Lenovo 300e 11.6", Celeron N4100, 4GB, 128GB eMMC, Black

The Lenovo 300e is a compact, durable 2-in-1 that's perfect for light classroom or kiosk use at just $109 USD. The Celeron N4100 and 4GB of RAM are the weakest we've seen, so don't expect much multitasking. The 11.6 inch touchscreen and convertible design are the real selling points here. Buy it for basic tasks and portability, not for performance.

Let's talk about that Celeron N4100. It's a 4-core chip that can hit 2.4GHz, which sounds okay on paper until you realize it's a low-power Celeron from 2017. In our database, this CPU sits at the very bottom of the rankings for laptops, which means even basic multitasking will feel sluggish. Opening a few browser tabs, a PDF, and a document at the same time is going to test its patience. The 4GB of DDR4 RAM doesn't help either, and it's ranked dead last in our RAM comparisons. Windows 10 Pro will run, but it'll be doing a lot of swapping to that eMMC storage.

Speaking of storage, the 128GB eMMC drive is another weak spot. eMMC is essentially the same tech you'd find in a cheap tablet or a budget phone, and it's dramatically slower than even a basic SATA SSD. Our storage ranking puts this in the bottom 5 percent. Boot times will be okay-ish, but app launches and file transfers will feel like wading through molasses. The Intel UHD Graphics 600 is integrated and sits in the lower third of our GPU rankings, so don't even think about gaming. The 42Wh battery is decent for a machine this size, but the overall performance profile means you'll be spending a lot of time waiting for things to load, which eats into that battery life in its own way.

When you stack the 300e against something like the Apple MacBook Pro Core i5 2.3GHz or the Dell Latitude 7430, the differences are night and day. Those machines have faster CPUs, more RAM, better displays, and proper SSDs. But they also cost several times more, even used. The MacBook Pro is a premium machine for creative work, and the Latitude 7430 is a business workhorse. The 300e is neither of those things, and it doesn't pretend to be.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 and HP EliteBook 845 G7 are also in a completely different league. The Surface Laptop 3 has a gorgeous high-res display and a much better keyboard, while the EliteBook 845 G7 offers solid performance and enterprise-grade build quality. The ASUS Vivobook X1404VA is probably the closest competitor in spirit, a budget-friendly laptop that still manages to outclass the 300e in most performance metrics. The trade-off is that none of these competitors are as compact or as cheap as the 300e. If portability and price are your top priorities, the Lenovo wins. If you need to actually get work done, look elsewhere.

At $109 USD, the value proposition here is pretty straightforward. You're getting a working Windows 10 Pro convertible with a touchscreen for less than what most people spend on a single night out. That's genuinely hard to beat if you need a basic machine for light tasks. The compactness ranking is off the charts, and the reliability score suggests this thing won't fall apart on you immediately.

But value isn't just about the sticker price. The eMMC storage and 4GB of RAM mean you'll be dealing with constant slowdowns, and the low-res display isn't doing your eyes any favors. If you can stretch your budget even a little, you'll find much better performance in the used market. Still, for a classroom device, a point-of-sale terminal, or a backup machine that lives in a drawer until you need it, this is a reasonable buy at this price.

The Lenovo 300e is one of those machines that makes a lot more sense when you stop thinking about it as a laptop and start thinking about it as a rugged little notebook for a very specific job. This is a 2-in-1 built for classrooms, kiosks, field work, or anyone who needs a cheap Windows touchscreen device that can take a beating. At 1.31kg with an 11.6 inch display, it's genuinely portable, and the convertible hinge means you can flip it into tent or tablet mode without much fuss.

What's interesting here is the price. At $109 USD for a used unit in very good condition, you're getting a Windows 10 Pro machine with a touchscreen and a 360-degree hinge for less than the cost of a decent dinner for two. That's the hook. This isn't a machine you buy for raw performance, it's a machine you buy because you need something cheap, durable, and functional for light tasks.

The catch is that the internals are about as entry-level as it gets. A Celeron N4100, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of eMMC storage put this firmly in the budget category. Our database ranks the CPU dead last among comparable laptops, and the RAM situation isn't much better. But for the right person, that might not matter at all. If you're running a browser, a word processor, or a single lightweight app, this thing will get you there. Just don't expect it to get you there quickly.

If you need to run anything beyond a web browser and a word processor, skip this. The Celeron N4100 and 4GB of RAM will choke on photo editing, video editing, or even heavy spreadsheet work. Business users who need to run multiple applications simultaneously should look at the Dell Latitude 7430 or HP EliteBook 845 G7 instead. Those machines cost more but will actually keep up with a workday.

Gamers should obviously look elsewhere, as should anyone who cares about display quality. The 1366x768 panel is dim and low-res, which makes it a poor choice for media consumption or design work. If you want a budget machine with a better screen, the ASUS Vivobook X1404VA is a better starting point. And if you're someone who gets frustrated by slow load times, the eMMC storage here will drive you up the wall. Save up for something with a proper SSD.

If you're a student or a teacher who needs a cheap, durable machine for taking notes, browsing the web, and running basic apps, the Lenovo 300e is a solid choice at $109 USD. The touchscreen and convertible design make it great for reading, annotating, and light creative work. The compact size means it'll fit in just about any bag, and the reliability scores suggest it can handle the bumps and drops that come with classroom life.

But if you're a professional who needs to run multiple applications, edit documents with large files, or do anything remotely demanding, this machine will frustrate you. The CPU and RAM limitations are severe, and the eMMC storage will make even simple tasks feel slow. For business users, the Dell Latitude 7430 or HP EliteBook 845 G7 are much better options, even if they cost more. The 300e is a niche machine, and it's great at that niche. Just don't expect it to punch above its weight.