How To Build A Cheap and Fast Laptop Computer for Under $500

Building a cheap laptop is not as hard as you think. By doing good research and having a laundry list of what you want in your computer will save you money and give you a great computer at the same time.
 There are basically 3 types of laptop computers used by consumers today...

1. General purpose (school work, email etc.) 70%
2. Computer Gaming (25%)
3. Video Editing, Video graphics (5%)

If you are one of those general purpose people, here are some great tips to save you money building your next laptop computer.

1) Know what you will use the computer for

1. Write papers
2. Check my emails
3. Surf the internet
4. Watch movies
5. Burn DVD's and CD's etc.

First you should narrow down what you will be doing with your laptop. This step is very important as it will determine the parts you buy and how expensive or cheap they will be.

2) List of parts

Below is a list of parts which you will need to build your computer.
-Mother board
-RAM memory
-Heat sink past
-Processor
-Hard drive
-Video Card
-CPU Fan
-PC Case
-Audio Card
-Case Fan
-Power Supply
DVD/CD burner
-Ethernet card

Recommendations:

• Try Intel core i3. This is going to cost under $75. Sometimes you can get the processors in a package with the motherboard for about $150.
• RAM memory: Get DDR2 at least 4GB. I recommend Corsair 2GB DDR2-667 you could get it for under $80.
• Hard drive: 320GB min anything with an IDE connection (IDE generally is cheaper then SATA). You could get one for under $65 or $50.
• Try to get a 400W power supply minimum, it tends to be enough power with most of what you will be hooking up. You can get a power supply and case for under $70.
• Get and DVD burner not a CD burner because DVD burners can play back CD's DVD's and can burn both CD's and DVD's a good one will cost about $60 or $50.

If you are not building a gaming laptop pc most likely you will not need a video card. The reason is most mother boards come with integrated graphics nowadays, specifically Intel based ones. Integrated graphics are good for normal use not for high performance games just to let you know.

Another great place to save money is with the audio card like integrated graphics motherboards generally come with audio cards integrated in as well. Unlike the graphics the audio cards are generally good you could get up to 5.1 or even higher sound cards with the motherboard for a decent price.

Ethernet cards well they are pretty cheap but then again most motherboards I have seen come with them.
Total cost for 70% General Purpose users
Processor $70.00
Motherboad $50.00
Etc. $250.00
Total $370.00




OK so the other 25% and 5% well you guys can pretty much use each others computers the same above two categories apply to both of you also. The difference is in the following:
*Video graphics card expect to pay, a little more then the other 70% my recommendation would be the Nvidia GeForce 8600 series it will set you back about $115.
*RAM I would recommend 2GB minimum of DDR2 memory. Try Corsair 2GB DDR2-667 you could get it for under $80.
*Hard drive my recommendation is min. of 320GB with a SATA connection. You could get a Seagate Barracuda 7200 series for under $80.
Total cost for 25% Gamers

Processor $70.00
Motherboad $50.00
Etc. $380.00
Total $500.00

For the 5%ers well your cost is about the same as the gamers.
Processor $70.00
Motherboad $50.00
Etc. $380.00
Total $500.00

Remember always try to keep yourself updated on the latest technology hardware and software this allows you to understand better what you really want and also make a better choice when selecting the computer parts.

For the best deals on computer parts and accessories I recommend visiting: [http://www.Dealinsecond.com]T.S. Nagra Currently I am an Engineer with Intel Corporation where I specialize in Product Development Engineering. I have also been building and modifying computers for many years based on cutting costs and getting the most performance.