Laptops Under $300
What to expect from a new laptop you can buy for under $300?
Laptops under 300 dollars are perfect for people who use their computers to do word processing, email, and do typical internet surfing. New laptops in this category are going to typically be netbooks, that is laptops with screen sizes under 12 inches (note that all screen size, computer monitor, and even TV size measurements are done diagonally, from bottom left corner to upper right corner for example), which are perfect for people on the go. Students and people who travel extensively will find the generally small laptops in this price range fit their needs wonderfully.
However, you can also buy used or refurbished laptops for under 300 dollars that are more powerful, larger, and have more features than the typical small netbook. There are also unbranded websites that can be found on less reputable websites that do sell laptops with screen sizes up to 13.3″ for under $300. That makes them legitimate laptops, however you get what you pay for. They may come with a year warranty, but who do you redeem a warranty issue with if the company doesn’t exist in six months?
To help you understand what to expect from a new laptop under $300 each component of the laptop has been broken down in the following sections and the biggest and best that $300 can buy has been found. Also, standard components on $300 laptops are analyzed. For a detailed look at used or refurbished laptops under 300 dollars keep scrolling down past the new laptop section and checkout what type of pre-owned merchandise you can expect to get.
Brand
For some people brand is a big deal. People are loyal to their favorite brand, whether that be Dell, Sony, or Apple. However, if you are limited to just $300 you are going to have to make some sacrifices. For example, there is no MacBook, let alone MacBook Pro, for under $999 so don’t even think about it. Some computers are expensive because they have the name of that particular manufacturing on it and are consequently not going to be in this price range. These ritzy brands include, but are not limited to, Apple, Sony, and Dell’s Alienware gaming laptops. However, most all other brands of laptops will have some entry into the sub $300 market.
Operating System
Almost all PCs being manufactured currently come with Windows 7. However, there are many different versions of Windows 7 that you should be aware of. The most basic is Windows 7 Starter Edition. This is a stripped down version of Windows 7 that can run on the most primitive of hardware. There are no fancy animation effects when switching from one window to another, all of the built in Windows Media Center features are removed, and even online multiplayer versions of Hearts and Checkers are gone. The next version up is Windows 7 Home Premium, then Professional, then Ultimate. While, Windows 7 Starter Edition was designed specifically with netbooks in mind it does cripple one capability of the new generation of process currently used in netbooks, 64bit processing. But, with the limited hardware that can be purchased for under $300 the ability to utilize the expanded RAM capacity with a 64bit processor is unlikely.
Processor
Laptops under your $300 budget are not going to be processors on the bleeding edge of technology, the i7 processors from Intel for example aren’t even on the same continent as a sub $300 laptop, so don’t even think about it. New laptops in this price range are most likely going to be one of Intels or AMDs (but most likely Intels) low power consumption processors, like a Atom N455 for example. It is a modest 1.66 GHz, which is not must when compared to a i7-980X which is 3.33GHz, has 6 cores, and is hypertheaded. But then again that processor alone is three times your entire computer budget. However, the Intel Atom N455 although modest in speed is hyperthreaded, which helps to improve performance by 20-30%. Hyperthreading basically tricks your operating system into thinking that there are actually two cores in the processor, allowing your computer to processes tasks in parallel.
In researching different laptops that fit into the under $300 category it was found that every single laptop came with essentially the same processor. So in this instance there is no one laptop that stands out above the others, they are in fact almost identical.
Screen Size
Screen size appears to be another area where there is not much differentiation of one laptop to another. It appears that if you only have $300 to spend on a new laptop that the screen size you are destined to have is a 10.1″ inch (measured diagonally) screen. The resolution on all of these screens is identical, 1024 x 600 (The first number is the number of pixels it can display vertically and the second is the horizontal direction). To put that in perspective, to be called high definition (HD) the resolution must be at least 1280 x 720 pixels (denoted as 720p), and full HD is 1080p or 1920 x 1080 pixels. Even though the screen size is rather small the quality of that image has not suffered tremendously, pictures and movies viewed full screen will not look pixelated or distorted. However, because of the lower resolution you will likely not be able to see a web page exactly like you are used to seeing it, you may need to scroll around a bit more to find everything you are looking for.
Video Card
The video cards that support the graphics on these laptops are almost all integrated into the motherboard. This means that they don’t have any dedicated memory specifically for graphics, it is shared with the processor. Because of this there are practically no under $300 laptops that have HDMI ports to connect to a monitor or TV, they only have an old VGA cable. However, there is one laptop that has an HDMI out and a dedicated graphics card, that is currently the Acer Aspire One 512. If you want to play 3D games on your laptop or just connect it via HDMI to a TV then this is currently the only choice you have.
