Finding Yourself The Perfect Cheap Laptop
Laptops can be expensive. Very, very, very expensive in some cases. You can spend several thousand dollars on a high-spec laptop. The question is do you really need to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars/pounds/euro on a cutting edge laptop?
Ask yourself the most important question that any potential computer buyer can ask themselves - "What do I actually need the laptop to do?". Don't just mentaly ask yourself this. Get a piece of paper and write down your intended uses for your new toy.
Now look at your actual needs for the laptop itself. Do they really require that you spend an absolute fortune or would a cheap or budget laptop much better suit your needs? Realistically an entry level laptop will much better suit your budget and your requirements - basic word-processing, Internet access and being able to play movies and games on it right? That doesn't mean that you need to leave yourself short in terms of power and features however. Far from it.
When laptops were first available they were extremely expensive for even the most basic model (the same is true of most electronic devices). As time and technology marched forwards laptops became cheaper and more powerful in the way that all computer equipment does. What would once have cost $5,000 to buy can now be purchased for $500 or less.
Do Name Brands Have Cheap Models?
Does buying cheap mean that you can't buy brand names like HP, Dell and IBM? Not at all. These manufacturers are savvy enough to know that not everyone needs their latest and great $3,000 super laptop. They realized long ago that there's a massive market for the $500 or less laptop that offers adequate features and performance for the home user and especially for the massive market of laptops for college students. Basically it'd be commercial suicide for these big companies not to produce laptops that almost everyone could afford.
If you find that your budget still won't allow you to spend around the $500 mark then you do have other options. Where? eBay of course! I needed an "emergency" laptop recently and just didn't want to spend cash on a new one. 7 days later I was the proud owner of an IBM laptop that I got on eBay for under $200! That was a year ago and that laptop is still doing the same job I bought it for today. eBay makes it spossible for anyone with a limited budget to find the perfect laptop for them.
Do yourself a favor before you rush out to buy your new cheap laptop. Write down your requirements and a list of features that the laptop must have. Always get as much hard disk drive capacity and RAM as you can afford - also make sure that you can expand the laptops RAM later on. Processor speed won't really matter unless you're playing the latest 3D supergames. Do you want to be able to play movies on it? Does it have a USB port (more than one ideally), does it have an integrated modem and/or LAN connectivity? What softare comes with the laptop? How long is the warranty and what exactly does it cover? You get the general idea here. Be very clear about what you need your laptop to do for you and be very wary of laptop salespeople. Stick to your guns and buy what's best for you.