How to buy a laptop on a budget - 2012

The holidays are here, and I am constantly being asked the same question... What laptop should I get for $500 or less? Here is the simplest explanation I can give...

This is broken down into two sections. The first section, Hardware, and Features, cover some of the hardware you might need to know about. It would be worth it for you to at least skim this section. The second section is called ”Basic rules to live (shop) by” and attempts to help you make a simple purchase without needing to understand everything
in the first section. Here we go...

Hardware and Features:
Processor or Chipset: The CPU or computer itself. AMD or Intel are your two choices. Both are similar in laptops, no matter what you have been told; however, a budget chip will come with less memory (or cache) on the chip, meaning you need more memory than an average computer as your onboard memory will take up the slack and take it away from the computer applications. This is why we suggest two gigs as a MINIMUM in case you are not sure what processor you got. For example, you can buy old chips for less than 100 bucks, whereas a desktop computer's latest and greatest chip can be a 1,000+ dollar upgrade. Great way to manufacture a cheap laptop? Sell an older budget processor with one gig of ram. By the time you upgrade the memory, you spend the same amount of money the excellent chipset would have cost you and still have a sluggish computer. That is how you get a 200 laptop.

Video card: 3 brands exist. ATI and Nvidia are the biggest and the best. Intel is a budget chipset for only the most basic computer usage. A sound, the newer video card can raise the price by hundreds of dollars. Even an outdated ATI or Nvidia card will destroy ANY Intel-based video card. Often a laptop lacking an ATI or Nvidia card will hide that information.

Onboard memory: 2 gigs are the minimum nowadays; 3-4 is optimal. Memory is pretty cheap, so get it. If your laptop comes with a 32-bit operating system, anything over four gigs of ram is not recognized.

Hard drive: Unless you are doing multimedia (video, music, games), this should not matter much. However, a laptop costing a few hundred might only have a 40-gig hard drive. With Windows 7 and a handful of applications, you can fill it up quickly. One hundred gigs should be the minimum, and over 300 if you need space for multimedia.

Battery: Battery life should be considered. Most laptops will promise you 3-4 hours of battery life, but that is if you leave it running or do the basics. In other words, play a movie, game, or anything else video or processer intensive, and that battery life can go down to 1 hour. Bigger screens use more battery life so take this into consideration.

Peripherals: These are devices you can attach to a computer but are not part of the computer. If you need to plug anything into your laptop, ensure it includes the right peripherals for the job. Most laptops will have an external printer port, USB, and video ports but will you need an HDMI slot, for example? Typically budget laptops might not have a lot of peripherals, but it is worth considering if you know you might need to plug these devices in. Many budget laptops might only come with 2 USB slots, so plug in a USB mouse and printer, and you are out of USB slots for other devices like a webcam.

Basic rules to live (shop) by:

Rule #1: You get what you pay for.
You know it's true, but we all want that exceptional deal. So when you see a 200-dollar laptop deal, there is a reason. The only exception would be the ultra-portable laptops, sometimes called Netbooks. They are designed for basic computing and usually have a 10" screen. The newest technology always costs more. Period.

Rule #2: What size screen do they need?
Kids, who need a computer to do homework, surf the web and check in on AIM and Facebook most likely have great eyes and can see a 10” screen standard on ultra-portables. If you are buying it for someone older or who wants to play games on it, you want a 15” screen minimum. Remember that the larger the screen, the less portable the laptop will be. A 17” widescreen laptop with a bag and accessories can easily top 10 pounds. Screens are still pricey and have a HUGE effect on the price, so consider this area first and try to narrow down what screen size you want. This will eliminate a LOT of your laptop choices.

Rule #3: What will they use it for?
This is the second consideration that falls alongside “what size screen do they need”, and this is an essential thing to consider. Because of this, we will consider a few scenarios. Screen size has been covered above, so combine that with what you need here:

1: Surfing the web, checking email, and other basics: Not too many mistakes you can make here. Web browsing and email are not necessarily really memory intensive. In this case, you can go for the cheapest computer you can find with one exception that will always repeat itself. 2 gigs of memory should be the minimum.

2: Video and music (multimedia). Editing video or music can be memory intensive. 2 gigs is REALLY the minimum here, with three or more being better. 300 gig or bigger hard drive. Nvidia or ATI video cards only in this case.

3: Playing games: Solitare or Call of Duty? Big difference. If you want to play memory and video-intensive modern games, you must spend at least $800. I have priced good gaming laptops closer to $1,500. The words gaming and budget laptop should not be used in the same sentence except to say they don't belong in the same sentence

Where to buy it?
I don't care for brick-and-mortar stores for ONE BIG reason. They have a limited selection and inventory. While the employees can sometimes be knowledgeable, they can’t sell you what they don’t have. I have often heard them making statements only valid in their narrow aisle of laptop computers. Usually, you only have 4 or 5 choices in your price range, and you don't know if the model being offered is a new model or closer to close-out—usually the latter.

I have purchased from chain stores but only when I needed it NOW. Online shops have HUGE advantages, including huge selections, great deals, and user reviews. As with any user review, you need to take them all with a grain of salt, but on average, a 5-star rating with dozens or more reviews is a good bet. Better yet, you can select from the brand, screen size, or price range, allowing you to shop in the field you have decided on by reading everything above. Majorgeeks has a store that will enable you to price shop laptops from dozens of suppliers, including Buy.com, Tigerdirect, Amazon, Hp Direct, CompUSA, BestBuy, and dozens of others. L west price is 200 bucks, so have a look: http://majorgeeks.pricegrabber.com