How to buy a budget laptop in 7 easy steps

Buying a cheap laptop is hard. You get dozens of options, hardly any of them are ever advertised, and you're flooded with a barrage of details that aren't always easy to understand. If you've only got, say, $450-600 to spend, you're walking into the tech equivalent of a minefield.

Sometimes, though, you've got no choice. So to help you ensure nothing blows up, we've put together a few quick pointers to walk you through this delicate process.