Used Laptops A Money Saving Idea For College Students

Used Laptops A Money Saving Idea For College Students

Summary: In recent years, laptop computers have become much more popular than desktops, especially among students. It is estimated that well over % of college students that own a computer will buy a laptop instead of a desktop. The advantages of portability and the growing number of available wireless internet hubs make this an easy choice.

The downside of buying laptops is that they are generally much more expensive than desktop computers that have the same amount of power and m...

computers, laptops, notebooks, refurbished, used, cheap, discount

Article Body: In recent years, laptop computers have become much more popular than desktops, especially among students. It is estimated that well over % of college students that own a computer will buy a laptop instead of a desktop. The advantages of portability and the growing number of available wireless internet hubs make this an easy choice.

The downside of buying laptops is that they are generally much more expensive than desktop computers that have the same amount of power and memory.

Fortunately, this is one area where college students can easily save a lot of money. Many laptop computer manufacturers, such as Dell, HP, and Gateway, all have a wide selection of used laptop computers which are refurbished and resold at prices much lower than you would pay for a brand new notebook. Although they are used, they have been refitted and re-inspected by the manufacturer and even given a warranty that usually covers the first days after purchase.

At todays prices, its hard to find a new laptop computer for less than $, and even then you are buying the cheapest model with the smallest screen size and minimum amount of power. To get a bigger screen, more memory, and more processing speed, you can easily end up paying from $, to $, or more for a new laptop.

With a used laptop, you can get the same power and screen size of the pricier new laptops without paying the higher price. The lower-priced used laptops can range from $ to $, and these arent weak little Celerons or Semprons. At this price range, you could be getting a Pentium M, Centrino, Core Duo, or Turion with MB to GB of memory and at least a screen. Used laptops in the $ to $ price range also typically have a hard drive with to gigabytes of space, plus a preloaded operating system, such as Windows XP or Vista. Brand new laptops with the same specifications would easily cost two or three times the price of a similarly-equipped refurbished model.

So, if youre looking for areas to save money as you head off to college, start by buying a refurbished used laptop instead of a brand new one. Youll be walking around campus with a very capable computer for your college studies, except youll have a few hundred extra dollars left over for other expenses.