Can I buy a fast and powerful work laptop for under £700?

Ivana is on a budget but still wants a new 13in machine that can handle tougher tasks than email and browsing

I left my corporate job a few months ago and now need to purchase a new laptop for my work. I am looking for a 13in laptop in the 500-700 range. I am not too picky about the aesthetics. What matters most is that it's fast and can handle more tasks than just email and browsing. What is my best bet? Ivana

This is an interesting question, partly because the mainstream PC market is broadly divided into two main groups. There are lots of low-end laptops aimed at consumers, and they usually cost around 250 to 500. (Yes, there are even cheaper systems.) Examples include the Lenovo Ideapad 110, Asus VivoBook, and lots of HP Pavilion and Dell Inspiron laptops. Most are relatively slow, but some are fast enough for your purposes.