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Laptop Operating Systems

As detailed on the previous page, a good laptop computer starts with a dependable CPU, a decent amount of memory, and ample video processing power. Other laptop features to note are the hard drive and the optical drive.

Many consumers prefer the savings of a basic DVD-RW drive to a costlier Blu-ray player, although some models at the top of our budget range include that feature. Consider the ports and connectivity options, the display, and the keyboard and touchpad as well.

Operating System.

Almost all new budget laptops geared for home users come with Microsoft's Windows 7 Home Premium. (Apple MacBooks with the company's latest OS X Mountain Lion operating system start at about $1,000 -- well out of our price range.) Since its release, Windows 7 has proved popular with experts and users alike. It earns an "Outstanding" rating at CNET and praise in a PC World review. Users posting reviews on Newegg declare Windows 7 easy to use and less annoying than its predecessor, Windows Vista.

Microsoft is planning to roll out a new Windows 8 operating system in the next few months, but we expect many budget laptops to continue to come with Windows 7 for some time, until newer models with Windows 8 begin to take the place of older laptops.

Review continues below

Hard Drive.

Hard drives are relatively inexpensive laptop features, so most manufacturers are willing to outfit their systems with pretty sizeable hard drives ranging from 320GB to 750GB. The HP ProBook 4440s occupies the low end with a 320GB hard drive. The Dell Inspiron 15R and 14z fall in the middle with 500GB hard drives. Both Toshiba models come with larger 640GB hard drives. The base model of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y480 has only a standard 500GB hard drive, although another widely available and similarly priced configuration steps up to 750GB.

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 drive has enough room to store simple programs and files as well as plenty of photos and songs. However, if you need a larger hard drive, it's easy to find on a budget.

Optical Drives.

Nearly every new laptop includes a DVD-RW drive for playing DVD movies and burning data and video to DVD. Some low-cost laptops offer the option to upgrade to a Blu-ray player, but that add-on typically totals between $50 and $100. The Lenovo IdeaPad Y480 and Toshiba Satellite P755D-S5172 include a Blu-ray player from the get-go.

Review continues below

Ports/Connectivity.

We can't imagine a cheap laptop being sold today without a built-in wireless card of some sort. Some manufacturers offer upgrades to name-brand wireless cards, but that's a laptop feature that thrifty shoppers can ignore.

Unlike a desktop PC with all its appendages -- monitor, keyboard, mouse -- a laptop is a self-contained unit for the most part. Still, there are plenty of devices you can hook up to a laptop's ports and connectors. Most budget models include two to four USB 2.0 ports, although USB 3.0 ports now appear on some budget systems. USB 3.0 ports transfer data several times faster than older USB 2.0 ports, so they are ideal for tasks such as backing up data to an external hard drive. The Toshiba Satellite P755D-S5172 has one USB 3.0 port and the HP ProBook 4440s, Dell Inspiron 14z, and Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 each have two. The Dell Inspiron 15R outdoes them all with four USB 3.0 ports. The Toshiba Satellite L755-S5166 uses only USB 2.0 technology.

Many cheap laptops, including the Toshiba Satellite L755-S5166 and the Dell Inspiron 15R, include built-in memory card readers -- a nice convenience for shutterbugs who want to view photos straight from a camera's SD card. If this laptop feature is important to you, look for a memory card reader that supports several types of cards. Most budget laptops, including all of our picks, now include HDMI ports for feeding high-definition video to a TV. The Dell laptops we picked also support Bluetooth 3.0.

by Michael Sweet (Google+ Profile)

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Best Cheap Laptops

Dell Inspiron 15R

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HP ProBook 4440s

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Good Cheap Laptops

Dell Inspiron 14z

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Toshiba Satellite L755-S5166

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