Laptops are great, that's a given. Fast, compact, incredibly useful. Only problem ' Price. Beautiful all singing all dancing Laptops with the latest technology are introduced to the market everyday and these new laptops come with a big price tag. That's great if you've got loads of money or work in a job where your employer has to buy it for you. But if not and if you can't afford the prices is there any way you can get yourself a powerful laptop on the cheap. In this article I have some tips for you on how to get a cheap yet powerful laptop.

With mobile wireless internet everywhere laptops have come of age. The days of them being pricey lumpy mobile word processors and a salesperson's PowerPoint presentation box are gone forever. You can do all the stuff you do on your big desktop PC pretty much anytime anywhere. Add this to the fact that they are faster and more reliable that desktop PCs, can be hooked up to large screens, full size keyboards and USB hubs then they become a very real desktop replacement as well as mobile powerhouses.

**So how do you go about getting a power user level Laptop at half price?**

1) Buy slightly older technology

Rapid advance in technology makes it meaningless to buy the latest technology at a high price unless you've got more money than sense. For example, when laptops with wireless capability first came to the market they cost upto US$2500. Now just about all laptops have this.

2) Buy used or refurbished laptop

The depreciation of a laptop value is so high, that after one year in the market, a laptop can easily lose half its value. So last years power user super laptop is now half price. And despite technology changes 1 year is not very long even so and that 1 year old is a serious powerhouse.

So if you're looking for a cheap laptop, look for one which is close to one year old. The main area to take care on is condition. By their nature laptops can get knocked about.

**But where to find this type of Laptop in best condition?**

Simple. You buy gamers or business power users. Buying any electronic gadgets including laptops from hard core power users or gamers is a great strategy. Why's that?

Gamers or power users fall into the "more money than sense" or "company buys it for them" groups. They either want or need the latest and most powerful technology to run their games or power hungry applications and they don't settle for second best. Gamers take real good care of their laptops and company users are backed up by pro IT people.

Gamers also need the best technology. So after one year, they will be bored of what they have and will look to sell off their laptops so that they can buy a new one.

So where to find these great people who will sell you a laptop that's brilliant for everything apart from the high end physics?

**Friends**

If you have friends who are gamers, ask them if or when they are planning to sell off their laptop. Who knows, maybe you can get your good and cheap laptop from them. A source you can trust very much as well.

**Gamer Hang Outs**

Scan through gaming forums and local gaming community online or in gamer cafe notice boards.

If you don't have gamer friends then scanning through gaming forums online is another way to get good and cheap deals for used laptop. Or look on eBay but make a rule only consider sellers in your own country with good feedback and a solid returns and support policy.

**Where to find gamer forums?**

Google search for gaming forums. Start basic "gaming chat forum" and if no luck find out what the very latest games are and look for forums to do with the game title.

Visit each one and check to see if they have a for sale Section. There you'll definitely find many post from gamers looking to sell their gaming laptops.

**Local bulletin boards and classifieds**

Do scan through local bulletin boards near you for cheap deals on laptop. Craigslist.org is also well worth a look as it is by nature local.

Local boards are especially good if there are software companies around the area. They often sell their used computers or laptops for sale when their projects end.

**What to look for**

Look for cheap laptop with at least 1gb memory - This is especially important for used laptop. If the processor speed is slow, then having more memory can compensate for the lack in speed. In fact, the size of memory plays a big part in determining how fast a laptop runs an application and just by increasing the memory size, you'll get a huge boost in speed.

A cheap laptop with at least 1gb memory will also run most non graphic intensive application easily and will run graphics fine as long as the graphics card is reasonable.

**Important. Make sure it's from a mainline manufacturer**

Very important because if you are buying used laptop, then the chances of requiring servicing is higher than a new laptop. So if you buy from a mainline brand you'll save a lot of hassle and time if your laptop does need servicing. It may well be that there is no warranty but at least, just like with a car, there will be many places you can get it looked at.

I hope this has been helpful and that you can now see that getting a good laptop need not be a wallet buster and that it is possible to get a cheap power user laptop. Just think gamers!