Top 3 Fan-less Budget Laptops Of 2017 (Intel Apollo Lake)

Out of all the Celeron N3450 laptops, I’ve looked at these 3 here are my top picks. These laptops share the same chipset the Intel Celeron N3450 Apollo Lake, Intel wireless AC, full metal builds and are completely silent as they are passively cooled. They all have SSD hatches on them for quick and easy installation of a 2242 SATA3 SSD and their bios has unlocked power limits settings. All of these laptops have mini HDMI out, 2 x USB 3.0 ports and microSD readers. They also all run off D/C 12V 2-3A charging and a 3mm round tip with positive in the middle. Quick summary video below.

1. Jumper EZBook 3 Pro V4 (13.3″)

This laptop sells for around $219, and for the money you get a lot, an anti-glare 1080p IPS, 6GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 64GB eMMC storage + M.2 eMMC slot & wireless AC. Bios limits are unlocked on some models. But if not you can unlock it via the software method.

Pros:

• The cheapest of the three
• Matte IPS 1080p screen
• Thin and light metal build
• Precision touchpad
• Wireless AC 3165
• The only model that can take a larger 2260 or 2280 sized SSD with some minor mods.
• Up to 8-hour battery life

Cons:

• Screen is cool white (Fixable with some calibration to a degree)
• Random eMMC’s used either slow FORSEE or fast Sandisk eMMC 5.1 spec drivers (hardware lottery)
• Slow to ship out, Jumper’s factory is apparently struggling to meet the demand of this laptop.

Best price: $219 here at Gearbest with coupon: BOOKPRO

2. Chuwi Lapbook 12.3

By far the best screen you’ll find on any budget laptop period. This notebook has the Surface Pro (2017) and Surface Pro 4 screen in it with a matte anti-glare coating. It’s got a super sharp 2736×1824 resolution at 267 PPI and the best sRGB and RGB coverage of any of the screens. The laptop has the best keyboard of the 3, but the touchpad isn’t a precision one. If you must have the best screen then it’s worth the extra cost over the EZBook 3 Pro.

Pros:

• Amazing top tier Surface Pro  screen (Exact same hardware)
• The best keyboard of the 3
• 64GB eMMC 5.1 drives (Sandisk normally)
• M.2 SSD slot (1 screw 22mm x 42mm sized bay)
• Latest bios update fixes brightness issue and opens up the power limit setting.

Cons:

• Ugly large bezels due to 3:2 aspect ratio screen
• Touchpad isn’t a precision one.
• Tin heatsink and not copper (Watch thermals if you plan to use a higher or  no power limit)
• Upside down USB 3 ports.
• That great screen comes at the cost of approximately 1 hours battery life.

Best price: $278 here at Gearbest with coupon GBTPC28

3. Chuwi Lapbook Air (14.1″)

The highest spec for the three and the latest entry in Chuwi’s Apollo Lake laptop line up is the fastest Apollo Laketop I’ve used, with 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 128GB eMMC 5.1 Sandisk drive. The screen is a glass coated fully laminated one and the second best screen I’ve seen on an Apollo Lake laptop behind the Lapbook 12.3’s Surface Pro screen. The keyboard is backlit, also a fist for a Celeron N3450 Chinese laptop and it’s also the lightest at 1.35 Kilos. The Lapbook 12.3 and EZbook 3 Pro are close to 1.4 kilos. The biggest con of the Lapbook Air is the price, it’s the most expensive of the three.

Pros:

• Backlit keyboard
• Fast 128GB 5.1 spec eMMC drive
• 8GB of LPDDR3 1333Mhz RAM with fast 12 -12 – 12 CAS timings (6GB models use slower 15 – 15 – 15 but at 1600Mhz)
• The smoothest and fastest N3450 laptop tested to date
• Large precision touchpad
• Second best Apollo Lake laptop screen seen to date. Very bright IPS with great colors and deep blacks.

Cons:

• Expensive for an Apollo Lake laptop. Add $100 more you have a much faster Core M3 Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 12.

Price: $379 here