This HP laptop with Ryzen power and 16GB of RAM is just $499
The budget is a relative and very personal term, which sometimes gives rise to abuse. If you only have $500 to spend on a laptop, then anything over $500 is not “budget” for you. Which can be a real headache if you’re looking for something with enough power to run Windows 11 smoothly. This HP laptop fits the bill, thanks to a Ryzen processor and plenty of RAM for just $499 at Walmart.
The Omnibook 5 16 is a pretty basic design, and with that 16-inch, 1920×1200 screen, it’s larger than most laptops on the market (but not too heavy at just under four pounds, 1.8 kilograms). But the value here is in the specs. It has 16GB of DDR5 RAM, which is the minimum I would currently recommend for a Windows laptop, and 512GB of storage. The biggest draw might be the Ryzen AI 7 350 processor, an 8-core chip with integrated Radeon 860M graphics. It’s not going to beat a gaming laptop, but it’s more than enough for a little gaming Fortnite during downtime.
Other highlights include a full-size backlit keyboard, a large speaker above said keyboard, and plenty of ports (dual USB-C, dual USB-A, and full-size HDMI) and a face-scanning camera for Windows Hello sign-in. HP claims “up to 14 hours and 45 minutes” of battery life, which is pretty mediocre compared to the competition (and I wouldn’t count on more than 7-8 hours if you’re browsing the web). It also lacks a touchscreen, which could be a plus or minus for you.
Walmart even sells it for $499, almost half of its listed retail price. Alternatively, HP offers a nearly identical version of this laptop with an Intel Core 5 120U processor instead of AMD for almost exactly the same price, $499.99. Personally, I’d go with AMD, as it’s a newer processor with slightly better benchmarks and considerably better integrated graphics, but hey, Intel fans are one thing! If neither appeals to you, check out PCWorld’s selection of the best laptops on the market.
