Laptop Buying Guide - What they don't tell you.

         LAPTOP BUYING GUIDE - What they don't tell you.

                                          

      Ever been in that situation where you were totally confused about what laptop you wanted?,  that's okay because we are going to point out some key things you should look out for when buying a laptop, but the first advice I'm going to give is, don't buy a laptop just because you want to have the highest specs, because you'll end up with a laptop you may never use to its full potential. Okay then lets get to it.

AESTHETICS

                           

         In today's world an eye catching laptop is just as important as a laptop with high specs. The laptops desired most are those that are decked out with brushed metal lids and interiors. This gives a laptop that oomph that is required to cause that head turning effect. But we have to mention that such laptops usually cost extra.

                                     

SCREEN SIZE

                         

        When buying a laptop an aspect you need to look out for is the screen size, this varies from 11 inches to 18 inches for most computers. Bear in mind that the larger the screen size the larger the laptop, So if you are the type of person that likes to take their laptop about through out the day on most days i suggest you go for a laptop with a screen size between 11 inches and 13 inches as they offer way more portability and  thus mobility.

PROCESSING POWER - What's inside that laptop!

       PROCESSOR:

                                  

  Processors have gone from first generation to 4th generation with news of a "5th generation" processor. Currently the 4th generation processors are the ruling class processor and they include the usual i3, i5, and i7 groups of processors they can be either quad core or dual core, that is to say there are i7 processors that are dual core processors and not quad core processors as some may have previously thought. i would advice going for either the i5 or the i7 depending on your needs. In order to clearly determine which processor is quad core or dual core its best to check intel's website. Most users do not require the quad core processors although they give an advantage when playing graphic intensive games or using highly demanding software.

      GRAPHICS:

   

     Are you a full time gamer?, Do you avidly seek out all the latest computer games? Do you have that urge to be the one at the top of every high score and what not? then you should go for a laptop that has a dedicated video card, If you are only a casual gamer and only play a few games from time to time then u may be able to stick with laptops that come with an mid-range graphics card. If you mainly browse the Internet, check your email, type out documents and publish power point presentations then all you really require is a laptop with integrated graphics.

      RAM:

  So how much ram does the average laptop user need?. To answer that we have to point out what RAM does on a computer. The programs that are currently being run at any given time on a computer are run from the RAM and as such the more programs you open, the more RAM your computer uses. Once you have completely used up all the RAM you have then your computer will stop working or get stuck, at this point the computer begins using your hard disk instead which is much slower, then the laptop is said to be hanging. So the more the RAM the better. If you plan on doing any graphic intensive work or even gaming i suggest you get at least 8 gigabytes of RAM as this will not only safe guard you from running out of RAM but to some extent future proof your laptop, as not many softwares require more than 8 gigabytes of RAM. \On the other hand if you don't do graphic intensive projects or gaming on your laptop 4 gigabytes of RAM will suffice. 

   STORAGE:

                                      

 To determine what type of storage you want, you first have to determine which is more important to you - Speed or Space. For speed you would prefer a solid state drive as they perform a lot faster are quieter because they have no moving parts and have the added advantage of consuming less power. So whats the downside of the solid state drives? The price!, they cost a lot more than the other hard disk drives and  usually to avoid spending too much you may go for either a 128 gigabyte solid state drive or more commonly a 256 gigabyte solid state drive. For Space the choice is simple a hard disk drive of either 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm would be enough as you would quite easily be able to get as much as 1 terabyte of space on your laptop.

    If you are the type that loves to save lots of pictures and videos and you don't want to break the bank i would advice you go for the hard disk drive as it offers much more space at a lower price. But if you are a graphic designer/animator or an intense gamer you should go for something with a solid state drive and augment it with and external hard drive.

BATTERY LIFE:

                               

     This is a very important aspect to look out for when buying a new laptop, The rule here is simple the more powerful the processing power of a laptop the lower the battery life, while the less powerful a laptop is the better the battery life. This all comes down to how you use your laptop, if you leave it plug in and don't use it away from a socket you won't really mind if the battery life was not so great, but if you plan on taking the laptop with you on most days for work or school then you really want to get something that gets you about 5 hours at least away from a socket.

FEATURES:

    I included this segment just to point to some laptop features you should look out for as they may make your experience much more enjoyable, these include a backlit keyboard, as this would help you in typing especially when lighting is a bit dim and improve your over all experience. Another really cool feature to look out for when buying a new computer is a touch screen, a lot of laptops these days are coming with them as an added customisation and in my opinion is worth the extra cash you decide to spend on it, especially with the advent of windows 8 and 8.1

   So i followed  these simple steps when i wanted to buy a new laptop and it helped me narrow down what was best for me and I've been enjoying it all the way. If you got any comments I'll love to hear them.