9 factors to consider when buying a laptop

A laptop - a laptop is a means to work efficiently. So which are the most important factors for choosing a laptop? The following article gives 9 factors that users should consult before deciding to buy a laptop.

Now, although smartphones and tablets are quite compact and can replace laptops when you have to move, but want to work efficiently, operations are fast and accurate, you still can not lack a laptop . Jobs like fast typing, video editing, graphic design, photo editing ... always need a really professional tool.

The current market has a variety of laptops with sizes, features and prices. For users, this is a difficult choice, a good advice for you is to focus on the needs of the work to choose.

1. Purpose of use?

Serving basic, non-intensive purposes: The laptop can be used for everyone to meet basic needs such as work, entertainment ... You can only take from 400-800 USD for these popular laptops. Completely inexpensive.

Use for people who need productivity quickly and effectively: If you are a manager, student, office worker ... Your main purpose is to type, edit documents, use Excel or create articles. For PowerPoint presentations, you need a computer with a good keyboard, a durable design, and a sharp screen.

A gaming laptop: You are a gamer, you need a laptop with a high-end processor like Core i7, discrete graphics, or dual graphics card, high-resolution screen. and strong sound quality. Thus the laptop you need to have good performance, the price for this model can be up to $ 1,000.

Laptops for professional designers: Your work must edit photos, videos, audio, graphics and many other types of media .. you need a laptop equipped with a microprocessor powerful processor, discrete graphics, excellent sound quality and large screen with high resolution (full HD or higher). This is the model that requires the most "expensive" price. You must save at least 1,000 USD or more.

Laptops for your surfing and Internet use: Of course, any laptop will give you an Internet connection. However, those who often use the Internet most of the time or do not need much for specialized software can choose computers running Chromebook platform with good performance and quite cheap price.

2. The size of the screen

Laptop types are usually divided by structure and screen size.

11 - 12 inches: this is the thinnest and lightest model, weighing less than 1.5kg. Quite a lot of Chromebooks have this screen size. However, with such a small screen, the keyboard is the same size that some people may feel cramped to use.

13 - 14 inches: This is a decent size for a laptop to show the balance between portability and performance. The average weight of a computer with this size is 2-3 kg.

15 inches: The most common size, 15-inch laptops are usually the most affordable and usually weigh 4-5 kg.

If you don't have to carry your computer around too often, a 15-inch widescreen monitor is the choice for you. Some 15-inch models have DVD drives, but you will get a much lighter machine if you don't have an optical drive.

17-18 inches: This is the laptop with the largest screen. This type of device is often chosen by gamers or professional designers because of its powerful processor and screen for high quality. Because of its large screen size, laptops of this type are often equipped with high-voltage quad-core CPUs, powerful discrete graphics and plenty of storage drives.

3. Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard is an important part when examining a laptop. Try to see if the keyboard of the machine you are about to buy has a quick response? Is the keyboard designed to fit your hand size? Is the touchpad part smooth or erratic, with latency? Can you zoom in and out of images or text easily?

You can check by using only the keyboard or only using the touchpad for basic operations to see the productivity of the device.

In general, according to many customers and experts, Apple and Lenovo are the manufacturers that provide the best quality keyboards and touchpads.

4. Specifications

Laptop specifications such as CPU, hard drive, RAM and graphics chip can be quite confusing for users who do not have the technical expertise. You can find information about the specifications for the model you want to buy before coming to the store, check this information on the product or ask a qualified person to accompany you for advice.

Especially with high demands such as using 3D games or media editing, HD video requires a strong CPU and the device will cost you quite a bit.

CPU:

The cheapest laptops on the market have AMD E Series or Intel Pentium / Celeron CPUs, suitable for basic tasks like web surfing, email and social networking. But it will be difficult for those with high demands such as playing games or processing graphics, media.

If you buy a computer with the latest Intel Core processor, you will definitely get a Core i4 or "Haswell" for the best combination of machine performance and battery life. You can recognize this type of CPU with the number 4 (example: Intel Core i5-4200U).

If you can pay from $ 500 to buy a laptop, the Intel Core i5 processor is the right choice for users who require a lot of design and gamers should choose the CPU from Core i7, better. is a quad-core chip.

RAM:

The RAM memory of today's laptops is quite good, even cheap laptops are capable of RAM up to 4GB. Thus, if you can choose a laptop with 8GB RAM, you will easily manipulate for high-end applications and multitasking.

Hard drive / SSD:

For most users, a fast drive is more important than a large drive. If possible, you should choose a machine with a Solid State Drive (SSD), because an SSD has a high data transfer rate. However, SSDs are usually more expensive than regular hard drives.

However, if only with the regular storage feature without using high transfer speed, you can still be satisfied with the hard drives that usually have quite large storage capacity in current laptops. The average laptop now has a capacity of 500GB or more.

The display screen:

Most display levels will reflect the price of the device. Currently, most laptops will have 1,366x768-pixel screens. However, if you can also choose some computers that display at 600x900, 1920x1080 or even higher. The screen has a good resolution will give you more entertaining, surfing, watching movies and browsing photos.

