'A Turtle in a shiny plastic shell': Bizarre $270 Amazon laptop pairs 16GB of RAM with a tech Stone Age CPU — so slow your smartphone's probably faster

A Naiklulu laptop
(Image credit: Naiklulu)

With back-to-school season approaching, parents may be hunting for budget-friendly laptop deals - but if you stumble across this Amazon listing from "Naiklulu," cross it off your list immediately.

While its $270 price tag (after a $50 coupon), 16GB of RAM, and 256GB SSD look like a steal, the device is the ultimate tech trap (or as Gemini described it, a "Turtle in a shiny plastic shell").

  • Terrible Battery Life: It pairs a tiny 38.5WHr battery with a massive 15.6-inch display. Expect to live plugged into a wall.
  • Outdated Architecture: The RAM is slow, power-hungry DDR3, and the storage is a sluggish SATA SSD.
  • Zero Future-Proofing: No USB Type-C, no Wi-Fi 6, and absolutely zero gaming capability due to the prehistoric Intel HD 515 integrated graphics.

The $270 alternative you should buy instead

HP  Laptop 17z-cp300.
Save 72% ($680)
HP Laptop 17z-cp300.: was $950 now $270 at HP US

While it "only" has 8GB of RAM, that is its only compromise. HP’s standard MSRP is $949.99, but using the checkout code PCGLOWUP25 drops the price to just $269.99 — a staggering 72% savings.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Side-by-Side: How They Stack Up

Feature

Naiklulu

HP 17z-cp300

Price

$270.00

$269.99 (with code)

CPU

Intel Core M3-6Y30 (2015)

AMD Ryzen 5 7430U (~10x faster)

OS Support

Unsupported (Security Risk)

Fully Windows 11 Compatible

Storage

256GB SATA SSD (Slow)

256GB PCIe NVMe SSD (Fast)

Screen Size

15.6-inch

17.3-inch (Massive canvas)

The HP's Ryzen 5 processor is roughly eight times faster than the Core M3, and its Radeon graphics completely outclass the Naiklulu's ancient Intel HD 515. The screen resolution on the HP is a bit lower, but the massive 17-inch display, modern architecture, and guaranteed Windows 11 security updates make it an absolute no-brainer.

Add in a bigger battery, faster Wi-Fi and HP tried-and-tested support network and you have a much, much better alternative. Do yourself a favour and get the 17z-cp300 if you are looking for a cheap laptop.

Desire Athow
Managing Editor, TechRadar Pro

Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website builders and web hosting when DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.

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