Prices are dropping in the computer market and great laptop deals are everywhere. Here are two great places to buy laptops from that one can’t go wrong with.
- Tiger Direct – This is the Amazon of electronics, especially for anything related to computers. Tiger Direct is perhaps the best place to find laptop deals online.
- Amazon – Amazon has a huge selection of laptops at very low prices. If you have shopped online before then you probably already know about Amazon. If not, just know that it is the largest and most widely used online marketplace.
How to Find the Best Laptop Deals On Those Sites
When browsing for laptop deals one will run across three different kinds of laptops; new, refurbished and off-lease laptops.
- New laptops, of course, have never been used and are the most easily found laptops. The advantage of buying new is that you know that the laptop is going to work perfectly right out of the box and will probably last a little longer than used laptops. The disadvantage of buying new is that you’ll get less specs for the price, because you’ll pay a premium for the “new” label.
- Refurbished laptops have been used and then returned to a retailer to be re-sold. Sometimes they are returned damaged and repaired to complete working condition. They are always sold as working laptops that appear to be new, aside from the obvious signs of wear. All software and the operating system will be just as if you purchased a new laptop.
- Off-lease laptops are laptops that have been leased out for a certain period of time and then returned to the leaser for the last time. The leaser then puts the laptop up for final sale. These laptops are generally a little older than refurbished laptops because of the amount of time they were leased out for.
They all have their advantages and disadvantages and only you can make the final decision as to what is right for you. Maybe you only prefer to buy new, and that’s fine, many people do. Just keep in mind that refurbished and off-lease laptops also offer some laptop deals.
Gaming Laptop Deals
To find the best gaming laptop deals, you need to know what to look for in a gaming laptop. The most obvious things to look for are: a fast processor, a decent amount of RAM, and a current fast video card geared towards gaming. Always look for a “gaming laptop” category at whichever site you choose to buy one from; this will help narrow down your search.
Read About Great Laptop Deals
Gaming laptops are always more expensive than non-gaming laptops; this is because to play any of the latest games at a decent frame-rate they need a video card and CPU that can handle them. Be prepared to spend around $1000 on a decent gaming laptop if you want to play the latest games at decent video settings. If you want to play them at the highest settings for any reasonable length of time (a couple years), then be prepared to spend at least $1500. Of course, I am referring to new laptops; you may be able to find a refurbished gaming laptop at a much lower price.
Specifications to Look for in the Best Laptop Deals
- A fast CPU, you should at least be able to find a dual-core laptop at any price range, even below $300. If you plan to spend at least $700 then look for a quad-core laptop. Whether the CPU is AMD or Intel shouldn’t really matter, but keep in mind that in general, Intel currently has a slight edge on AMD in the CPU performance category.
- A screen size and resolution that will fit your needs. Don’t settle on an 11 inch screen when you’re really looking for something with a 15.6 inch or more screen. There are always great laptop deals out there, so keep looking. Always be sure to check out the resolution of the screen as well. Just like when you shop for TVs, laptop screens have different resolutions, suchs as 720p and 1080p. The highest definition is 1080p, so if you want the best definition available, then look for that.
- Hard drive size is another factor that is very important in any computer. Shoot for something with at least 250GB of space.
Remember there are many great laptop deals out there, so don’t settle on something you don’t quite like. As a side note, if you’re interested in learning how to build a desktop computer, click “how to build a computer.”