If I Only Had $400 for a Work PC, Here’s What I’d Do

Summary

• A used business laptop at around $300 is the best solution if you’re on a tight budget.
• Use the leftover budget to get a monitor, stand, and mouse and keyboard to turn the laptop into a productive workstation.
• If you don’t need mobility, you can still get a used desktop or mini PC instead.

If you need a new work computer and have a tight budget of only $400, it might seem like an impossible task. However, if you know where and how to spend your money, you can build a surprisingly capable workstation setup. Here’s what I’d do with that budget.

It’s Best to Get a Used Laptop

While you could opt for a desktop computer, I think that a laptop is a significantly better starting point. For starters, a laptop is mobile and takes up less space, so you can easily bring the workstation with you and work on the go or from different rooms.

More importantly, a laptop is an all-in-one computer: on top of having all the essential computer parts, it also has a display, keyboard, trackpad, webcam, microphone, and potentially even a touchscreen. A Windows license is typically included as well, which, together with all the built-in peripherals, can save you quite a bit of money.

However, you can’t just buy any laptop and use it as your work PC for the next few years. It’s a very important decision, so it’s important to get the right one.

If you look at laptops under $400, you’ll unsurprisingly find that most units on sale aren’t exactly powerful or feature-packed; they’re okay student laptops and can handle basic web browsing and typing, but they tend to cut corners in critical areas that matter to professionals, such as ports, processing power, RAM, and storage space.

Instead, a much wiser choice is to opt for a used laptop. Large businesses that use Windows rather than Mac laptops tend to offload hundreds of business laptops at a time for a cheap price.

Whether you’re buying directly from a company or from a reseller, you can grab a refurbished three-year-old Lenovo ThinkPad, Dell Latitude, Acer TravelMate, or HP EliteBook for well under $400. Some places to check for used laptops include Amazon, Walmart, Newegg, Best Buy, eBay, and official refurbished outlets such as Dell Refurbished and HP Certified Refurbished Hardware.

While it’s not a rule, business laptops tend to have a stronger number and variety of ports, better performance, battery life, storage, and some other extra features, so you’re getting far better value for your money. Even though the hardware may be a few years old, a stronger processor, like a Ryzen 7 or Intel Core i7 (Core 7), will still outperform a cheaper budget unit, such as a Ryzen 3 or Intel Core i3 (Core 3).

For example, I bought a used Dell Latitude 5420 for around $330. The laptop has a very capable i7-1185G7 CPU, 16GB of RAM (which I upgraded to 32GB for $30; DDR4 prices have increased since), a touchscreen, and a healthy selection of ports, including Thunderbolt, HDMI, and Ethernet.

In terms of my everyday tasks, which involve having a web browser open with up to 10 tabs and doing some writing, the laptop holds its ground against my $1,200 gaming desktop PC. In fact, I can confidently say that I could use it every day for work without feeling like I’m missing out.

The 11th-gen i7 is a capable processor with Iris Xe graphics, so it can even run lighter games. This means you could use it for tasks that require light rendering, such as video and image editing, CAD, and simple 3D modeling.

Turn the Laptop Into a Budget Workstation

While a laptop can make for a decent work PC on its own, you’ll be even more productive if you turn it into a real workstation by using it as a desktop. Hopefully, you will have at least $50–$100 left over after the purchase, which is quite a bit of cash if you know what to do with it.

Assuming you already have a desk and chair, one of the best investments you can make is a secondary display. While not everyone needs a multi-monitor setup, many of us do, as the extra screen space can be used for things like browser tabs, ChatGPT, and spreadsheets. That’s why a cheap monitor should be one of your first purchases.

A basic 1080p display is all you need. If you want your workstation to stay mobile, you can get a portable monitor designed for use with laptops, such as this UFYQL 15.6-inch FHD unit. If you only need a secondary display at your desk, a proper desktop monitor, like the 22-inch Philips 221V8LB currently on sale for $70, works perfectly.

However, like with the laptop itself, you can save quite a bit by buying a used unit. It’s easy to find a $30 used office monitor on sites like Facebook Marketplace. Just make sure you have a way to connect it, whether via HDMI or a USB-C to DP adapter if the laptop’s port supports DP Alt Mode.

Assuming you got a laptop for $300 and a used monitor for $30–$50, that leaves us with another $50–$70 to get a bunch of other productivity goodies. A laptop stand is a no-brainer, as it raises the display to eye level. It makes the setup significantly more comfortable to use, but it also means you’ll need a mouse and keyboard.

Fortunately, these peripherals are affordable and can significantly boost your productivity. A cheap wireless mouse like the Logitech M185 is all you really need for work, and it’s much faster to use than any trackpad or touchpad. Alternatively, you could get the Logitech MK270 mouse and keyboard combo instead.

For me, the keyboard is the one thing I don’t mind splurging on. If you spend most of your workday typing, a good mechanical keyboard will be significantly more comfortable and enjoyable to use. I swear by my Epomaker Ajazz AK820 Pro, which is wireless, but if you don’t mind going wired and want to save a bit of money, the non-Pro version is almost as good and often on sale for $30–$40.

If you still have some money left in your budget, get a USB-C hub. At the very least, it’ll give you four additional USB-A ports for your newly acquired peripherals, USB thumb drives, and external SSDs. Thanks to the flexibility of USB-C, you can expand your I/O even further with a more advanced hub by adding HDMI, SD card readers, and more USB-C ports for data transfer and power delivery—all from a single port!

A Desktop PC Is Still Worth Considering If You Don’t Need Mobility

Although a used laptop is the best option if you need a PC for work and also want to be mobile, if you’re fine with a fully stationary setup, a desktop tower is a solid option as well. A desktop PC has its own distinct benefits: it can use full-size components (which are sometimes more powerful), has generally better cooling, and is easily upgraded.

Since I’m factoring in the costs of peripherals, let’s assume you only have around $250–$300 left for the desktop. That doesn’t sound like a lot of money, and while it frankly isn’t, it can still get you a decent system powered by an older AMD APU like the Ryzen 5 3400G or Intel Core i3 with UHD graphics, such as the Core i3-12100.

Getting a dedicated graphics card on this budget is unrealistic, though a $300 laptop won’t have one either. The good news is that AMD’s APUs have surprisingly capable integrated graphics.

To give you a rough idea of what the rest of your system could be, check out our $250 PC build from 2024.

Again, just like with laptops, getting a used desktop PC is worth considering, as you can often get a significantly better deal. However, buying used computers is a bit more challenging, since it requires some basic understanding of computer building. You’ll want to confirm and test all the parts inside the system to avoid getting scammed.

Another viable option is a mini PC, like the KAMRUI GK3Plus, which offers the portability and power of a laptop but has the peripheral requirements of a desktop.

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Even with a tight budget of $400, getting a capable PC for work is absolutely possible. My optimal setup would be a used business laptop for around $300, paired with a few essential peripherals like a monitor, a laptop stand, and a mouse and keyboard. This gives you the flexibility of a mobile setup along with all the benefits of a desktop workstation.