Some Walmart.com laptops under $300 (on sale, MSRP may be higher), w/128GB or larger SSDs, no Chromebooks

[VirtualLarry]

https://www.walmart.com/search/?cat_id=0&facet=retailer:Walmart.com||special_offers:Clearance||special_offers:New||special_offers:Rollback||special_offers:Only+at+Walmart&query=laptop+128GB&sort=price_low#searchProductResult

I hope that link comes out OK. If not, I can post individual laptop links. There's like 4-5 of them.

$209
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-i...te-Drive-Windows-10-Grey-81MV00FGUS/952957685

$279
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-D...-8145U-128GB-S340-15-6-Grey-Core-10/411757560

$259
https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-14-Sl...4GB-128GB-SSD-Pale-Gold-14-dk0024wm/574465857

I just bought that last one today, in Silver color, at my local store.
Now, I'm noticing that I perhaps confused the specs of some of these other laptops that I was looking at, and Walmart's web site say that the last one, has 4GB of RAM, with a "Max 4GB of RAM". Meaning, possibly, that the RAM is soldered. Also, 1366x768. But it's at least a Ryzen 2C/4T. Certainly a bit speedier than my Bay Trail Atom laptops.
Edit: IMHO, don't buy this one, get a Lenovo instead. The trackpad is spazzy with two fingers on this HP. (It does support two-finger scrolling.) Windows 10 "S Mode" is a PITA and an abomination. (performance IS good, with the Ryzen 3 3200U, and battery life is acceptable to me.)
https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...m-as-we-know-it-update-my-experience.2557298/
https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/radeon™-software-adrenalin-2019-edition-19-7-3.2568017/

There's a $249-$259 variant of the $209 Intel Celeron (big-core Celeron) laptop, with a Pentium Gold 5040U or something like that, it was a bit more expensive, but it was 2C/4T and 2.30Ghz, rather than 2C/2T 1.80Ghz (According to ARK). I think that one was in stock in my local store as well. Possibly should have chosen that one, if it had more RAM.

This one:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-i...te-Drive-Windows-10-Grey-81MU007NUS/658235074

Says 4GB RAM / 8GB Max.


Edit: Some runner-ups:
$319
https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-15-La...28GB-SSD-Natural-Silver-15-dw0034wm/317433183
$239, only 64GB eMMC, 2-in-1
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-F...rive-Office-365-1-Year-Subscription/682311408


I'll say this, the Ryzen 3 3200U with 128GB M.2 SSD (turns out it's a Samsung 540MB/s / 500MB/s SATA M.2), performs SOOO much better than your average Intel Atom-based 5400RPM HDD system, it's like night and day for a "normie" laptop.

So, hopefully these entry-level laptops with 128GB SSDs are useful for someone, maybe as back-to-school dorm fodder. (Though most of them lack the CPU chops for gaming or advanced engineering programs, and you would be better off spending $1000-$1200 on an Asus or MSI gaming laptop.)

Edit: I have no idea if a 2.6Ghz Ryzen 2C/4T APU with Vega 3 graphics can play Overwatch, Fortnte, or Apex Legends. Maybe at the native Res. of 768P, on low/maybe Med.?

I am using the newest Adrenaline 19.7.3 drivers, and VSR, to get a 2560x1440 desktop res on mine.

 

[VirtualLarry]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-i...Abyss-Blue-81N800H1US/335796482?selected=true

here's a Lenovo with an i3-8145U, 8GB of DDR4, and a 128GB SSD for $289. Hurry! The silver color model is already back to $389.

 

[VirtualLarry]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-14-Sl...4GB-128GB-SSD-Pale-Gold-14-dk0024wm/574465857

This is the one I purchased. WM's site lists "Max RAM: 4GB". This is INCORRECT, there are two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots, for a total of 32GB Max RAM (according to Crucial.com).

