Published Oct 25, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT

My love for computers started with a trusty Compaq back in 2005, and I haven't looked back since. This had me graduate into being an avid tinkerer, even if I end up soft-bricking stuff most of the time.

I do also love video games.

The MacBook Neo was a wake-up call for Windows laptop manufacturers , and showed that you really didn’t need to compromise on the core experiences to deliver a perfectly balanced machine for the vast majority of users.

And that kind of still holds true to this day. The MacBook Neo is still one of the best entry level laptops you can find right now, along with newer Windows alternatives such as the 2026 Dell XPS 13 .

And that's not even taking into account the used marketplace, which has amazing deals if you know where to look.…