Here’s a refurbished laptop that won’t break your bank. The Acer Aspire 3680 2682 Notebook PC isn’t the most powerful portable computer anyone will show you. But it just might be the least expensive! That’s because the Acer AS3680 2682 Notebook PC costs well under 500 dollars at time of posting. For a PC that comes with everything you’re realistically going to use for light computing tasks, it’s definitely worth considering.

Plus, this PC comes running the introductory version of Windows new Operating System, Windows Vista Basic. This opens up a bunch of interesting opportunities for the gutsy computer user. Read on, and after a brief introduction to the Acer Aspire 3680 2682 notebook PC, you just may err on the side of budget computing and buy one!

This Acer has an Intel Celeron M 440 1.86GHz processor, so it’s decently powered under the hood. There’s only 512MB of DDR2 memory. At first glance, this is a little skimpy. But let’s look a bit closer: the Acer Aspire 3680 2682 Notebook PC is running Vista Basic, the version of Vista that does not utilize the Aero interface that hogs most of the system resources of other Vista computers. Plus, there are two 533MHz slots in this laptop, with only one of them filled. That means for approximately 20-30 bucks, you can upgrade to 1GB of DDR2 memory. For those keeping score, that means we’re still well below 500 bucks.

There’s a 80GB hard drive, which is small by desktop standards but will hold what you need until you get yourself an external hard drive. The Acer AS3680 2682 Notebook PC also features a CD burner/DVD player combo drive, for making music for the road and watching movies when you get there. A feature you don’t often find on bargain laptops is the WiFi on/off switch, a great deterrent against today’s Spyware and Botnet threats. Still not convinced? TigerTV host Logan got his hands on this inexpensive PC not too long ago. Below is his take on the Acer Aspire 3680 2682, an excellent PC for the money.

Acer Aspire 3680 2682 Notebook PC

Tired of paying too much for your computers? The Acer AS3680 2682 Refurbished Notebook PC is an excellent alternative. It’s fun, functional, and well under 500 dollars, even after purchasing a few handy add-ons to bring it up to a discerning user’s standards. To get one for yourself, check out the Related Links at the bottom of this posting. If you’re still not convinced that this Laptop makes an excellent mobile platform for quality computing on a budget, check out these buyer testimonials. They’re viewable on our product page, but I’ve reproduced them here for posterity:

“Bought this laptop, Took vista off of it, installed extra ram to 1 gb. Installed a dual boot of Ubuntu Linux and XP pro, runs awesome fast. Great Wifi I pick up my connection over 70 feet away through two houses with room to spare. Ubuntu linux works great with this laptop Wifi and all. The cool beryl manager makes the desktop fun to play with. First laptop I ever bought but I have used many. I highly recommend, and have sold 3 myself of other people with the same setup I have.”
-Djrick56 Reviewed October 23, 2007

“Just recieved this system. Service from Tiger Direct was top-notch with great communication and fast shipping. The Acer notebook is an excellent value and looks like new. I was hesitant to buy refurbished but am pleasntly surprised. Performance is very good, much faster than I had expected with all the comments I’ve read about Windows Vista. The screen shows vivid colors, the Vista operating system is easy to learn,DVD movie playback is razor sharp. I have been able to load all the programs I use without incident. I am considering a second Acer system from Tiger Direct for my college-bound daughter!”

-Campy Reviewed October 11, 2007

Related Links: Acer Aspire 3680 2682 Refurbished Notebook PC, 512MB DDR2 Memory, External USB 2.0 Hard Drives