Buying Your First Laptop

A laptop is not a businessman’s tool anymore. Due to its portability and affordability, most people are keen to buy one. Many people looking for laptops are confused with the choices available and the technicalities involved. The article addresses various aspects to consider before you buy your first laptop.

Processor: The processor is the beast that provides your laptop all the computing power. The faster and more powerful the processor, the better performance you get. For basic computing purposes like word processing and browsing an Intel Core 2 Duo processor would suffice, where as for more advanced work like graphic design, multimedia & heavy gaming, a more powerful processor like an Intel Core i5 is recommended. Processor speeds are provided in Giga Hertz (GHz). The more the GHz, the faster the processing will be.

Memory: Random Access Memory (RAM) is another crucial consideration for performance. The memory is the immediate storage area for the laptop to do its computing using the processor. Normally laptop RAM comes in multiples of 1 gigabyte (GB). A basic laptop with Windows XP and MS Office needs 2GB RAM to work comfortably. For higher end work like programming or gaming its better to go with 3 or 4GB RAM. If you plan to upgrade your RAM later, ensure that the laptop you are going to buy has free slots for the additional RAM.

Hard Disk: Hard Disk Capacity is the amount of storage that is needed for storing your operating system files, movies, photographs, MP3 files and other documents. You will need to consider your future storage requirements while deciding on the hard disk capacity. A basic laptop intended for word processing , browsing may require only 80GB, where as a 500GB is recommended for a user who wants to store lots of music files, photographs etc. You can also augment your future storage needs later by buying an external hard disk later.

Size: The beauty of a laptop is in it’s portability so the size needs to factor in to your decision. Small laptops for sale offer an edge over larger ones because they’re lighter to carry, but a larger one means you can perform more functions with it.

Screen: Laptop screens come in different sizes and aspect ratios. The screen size specified by the manufactures is the diagonal measurement from one corner of the screen to the other in inches. The larger the screen, the more area you will get and less strain on your eyes. The downside of having bigger screens is the portability aspect goes down. A larger screen is recommended if the laptop is used for continuous work, whereas a smaller screen is optimal for the extremely mobile users.

Battery: A very important aspect is the back up time provided by the laptop battery when it’s not connected to the power socket. If the laptop is to be used extensively for travel, recommend going for a laptop that gives more backup time of 4-5 hours where as for the home user a back up time of 2 hrs is sufficient.

Optical Drive: As DVDs are common nowadays, it is advisable to go with a combo drive(DVD/CD -RW) that can read as well as write DVD’s and CD’s.

Pointing Devices: Laptop manufactures provide a touchpad (a rectangular box at the keyboard) or a joystick at the middle of the keyboard. Which one to use is completely a personal choice and based on your comfort. It is recommended to play around with both these options and arrive at the one of your comfort.

USB Ports: With USB devices getting popular, it’s a good idea to have a laptop that has at least 3 USB ports and that too high speed USB 2.0. The more number of USB ports, the more devices you can connect to the laptop at the same time

Warranty: Since laptops are very delicate devices with lots of components that too packed in a very small space chances of some of them conking off are a possibility. A laptop screen replacement itself might cost you a quarter of the price of the laptop. Go for laptops that has 2 years of more warranty and if not, its wise to invest in an extended warranty that gives you complete peace of mind.

While you are looking for good laptops for sale, do check with multiple vendors or retailers and compare their offerings based on your needs. Do not let a small useless freebie help you decide on the dream laptop. Try to bargain for free upgrades or extended warranty cover. It is also better to go for a laptop manufacturer who has a service center near you; otherwise you might have to bear the shipping expenses to the service center.

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Buying A Laptop On Sale

If you are planning to buy laptops on sale then there are some things which you should keep in mind so that you get the best value for your money. We will discuss three important things which will make sure that you get a best deal on cheap new laptops.

First of all, the processor speed of your laptop should be good enough so that you can run multiple processes on it. The dual core or the quad core processors are the latest products available in the market, however the quad core would be a little bit expensive. But dual core processors can also serve the purpose.

Secondly the Random Access Memory (RAM) of your laptop should be high so that the functioning of the laptop becomes speedy. A high Ram would ensure that your laptop doesn’t take enough time while starting up. Equipping your laptop with an anti virus software would be of great help if you are planning to work on the Internet. Anti-Virus software protects your laptop against any kind of spy-ware or virus threat. If you are planning to buy a new laptop then you will get free software with it. However, one can buy it also as it is a very helpful tool to use Internet safely.

Lastly, if the purpose of your laptop is gaming then it should be equipped with a high definition sound card and a video card. Gaming laptops require very high configuration as the games are designed in a very heavy manner and compatibility issues might arise if you do not have a video card with you. If you are buying your laptop for simple purposes or home use only then you can settle down without any graphic or video card. There are lots of very cheap laptops that would handle basic tasks. If buying a laptop is out of the question for you, you might want to rent a laptop. You’ll have low monthly payments for as long as you want to keep it.

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Where To Buy Laptops On Sale Online

In my last post I spoke about where to go in person to buy laptops on sale. This post is going to look at places to go online to make your purchase. I know from experience that there are more places to go online than there is to go in person, especially if you’re looking for very cheap laptops.

The first place I’ll talk about is Dell.com where the site is easy to navigate and won’t drive you crazy in the process. The first computer that I ever bought was done this way though Dell. At the time I didn’t have any true knowledge about computers and laptops, but the site made it a lot less painful for me. Let’s fast forward ten years and look at the site that it is now. The choices now seem to be endless and even easier than before to use. You have the option to build your laptop the way you want it and that even includes choosing the color. To help keep the price down you can alter certain options to fit your needs as well. Cheap new laptops are not impossible to fine if you don’t add all the bells and whistles.

Gateway is another laptop and computer maker that has their own site. Their site is also easy to operate. As with Dell’s site you can also build the laptop of your dreams, but if you read my last post, you’ll know that I’m not to pleased with their products. No that I mention it, their post-purchase customer service wasn’t too good either. To each their own, this is only my opinion.

If you want you can also go to the “big box” stores that offer a website that you can purchase laptop or notebooks on sale but since they sell many different brands and you are dealing with someone that you can’t see, it’s pretty hard to know if they know what they are selling you. For all you know they might be reading off cue cards to get though the sale.

Last but not least, there are some small mom and pop’s websites out there that are very good (as well as some that are real bad) that will take good care of you. I have one colleague who has used a couple of these places to buy his laptops and said that he gets great service from them. I won’t mention their name or their site, but believe me there are some small sites that will give you a great deal because they want to get your business. You might also be able to rent a laptop if buying one is not in your budget.

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