All up, the S430 is an inexpensive option for users who want to run simple tasks. Its performance was sluggish in our tests, and we found the keyboard to be a little hit-and-miss, but it's a suitable unit for browsing the Web and working on not-too-CPU-intensive office documents.

Although the Satellite A200 is a fairly good unit, its competitors often provide faster network connectivity at similar prices. For a healthy mix of cheap pricing, good size and plenty of hard drive space, the A200 is a solid choice.

For running office applications, and even for some light media encoding, this laptop is ideal. It's well-suited to home users who want a second computer, or even as a first computer for the kids.

The BenQ Joybook R45 balances attractive design and lots of features against weak speakers and palm rests with heat issues. What tips the scales in favour of this notebook is its low price.

The BenQ Joybook A53-PV09 is an underperforming entry-level notebook. This laptop suffers from usability issues and a scarcity of expansion ports.