follow us on twitter, facebook, pinterest, youtube and foursquare

 “how to find the best cheap products” — kiplinger

Home » Computers & Internet » Cheap Laptops » Cheap Laptop Computers CPU

Cheap Laptop Computers CPU, Memory

Related Guides: College Textbooks, Ereaders, Laptop Bags, Netbooks, USB Flash Drives, Universal Chargers and Wireless Routers
A good, cheap laptop computer starts with a dependable CPU and a decent amount of memory and hard drive space. Good multimedia features are no longer just a nice bonus; they're mandatory. Consumers also want wireless networking support, and most prefer a basic CD/DVD recorder to a costlier Blu-ray player, although some cheap laptop computers with Blu-ray players are closing in on budget territory. Let's take a closer look at the features you should check out when shopping for an inexpensive laptop.

Laptop Operating System.

The type of operating system (OS) on a cheap laptop computer used to be a big deal, but that's no longer the case. In October 2009, Microsoft released Windows 7, the successor to Windows Vista. There are three consumer versions of this OS: Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, and Windows 7 Ultimate. Almost all new cheap laptop computers geared for home users come with Windows 7 Home Premium (the other two versions are intended for businesses and power users). Since its release, Windows 7 has proven popular with experts and users alike. It earned an "Outstanding" rating at CNET and praise in a PC World review. Users posting reviews on Newegg note that Windows 7 is less annoying than Vista and easy to use. In short, Windows 7 is the way to go.

Laptop CPU.

Nothing influences the performance of a cheap laptop computer more than the CPU (central processing unit), or processor. Most laptops use an Intel CPU of some kind, although a few budget laptops, such as the HP 2000z series of customizable laptops (starting at $349, Amazon), use AMD processors. The more powerful the processor, the faster the laptop will run -- and, naturally, the more it will cost.

Manufacturers outfit their systems with a variety of laptop CPUs. Budget laptops, such as the Gateway NV55C38u (starting at $400, Amazon), sometimes use Pentium dual-core CPUs from Intel, but most use some version of Intel's i3 series of CPUs, a quad-core processor that runs faster than Pentium dual-core chips. You'll find the Intel i3 in the Toshiba Satellite L745-S4210 (starting at $480, Amazon) and the HP Pavilion g6-1a69 (starting at $590, Amazon). Most manufacturers don't offer much flexibility when it comes to the processor in a budget laptop -- you take what they give you. Even Dell, a manufacturer known for offering users all kinds of options, locks buyers into the Intel i3-2310M with its cheapest laptop, the Inspiron 14R (starting at $500, Amazon). However, several CPU options are available on the Dell Vostro V131. While this laptop starts at $500 with a basic Intel Celeron processor, CNET advises springing for the $600 version with the second-generation Intel Core i3-2310M. The $800 model features the next step up in Intel CPUs: the i5.

The selection of budget laptops with AMD CPUs continues to be scarce, and none of our picks includes an AMD CPU.

Laptop Memory.

The amount of memory (or RAM) in a cheap laptop computer can significantly influence how well it performs. Most budget laptops, including all those on our list, have from 2GB to 4GB of memory. More is definitely better, in part because most laptops have an integrated video processor (more on that on the next page) that "shares" memory with the rest of the system. A video processor can tie up a lot of system memory, so the less memory a laptop has, the less efficiently it will run.

Laptop memory is fairly inexpensive, and manufacturers typically provide 4GB of RAM. Older or ultra-cheap laptops such as the HP 2000z series have only 2GB of RAM, the minimum we'd tolerate on a Windows 7 machine. While that will slow down a laptop used for multimedia and gaming, we don't mind it so much on the Dell Vostro V131, which is designed for business users who need it mainly for e-mail, word processing, and web browsing.

Laptop Hard Drive.

Like system memory, hard drives are not expensive, so most laptop makers are willing to outfit their systems with pretty sizeable hard drives. Hard drive sizes range from 320GB to 640GB. The Gateway NV55C38u and HP Pavilion g6-1a69 sport 500GB hard drives, and the Lenovo IdeaPad V570 1066A9U and Toshiba Satellite L745-S4210 feature 640GB hard drives. Unless you have a huge library of videos, photos, and music that you want to store on your laptop, you can afford to go with a smaller hard drive; a 320GB hard drive, such as the one on the Dell Vostro V131, has enough room to store simple programs and files. However, many users are building up huge multimedia libraries on their systems, so if you need a very large hard drive, they're out there. Back to top »

 

 

 

HP 2000z
Dell Inspiron 14R
Gateway NV55C38u
HP Pavilion g6-1a69
Dell Vostro V131
Lenovo IdeaPad V570
Toshiba Satellite L745-S4210

Samsung RV511-A01

 

Computers & Internet Laptop Bags Parental Control Software VOIP Antivirus Software Cheap Laptops Cheap Tablets College Textbooks Desktops

Digital Photo Printing External Hard Drives Inkjet Printers Monitors Multifunction Printers Netbooks Online Dating

Scanners Smartphones Tax Preparation Software USB Flash Drives Webcams Wireless Routers Laser Printers

blog  about us  contact us  sitemap  in the news  privacy  terms of service  jobs

Follow us on Facebook Twitter Sign up for our Free Newsletter