Finding an affordable laptop that can actually handle Windows these days isn’t easy, especially if your definition of “affordable” dips down below the $500 mark. But today, Acer is offering a refurbished model—by way of eBay—with an Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM for just $393.99. That’s over $300 off its retail price!
The Acer Aspire Vero is pretty typical for a budget-to-mid-range design, omitting such niceties as a touchscreen or a face-scanning webcam. But with a 13th-gen 10-core Intel processor, 16GB of DDR5 RAM (the minimum I would recommend for Windows 11), and 512GB of storage, it’s got more than enough juice to power through standard student and office tasks. You can upgrade that RAM and storage fairly easily, by the way, which is great to see. With integrated Iris Xe graphics, it can handle some light gaming, too, but don’t throw anything Randy Pitchford made at it.
While 15.6 inches for the 1080p screen is on the larger side, that extra space means you have room for plenty of ports, including double USB-C, double USB-A, and full-sized HDMI (handy for using the TV in a hotel room). It also has a full-sized keyboard with a number pad and a fingerprint reader. But I think the most appealing thing about this thing is the color—the recycled plastic shell comes in a speckled dark green that looks really distinctive for a budget design. The 50-watt-hour battery should last through a cross-country flight, though probably not a full 12-hour day of work and doomscrolling.
Acer is selling this Aspire Vero as refurbished from the factory, which means a nearly-new condition verified by techs who know what they’re doing. The two-year warranty period is great… the fact that it’s serviced by Allstate, less so. Hey, it beats the 90 days you usually get with a refurb.
You can take an extra five bucks off the $398.99 price with coupon code YUSFSIB7D68DY7CM at checkout, and UPS shipping should be free anywhere in the continental US. Don’t sleep on this one if you’ve been waiting for a great deal on a budget design! If it’s not quite what you’re looking for, then check out PCWorld’s picks for the best laptops.
Get an Acer Aspire Vero laptop with Core i7 power for under $400