core Laptop-Core i5, Gaming-Laptop Up to 3.60GHZ, Review

So, you're looking at a laptop that calls itself a 'Gaming Laptop' with an AMD 1200 CPU and Intel UHD Graphics. Let's be real upfront: this isn't a gaming laptop. At all. What you're actually getting for around $310 is a basic Windows 11 Pro machine with a surprising 24GB of DDR3 RAM and a 512GB SSD. It's a 15.3-inch laptop with a 1920x1200 screen, and it weighs about 4.7 pounds. If you're a student or someone who just needs a computer for web browsing, documents, and maybe some light video streaming, this might be on your radar because of the low price and high RAM amount. But you have to know what you're getting into.

Performance is where this laptop's identity crisis becomes painfully clear. That AMD 1200 is a very old, 2-core CPU from 2017. Its performance lands in the 1st percentile, which means it's slower than 99% of other laptops we track. For basic tasks, it'll be okay, but don't expect any speed. The Intel UHD integrated graphics are also not meant for gaming, scoring in the 42nd percentile. You can forget about modern games. The 24GB of DDR3 RAM is its one standout spec (60th percentile), which is great for having 50 browser tabs open, but the ancient CPU will bottleneck you long before you use all that RAM. The 512GB SSD (34th percentile) is decent for storage, but its speed is nothing special.

At $310, the value proposition is tricky. On paper, 24GB RAM and a 512GB SSD for that price seems like a steal. But the core components—the CPU and GPU—are so outdated and weak that they undermine everything else. You're paying for quantity of RAM, not quality of experience. For a similar budget, you'd almost always be better off finding a used or refurbished business laptop from a few years ago with a more modern Intel Core i5 or i7, even if it has less RAM. Those will feel much faster and more reliable for daily tasks.

Let's name names. Compared to anything modern, this laptop is in a different, slower universe. The Apple MacBook Pro or ASUS Zenbook Duo are in another league entirely and not fair comparisons. But even against other budget options, it struggles. A used Lenovo ThinkPad with an 8th Gen Intel Core i5 would destroy this in CPU performance and feel more solid. If you absolutely need new and cheap, some entry-level Chromebooks or laptops with newer AMD Athlon or Intel Celeron chips might offer similar basic performance but with better reliability and modern connectivity. For any gaming, the MSI Vector or Gigabyte AORUS laptops are what you actually need, but they cost many times more.

Should you buy this? Only in one very specific scenario: if your absolute top priority is having a massive amount of RAM for under $350, and you are fully aware that every other part of the computer will feel slow and dated. For 99% of people, especially students or anyone asking 'is this good for basic use?', the answer is no. The terrible CPU and abysmal reliability score are huge red flags. This isn't a good entertainment or student laptop either, despite what its scores say. It's a budget parts bin special that looks better on a spec sheet than it will feel on your desk. Spend a little more time looking for a used business laptop instead.