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8 Tips for buying a new laptop
Buying a new laptop is not an easy thing. There are so many things to consider that anyone might get confused. So that why we present you with 8 tips for buying a laptop.
You can buy a laptop from amazon by adding some filters considering the price range, size, customer review. But if you are spending hundreds or thousands of dollars, you must get the right one for you, and it should be value for money as well.
So, here are 8 things you need to know before buying a laptop.
1) OS
There are three main types of OS
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Windows
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Mac OS
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chrome OS
Windows is the most common platform among these three. It is recommended to stick to the OS, you know, but trying out new things is always better.
Windows have the most excellent range of laptops to choose from. Mac OS is restricted to Apple products only. Chrome OS, which you get in chrome book, is a product of Google, which is very popular among students.
Macbooks, Macbook pro, have Mac OS, which is easy to use, but they are also costly. They don’t have a wide variety of ranges, and the number of ports is even less in Macbooks.
I love windows as there is so much choice and I can pay what I want for the features and the specs I need. And for gaming purposes, Windows is the only option.
2) Design
We have three types of categories under design:
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clamshell
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convertible two in one
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Hybrid two in one
Clamshells are the most common type of laptops, which have a hinge angle of around 120 degrees. Sometimes they have touchscreen options as well.
Convertible 2 in 1 are fancy laptops that have a hinge of 360 degrees. We can turn the screen around and use it as a tablet. Or we cant put it in a tent mode to watch movies.
They are touchscreen laptops. You can get a tablet experience on a computer because of the 360 degrees hinge.
Hybrid 2 in 1 has a feature to fully detach the keyboard and use it as a tablet only. They are touchscreen as well. You can just pull out the screen from the keyboard. One of the best hybrid 2 in 1 laptop is Microsoft surface pro and surface book two.
But hybrid 2 in 1 has downsides as well. They are generally expensive, and they are not that powerful due to size and design restrictions.
3) Size
most common sizes are:
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13 inch
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14 inch
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15 inch
Some budget laptops are 11 inches, and some gaming laptops have massive screens of 17,18 or 19 inches.
Smaller, the screen size means lighter and more compact. So, 13 and 14-inch laptops, also referred to as ultrabooks, are suitable for traveling. Anything more significant than that is hard to handle.
15 inch or more size laptops are more powerful as they contain dedicated graphic cards and have better processors.
Companies are working on making big-screen compact laptops by decreasing the size of the bezels around the screen.
If you don’t carry your laptop while traveling, you should buy a more prominent and powerful notebook. But if you want something that can fit in your backpack, then 13 inches are the best.
Some laptops which are compact and provides high-end performance are Macbook pro 15 inches and surface book 215. They are relatively small in size with excellent performance.
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4) Screen quality
You will look at the screen as long as you are working on a laptop, so a good display is a must. A screen should look good.
An IPS screen is definitely required. You can check tech specs or reviews to confirm if IPS is available. They have better color accuracy and viewing angles.
You should also consider screen resolution. A Full HD display is a must, which is 1920 by 1080 resolution. But you can also go with 4K, which is trending nowadays.
4K is recommended for 15 inch or bigger laptops, but if you are not watching 4K videos or editing 4K videos, it is not worth it as it drains up the battery quickly, and frame-rate also gets dropped.
But it is tough to notice a difference between Full HD and 4K at those small screens.
5)Tech Specifications
It isn’t straightforward, but it is vital to decide what kind of performance you will get from the laptop.
It has three main things
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processor
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RAM
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Storage
Graphics card is optional, as it should only be considered for gaming or massive applications.
The processor is the most important thing. Most mid-range and high-end laptops come with intel core i3,i5, and i7. Higher the number means better performance.
Core i5 is excellent for doing ordinary things, but if you are dealing with lots of videos, photos, and intensive tasks, i7 is required. We should also consider the generation. Now the latest generation is the 10th generation.
The i9 core was also released two years back, which is only required for intensive tasks and purposes. It is not recommended for regular daily tasks.
Every year, chips get refreshed and improved. You can now get eight-core in the latest 10th generation.
RAM is usually of 4,8 or 16GB. 8 GB RAM is recommended, but if you edit videos, rendering or powerful tasks go for 16GB. The most basic is 4GB, which is for regular use.
For storage purposes, a Solid-State-Drive(SSD) is definitely required. It makes a huge difference. Everything feels so fast in boot time, opening programs, using desktops, and transferring files. At least 256Gb of SSD is recommended. But if you are on a budget, you can go for an HDD.
6) Connectivity
USB, HDMI, card readers ports are very important. But one recommended thing is your laptop comes with a USB 3.1 type C port. It can do everything, and it can provide future proof of your laptop.
7) Keyboard and Touchpad
Macbooks and Macbook pro have the best touchpads, they are big and very responsive.
For Windows laptops, a Microsoft precision touchpad is recommended. It makes sure your touchpad is fast and precise. You can check if your laptop has one by googling it.
If you don’t have a precision touchpad, it is okay.
A keyboard is a personal thing. You should definitely try a keyboard personally as everyone has different tastes, and I like a clicky keyboard more than a silent one.
8) Battery
How long should your laptop last?
Anything above 6 hours is decent. But companies test their laptops at low brightness and less intensive work. So If 6 hours of battery like is quoted, It will be around 4 hours in real life.
Battery life depends upon its size, screen resolution, graphics card, and processors.
But preferably 8 to 10 hours of battery life is recommended as in real life you will get around 6 to 7 hours of life from it.
Recommended laptops are:
Mid rage
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HP Stream 14
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HP Pavilion 15
High-end
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MacBook air 2019 or 2020
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surface book
Conclusion
You should always consider the above-mentioned 8 tips for buying a new laptop as you will use that laptop for at least 3-4 years. And you don’t wanna end up buying a bad product.
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