Inexpensive Laptops for Students
When it comes to buying laptops for college students a major restraint is the budget. The kind of computing work that a student would undertake on a laptop computer involves simple tasks, so the need for an advanced laptop is not that intense. If you are looking for cheap laptops as a students you should also consider the possibility of buying a refurbished laptop from the various sources that provide them, or even a much smaller (cheaper) netbook.
Laptop prices have slowly fallen over the last few years, and today you can get an excellent machine for as much as $500. The various top laptop brands 2011 have a wide range of choices to offer you at many different price levels, and all you need to do is pick the machine that suits you best.
If your kid is off to college soon, or if you are a college student yourself and are looking for good student laptops, then it is advisable to buy a budget laptop that performs most of the simple and basic tasks with ease. There is no need to spend a mini-fortune for a super impressive machine unless you absolutely need it for some purposes.
Best Cost-Effective Student Laptops
The very first thing that you should do is decide on a budget for yourself. Once you know how much money you are willing to spend on a laptop, you should look for the best possible deal. You can ask your friends and colleagues to see if anyone is selling a reasonably new laptop. You can go to a computer store and ask them to show you some refurbished models. The most important source though, is the Internet. Visit some e-commerce websites like Amazon and Ebay and check for some good deals there. We assure you that you will not be disappointed.
| Cheap Laptop | Price | Processor | RAM | Hard Disk | Screen Size |
| Acer Aspire One Netbook | $340 | Intel Atom N270 | 512MB | 8GB flash storage | 8.9 inches |
| Compaq Presario QL-60 | $380 | AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core | 2GB | 160GB | 15.4 inches |
| Lenovo IdeaPad S10-1211 | $450 | 1.6GHz Intel Atom Processor | 1GB | 160GB | 10.2 inches |
| Dell Inspiron 1525 | $500 | Intel Core 2 Duo Processor | 1GB | 120GB | 15.4 inches |
| Toshiba Satellite A200 | $630 | Intel Core 2 Duo Processor | 2GB | 160GB | 15.4 inches |
These were just a few of the laptops that you can have a look at. The truth is that it is impossible to list out machines that would be tailor made for you since there are so many great choices available. It all ultimately depends on your budget and the source from where you are going to be purchasing the machine for yourself. Here are some pointers that you should keep in mind, and any laptop buying guide that you refer to will tell you the same.
- Pick the correct screen size. The larger the screen, the more expensive the machine. Also remember that you will need to carry the machine around, so it is better to opt for a smaller screen.
- Pick the right processor. Don't pay too much for a speedy processor if you will not be utilizing its full functionality. Anything below 2GHz should suit you just fine.
- Picking around 2GB of RAM is advisable. Anything more than that is unnecessary. The same can be said for a hard disk capacity of more than 160GB.
- Pick a laptop with a graphics card only if you are going to be playing some heavy duty games.
- Decide beforehand if you will need an optical drive. Many people do not use CD's and DVD's now, so make a conscious decision.
- Make up your mind if you will be using other features like a webcam, Bluetooth, etc.
- Finally, pick a computer operating system that you are comfortable with.
