Buying a laptop has become a confusing task, especially in this period.

Why? Because there are so many options available plus misleading Ads.

How do you choose the best one for your needs and budget?  

I will share with you tips or factors you should consider before buying a laptop

Here are eight factors to consider while buying a laptop:

Summary

1. Purpose of the laptop
2. Performance
3. Battery Life
4. Portability
5. Display
6. Operating System
7. Keyboard
8. Price
9. Conclusion

Purpose of the laptop.

First, ask yourself why you need a laptop.

Answering this question for yourself will make it easy to follow the other factors.

It looks simple but in most cases, when bombarded with tempting Ads.

We forget the purpose and usually fall into the trap of buying what we may not like.

It might be for watching videos, office work, school, content creation, programming or graphics designing.

Always keep in mind the purpose of the laptop before looking at other factors.

Performance:

The performance depends on; Processor | Memory | Storage | Graphics Card.

Considering your purpose, it’s always important to look for a laptop that has the following properties.

• Fast and reliable processor,
• Enough memory to run multiple applications smoothly.
• Sufficient storage space to store your files and programs
• A good graphics card to handle graphics-intensive tasks such as gaming or video editing.

Some of the popular processor brands are Intel and AMD.

Here are the different types of intel processors

Intel core: Powerful processor | Made for high-end laptops and desktops

Intel Celeron: Low power processor | High battery saving | Basic Computing &web search

Atom: Low power processor | High battery saving |Made for netbooks

Pentium: Low power processor | Made for basic desktops

Processors types by performance

Intel Core i3, i5, i7,i9

Picture will illustrate

AMD Ryzen

picture will illustrate

Letter Suffix meaning

F: High-performance processor used with discrete graphics cards (ex. Gaming)

P: Processor without integrated graphics controller

S: Energy Efficient Version

X: Extreme Edition(Gaming)

H: High-performance graphics

U: Ultra-low power performance

K: Unlocked for overclocking

Apple M1 Chips, Apple M2 Chips, Apple M3 Chips

Memory/RAM: Some of the common memory sizes are 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32 GB.

You can also opt for a solid-state drive (SSD) instead of a hard disk drive (HDD) for faster booting and loading times.

The higher the memory the stronger the computer

Battery life:

The battery life of a laptop determines how long you can use it without recharging.

You should look for a laptop that has a long battery life, especially if you travel frequently or work remotely.

The battery life of a laptop depends on various factors such as screen size, brightness, resolution, processor, and usage.

Size and Weight: (Portability)

You should look for a laptop that is easy to carry around, especially if you move from one place to another often.

The weight of a laptop ranges from less than 1kg to more than 4kg, and the size ranges from 10 inches to 17 inches.

Types of laptops by size

 Ultrabooks: Thin and light laptops that offer high performance and battery life.

 Notebooks: Standard laptops that offer a balance between performance, portability, and affordability.

 Convertibles(2in1): Laptops that can be transformed into tablets by folding or detaching the screen.

Gaming laptops: Laptops that are designed for gaming and have powerful processors, graphics cards, cooling systems, and keyboards. They are usually big and heavy

Display:

The display of a laptop affects your visual experience and comfort. It would help if you looked for a laptop that has a high-quality display that suits your preferences and needs.

 The display of a laptop depends on its screen size, resolution, panel type, refresh rate, brightness, contrast, colour accuracy, and viewing angles.

Some of the common screen sizes are 13 inches, 14 inches,15 inches, and 17 inches.

Some of the common resolutions by rank:

HD (1366 x 768): Basic resolution for all laptops

Full HD (1920 x 1080): Good for video streaming & basic gaming  

Quad HD (2560 x 1440): Made for basic content creation tasks that require fairly fine colours.

 2k (2048 × 1080): Good for content creation tasks that require nice colours.

 4K (3840 x 2160): Good for content creation tasks that require accurate colours.

5K&8K Ultra HD: Offer higher resolutions for professional content creators and gamers

The higher the resolution the better the display

Common Display panel types

• IPS (In-Plane Switching): Basic
• TN (Twisted Nematic): Basic
• VA (Vertical Alignment): Basic
• LED (Light-Emitting Diode): Nice Colours
• OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode): super accurate colours

Some of the common refresh rates are 60Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz, and 240Hz.

The higher the refresh rate the better the display

Keyboard and touchpad:

The keyboard and touchpad of a laptop affect your typing and navigation experience.

Look for a comfortable and responsive keyboard with a big touchpad.

 The keyboard of a laptop depends:

• Layout size,
•  Travel distance
• Backlighting option
• Number pad option
•  Function keys option.

A laptop’s touchpad depends on its size, sensitivity level, gesture support option, button option, and fingerprint scanner option.

Operating system:

The specific operating system of a laptop affects the following.

Its features | security level | ease of use | customization options | and how frequently it receives updates.

Some of the common operating systems are.

MacOS: Mainly for Apple PCs and easy to use

Windows: Most common and easy to use

Linux: Light but hard to Use| mainly for programming

Chrome OS: For small Devices

 Price:

The price of a laptop is one of the most important factors to consider while buying a laptop.

You should look for a laptop that offers the best value for money.

Factors that affect the price

Brand | model | specifications| features| warranty| customer service.

You can compare different laptops online or in nearby stores to find the best deal.

You can also look for discounts, coupons, and offers to save some money.

Conclusion

Finding the best laptop from the many options can be hard.

By considering the factors above you empower yourself to make an informed decision.

Remember, the perfect laptop is not a one-size-fits-all scenario.

 It’s about finding the right balance that matches your requirements and budget.

Let us know if we helped you clear the confusion on choosing your next laptop