Heartened by that, I did a disassembly of mine, and upgraded it to 2x8GB DDR4-2400. Note that although Crucials site lists SATA as well as M.2 SSDs (in both SATA as well as PCI-E NVMe flavor), my laptop had a bay for a SATA 2.5" SSD, but no cable or connector to attach one.

Anyways, the disassembly is straightforward, the bottom silver part is just an outer shell, and comes off. HOWEVER, the two screws visible on the bottom, are not the only ones. YOU NEED TO REMOVE THE TWO RUBBER anti-skid strips on the bottom, THERE ARE SCREWS HIDDEN UNDER BOTH OF THEM.

Once all of the screws are out, use an old credit/gift card, to work your way around the edges and separate the plastic parts snapping the shell on.

The two SO-DIMM slots are on the bottom (visible) side of the mobo, you do not have to remove the keyboard.

Note to those of you installing a new M.2 wifi, there's only one antenna cable, and the factory card only has one connector for an antenna.

 

[daveybrat]

Not bad for the price!

I also like this Acer laptop at Amazon for $309.00:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07RF1XD36/ref=psdc_13896615011_t1_B07RJ687N3

It's just like that HP but with a FullHD 1080P IPS panel, slightly better wifi, NVMe SSD, and a backlit keyboard too.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Aww geez, why didn't you post that last week.

I really wanted a 1080P screen and a Ryzen APU, under $300.

Maybe I can get that one too, next month. Do you know if that one has two SO-DIMM slots?

My only beef with Acer, is that their consumer laptops are a POS and fall apart. At least the two budget models that I've purchased thus far. (I do have a cloudbook with Linux installed that's holding on, but I did have an obscure keyboard problem with it.)

Can be RAM upgraded ??

Answer:

Yes, to 32GB total using two slots. The memory slots are on the mainboard and not considered user accessible. The bottom case assembly must be removed to get to the slots, but if you feel comfortable doing so, it can be done.
By Acer America Manufacturer on July 5, 2019

• 3
  votes

Question:

is there a charger?

Answer:

Yes, comes with wall charger
By Y. R. Wu on July 10, 2019
See more answers (3)

• 3
  votes

Question:

What type of ssd is in this laptop nvme or sata?

Answer:

NVMe with an m.2 connection. There is an empty slot for a 2.5" SATA drive and the computer comes with all necessary parts to install a spare drive.
By Sidd Finch on July 19, 2019
See more answers (1)

• 1
  vote

Question:

Can the computer be switched out of s mode

Answer:

Yes at no charge
By Ram on July 19, 2019
See more answers (1)

 

[VirtualLarry]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-D...B-S340-81N800H4US-15-6-Grey-Core-10/485830524

Here's an i5-8265U, 4C/8T, 3.90Ghz turbo (1.60Ghz base), 8GB / 128GB SSD, Lenovo S340 IdeaPad, for $369.

I think that if you compare prices at Staples, BestBuy, or Newegg, this laptop is actually a fairly good deal. (WM claims MSRP is $489 or so.)

 

[MisterE]

Larry, you probably already know but you can convert Windows 10 "S Mode" to regular Windows 10 easily and for free. Do a web search for info.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Larry, you probably already know but you can convert Windows 10 "S Mode" to regular Windows 10 easily and for free. Do a web search for info.

"Free", inasmuch as you need to provide Microsoft with an MS ID, and an e-mail address to do so. So much for privacy.

Edit: Even a fresh re-format with a USB Win10 installer, created with newest MS MCT, still didn't get rid of "S Mode". Had to run their MS Store App, probably changes a signature in the BIOS.

Edit: Unless you know of another way. Like downloading (side-loading) the Store App that converts Windows out of "S Mode", onto your PC directly, and not giving up your privacy to MS.

 

[MisterE]

I don't know, you've probably already given up a lot of privacy by using Win 10 in the first place. I currently only have Windows 10 loaded on 2 computers at my house (a tablet and on my Kodi entertainment center PC), and I'm probably going to install Windows 8.1 Pro on my main PC so that I'll have around 3 more years of updates. Gah my computer is ancient, AMD 960T AM3.