Ram
When it comes to RAM in a laptop under $300 you don’t have many choices, in fact you have exactly two choices. Do you want 1 gigabyte (GB) of DDR2 RAM or 1 GB of DDR3 RAM? DDR3 RAM is faster and more energy efficient than DDR2 RAM. So if you are deciding between two sub $300 computers go for the one with DDR3 RAM. Many manufacturers will allow you to upgrade to 2 GB of RAM, however doing so will likely push you out of your $300 price range. 1 GB of RAM will likely be enough for most people who surf the internet and check Facebook. However, if you are going to be doing heavy multitasking with Word, Excel, Outlook, Firefox, Chrome, Google Talk and many other programs open all at the same you may need to upgrade to 2 GB of RAM to keep your system running smooth.
Hard Drive
The standard $300 laptop has a hard drive of 160 GBs and it spins at 5400 RPMs. This is pretty standard for low power consumption laptops. If this is not enough for you it shouldn’t be too hard for you to find a laptop in your price range that comes with 250 GBs. If you are doing significant file transferring you may desire to have a hard drive that spins at 7200 RPMs, which most desktop hard drives spin at. They can be found for under $300 but you may have to wait for a special sale or be willing to accept a 3-cell battery over the standard 6-cell battery.
Optical Drive (Blu-Ray, DVD, or CD)
DVD drives are not typically found built into netbooks. But many manufactures in the checkout process give you an option to purchase an external DVD drive. An external optical drive can come in handy when installing software, particularly when using a recovery DVD to fix a problem with the operating system. However it is not the only way, you need not feel obligated to pony up and buy an external drive, there are options that involve booting the computer from a USB flash drive or creating a virtual DVD drive to install software.
Wireless
All modern laptops come equipped with wireless networking hardware. The only thing you need to choose is whether you want a 802.11b/g wireless card or a faster 802.11b/g/n card. The 802.11n protocol is currently the newest wireless standard that allows for higher transfer rates. However, most internet providers do not give speeds in excess of that of the 802.11g protocol. Also, to realize the full advantage of the 802.11n increase in speed all devices on the network must be 802.11n capable and the router must be a 802.11n router. Currently most devices are still of the g protocols so chances are you won’t hit the peak speeds of 300Mbps, but rather the g speeds of 56Mbps, which is more than enough for all but the largest file transfer uses.
Battery
Batteries on laptops for less than $300 come in a few different arrangements. Mainly in 3, 4, or 6 cell varieties. 3-cell batteries can range around 3 to 4.5 hours of use and 6 cells up to 7 or 8 hours. Many laptops can be purchased with an optional 9-cell battery which increases the battery life even more. However, the 9-cell battery typically sticks out from the main body of the laptop creating an unappealing bump. The price of the laptop will also go up as well, so carefully consider how long you will be using the laptop without a outlet close at hand before shelling out the cash for the extra large or extra batteries.
Webcam
Cheap laptops come with three main varieties of webcams. None, 0.3 megapixel or a 1.3 megapixel. If you want the 1.3 megapixel webcam you may need to branch out into less charted waters by using companies that don’t have the brand to backup their products like Dell or HP has. You can buy them, but you may not know exactly what you are getting yourself into until its too late. But, if you really are trying to get the cheapest laptop there is then maybe an off brand laptop is something you’d be ok with.
Other Features
Other features than you can expect to find on many laptops in this price range is a card reader. Card readers allow you to take memory cards from many common devices, like digital cameras, video recorders, and even cell phones and transfer the files onto your computer without the use of any transfer cables. All card readers are not the same, some can handle more different types of cards than others can. So if you have a device you are looking to use with the card reader make sure that it supports the specific type of media card you have.
GPS can be found in netbooks and small laptops, but it is currently a newer and higher end product and may not fall in with other laptops under 300 dollars.
Mobile broad band is another item that is possible to get in a netbook, however because of the added cost it may not make it into your budget. But if its something you are going to use because you are constantly on the go and need to be constantly updated on whatever it is you need to know about then maybe the reasons can justify the cost.
Upgrade your options by buying refurbished
You can potentially get much more for your money by buying a used or refurbished laptop. However, the word potentially is used because when someone else has already used it you don’t know exactly what you are getting. Even a refurbished laptop from a solid manufacturer could have more problems than you care to deal with. Laptops are refurbished because they are broken. If it broke once it could break again.
But the gains could be quite large if you are will to take the risk. Intel Core2 Duo processors are not uncommon in a refurbished laptop for less than $300. With a used laptop screen size will likely be bigger than the standard 10.1″ of a netbook. They most likely will also have a DVD drive. However, older laptops most likely won’t have a large hard drive capacity, sometimes less than 100GB. Also, batteries lose the ability to hold charge over time, so if you are buying used laptop for under $300 you may need to replace the battery to get the battery life you’d expect from a new laptop.
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Tags: cell, cheap laptops, computer, DVD, Hard Drive, laptops under $300, macbook, netbooks, Operating System, RAM, range, reputable websites, Screen, Screen Size, small laptops, Video Card
