Looking for a cheap laptop for son for under $600-ish, no gaming, no fancy video editing.
Windows 10 or 11
15.6" display is fine

What are the more reliable brands these days?

Is Dell reliable?
Lenovo?

I've been in IT forever but I'm not up on the latest and greatest laptops. Back in the day I preferred Dell. Now using a Lenovo but not impressed.

https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/best-budget-laptop-under-500/

if you don't need a lot of storage space, MS Surface Laptop Go is a pretty good deal right now.

This is a lot of horsepower for ~$600

https://slickdeals.net/f/15768667-hp-pavilion-laptop-i7-1195g7-16gb-ram-512gb-ssd-15-6-ips-screen-617-49-free-shipping

If you don't need something immediately, keep your eyes peeled on Slickdeals.

LeftyAg89 said:

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Looking for a cheap laptop for son for under $600-ish, no gaming, no fancy video editing.
Windows 10 or 11
15.6" display is fine

What are the more reliable brands these days?

Is Dell reliable?
Lenovo?

I've been in IT forever but I'm not up on the latest and greatest laptops. Back in the day I preferred Dell. Now using a Lenovo but not impressed.

---

Should cover everything needed and be future proof for a long while. Running Zen 3 5500U 6 core integrated gfx chip. Can easily add more storage later on if he needs it by adding another M.2 stick. You'll need to get him office if you don't have a license for it yet to port over from an older laptop. Student edition 2019ish is around $40 off ebay.
https://www.amazon.com/HP-15-6-Ryzen-Spruce-Blue/dp/B09MZ2RXSS


Edit: The HP posted above is a nice deal for the specs.