A lot of people get nervous when it’s time to buy a new laptop because they know they’re about to take a significant cash hit. You should know, however, that you don’t necessarily need to spend thousands to get a decent machine. You could get a very capable machine for under $800, even under $500 in some cases, depending on what you were looking for. You’ll have to be ready to make some compromises, but there are machines around these prices that will do pretty much any task you can imagine. Let’s take a look at how you can get a great laptop for less.
Go For The Right Manufacturers
Some brands are known for being expensive while others are known for having great laptops for every budget. Brands like Acer and Lenovo come to mind here.
There are tons of cheap Lenovo laptops on the market with decent specs that would be perfect if you need to do schoolwork and run everyday applications. They might not be able to do things like advanced CAD imaging applications or play AAA games on those specs, but they will run virtually any other type of program.
Look At Used & Refurbished Units
Another thing you could do would be to look at used or refurbished laptops. Refurbished units are the best option here as you can get them directly from the manufacturer and have them certified. We would only consider used computers if you can get them from a reputable supplier that’s been in operation for a while and can back their product with a warranty.
One thing you should know, however, is that no matter how good the machine is, there is a strong chance that you’ll be disappointed with a few things. The battery life might not be as good as you’d like because of wear, for instance, and you might be forced to either buy a new battery or keep the computer plugged in. Or the keyboard might not feel as comfortable as it should. So, these are things you’ll have to think about before going that route.
Get A Chromebook
We also suggest that you give Chromebooks a look. Make sure that all the applications you regularly use are available as Chrome extensions, however, as this is the only way to use programs on a Chromebook. Besides that, Chromebooks are pretty much like any other laptop on the market and will usually be under the $500 mark.
They will also often have very neat features, even at that price point. It’s not uncommon for Chromebooks to have touch screens with 360 hinges, for instance.
The biggest issue with them is that they don’t always have the best specs. So, if you need something with a 2.5ghz processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, you might not be able to find it in a Chromebook, at least not a cheap one.
Conclusion
These are all ways that you can save on your next laptop purchase. No matter what you do, do not sacrifice reliability for money, as you may have to pay later for your mistake.
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