB storage is double what you usually find even at its $700 MSRP. The touchscreen is another big upgrade at this price.

The Aspire 14 AI isn’t much of a looker, but its power and versatility makes it an excellent all-rounder, with double USB-C, double USB-A, HDMI, and an IR camera for Windows Hello face unlock. I also like the metal chassis, another rarity at this price point. Even the battery life is impressive, lasting over 17 hours on a 4K drain (you can expect to get at least half that out of normal use with lots of browsing).

This is a fantastic deal if you’re looking for a laptop that’s easy to take with you and can handle just about everything for a normal user, up to and including some light PC gaming. It’s a refurbished model, but comes straight from the manufacturer Acer, and also gets a two-year Allstate warranty thanks to eBay’s certified refurbished program.

If you’re looking for something else, then check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops on the market.