When you're in college buying a laptop is a necessity nowadays, but don't let the flashy ads and one-liners fool you. Odds are you don't need 8GB of Ram or a 3.0GHz quad-core processor to handle what you'll need for class, even if you plan on watching a movie and downloading something at the same time.

Save your money for more important things like food and rent; you can still get everything you need without paying an arm and a leg.

Nowadays most laptops are designed to break down after a year or two  and be replaced. This can cause many issues if you wish to easily and inexpensively repair your laptop in the mean time. Always remember to stick with stick with a brand name you've heard of. Compaq, Dell, HP, IBM, Sony or Toshiba. Anything beyond that and it can start to get difficult and expensive finding parts down the road if something breaks.

A great place to buy cheap laptops for college is online. But first you need to know what you'll need for college!