In this current COVID-19 pandemic, everyone is bound to stay at home, and buying a laptop has become necessary. So, here is the laptop buying guide for you.
People are working from home, and even students are necessitated to take online classes. Because of the increase in coronavirus cases, we are not even aware of when things get normal. Considering the condition, the year 2020 might be under these circumstances.
Not everyone is ready with the equipment need for either work from home or online classes. Now, while the situation has arisen buying a laptop, people are showing interest in buying laptops and searching laptop buying guide. As laptops are the most comfortable and compact devices to carry anywhere.
While buying a Laptop, the basic thing you will have to consider is what is the purpose of your purchase is it for business, work from home, or for educational purpose. If you want to choose a laptop for work, then based on your occupation, you need to choose a laptop. A graphic designer needs a different laptop from that of an architect.
Factors To Remember While BUYING A Laptop
Budget
Everyone does not have the same purchasing power. There are a lot of variants available in the market at different budgets you can choose from while buying a laptop. Many big companies such as Dell, HP, Lenovo are offering various laptops of varied specifications.
So, you have to decide the price while buying a laptop. Higher the price of a laptop, you get greater specifications.
Brand
Choose the brand of the laptop you want to purchase as the quality of your laptop depends on the brand you choose. As this is not a device that you can frequently change, and it would be with you for a while, you have to choose the brand that is good at providing support whenever needed. It is better to avoid brands that you are not sure of. There are many leading brands in the market that provide laptops of all price ranges, including Apple, Dell, Lenovo, Microsoft, HP, Asus, etc.
Screen Size & Quality
The sizes for the laptop screen will start from 11 inches and will go up to 17.3 inches. All the major companies sell laptops of screen size 14 inches, 15.6 inches, and 17.3 inches. However, some OEMs will sell from 11.6 to 13.3 inches.
When portability is your top priority, then go for a small-sized laptop. Choosing the screen size depends on the type of work you need for. If you are looking for laptops for entertainment, then you would go for a larger screen laptop while if you want the laptop just for surfing, then you can choose a smaller screen.
If you are looking for buying a laptop for work or for education, then choosing a lappy with better screen quality is much important as you spend a minimum of eight hours on that. The screen should always be comfortable to use. A 1920 x 1080 (FHD) pixel resolution is a better choice. Furthermore, video editors and photographers prefer laptops with 4k resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels) that give color accuracy and provide HDR standards.
Nowadays, most of the laptops come with a 180-degree twistable screen, and furthermore, they can be removed and used as tablets.
Weight
If you are looking to place the laptop at a single place, then the weight is not a matter, but if you are looking for a portable laptop, then you need to choose a laptop that is light in weight and easy to carry in your backpack.
Usually, the laptops whose screen size is less than 14 inches are slim and light in weight.
Processor Or CPU
The central processing unit (CPU) is considered as the brain of the computer, which processes data and gives you output. It defines the speed of your laptop. So, if you are working on huge applications or your work involves multi-tasking, you should choose a powerful processor.
The two most common and popular brands include Intel and AMD. Again Intel brand comes with model Intel Core i9, i7, i5, i3, Intel Pentium, Intel Celeron, Intel Xeon, etc. AMD is again divided into models, including AMD Ryzen, AMD A, E, FX series, etc.
Processor Model And Applications
Intel Atom, Celeron, Pentium or AMD A6
- These are low end processors used for basic applications such as browsing, e-mail, etc.
Intel i3 or AMD A8 & A9
Can be used for
- internet browsing
- Watching videos
- Video calling
- Simple office applications
Intel i5 or AMD FX
Can be used for
- Multi-tasking
- Simple gaming
- Image editing
- Coding
Intel i7 or AMD Ryzen
- Heavy multi-tasking
- Heavy Gaming
- Video editing
- 3D graphics
Operating System
An operating system is the heart of a laptop, which manages all the hardware and software resources. The two most popular opearting system you see in the market are Windows and macOS while macOS is exclusive for Apple products, Windows is unviersal operating system.
However, there are few other operating systems that are not much in use includes Linux, DOS, UBUNTU, and ChromeOS.
RAM
Earlier, having 4 GB RAM was more than enough. But now, 8 GB is considered as the minimum specification for RAM while buying a laptop. If your applications need a lot of video or photo editings, then you should need a 16 GB RAM. However, gamers should look for 32 GB or 64 GB RAM.
Choosing more RAM will allow us to perform more applications simultaneously. More data is quickly accessible by the system.
RAM Configuration & Its Applications
4 GB RAM
Can be used for
- Browsing internet
- Watching videos
- Music applications
- Basic Coding
8 GB RAM
Can be used for
- Browsing internet
- Watching videos
- Music applications
- Coding
- Basic Gaming
- Office Applications
- Image Editing
- Multi-tasking
16 GB RAM
Can be used for
- Browsing internet
- Watching videos
- Music applications
- Coding
- Intensive Gaming
- Office Applications
- Graphic Designing
- Multi-tasking
- 3D rendering
- 4k video editing
Storage
The performance of storage is much important than speed. Hence you have to choose the right amount of storage for your laptop. Earlier hard disk drives (HDDs) were much in common. But now, a much compact and less noise drive called solid-state drives (SSDs) are available.
SSD performs three times better than HDD. HDD makes the laptop bulky and furthermore they make the laptop much noisy. A maximum of 512 GB SSD is available in the market, whereas 1 TB HDD is available. But make sure that you buy a laptop with the right storage space enough for your application.
If you want laptops for personal use then you can choose HDD would be enough since they come in relatively lesser price range than buying a laptop with SSD storage.
HDD Vs SSD
- HDD data transfer speed is moderate whereas SSD transfers data faster.
- HDD consumes more power than SSD.
- HDD are cheaper whereas the SSD price is higher and depends upon capacity.
- HDD are available in a higher capacity of up to 1 TB whereas SSD are available in a lower capacity.
Graphics Card
An integrated graphics card is necessary when you are playing games, video editing, or creating 3D objects. AMD, Intel, Nvidia graphics chips are available.
AMD is launching Radeon RX 5700M and Radeon RX 5600M GPUs in this year. Nvidia and AMD have a list of graphics chips from a low range to high end. So, while buying a laptop choose the right graphics card for your application.
If you want to buy laptops for basic use then the graphic card does not matter usually laptops provide you with 2 GB graphics. But for gaming laptops need high-end graphic processors. Below provided are the few usually used graphic cards based on application
- Entry Level Gaming: Nvidia GeForce MX150, GeForce 960M, 950M, 940M, and AMD Radeon R7 (30 FPS)
- Mid-range Gaming: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050, 1050 Ti (30 FPS)
- Top-end Gaming: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, 1070, 1080 (60 FPS)
Battery
Choosing the right battery is another most important factor to be considered while buying a laptop. Poor battery life would hinder your applications. You should choose laptops that give atleast 4 to 6 hours of battery life for a single charge.
The life of a battery depends on various factors, including screen resolution, brightness, number of applications, operating system, etc. Further, if you transfer a lot of files or play graphics intense games, your battery will drain sooner than the quoted. A battery rating in between 44 Watt-hour to 50 Watt-hour will give you the best battery life.
Connectivity
Last but not least, connectivity is also considered while choosing a laptop. Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth are the major connectivity options available for every laptop. However, buying a laptop with USB 3.0 ports are better.
Conclusion
E-commerce websites such as Amazon and Flipkart are running offers on laptops. So, check out! Apart from all the factors mentioned above, while buying from e-commerce websites, you can finally check for the rating and reviews for the laptops so that you can have a clear idea about their performance.