So you want to buy a laptop but you don’t know where?
beginning. You’re not alone. Buying a new laptop can present
many challenges, especially if you are not familiar with
laptops or notebooks.
In recent times, so much new laptop technology
has hit the market… Intel Duo Processors, SLI, Dual
Graphics… everything can be totally awesome for the average
consume. First time laptop buyer understanding
all the techno jargon can be downright scary.
Mainly due to a new generation of laptop technology.
it comes every two years or less; probably much less
when considering all the new advances made recently.
It can even be a bit overwhelming even for someone
like me, who runs an online Laptop Guide and who has
a keen interest in all things laptop.
Regardless of all these fancy new enhancements, the devices
and wearable technology, you must remember that you are buying
a new laptop for you and only you. first you must
decide if all these new things are important to you?
Do you really need all this new laptop technology?
But especially before you can consider that question that
you must first find out WHY you want a laptop? why are you
buy a laptop? What chores or tasks do you want him to do?
laptop to perform?
If you just want a laptop for simple web browsing and
email, a laptop made five years ago will do the trick.
work great and will cost you a hell of a lot less. Really
you don’t need a top of the line laptop unless of course you
you keep up with jones and you want the latest top
model of everything But that’s moving to Dr. Phil’s
territory… let’s not venture there!
So what do you need the laptop for?
Need a lightweight laptop for business?
trips or meetings? Do you need a student notebook to
lessons? Or you just want a replacement desktop
that can be easily moved around your house?
Your answer will largely determine what type of laptop
you should buy
In my case, I needed a desktop replacement that could
I move easily around my house and take on very infrequent tasks.
travel or vacation. Long battery life was not a major factor
consideration because I would mostly be using it plugged in
in an outlet. Also, the laptop I wanted
it would be 7 or 8 pounds and I had no intention of carrying
that baby around any great distance.
I work full time from home and do a lot of web design so
I needed a solid machine with lots of RAM. I also enjoy
download and enjoy an occasional movie, so a DVD
Multi Drive and a wide screen were important.
High-quality graphics and sound were also important to
what I needed
* RAM
RAM is to the computer what location is to real estate. RAM
o Random Access Memory is perhaps the most important
Factor to take into account when buying your laptop or any computer.
RAM memory will largely determine the speed of your laptop or computer.
How fast it will process your tasks and graphics. You must do
Surely you have enough for your needs. You can already find many laptops
preloaded with 1 Gig of RAM and capable of upgrading to 4 Gigs
or more.
Compared to yesterday’s computers, that’s a lot of RAM. If you are
not in gaming, handling large video files/editing, all that
No RAM needed, but it will make your laptop run faster. Also,
remember that if you like games, video RAM will be important
— you need a top-of-the-line graphics card (read expensive)
and will increase the cost of your laptop.
You may also want to buy a laptop with upgradable memory:
from new applications, multi-window browsers, video streaming…
of the very near future may place a high demand on your laptop
RAM.
* Dual core processors
The CPU or computer processing unit is the heart of your laptop.
and in this case you have Two Hearts — Intel Centrino Duo
is the favorite in this area at the moment. However, AMD
is giving Intel stiff competition on dual core
battle with its dual-core Athlon(TM) 64 X2 processor. EITHER
one would be a wise choice.
* HDD
The amount of space or size of laptop hard drives are
Steadily increasing, a 100 Gig laptop is now commonplace.
If you don’t want a lot of storage space, buy a smaller one
hard drive size will save you money.
Many notebook experts choose SATA hard drive with
at high 5400 or 7200 RPM.
* Weight or Size
Perhaps the main reason why you are considering buying a laptop
is its size or weight; otherwise you better save up
your money and buy a desktop computer instead. a laptop is
portable, you can take it anywhere… tuck it under your
Put it together and take it to class or to your next business meeting.
It is ideal to take your information and work anywhere
do you want to go. This portability is the main selling feature.
from a laptop
Obviously, you need to choose the best sized laptop to fit your
needs. Laptops are divided into different categories, here it is
a quick summary:
Tablet PC (smallest) Size of a paper tablet or notepad, less than 3
pounds.
Ultra-portable (small) 13″ x >11″ More than 1.5 inches,
more than
7 pounds and over
Choose the size that suits your purpose and use.
* Price
Laptop prices are constantly falling, it is now possible to get
a quality laptop for under $1000. Many are selling on the
Range of $500 – $600. High-quality gaming laptops that offer such
special laptop manufacturers like Alienware, Rock, will still configure it
back 3 to 4 high. Oh!
* Guarantee
Do not overlook this factor, if you are buying an expensive
notebook, you may want to review these extended warranties.
If you travel a lot, you may need to buy
Insurance against theft and loss.
* Dead pixels were the only thing I was afraid of!
If you can check your laptop for dead pixels. a dead pixel
will give you white dots (pixels) on your LCD screen.
In most cases, you are buying your laptop directly from the
box, booting up and finding out it has dead pixels is not
a pleasant experience If you want to check your laptop
screen for dead pixels, simply do a search for the free
software program ‘Dead Pixel Buddy’ and run it to check
your laptop for dead pixels.
* Use the Internet to get information or even buy
I run a simple laptop guide on one of my sites and also save
a laptop blog, so I’m constantly using the internet to collect
information and compare prices. You should turn around and
check consumer reports on different laptop manufacturers
and the different portable products. You should also check
the service/reputation records of major brands.
I researched all the different laptops and found the
that puts my requirements and price. I bought it in the real
world at a local computer store mainly because I wanted to
examine the graphics and keyboard of the laptop in person.
However, I did check all the product details beforehand.
on the online site of this store, much easier than in a busy
crowded store.
Make a list
It might be useful to create a list of the minimums
requirements or features you want in your desired laptop:
intel duo
1 GB of RAM
100 gig hard drive
15-inch screen
4 or 5 hours of battery life
Burn/Write DVD…
* Kick the tires
Like buying anything, it’s always a good idea
check your purchase. It shows the keyboard of the laptop, doesn’t it?
writing feels comfortable? Try the touch panel, do you respond?
Open your favorite programs and check the processing speed
of your laptop. Bring a DVD and test the sound.
and graphics. Make a note of any problems or irritations that
may appear, in my case it was a small shift key on the right but
this was so small i knew i could get used to it and i didn’t
prevent me from buying my desired laptop.
* Research your laptop
Use the Internet to search for your desired laptop, know exactly
what components it has and know what software is already preloaded.
Beware of sellers who will try to charge you more for
configure or install programs on your laptop when these
Programs may already be preloaded at the factory stage!
I decided on a Toshiba Satellite P100-SD3: it has Intel Duo,
1 GB of RAM, 100 GB hard drive, 17″ TrueBrite widescreen display
Display, compatible with the new Windows Vista… complies
all my needs and I am quite satisfied with my new laptop.
And I’ll write a full review after I’ve used it for
a couple of weeks… but that’s another article.
If you consider most of the simple points and review the factors
mentioned above, then making your own laptop purchase will not only be
quite painless, but can even be a pleasant experience. make a
little homework and you’ll easily find the perfect laptop for you.
