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Going back to college is expensive enough an affair without factoring in costs of buying a new laptop. Tuition fees and cost of study material can be daunting many a time, and when you don't want your laptop cost to add to it, what do you do?
What you do is get yourself a budget laptop without compromising too much on computing power. It needn't have a long features list or run the newest games, but it must be up to everyday computing tasks like word processing, video playback, and web browsing. Consider the following points before getting your new budget laptop:
A Decent Processor
While the CPU on-board needn't be a high-end model like Intel's Core i7, it must be a model capable enough for for all your college-related activities. Consider a laptop with at least an Intel Core i3 model or AMD A4 series CPU.
Cheaper and older processors like Intel Celeron and Intel Pentium are simply not recommended. Also, it's always best to get the latest generation of CPUs. However, even the next-to-latest generation of CPUs can be bought at a pinch without any worries.
Upgradeable RAM
At least 4GB of RAM is highly recommended if you're planning to run Windows on your new budget laptop. Anything lower than that and Windows will begin to stutter and hiccup even under the slightest of loads. Budget laptops are expected to come with 2GB or 4GB of RAM. Pick up a model with at least 4GB. Finding a model with 8GB? Go for it!
Additionally, it's worth considering a model with upgradeable RAM in case you want more speed in the future. Many budget laptops come with a soldered RAM chip. However, there are some that feature one, or even two RAM slots. You should be able to upgrade the RAM chips in these slots without voiding the warranty.
Storage Space
One can never have enough storage space, and in college you may find your hard disk volumes filling up faster than they should. Academic project files can be large in size, and so can important photos and videos. That's why it pays to get the largest hard drive money can buy. Budget laptops generally come with a 1TB hard drive, but there are some models that offer a 2TB hard drive option.
Some budget laptops offer an SSD (Solid-State Drive) with a capacity as little as 32GB. While an SSD is definitely faster than a convetional hard drive, these laptop models are best avoided, especially if you're planning to run Windows. A capacity of at least 128GB is recommended for college work.
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