<p>i am going to buy a laptop to be used in school. but i dont know whether i should buy a new one or a second-hand.</p>
<p>If you have the money, buy it new. You get the warranty and obviously a more up to date computer.</p>
<p>yeah, I wouldn’t trust a used computer. Watch on slickdeals.net and woot.com . They usually have really good deals on computers occasionally.</p>
<p>if you’re looking to save money, you can always search in the refurbished section of online dealers, or you can ask to buy the display model/open box returns if you buy in a store.</p>
<p>Dell online has a rather nice search in their refurbished section.</p>
<p>there’s nothing wrong with a refurbished computer, though you’ll still want a warranty. any problems it had before it was refurbished would’ve been fixed along with any common problems for that particular model.</p>
<p>honestly, having something “up-to-date” doesn’t really matter unless you do certain things. most people won’t know the difference, and even less can tell the difference.</p>
<p>If it’s a laptop, I would buy a new one. Remember, this thing has to last for four years (and maybe more). They say that a computer becomes obsolete in like three years, so if you get a one year old computer, it’ll only be good for like two years.
More importantly that that though is battery life. Those things will decay fairly quick.
But if you’re looking to save money, might I recommend Linux? It’s a free operating system, so it’s shaves off a good 300-400 dollars (because you don’t have to pay for microsoft office), and it is faster, so you can get cheaper hardware with it, so overall you should pay about half the price of a Windows computer. You can get great new ones (with desktop effects that look better than Vista) from Dell. I think others sell Linux laptops too.</p>
<p>Hehe, I saw some Linux pimping going on, so I had to join in on the fun XD
I’ve been using Linux almost exclusively for about 2 years now, and it’s 10x better than Windows. You can get it preinstalled on a Dell and save a ton of money, and there are still ways of using Windows if you really need to every now and then. If you’re looking for an even cheaper Linux laptop, the ASUS Eee PC’s are ultraportable and come with Linux preinstalled, and range in price from $300 to $500.</p>
<p>Oh, and soon they should be coming out with a 200 or sub 200 dollar linux laptop. I would get one before you get to college though. It’s not too different from Windows, but you want to make sure you know how to handle it before you need it.
Oh, if you would rather have Windows XP for compatability issues or something, you could always get a low-end laptop or a used one, keep Windows on the computer, and install Linux as a second OS. This will essentially revive the PC, since it will operate much faster, as good as a brand new one. PLus, you’ll still have Windows on there for backup (say you need to use a Windows only program, though chances are that you can use it in Linux with a little tweaking).</p>
<p>You should buy a new one it is a good investment my Dell laptop is on its 5th year.</p>