Toshiba offers a few of their refurbished laptops in the “Clearance Store” of their official website toshibadirect.com. There you can purchase their laptops at 20-30% discounts, refurbished and as good as new. Toshiba inspects all returned and overstocked notebooks, replaces any defective parts, and resells them. You the consumer reap the benefits.

Toshiba refurbished laptops are usually available in their Satellite, Satellite Pro, Portegé, Tecra, and Qosmio lines. The Satellite series is the most commonly refurbished model. They are powerful and comparatively inexpensive. However, they are not as affordable as Dell or IBM laptops. This is in part due to the fact that Toshiba Satellite notebooks are better equipped to handle multimedia presentations. They usually include media hardware that allows you to hook the unit up to a television or projection screen. They are perfect for students and casual home users.

The Toshiba Qosmio line is one of the best laptops for multimedia and computer gaming. The Qosmio usually comes with a Pentium 4 or Pentium M processor – some of the best and fastest processors around. Their 15.4” screens run larger than most other brands – perfect for watching movies, playing video games, and viewing documents side-by-side. Their expansion capabilities are also top-notch, so you can continue to use your Toshiba laptop for years to come.

One of the laptops Toshiba offers at a discount is the Satellite A60. This is packed with all the portable technology for most of your computing needs, at only $850. It’s heavy, but a little extra weight comes along with all the multimedia features it offers.

When buying a refurbished Toshiba laptop computer, make sure you are able to find disk drivers that match the unit. It can be difficult to acquire these. Check with Toshiba Direct, or visit a trusted third-party refurbisher.

Of course, Toshiba offers the industry standard 90-day warranty on both its notebooks and batteries. When buying from a third-party distributor, ask about their particular warranty plans.

Dell offers a full line of refurbished laptops on their website, dell.com. Look for “Outlet Refurbished Laptops.” There you will find a full range of popular models that run just as reliably as a new machine – for hundreds of dollars less than you would pay for new versions. This is because Dell refurbished laptops are inspected for “good-as-new” quality. The only differences are the red label on the bottom of the unit and a lower price.

Dell’s most popular refurbished laptops are Latitude and Inspiron. The Latitude series of “notebook” computers is no longer manufactured, but is still a great buy for someone looking for an up-to-date machine. Latitude is an apt name for these models: they afford you great leeway in updating, expanding, or otherwise changing the internal workings of the computer. With its black chassis and clean lines, it is a rather “normal” looking computer. It is a middleweight unit, but sized to fit any standard laptop case, along with AC/DC adaptor, mouse, floppy and zip disks, and other accessories. The Dell Latitude C600, CPX, and L400 are the three most popular models in the line.

The Inspiron series of notebook computers is still manufactured today, with some modifications. Slightly older versions are still a great way to meet all your computer needs. Inspirons are not quite as expandable as Latitudes, but, with their jazzy black-and-silver chassis, have a distinctive look. Inspiron laptops are also a bit more affordable than Latitudes. Furthermore, Inspiron ranks among the highest performing laptops available, with famously long battery life The Dell Inspiron 1100 and 1150 are the two most common models in the line of refurbished laptops at Dell.

If you are looking to get the lowest price on a Dell laptop, look for one that uses a Celeron processor instead of an Intel. Celeron is less expensive, and also uses less battery juice, than Intel.

When comparing refurbished laptop models, ask about these specifications:

Central Processing Unit: The CPU or processor is the heart of the computer. The more software you want in your refurbished laptop, the more powerful the processor has to be. A 32-bit processor is less powerful and less expensive than a 64-bit processor.

Operating System: The operating system, or OS, is the graphic interface between you and whatever programs you are running. Windows and Unix are the two main families of operating systems. Windows is the more common interface, and therefore less expensive.

Screen Size: Smaller does not necessarily mean cheaper; some smaller models are just as powerful as some larger models but more portable.

Hard Drive Size: The hard drive, or HD, is the permanent information storage disk inside the unit. HD capacity is measured in gigabytes. A GB is one billion bytes. A byte is a piece of information, such as text, sound, or picture. The larger the HD is, the more software it can handle and the more expensive the laptop will be.

Hard Drive Speed: HD speed is measured in revolutions per minute – usually 5000 to 15,000 RPM. The faster the HD, the better and more expensive the laptop will be.

