Buying used laptops can be a risk. However if you think about what it is you want and you consider my advice there really isn’t any reason why you can’t save a lot of money by buying a cheap laptop.

Generally speaking if you’re the type of person who likes to fiddle around with their computer or you’re interested in learning about laptops then you’ll be happy with a used laptop. If you’re the type of person who wants a laptop to work right out of the box with very little fiddling then you may be better off buying a cheap new laptop.

Assuming you want a used laptop, the best way to narrow down your used laptop purchase is to think about what kind of software you use and what you intend to do.

* Do you need a powerful processor for Microsoft office or multitasking?
Look for used notebooks with Pentium III processors over 700 Mhz.
* Do you need long battery life?
Make sure you can obtain a new battery for your used notebook.
* Do you need a DVD drive?
If you don’t you can save some money and just buy one with a CD ROM.
* Do you plan on playing games?
Even for simple games a shared memory architecture (where the video chip uses system memory) drastically reduces performance.
* Do you want to use Windows XP?
You can run Windows XP fine on a cheap 400 Mhz notebook but you will need at least 256mb of RAM. Make sure you upgrade to 256 MB if you intend to install Windows XP.

Used laptops and Windows XP

Since most used laptops are sold without an operating system I highly recommend buying and installing Windows XP. Windows XP has built in support for a huge range of hardware and you’ll have no trouble getting your laptop up and running.

The other benefits of Windows XP are endless, compatibility with all the latest peripherals such as scanners and digital cameras.