 

[Torn Mind]

Aww geez, why didn't you post that last week.

I really wanted a 1080P screen and a Ryzen APU, under $300.

Maybe I can get that one too, next month. Do you know if that one has two SO-DIMM slots?

My only beef with Acer, is that their consumer laptops are a POS and fall apart. At least the two budget models that I've purchased thus far. (I do have a cloudbook with Linux installed that's holding on, but I did have an obscure keyboard problem with it.)

Yep, I swore never to buy an Acer after one magically DIED after opening it up(It was someone else's netbook). Now, maybe not removing the battery may have done something, but talk about being made of glass.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The $209 laptop, is now $199, and Platinum Grey is SOLD OUT, Onyx Black and Abyss Blue are still available. (Save one for me???)

When some companies (HP, I'm looking at you) are still selling Atom-based (N4000 dual-core, anyone), laptops, with 1TB HDDs, or worse, 32GB eMMC, for like $319, a decent big-core Celeron laptop, for under $200, with a REAL 128GB SSD in it, is a breath of fresh air for this market. (And a pretty smoking deal, if I do say so myself.)

Pretty sure that this has hit SD, and there's ebay scalpers about, at this point. Btw, there was an ebay seller with these units for $199.99 too, I think.

 

[VirtualLarry]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-D...B-S340-81N800H4US-15-6-Grey-Core-10/485830524

Here's an i5-8265U, 4C/8T, 3.90Ghz turbo (1.60Ghz base), 8GB / 128GB SSD, Lenovo S340 IdeaPad, for $369.

I think that if you compare prices at Staples, BestBuy, or Newegg, this laptop is actually a fairly good deal. (WM claims MSRP is $489 or so.)

Here's another one, an HP 15.6" i5-8265U with 8GB and 256GB, for $419.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-15-La...8GB-256GB-SSD-Pale-Gold-15-dw0052wm/850482093

Edit: Also, FWIW, my HP 14"Slim with the Ryzen R3 3200U, came with a nice 128GB Samsung SSD installed, whereas the Lenovo IdeaPad S145 15.6" 4205U laptop came with a generic chinese SATA M.2 from Ramxcel. It doesn't seem quite as snappy as the Samsung, though I haven't actually benched it yet. (Samsung was 540MB/500MB / sec read/write.)

Edit: And another one pops up, an HP, with a FHD 1080P screen (finally) and a back-lit keyboard. Sadly, it's $499.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Pavil...it-Keyboard-Misty-Mauve-14-ce1056wm/629100231

And yet another one, i3, 8GB, 128GB SSD, 1080P FHD screen, $419:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Pavil...DRAM-Fingerprint-reader-13-an0031wm/468944420

 

[VirtualLarry]

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo...granite-black-texture/6323665.p?skuId=6323665

Here's the Lenovo S145 15.6" with the Pentium Gold CPU (2C/4T), for $219 at BestBuy. However, this one comes with a 500GB HDD, so you would need to add a (M.2?) SSD.

Edit: Freaking nevermind about that one - "S Mode".

 

[Lanyap]

I don't know, you've probably already given up a lot of privacy by using Win 10 in the first place. I currently only have Windows 10 loaded on 2 computers at my house (a tablet and on my Kodi entertainment center PC), and I'm probably going to install Windows 8.1 Pro on my main PC so that I'll have around 3 more years of updates. Gah my computer is ancient, AMD 960T AM3.

MisterE! My long lost andara brother. I'm still running my andara with your BIOS mod. (j/k) Those were the good old days. Good to see man.


Back to our regularly scheduled programming...
I'm looking at the following two as a backup for my daughter for college. She has a Dell Inspiron 5378 but it's at Dell for repairs (failed cooling fan and SSD.)