Random Access Memory: The RAM is the temporary storage chip that continually updates information while you are using the computer. Today 64 megabytes is the entry level RAM size, suitable for running many programs simultaneously. The greater the storage capacity of the RAM, the more powerful and expensive it is.

Media Bay: The media bay contains the slots for playing and recording CDs and DVDs. Older laptops might only allow the playing of CDs, whereas newer laptops allow you to both play and record CDs and/or DVDs. The more features there are in the media bay, the more you can do with your laptop, and the more you will spend.

Modem: Modems can take the form of dial-up telephone modems, or fast cable or direct satellite linkup modems. The faster your type of modem is, the more easily you will be able to surf the web and the more costly your laptop will be.

The price will be affected by all these specifications, along with added features, how well preserved the chassis is, the name of the manufacturer, and whether you acquire the laptop form the factory or through a private dealer. Private dealers charge less, but beware: not all dealers are up to par with their refurbishing skills. Be sure to go to one that is reputable and experienced.

Computing freedom, independence, and mobility don’t have to come with a hefty price tag.

Manufacturers refurbish laptop computers that have been returned. The laptop might have a scratched screen or other minor blemish. In some cases, the laptop was an unwanted gift or its packaging was dented. The laptop is inspected by the manufacturer, tested for quality, and repackaged for sale at a much lower price.

While many new laptops can cost thousands of dollars, most refurbished laptop computers usually cost less than a couple of grand, and often less than $500. In most cases, they are as good as new and have a very low return rate. They even come with guarantees and warranties, just as you would expect with a new model.

A refurbished laptop can satisfy most people’s basic computing needs, such as word processing, running software, reading e-mail, creating spreadsheets, playing CDs, surfing the Internet, and more. Laptops allow access to all these features from anywhere.

All laptop manufacturers offer refurbished laptops, including such popular brands as Dell, IBM, Toshiba, and HP.

Computer prices are affected by type of processor, operating system, modem, and network card; size of the hard drive and RAM (Random Access Memory); and whether there is a CD/DVD-ROM/RW, a video card, a sound card, and zip drive. Prices are also affected by screen size and type of chassis.

The price will be affected by all these specifications, along with how well preserved the chassis is, the name of the manufacturer, and whether you acquire the laptop form the factory or through a private dealer. Private dealers charge less, but beware: not all dealers are up to par with their refurbishing skills. Be sure to go to one that is reputable and experienced.

The gaming laptop is coming of age! It is steadily increasing in popularity as performance quality goes up. Gamers now regularly consider laptops or notebooks when searching for that perfect gaming machine.

With each new generation of notebooks we are seeing some novel breakthroughs: dual core notebooks, PCI Express, Sonoma chipset, increased storage, increased RAM, faster CPUs, better battery life and better wireless connections including a Cellular Modem. All welcome news for gamers and notebook lovers alike.

Generally, gamers are a very demanding group, they know their computers and they know what they want in their computers. Most gamers like to order their gaming laptop with their own specs and configurations. In that light, if you closely examine the main points gamers consider when configuring or building their Dream Machine -- you will have a good blueprint for the best gaming machine.

Since notebook technology changes every two years or so, it's probably wise to purchase a laptop that can be easily upgraded as new products come on line. So consider the upgradable factor in any notebook that you plan to buy.

Now, lets look at some of these key gaming factors:

GRAPHICS

You must have the best/latest/fastest Graphics on the market. DUH!

Serious gamers are concerned with graphics, obsessed would probably be a better word. And rightly so! Graphics or the quality of the graphic chipset in your notebook computer will be your first area of consideration and it will greatly determine the gaming performance of your PC.

Go with the latest Graphic Chipset and also check to see if you can upgrade your Graphics Card on the particular machine you're thinking about buying. Many machines allow this.

Here are some Graphic Chipsets that are highly rated: ATi Mobility Radeon 9700, ATI's Mobility FireGL V3200 or Intel's Graphics Media Accelerator 900.

ATi Mobility Radeon 9700 is a high quality Graphics Card or visual processing unit (VPU) present in many next generation notebooks. It will give you higher performance at a lower power level, saving battery power.

It makes your notebook computer capable of many functions: 3D games, wide-screen HDTV, dynamic presentations, mobile video editing studio and graphic processor.

Many notebooks now come with integrated graphics, where components interact and are sometimes shared, especially memory. If you want a notebook computer for 3D games -- check the amount of video RAM -- this is memory that's dedicated to graphic or video applications.

