Learn how to choose a good laptop without
over buying (and over spending)

Laptops are great innovations. The portability of laptops just can not be beat. They are a great help whether your in school, a busy executive, or a creative artist. But how do you pick a laptop that will serve your needs without buying wasteful bells and whistles?

Know your needs

What are you going to use the laptop for? Are you doing word processing, creating graphic artwork, or complex computing? A laptop that will fit your needs starts with knowing what you will be needing out of the system. It is true that a good notebook these days can run as fast (if not faster) than a server 5 years ago. But that is my point! If you didn't need a high end server to do what you are doing back then... why would you need a processor of that caliber now? For most people who are doing simple work processing such as msword, word perfect, or any other document application a Pentium III, 256 MB or RAM, and 20 Gig hard drive will do just fine. Anything less and your probably buying a machine that is going obsolete and running the risk of running into hard to find replacement parts (if you need any)

Buy smart rather than be sold!

With the advent if ebay and other online methods of buying and selling I would recommend buying second hand if you are looking for a cheap laptop. As will most items laptops are the most expensive when they are fresh off of the shelf, in pretty packaging, and store overhead costs to recover in selling you the laptop. If you know what you are looking for (as discussed a little above) you can find what you need at a fraction of the "in the store" cost. The better educated you are the easier it is to recognize a bargain when you see it. If you are looking for more information to help your research I've found a good website that might help you... buy cheap laptops. Until later!

* Be in the know on the fly!