Laptops are cheaper and offer more features than ever before. Know what you’re looking for—and what you’re buying—before you visit a retailer or shop online.
What do you need in a laptop?
Is your purchase related to business, school, personal use, or both? This is the first thing to consider before buying a new laptop. You don’t need to be a techie to decide how you plan to use your new laptop. Laptops for students or school use may not require all the computing power of a laptop designed for special jobs. But assuming that your school laptop will do everything your desktop computer did can be a costly mistake.
Review your needs and catalog the software you will use. If the laptop, for example, will be doing typical office productivity, retrieving your email, and doing your usual Internet browsing, the extra money paid for super-fast processors and heavy-duty graphics will be wasted.
On the other hand, if you plan to use special work-related programs or graphics design, image manipulation, or engineering software, consider a laptop with more processing power and graphics or video card resources. Do you plan to do some online gaming? Many gaming sites will allow you to do a quick diagnostic online to tell you if your new laptop can play your games.
Do some shopping in advance
There are several websites geared towards laptop users, and they all generally offer strong reviews of newer laptop models and their pros and cons.
Choosing the right hardware
Every laptop is simply a mobile computer with a processor, hard drive, optical drive (CD or DVD), RAM, video card, and a variety of USB and other ports.
Make sure you understand exactly what your new laptop offers; manufacturers are constantly changing options, and laptops don’t offer the ease of upgrading that a desktop does.
One of the most important considerations when buying a laptop is battery life. There’s nothing more frustrating than losing the use of your laptop after just 90 minutes of use, or having to pay an extra $100 or more for a heavy-duty battery.
What you see is what you get – period
Retail stores usually negotiate large purchases of specific laptop models because they lower their costs and increase profits. Unfortunately, it also means you’re buying whatever model and configuration is available and you can’t customize your purchase.
This can be a mistake when you discover you’re running out of space on your new hard drive, you didn’t buy the DVD burner you thought you had, you discover you’re missing a necessary USB port, or you have to pay extra for extras. RAM.
Another option is to buy online
While buying in-store lets you see, feel and use your new laptop before you buy it, shopping online can let you buy the model you want with custom benefits like larger drives or more onboard RAM. Make sure you buy from a trusted online source and make sure you get a manufacturer’s warranty.
The hidden cost of software
It’s rare these days to be able to use a computer without any software other than Windows 7 or Apple’s MAC OS X. Buying software when you buy a laptop can mean you’re paying full price when a small online purchase can save you perhaps 25%. further.
You don’t need to be a technophobe to make the right purchase for your new laptop. Following these guidelines and doing advanced research is surprisingly simple and will make your next tech purchase a rewarding one.