Cheap New Laptop Buyers Guide

Cheap New Laptop models, which we define as costing less than a thousand dollars, have evolved to the point where they're an excellent choice for anyone with mainstream computing needs. Those needs include, but aren't limited to, Web surfing and other Internet activities, running productivity apps like Word, Excel, and even PowerPoint, light graphics design, and occasional digital photo editing. They're fine for viewing multimedia content, but not for editing video.

Needless to say, they're not intended for hard-core gaming. To compensate for these mostly minor performance limitations, you'll find suprisingly large hard drives, CD burners, and other amenities that used to be found on only the high-end models.

If your shopping for a system that you can customize, put the money where it will do the most good. If the standard package includes a 40GB hard drive and 256MB of RAM, upgrade the RAM first. Then, if you've still got some room in your budget, go for the larger hard drive. Remember: nothing speeds up a computer more than adding additional RAM. You can always offload some of those MP3 files to a CD to make room on the hard drive if necessary.

Pay close attention to warranty and support. Where manufacturers often provide costlier models with three years of coverage and lifetime tech support, they sometimes limit coverage on budget models to one year, or even 90 days. Don't settle for less than a one year warranty. Is this important? Well, some say that most problems pop up within the first two months anyway. If that doesn't reassure you, consider spending a little more for extra coverage.

If you're not in a hurry, wait for a sale. This is especially good advice if you're shopping for a brand name laptop. Most of the big players run regular promotions, offer rebates and have clearance sales. Many times they'll upgrade a system's hard drive, double the RAM, or toss in a laptop carrying case or other laptop accessories. Very often the deal will include a longer warranty which costs them nothing if you never need it. Check your favorite companies' sites as often as you can and you'll find some terrific cheap new laptop deals.