Other common graphic chipsets are: STMicro, NVIDIA, 3D Labs, Matrox, Trident S3 and SIS.

RAM

Get the largest amount of RAM possible. DUDE!

RAM or random-access memory will determine how much graphics your notebook computer will be able to handle. It's best to get the largest amount possible on your machine or what you can afford.

It's generally agreed that you need at least 256MB for Windows XP and Mac OS X. You will only need 128MB for other operating systems in Windows or Mac.

RAM or the amount of RAM on your notebook computer is extremely important if you want to handle heavy graphic files or want to play games on your notebook. The more RAM you have, the more applications you will be able to handle. Some notebook now come with up to 2GB of DDR2 533MHz RAM!

DDR2 SDRAM - is a new standard that can boost conventional SDRAM memory up to speeds well over 200MHz and beyond. For example, the IBM ThinkPad T43, thanks to the Sonoma Chipset or platform has 533MHz DDR 2 SDRAM.

This is much better than standard SDRAM which tops out around 150- 166MHz and DDR SDRAM which starts at 200MHz and goes up to around 400MHz.

Video RAM or VRAM is special memory that's used by video adapters on your notebook. This is RAM that is dedicated to handling the visuals and graphics on your notebook computer. This is helpful if you want to play a lot of the latest 3D video games on your notebook.

It is somewhat different from ordinary RAM because it can be accessed by two different devices at once -- enabling screen updates while the video processor processes new data. VRAM provides better graphics but is more expensive than ordinary RAM.

SPEED

You need the fastest computer money can buy. Period!

In order to get the maximum performance from your ultimate gaming computer you must have the fastest speed you can get or afford. Your ultimate PC must be able to process and handle the latest 3D video games with ease. There is nothing as annoying as your PC freezing up in the middle of some major gaming action!

Therefore, your Processor's speed is very important.

CPU or Central Processing Unit, you probably know it as the processor! It's the heart or rather the brain of your notebook or computer. It does all your computer's data processing and applications. Since it does most of the work, it's usually the most expensive part of your notebook computer.

Go with SATA!

SATA is a type of hard drive and stands for Serial Advanced Technology Architecture. It was developed by a whole group of companies including Seagate, Intel, Maxtor, Dell and others. SATA transmit data in a serially (in a single stream) as opposed to PATA or Parallel ATA which is commonly referred to as an IDE hard drive.

Serial ATA hard drives uses less power and are ideal for notebook computers, they are also more advanced than PATA hard drives which uses multipe streams of data -- go figure! But Serial Technology carries data in a single stream and unlike PATA is not limited to a particular clock speed, Serial transfers data packets almost 30 times faster than parallel.

If top performance in your notebook is one of your goals, go with a SATA hard drive.

Intel Pentium M processors are commonly found in a lot of notebooks and laptops. When in doubt also go with a Pentium!

The speed of microprocessors is measured in MHz.

MHz is short for megahertz. One MHz equals one million cycles per second. The speed of processors, usually known as clock speed, is measured in megahertz (MHz) or these days in gigahertz (GHz).

The higher the clock speed, the faster the computer will process applications and data. It determines how powerful your notebook computer will be. Processor speeds for notebooks or laptops are steadily increasing, not quite the same as a desktop but the gap is narrowing quickly. Speeds of 3.4GHz or more.

Don't forget to ask or check the hard drive speed! A 7,200rpm hard drive is faster than a 4,200rpm or 5,400rpm and usually gives better performance.

DISPLAY

You need the sharpest, brightest display screen or all the above points are moot!

Display quality is also extremely important to your gaming experience. Make sure the resolution and display quality of your notebook computer can handle the graphics for 3D Gaming.

What to keep in mind...

SVGA Resolution. Put simply, computer images are made up of dots, the more dots you have -- the better the image. SVGA Resolution is made up of 800 x 600 dots.

Many notebook computer have XGA (1024 by 768 dots) or SXGA (1280 x 1024 dots), these resolutions will give a higher quality image. WXGA stands for widescreen XGA.

TFT Active Matrix Display. TFT stands for thin-film transistors and many high-end notebook computers use (TFT) active matrix liquid crystal displays.

If display quality is your main reason for buying a notebook, it's best to give it the 'old eye test' and check out the image quality first-hand and decide for yourself. Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, and others are known for their high quality monitors -- this quality is also present in their notebook display screens.