HP 14 Slim Laptop, 14" HD Display, Ryzen 3 3200U, AMD Radeon™ Vega 3 Graphics, 4GB, 128GB SSD, Pale Gold, 14-dk0024wm

Lenovo ideapad S145 14.0" Laptop, Intel Pentium Gold 5405U Dual-Core Processor, 4GB Memory, 128GB Solid State Drive, Windows 10 - Grey - 81MU007NUS

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm looking at the following two as a backup for my daughter for college. She has a Dell Inspiron 5378 but it's at Dell for repairs (failed cooling fan and SSD.)

HP 14 Slim Laptop, 14" HD Display, Ryzen 3 3200U, AMD Radeon™ Vega 3 Graphics, 4GB, 128GB SSD, Pale Gold, 14-dk0024wm

Lenovo ideapad S145 14.0" Laptop, Intel Pentium Gold 5405U Dual-Core Processor, 4GB Memory, 128GB Solid State Drive, Windows 10 - Grey - 81MU007NUS

Well, I have the first one (in silver, but they should be the same, aside from color of exterior shell), and RAM was fairly easy to install on that machine, once you managed to get to the screws under the two rubber non-skid strips. Unfortunately, I wasn't delicate, and actually just ripped both of mine off, which really makes it look a bit like crap, cosmetically, so your daughter may not want that.
But the RAM was one 4GB DDR4 SO-DIMM, there are two slots.

The Lenovo, I'm not so sure about. It seems that one that one, 4GB is soldered on, and there may be one additional DDR4 SO-DIMM slot.

Either would probably be generally OK without upgrading the RAM, but I'm a power user, and the Ryzen 3 3200U laptop with 16GB of DDR4 is pretty potent.

I should note that I also own the Lenovo S145 15.6" laptop, the one with the 4205U CPU, and 4GB of RAM. I have not tried upgrading the RAM. It came mostly bloat-free, and did not come with the horrible "S Mode" that the HP comes with, that you have to go through a whole rig-a-ma-role to get out of and get to "regular" Windows land.

 

[VirtualLarry]

[WireCutter (NYT)] Best back-to-school laptops under $500 that aren't junk.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/...-that-isnt-junk.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab

I agree with one of their premises for Windows laptops, look for an SSD, and partially agree with one of their other ones, look for 8GB of RAM if you can, rather than 4GB, or your laptop will get sluggish after 10 tabs in a web browser (mostly true). But I disagree that one "needs" to get an i3 or i5 CPU. I personally find, with an ad-blocker, that a Celeron or Pentium (Gold) is just as good, for "basic" tasks and web browsing.

But as I've linked in this thread (confusing as though it may be), there are Celeron, Pentium Gold, Ryzen 3 3200U, i3-8145U and i5-8265U laptops, all with SSDs (important!), with 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and all under $500. (Most under $300, the premise of this thread.)

So, honestly, I like my list of laptops available at Walmart more than their (sparse) list in the above article.

And I am thoroughly enjoying both my HP 14" Slim Ryzen 3 3200U in Silver (upgraded from 4GB DDR4 to 16GB), and my Lenovo S145 15.6" with Intel Celeron 4205U and 4GB of RAM. (A little light on the RAM, but surprisingly, it doesn't seem to use as much as the Ryzen, either.)

So, yeah, SSD is key, 8GB is preferable to 4GB, and an i3 and i5 are nice to have, but they really drive up the prices.

The only real downside to most of these Walmart laptops, is that they all are 1366x768 screens, which is kind of like the screen resolution of yesteryear. They do have a 1080P one, that I think that I linked last, with an i3 or i5, but that one is ~$500. Still, might be an option for some.

And the HP 14" Ryzen 3 3200U laptop, if you install AMD Adrenaline 19.7.3 drivers (or newer?), and then go into "Radeon Settings", "Display", and enable "VSR" / "Virtual Super Resolution", then right click on the Desktop, open Display Properties, then select a resolution of 2560x1440, save and exit, BOOM! You've got a "virtual" 1440P screen resolution for Windows 10's desktop. It may not be the sharpest, due to basically (sort of, but not really) over-driving the screen res (actually, down-scaling), but IMHO, it is usable.

