Cheap Laptop Computer Guide

Not everyone wants to spend too much on a brand new or top of the line laptop, fortunately there are many cheap laptops available. Wondering what the difference is between refurbished and recertified? Below will explain and offer some tips when buying these laptops.

Refurbished Laptops

These are practically better than new, usually a customer has returned the product after using it briefly or the laptop may be an off-lease if it is a much older model.

Buying refurbished can be better than buying new because flaws have been found and fixed by the manufacturer, once it is deemed to be complete and in good working order it is repackaged to be sold at a lower price as refurbished.

The warranty on refurbished laptops can vary widely from 90 days to 3 years(including extended warranties). Check the warranty conditions when buying a refurbished laptop.

If the laptop is a much older model sold as refurbished, check to see if the battery is the original or has been replaced. A 2-3 year old battery may be on its last legs even though it still holds a good charge.

Something to beware of is stores or retailers listing or selling returned items as refurbished when the manufacturer or a certified repair/warranty center for that model/brand hasn't looked at it. Returned items should actually be labelled "open box" or "used" or something similar depending on how old the item is.

Recertified Laptops

Recertified usually means the product was returned unused for various reasons such as shipping error or incomplete transaction(not accepted on delivery). The manufacturer inspects for damage and missing items and offers them as recertified.

Although recertified laptops can be considered "like new" the warranty period may not be as long compared to a new one. There are times where resellers may used recertified and refurbished interchangeably, either way these laptops should have been tested by the manufacturer more thoroughly than a brand new one to be labelled this way.

Budget Laptops

Laptops made with fewer features or slower/smaller/older components but carry the important longer warranties. Components may include:

Smaller hard drives in the 10-20 gigabyte range

Slower processors under 1.5 GHZ, sometimes of the Celeron or Duron type (sometimes Mobile Athlon which is really nice).

Less RAM, around 128 or 256 MB

Smaller screen size such as 10 inch or 12 inch.

These type of laptops make great tools, because of the component makeup they may use very little power and/or be thin and light.

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