Deciding to buy a laptop in this new technological society can be confusing. However, we have broken down the steps for you to make a simple decision for any laptop of your choice without a hustle.
Are you in the academic field, entertainment space, or corporate world and you are deciding to buy a laptop but don’t know which one to select then you have come to the right place. This Best Laptop Guide For Every Budget will enlight your understanding for a sipme and easy decion on laptop selection.
No matter the type of laptop you are searching for and the operating system (Windows or macOS ) you intend to use, we have an answer for you.
The question is, what is the purpose of buying the laptop? This leads us to the option available. Either Chromebook, windows base laptop, or Apple laptop (MacBook).
If the purpose for buying the laptop is to browse the internet or use some cloud base apps and you are on a tight budget then Chromebook is the perfect match for you.
Let’s say you have iPhone, iPad, or Apple watch and want an easy flow of the Apple ecosystem, where AirDrop, iMessage, and tons of features the ecosystem has to offer then your choice is the Mac. Remember that the Mac has great functionality when it comes to laptop performance.
Now if you are a kind whose interest is focused on the Windows operating system for productivity and a gamer, then you have a ton of choice here as there are different varieties of options to choose from.
Notwithstanding, there are certain facts to consider before buying a laptop.
There are several factors to consider before buying a laptop but we have considered the most relevant item to help you make a good decision.
The following are factors to consider when deciding to buy a laptop:
Before we proceed here is a quick peek at what we will be discussing
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Screen Size.
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Display type.
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Storage type.
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Ram.
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Processor.
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Graphics.
Screen Size.
Traditional laptop screen comes in different sizes. The most popular laptop screen ranges between 11 and 17 inches.
As to whether you prefer a large screen, medium, or small, it all depends on the user experience. For the average user, a range from 13 inches – 16 inches is acceptable.
But most users prefer the 13 inches and 15 inches which offer convenience and portability priority. Note that the diagonal screen size of laptops differ as manufacturers have different measurements.
Some 13 inches laptops are thin while others are thick.
So if you are a student who needs a laptop for academic activities and cares about portability then 13 inches is the right choice. However, if weight isn’t a problem as much then 15 inches is a considered choice as it will give you a widescreen feel.
Display type.
twisted Nematic (TN), In-Plane Switching (IPS), and Organic Light-emitting Diode (OLED).
Basically, there are three main types of laptop displays in the market.
TN (twisted Nematic), IPS (In-Plane Switching), and OLED (Organic Light-emitting Diode) displays. The higher the crispy display you wish for the higher amount of money you will be required to spend on. Each of these displays has its advantages and disadvantages.
TN (twisted Nematic) display is the cheapest and is mostly found on low-end laptop models like Chromebooks and
however, it becomes deem and very difficult to view when watching from side angles.
Storage type.
Normally laptop storage comes in two types thus HDD or SSD. But in modern laptops, SSD is preferred because it is responsible for how fast your computer boots up or how quickly an app launches on your machine. It also play a significant role in data transfer.
SSD is also grouped into two main types, SATA and PCIe NVMe.
The SATA version offers good performance for common applications. PCIe NVMe is faster than SATA SSD.
Remember to select an SSD storage type over HDD.
Unfortunately, SSD storage type is expensive which is why they come in small storage capacities like 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and most times high-end laptops get 1TB and above.
If the user intends to configure beyond the base storage then it cost an additional amount than the user anticipated.
It is advisable to get the 256GB or 512GB and buy an external drive for all your daily backup activities if your productivity does not require high storage capacity.
RAM
Ram plays a major role in the functionality of the laptop. Basically, the type of ram used in a laptop is the DDR version.
The version defines the power it consumed. DDR stand for double data rate which is
grouped into serveral version types, thus DDR2, DDR3, DDR4 and DDR5
watch the video to get glimps about ddr3 & ddr4 version
The DDR4 modules outperform the DDR3 without sacrificing power.
The DDR4 module is power efficient and will serve you better when dealing with multiple applications and tabs.
That does not mean the DDR3 will not perform better. for instance, this article is written from start to finish on the memory of DDR3 modules.
For the average laptop user, you will not notice the difference between the DDR3 & DDR4 modules of ram.
Choosing an average ram for a laptop will depend solely on individual usage. If you are the type of user who needs the laptop for browsing the internet, playing games, and a bit of document reading and editing, then 8GB of ram will be enough for such activities.
Users who love to edit videos at 4k do some usual graphic design stuff, and play games will need to pump up to 16GB and above.
Unlike previous laptop with ease ram configuration, modern laptop ram are not easy to upgrade and some do not allow users to upgrade the ram after purchase. So it is advisable to pick the best ram configuration base on your core usage task.
Processor.
Processors play a very significant role in the functionality of your choice of laptop you intend to buy. There are two major manufacturers of pc processors, thus AMD and Intel. AMD processor is normally known as Ryzen
The biggest problem with this processor choice is the variety of many different versions of it created by the pc manufacturers. The reason for many versions of processors is aimed at the power usage of the machine.
One key fact is, the higher the processor clock speed and generation the higher the amount to spend. For instance, the Intel Core i7 will cost higher than the Intel Core i5 and the AMD ryzen 7 will be more expensive when compared to the AMD ryzen 5. In a use-case scenario, the processors are grouped into three categories. basic usage, medium and workload.
A user who just read emails, edits documents, and streams a couple of content will not need a much power-intensive processor. However, sound engineers and video editor pc users will require a highly power-intensive processor.
The individual pc user should first consider what they are going to use the device for before deciding on which version of the processor will deem fit. Each version of the processor comes with its own clock speed limit and below is an example of AMD and Intel processors
Diving too much into the entire process debate between AMD and Intel will make the guide boring and time-consuming. we have separate content which explains the debate between these two companies in detail.
For the average user, high-end processor selection will not be much of a problem as their usage requirement will rarely demand such an intensive powerhouse.
Graphics
With a Graphics card in a laptop, there are integrated and dedicated.
Most laptops come with an integrated graphic card and they are underpowered which in Nutshell do not affect the average user who read email, edit documents and stream a couple of contents. However, light video editing and games will work without much problem and not intensive ones.
Please note that due to the limitation of integrated graphics card , most games will not work well when play on such devices.
Some laptops come with a dedicated graphics card which is good for gamers and users who edit 4k videos. One drawback for a laptop with a dedicated graphics card is high power consumption. This means you must have your laptop plugin when performing 4k video editing.
Conclusion
There are so many factors that contribute to the laptop buying decision such include the keyboard , speaker, port, trackpad size. However, budget is the central factor for all the features mention above. So if you intend to go for a high end specs then a lot of money is expected to be spent on. A user, whose intention is to buy a laptop for longer period should focus on a sizeable ram let say 8gb or 16gb for the basic user and 256gb or 512gb for the storage. Always choose SSD over HDD storage type.
In the case of DDR3 , DDR4 &DDR5 memory module, it won’t be a significant factor for most users as they won’t be able to differentiate between the modules when using the device.
A processor with a decent clock speed can be advantage.
Any significant feature for your laptop base on your personal usage will be a better choice than including all high end specs for a mere basic usage functionality.
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