Through the process of innovation, products often become cheaper over time. Companies find less expensive resources to use and novel methods of engineering and manufacturing that allow prices to come down in favor of consumers.
This is especially true in the world of laptops and other computing devices, as these engineering marvels have been mass manufactured and competitively driven to a relatively low price point.
If you want to find a cheap laptop, you can. But is it ever worth spending more on an upgraded machine?
The Rise of Cheap Laptops
Today, it’s possible to find laptops in a diverse range of shapes, styles, and prices. Unlike previous eras of technological development, it’s possible to find very cheap laptops available for sale in a wide variety of outlets. Even if you have a razor-thin budget, you can probably find a device compatible with it.
There are many reasons for this, including refined manufacturing methods, increased competition, and sustained demand from consumers. Unfortunately, the tradeoff is that cheap laptops are usually made with cheaper and somewhat inferior components. That doesn’t mean cheap laptops are bad; in fact, even the cheapest laptops on the market can handle most computational tasks with ease. However, there are some cases when an upgrade is warranted.
Why It’s Often Worth Spending More
To better understand why it’s often worth spending more, you need to understand the individual components that make laptops tick.
· CPU. First, there’s the central processing unit (CPU), which is responsible for most of the processing tasks executed by your computer. More modern, more expensive, more advanced CPUs are much better than their cheaper counterparts. However, not everyone needs a fully upgraded one.
· GPU. A graphics processing unit (GPU) is similar in nature to a CPU, but it’s designed to handle very specific types of tasks with incredible efficiency. If you want to play advanced modern video games at the highest graphics settings, if you do a lot of video rendering, or if you practice crypto mining, you’ll want a laptop with a GPU in it. You may even want one of the best GPU models available on the current market.
· RAM. Random access memory (RAM) is a temporary store of information, not unlike your own short-term memory. It’s very important for your computer’s ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, and it adds great advantages to certain applications. It may or may not be worth the upgrade, depending on how you’re going to use your machine.
· Screen. In some cases, people don’t mind paying extra if it means getting a laptop with a bigger screen. If you like the idea of watching movies and other media on your laptop, or if you just need more screen space to work with for your job, you may want a laptop with a larger area to work with.
· Size/weight. For some people, it’s also important to consider size and weight. Cheap laptops tend to be relatively lightweight because they don’t have all the heavy components necessary to achieve peak performance. However, higher-performance laptops can be very bulky and hard to carry around. If you want a lighter model, you might need to pay extra for the engineering required to achieve this feat.
· Battery. There are some strategies you can use to extend the battery life of a laptop, but on some level, you’re limited by the natural capacity and structure of the battery in your laptop. You can always upgrade the battery separately, but it pays to get a laptop with a high battery capacity from the start.
· Peripherals. There are also a host of secondary and tertiary factors worth considering, including the number of ports available on your laptop, the structure and tactile feel of the keyboard, and more. However, many of these options boil down to personal preference, so it’s up to you whether you want to spend more on these optional features.
How to Crunch the Numbers
When buying a new laptop, there are many individual factors to juggle. Learning to crunch these numbers together can be challenging, especially when so many of those factors are ambiguous in nature. You can help clarify some of these ambiguities by doing more research on your own, digging into the nature and function of different computer components, and seeing how they work in a live environment. It may also be worth spending time with different laptops in person so you can see how they look and feel up close.
Ultimately, the decision is yours. Make a list of your most important priorities, review a wide variety of laptops currently available, and pull the trigger when you find a good fit for your needs.
