Desktops are a thing of the past. Laptops are becoming more mainstream. Nowadays, desktops are reserved for those higher end needs. But there are even high spec laptops that can challenge the best of desktops.

Every college student who is taking his or her studies seriously certainly needs a laptop. In this age of information technology, researching and looking for resources a better done online. Compared to a desktop, a laptop offers mobility which allows the student to bring it anywhere in the campus.

Students need to consider some factors before grabbing that expensive piece of equipment. First is size. Would a netbook suffice for simply internet browsing and word processing, or some applications will be used like CAD applications which require bigger screens and higher specs?

Next to consider is the operating system. The most popular operating system right now is the Windows 7. This OS works best for students because the office apps included in it are really conducive for word processing and encoding data.

The specs are also important and when we say specs, we are talking about the hardware. The brain of the laptop is the CPU or microprocessor. It is highly recommended to get laptops that are at least powered by an Intel core duo processor. However, for maximum performance, you can get an i3 or i5 laptop.

RAM is also important especially if a student needs to browse on several sites. 2 GB would be just about right. This also allows some digital photo editing as well as playing advanced games.

Video cards are needed for dedicated video and graphics processing like video editing or graphics development. But with normal photo editing, no need for high end cards. When buying a laptop, it should have at least 512MB of RAM for video cards.

Ports are important not just for input but for output as well. This is for connectivity to several peripheral devices.

And one of the most important functions of all is wireless connectivity. So for cheap student priced laptops, you can hunt online for refurbished acer laptops or cheap acer laptops.

Your laptop is your best friend in college so take carefulness in buying your equipment . Click here to view more refurbished acer laptops.