Touch screen:

Use Windows 8 operating system that best suits the touch screen. But you may not need this type of screen on your laptop because the price of a touch screen machine will be higher. You have to spend more money for a laptop equipped with a touch screen. In addition, the touch screen also makes the device heavier and the machine will consume more energy than conventional screens.

Graphics chip:

For most computers, an integrated graphics chip is better for basic computing needs such as surfing the web, watching videos and playing some common games. But if a laptop has a discrete graphics card from AMD or Nvidia will show you a big difference in 3D gaming. This processor will have dedicated video memory. In addition, a good GPU can speed up the playback of videos on websites as well as speed up video editing when you use the machine for work.

DVD / Blu-ray drive:

Fewer laptops are being installed with optical drives. Because nowadays, we can download software and download videos easily from the website. Unless you burn a disc or want to watch Blu-ray movies, you don't need a computer with an optical drive and can choose a lighter laptop because the design doesn't include this DVD drive.

5. 2-in-1 laptop or traditional laptop?

Ever since Windows 8 launched, the hybrid tablet laptop design seems to have doubled. We can mention typical names like Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga.

These tablet hybrid laptops have a removable touch screen body that can be attached to the keyboard to become a laptop. The device allows users to flexibly choose the form of work and convenience when traveling a lot.

Consider your needs to be able to choose a traditional laptop or a 2-in-1 laptop.

6. Battery life

Nobody wants to use a laptop but have to fumble for an outlet to charge. If you buy a regular laptop with a 15 inch screen. Make sure the device has at least 4 hours of battery life.

Those who need to move, should choose a computer with good battery life, from 6 to 7 hours is ideal. The laptop with the longest battery life to date is Lenovo's ThinkPad X240, which lasts for 10-20 hours.

To determine the exact battery life of a laptop, in addition to reading the manufacturer's specifications, you should consult information from objective sources such as computer review websites. Because, your actual battery life will vary according to the actual operation, how you set the screen brightness, adjust the volume and what you will do with your computer (for example, watching videos will consume more battery). surf the web).

7. What you pay for

You can buy laptops for less than $ 500 for the most basic work and entertainment needs. But if you have more budget, you can choose for yourself a computer with better quality, longer battery life, good display and more powerful performance. Of course it's money.

400 - 600 USD: Under 600 USD, you can choose an Intel Core i5 or AMD A8 CPU laptop, 4 to 8GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive, those are also very respectable numbers.

600 - 800 USD: When you have more than 600 USD, you can aim for quite advanced models such as metal case, and many other attractive features such as better sound and backlit keyboard. You can also have flash cache and a screen with a resolution of 1,600x900 or higher.

Over $ 800: For this price, you get a powerful laptop with a high-resolution screen, a faster, more powerful processor and discrete graphics.

Lightweight models, for extended battery life, like the MacBook Air and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, will cost you more than $ 1,000. Laptops for high-end gamers usually cost up to US $ 1,500, even up to US $ 2,500 - 3,000.

8. Trademark issues

Technology support and other services of the manufacturer are important factors when selecting a laptop brand. According to experts, in the past year, brands such as Sony, Apple and Samsung (Samsung has no longer entered the laptop market) are the best brands in customer support and services.

However, it is only part of your choice. You must also see the competition for design, performance, value and other standards. In 2014, according to experts, Apple was ranked as the top computer brand, followed by Lenovo and ASUS.

9. Mac, Chrome or Windows operating system?

This is not an easy question to answer, especially if you have never thought of switching from Windows to Mac or have never heard of Chrome OS. But overall, each operating system has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Windows 8

Windows laptops are more affordable than Mac computers. The Windows operating system is popular and offers users a wide range of product options from many computer brands. Unlike Apple, Microsoft and its partners allow users to buy laptops with touch screens, as well as a convertible design that allows you to easily switch from laptop to computer mode. board.

The new Windows operating system has replaced the Start menu with a screen that has an interface for touch applications. However, Windows 8.1 still has a desktop mode to run all your existing applications. The biggest improvements in Windows 8.1 are the advanced search features and easier multitasking. A small number of computer manufacturers still provide Windows 7 to users if you customize the computer configuration online.

Google Chrome OS

If you regularly surf the web, access social media, and browse email most of the time, you should buy a Chromebook laptop. Google's Chrome operating system provides a version of the Chrome browser with Web applications. You can also save money because the price for Chromebook computers is quite cheap, with only about 200 USD or more for an 11 inch Chromebook.

With cloud document sharing applications, Chrome OS is very safe, you no longer worry about being infected by viruses, data loss and many other risks like using a normal computer.

Apple OS Mavericks

Apple's MacBook Air and MacBook Pro have X Mavericks operating systems that are relatively easy to use. Rich, handy accompanying applications, as well as good operating system interaction and display are an Apple advantage.

Laptops like the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro generally win over most Windows machines when it comes to the industrial design, touchpad, and display quality. While Windows computers give users a wider range of software options. However, Apple's laptops are quite expensive, users will have to spend from 999 USD to choose these products.

Finally, when you have considered all nine essential factors when choosing to buy this laptop, you must have understood quite a lot about the current laptop lines on the market and understand your own needs.

Source: https://www.totaldrivers.net/tips/item/737-9-factors-to-consider-when-buying-a-laptop