Also, two-finger scrolling on the HP 14" Slim Ryzen laptop, glitches out on me too much IMHO, and makes it semi-unusable, whereas the two-finger scrolling on the Lenovo IdeaPad S145 is much more well-behaved.

Edit: Now that I remember, it seems a pretty huge glaring omission in that NYT/WireCutter article, NOT to mention Windows 10 "S Mode" laptops, and the associated benefits (?), and issues with them. How they are basically akin to ChromeBooks, in premise, as far as the "App store security model" goes.

 

[MisterE]

MisterE! My long lost andara brother. I'm still running my andara with your BIOS mod. (j/k) Those were the good old days. Good to see man.


Back to our regularly scheduled programming...
I'm looking at the following two as a backup for my daughter for college. She has a Dell Inspiron 5378 but it's at Dell for repairs (failed cooling fan and SSD.)

HP 14 Slim Laptop, 14" HD Display, Ryzen 3 3200U, AMD Radeon™ Vega 3 Graphics, 4GB, 128GB SSD, Pale Gold, 14-dk0024wm

Lenovo ideapad S145 14.0" Laptop, Intel Pentium Gold 5405U Dual-Core Processor, 4GB Memory, 128GB Solid State Drive, Windows 10 - Grey - 81MU007NUS

Haha, nice to see that you are still around. I haven't really done a lot of IT / technology related stuff for a while, 3 years ago I resigned from my Network Admin job and bought a food truck! I sell stuffed baked potatoes and nachos for a living.

 

[whm1974]

Haha, nice to see that you are still around. I haven't really done a lot of IT / technology related stuff for a while, 3 years ago I resigned from my Network Admin job and bought a food truck! I sell stuffed baked potatoes and nachos for a living.

So are you happier running a food truck business instead of your previous job?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Haha, nice to see that you are still around. I haven't really done a lot of IT / technology related stuff for a while, 3 years ago I resigned from my Network Admin job and bought a food truck! I sell stuffed baked potatoes and nachos for a living.

LOL. AWESOME! Shades of 'Office Space' (the ending).

 

[VirtualLarry]

Hey, just a heads-up. Walmart has a tax-free weekend sale in MA on 8/17-8/18. Currently, the Celeron laptop is $199. Plus no tax, that's fairly sweet. It's a solid laptop.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, sadly, the tax-free weekend in MA is OVER, but check Walmart's site, many other States are having tax-free weekends as well!

And we have another 128GB SSD laptop, this one an Acer with an AMD A9-9420e.

That's an Excavator core, dual-core/single-module, personally NOT recommended, but this is the 94xx series, and not the really underpowered 9220e that I bought in a $120 Dell laptop from Staples, so you MIGHT be alright on the CPU. I would still personally prefer the $199 Lenovo IdeaPad S145 15.6" with Intel Celeron 4205U (in four delicious colors).

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-Asp...GB-SSD-Windows-10-Home-A314-21-91V1/850785996
$209

Enjoy! Sorry for the mess that this thread has become, I've just been adding notable laptops (budget, most with SSDs, when I find them or see them added to Walmart stock). The only rule is no third-party sellers, ESPECIALLY no "vipoutlet". Only Walmart.com, or in-stock at the local store, which some of these are.

Here's a Samsung, NOT a Chromebook! (That I can tell.) Intel Pentium Silver N5000 (Atom-family) quad-core SoC/CPU, 64GB eMMC (not ideal, but better than a 32GB eMMC, for Windows 10 upgrades.)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/SAMSUNG-...4-64GB-eMMc-Charcoal-NP530XBB-K02US/484093945
$249

Another non-SSD runner-up, an HP with an Intel i3, 4GB RAM, and a 1TB HDD (should, in theory, be upgradeable to a decent SATA SSD):
https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-15-La...Silver-15-bs031wm/613105204?athcpid=613105204
$259