Laptops come with long, perhaps daunting lists of specifications, so focus on the key elements. Any laptop you buy these days should run the Windows 7 operating system, and budget laptops almost always include the Home version of that OS. Intel i3 CPUs are the most popular in budget laptops at the moment. Look for a second-generation Intel i3 or i5 CPU, which will have a four-digit model number as opposed to the three-digit model number used for first-generation Intel I3 CPUs. When it comes to memory, more is almost always better. The bare minimum you should consider is 2GB, but 4GB is significantly better. Laptop makers are offering large hard drives these days -- 500GB or more -- and that should easily cover the storage needs of most laptop users. Although many budget laptops come with six-cell batteries, that doesn't mean they all offer the same amount of uptime from a single charge. As for display size, you can get a 14-inch or 15.6-inch laptop for about the same price.
