If you don't need to run the latest games and you aren't after a notebook to be the heart of your home entertainment setup, then the Toshiba Satellite L300/L02 is a decent choice. It won't excite you with its specs, impress you with its size or wow you with its design, but it performs well enough at basic tasks and it's hard to go wrong at this price — especially once you take into account Toshiba's cash-back offer.

The Compaq Presario M2000 is a well-rounded home laptop for users who don't care about sleek looks.