Laptops are gaining in popularity these days. Almost everyone is carrying one now either for work or entertainment. Laptops with the latest technology are introduced to the market every day and these new laptops come with a huge price tag. However, that does not mean you cannot get a good and cheap laptop. I have put together a guide that may help you out in your hunt for a cheap and good laptop.

Buy a cheap laptop with older technology

The rapid advance in technology makes it meaningless to buy the latest technology at a high price. When laptops with wireless capability first came to the market, a unit with this technology can cost up to US$2500. Now after 2 years, you can get a relatively fast Centrino laptop for less than US$1000 

Buy a used or refurbished laptop

The depreciation of a laptop's value is so high, that after one year in the market, a laptop can easily lose half its value. So if you are looking for a cheap laptop, look for one which is close to one year old. Not all used laptops are in bad condition. You will be surprised to find that some used laptops are still in good condition because their owners are power users or gamers.

Buy laptops from power users or gamers

I like to buy electronic gadgets including laptops from hardcore power users or gamers. Let me share with you why. Gamers or power users usually require the latest and most powerful technology to run their games or power-hungry applications. They often will not settle for second best. They also have the tendency to chase after the latest technology. So after one year, they will be bored with what they have and will look to sell off their laptops so that they can buy a new one. Now if you are looking to buy cheap laptops with up-to-date technology and you happen to have friends who are gamers, do ask them if they are looking to sell off their laptops. Who knows, maybe you can buy a good cheap laptop from them.

Scan through gaming forums and the local gaming community

if you do not already have friends who like to play computer games, then scanning through gaming forums on the internet is another way to get good and cheap deals for a used laptop. The Internet makes it easy for you to do this. Go to google.com and start searching for gaming forums. Visit each and every one and see if they have a Trading Section. You will definitely find many posts from gamers looking to sell their gaming laptops.

Scan through local bulletin boards

Do scan through local bulletin boards near you for cheap deals on laptops.Especially if there are software companies around the area. Software companies do offer their used computers or laptops for sale when their software projects end. I personally had gotten a few good deals for my family and friends.

Look for a cheap laptop with at least 512MB of memory

This is especially important for a used laptop. If the processor speed is slow, then having more memory can compensate for the lack of speed. In fact, The size of memory plays a big part in determining how fast a laptop runs an application. Just by increasing the memory size, you can see a huge difference in speed. A cheap laptop with at least 512 MB memory can run most nongraphic-intensive applications easily.

Get a cheap laptop from a reputable manufacturer

This is very important because if you are buying a used laptop, then the chances of requiring servicing are higher than a new laptop. So if you buy from a reputable manufacturer, you will save a lot of trouble and time if your laptop does require servicing.