If you saw my last thread posted in this section: I, ultimately, decided to go with Asus. Now, I'm planning to spend around $200-$300 for either a new or refurbished. I decided to go on Newegg and found this refurbirshed for $249.99 + free shipping + tax: Model Brand ASUS Model X401-RBL4 General Color Matte Deep Blue Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium CPU Type Intel Pentium B970 2.3GHz Screen 14" Memory Size 4GB DDR3 Hard Disk 320GB CPU CPU Type Intel Pentium CPU Speed B970(2.3GHz) CPU Support 2MB L3 Cache Display Screen Size 14" Wide Screen Support Yes Operating Systems Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium Hard Drive HDD 320GB Memory Memory 4GB Memory Type 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM Communications WLAN 802.11n Wireless LAN Supplemental Drive Card Reader Digital media reader Webcam Yes I then hopped onto Staples to catch some good college deal sales and found: Laptop Hard Drive Speed 5400RPM Laptop Hard Drive Capacity 320GB Bluetooth Compatibility No Laptop Display Type HD Slim Laptop Memory Expandable No CPU Cache 1MB L2 Laptop Processor Speed 1.4GHz Laptop Processor Type AMD E1 1200 Laptop Color Matte Deep Blue Square Laptop Screen Size 15.6" Touch Screen Enabled No Laptop Audio Built-in Altec Lansing speakers Media Card Reader SD+MMC+MS+MS PRO SDHC(SD 2.0) Laptop Style Laptop/Notebook Windows Select PC No Laptop Refurbished No Laptop USB Slots 1 x USB 3.0 / USB 2.0 Laptop Warranty 1 Year Parts (Including battery and AC adapter, 1 Year Limited Labor Laptop Weight 4.4 lbs. Laptop Dimensions (L x W x H) 15" x 10" x .95" Laptop Battery Type 6 cell Laptop Battery Life 6 hours (estimated) Laptop Webcam 1.0MP Laptop Video Graphics UMA Laptop Hard Drive Type SATA Laptop Other ports 1 x HDMI 1.4, 1x VGA Port (D-Sub), 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert, 1 x Headphone-out & Audio-in Combo Jack, 1 x Line-in Jack Laptop Extra Features ASUS 302mm chiclet keyboard with 19mm full size key pitch Laptop Operating System Genuine Windows 8 (64-bit) Laptop Network Card Integrated 10/100/1000 Mbps Fast Ethernet, 802.11n Laptop Optical Drive None Laptop Memory Type DDR3 Laptop Memory RAM 4GB and this one is a new laptop for $259.99 + free shipping to store + tax Which one is better and why? What is the main difference between L2 and L3 cache? What's the difference between processors? They're the same memory type, but what exactly does that mean by DDR3? I don't game that much. So my laptop would primarily be used for Everyday stuff (browsing, watching YouTube videos, iTunes, the games that are preloaded etc.)
DDR3 is the speed of RAM, and nowadays DDR3 is standard - I wouldn't go below it. The second one is a very cheapo sort of computer - 1.4GHz is not much above some phones and tablets. Also, AMD CPUs aren't as reliable (although I could cause an argument by saying that). The first is hands down better, but it depends on what you can afford. Just to let you know, neither of them will handle any gaming that's more intense than Minecraft... Edit: I just noticed that the first one is cheaper and has better specs. Definitely go with that, Newegg are really reliable. Also, for clarification on CPUs, Intel and AMD are kinda at war with eachother. They each have their own fanboys/girls and I happen to be an Intel supporter simply because of reliability. That said, AMD tend to be cheaper and more cutting edge.
Thank you Gypsy. Furthermore, what are the pros & cons of buying a refurbished laptop as opposed to a new one?
While I've never bought a refurbished laptop, Newegg are really reputable and I imagine they have great support, so it probably won't be a bad decision to buy from them, and even if it doesn't work out, they'll most likely be pretty helpful.