Five Tips for Saving Money on Your Computer

Five Tips for Saving Money on Your Computer for College Student

1. If you need a computer for college, you don't need to buy all the bells and whistles just because they're available. Nearly any new computer on the market today comes equipped with the features you'll need, unless you're majoring in a field like engineering or graphic design, which require intense processing capabilities. If money is an issue, you can get by without a DVD ROM drive, high-end sound system, and larger size or flatscreen monitor. You can also cut costs by buying 128 to 256 MB of RAM versus 528, a 600­800 Mhz processor instead of 1.3 Ghz, and a 20 GB hard drive instead of 40 GB or greater. Equipping your computer to use it as an entertainment center (playing DVD movies, 3-D video games, etc.) will significantly increase your costs, but the basics will do just fine for your course work requirements. 
2. Before you buy a computer, check with your college. Some schools provide laptops to students as part of the price of tuition. If yours is one of them, there's no sense in spending your own money on a duplicate piece of equipment.
3. Nowadays, most college students have their own computers, but if money is especially tight, for the price of a little inconvenience, you can shave $1,000 to $2,000 off your expenses by using the computers in the school's computer lab.
4. Your college may require you to have a computer that contains certain components. For example, you may be required to have wireless Internet capability. Before you buy a computer, check with the school regarding their requirements and suggestions. It's more expensive to add capabilities after the fact.
5. Before you buy a new computer to take to college, check with your campus bookstore to see if they offer student discounts on computer equipment. Most do, and you could save as much as 25 percent or more off retailer's prices.