(These lists contain a bare minimum of options and capabilities of computers and are used here as examples only.)

You know that this laptop will be used primarily for household use, maybe for a home business down the road. Now you know exactly what you need and what extras you want from the laptop you buy.

There are two more important questions that need answering before you make this purchase:

1) New or refurbished

2) Buy off the shelf, already put together or build your own (customize it).

Let’s take a look at the first question: Should you buy a new computer or a refurbished model? The answer is one you have to decide, all I can do is tell you what I know about refurbished computers and you can decide if it’s the right way to go or not.

Refurbished computers are almost always ones that have been returned because the customer just didn’t like it or, more likely ones that have been sent in for repair. The company sends a new computer to the person who sent his/hers in and goes about repairing the one that was sent in. The technicians make sure they bring the computer back to new condition and the company sells it as refurbished. On the Internet you can find sites that sell nothing but refurbished computers and other electronics such as Refurbdepot.com or many manufacturers, such as Dell, Sony, Compaq, HP, and many others sell their own refurb models direct from their own website. Usually a 90 day warranty is offered with the purchase regardless of where you buy it from and most places will offer one, two, or more years of warranty coverage for an additional cost. If you decide to buy refurbished, I strongly advise you to purchase an extended warranty for at least one year. If nothing goes wrong it may seem like a waste of money, but if something does go wrong you will be happy you have the warranty. Are you at all familiar with how much computer techs charge to repair laptops? Not to mention you will be without it until it is fixed. If you do decide to buy a refurb however, then you can skip the next paragraph, if however, you decide to buy new then read on.