Looking for a laptop? Here's what you need to know

What's a processor? How much RAM do I really need to write my term paper? Should I buy the extended warranty?

When it comes to computers, there's a lot to know to ensure you're getting a good deal. To help, we talked to computer experts about what to look for. "If you're not sure what you need, for the most part, anything you buy — as long as it's about the $350 mark for a desktop or $400 for a laptop — it's probably going to meet your needs," said Dave Greenbaum, owner of Doctor Dave Computer Repair in Lawrence, Kansas.

THE BASICS

For a basic user, Greenbaum recommended looking for an Intel Core i3 processor, or the company's more robust i5 and i7 processors.

Ben Rodriguez of IT Nachos in Kansas City, Kansas, opted for the i5 processor for a basic user looking for a laptop for $500 or less.

"Processors have gotten to the point to where almost anything is good enough for the general average user," Rodriguez said.

At that $500 price point, Rodriguez said to look for something with at least four gigabytes of RAM. "The more memory you have, the more programs you can run at once without having to load programs again and again," Rodriguez said.

HIGHER END

Engineering students, graphic designers and gamers might need a little more get-up-and-go in their laptops, like more RAM, faster processing or an improved graphics capability. Those high-end machines can run from $1,000 to $7,000, Rodriguez said.

"In a high-end gaming PC laptop, you can replace the graphics card and start changing out motherboards and changing out memory," Rodriguez said. "It starts becoming a lot more customizable and configurable to suit that higher-end need that you have."

GETTING A GOOD DEAL

When you're looking for a good deal, it's easy to be tempted by big promotions, but not all laptops are worth having.

"Buying the $99 special laptop that has a 28-gig hard drive in it, 4 gigs of memory, and thinking that's going to get them by for the next five years" is a pitfall, Rodriguez says. "It's not going to get you by for the next five months."

Greenbaum's first recommendation is to avoid refurbished laptops. Using a laptop for three years is the equivalent of driving a car 100,000 miles, he said.

"If you buy a 1-year-old computer, you've already lost a third of its life," Greenbaum said.

The exception to that rule, he adds, is Apple products because Apple refurbishes its own computers and issues them with a manufacturer's warranty.

As far as extended warranties and service plans, most aren't worth it, said Brian Hare, an associate teaching professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City's School of Computing and Engineering.

"If a company wasn't making a profit on them, they wouldn't be offering them," he said.