The holiday season is coming up and it is no surprise to see shops selling affordable gadgets. Buying affordable laptops that you would still consider to be worth the few hundred bucks is a lot more than a game of chance. The good news is that there will be plenty of variants to choose from If you are lucky, you can snatch a deal with your favorite brand offloading laptops manufactured only a year ago. The bad news is, the tech specifications may not be on par with the flagship computers. There is also a possibility that you will have to forego certain features as they are not within the price range. A great source of information when it comes to comparing different affordable laptops is Top Probe’s Best Laptops Under 800 Review. Here are five tips to guide you in buying a laptop under $800 this holiday season.
- Want Vs. Need
Getting a shiny, new laptop is an exciting experience no serious techie should ever miss. Thus, it is easy to be tempted into buying a new laptop at such an affordable price. A good rule of thumb is to think about your wants vs. needs. If you have a laptop that is still serving you well years down the road, it might be best to skip buying a new and unfamiliar one. On the other hand, if you absolutely need a new laptop whether to conduct business, take notes or write research papers, edit videos and so on, then it might be a good idea to evaluate the laptops available for you taking price out of the equation.
- Back to Basics
Do you want Mac, Windows or Chrome OS? Do you want a traditional laptop or one with a detachable screen? Do you prefer an 11-inch or an 18-inch laptop? These are some of the basic questions that you want to ask yourself before going into more detail about tech specifications, battery life, etc. When these questions are answered, it is less distracting and you can find the right computer that will fit your needs.
- Be Specific About Your Purpose
One of the reasons why companies can afford to manufacture laptops at varied prices lies on its set of functionalities. Finding the right laptop that will fit your needs is your biggest challenge at this point. If you are looking to buy a laptop for surfing the web, read, and answer emails, watch videos and use simple office tools, perhaps a Chromebook might just be the perfect fit? If you intend to use it for gaming, video, and photo editing, perhaps it would be wise to buy a discounted Mac or high-spec Windows computer?
- Research About the Relevant Tech Specs
Know the basic industry standards when it comes to the resolution, display, processor, RAM, storage, graphics processors, ports, connectivity and battery life. For instance, a computer with 2GB of RAM is not good these days. You have to choose one with at least 4GB of RAM. The acceptable resolution should be 1080P with a hard disk drive (HDD) of 500GB.
- Freebies
Yes, getting free software can be a deal-changer. If you’ve got a free Microsoft Office, Adobe or Final Cut Pro included in your purchase, that would already save you a ton of money without worrying about renewing your license or subscription.
