Things to think about before buying a laptop
For the average shopper, the range of laptops available on the market these days might be rather confusing. Processors, graphics cards, memory settings, display alternatives, and other possibilities are frequently an exciting prospect for anyone purchasing a replacement laptop. Before purchasing the best laptop for you, there are a few things to think about. We hope that this advice will help you limit down your options to a few models so that you may get the laptop you really desire.
MAC or Windows
This significantly reduces the size of your list. If you choose to use MacOS, selecting a laptop gets a lot easier. You just have a few Apple devices to choose from, and most of them, notably the newest M1 Macbooks, do a good job.
However, if you prefer a PC or a Windows laptop, you’ll need to consider a number of factors before making a purchase.
Budget
The first thing to think about is your budget. Is it between PHP 20,000 and PHP 30,000? Or at least PHP 40,000? Consider a price range for your laptop first, since this will cut down your options to a specific tier of laptops in that range. The majority of entry-level laptops cost between PHP 20,000 and 30,000, and things grow more complicated after that. Windows laptops give you additional options depending on your budget. If you want to buy an Apple MacBook, you should start with a larger budget or be prepared to buy used versions if your budget is limited.
Laptop Size
Choose one laptop size for your needs. 11-12 inch laptops are the smallest of the lot, but they’re usually designated for laptops in the entry-level market. Most consumer computers come in at 13 inches. Most of the time, these laptops offer the ideal blend of power and portability. Because they feature graphic cards and additional storage possibilities, 15 to 16-inch laptops are usually powerful enough to be used for heavy multimedia or gaming. While 17-inch laptops are referred to as desktop replacements because they have the power to be workhorse computers, portability and weight are sacrificed.
Specs of your choice
In their laptops, not everyone requires a Core i9 or even an i7 processor. If all you need is a laptop for is simple office work and a little editing here and there, an i5 laptop might be the one for you. i5 laptops have the best price-to-performance ratio; many of them aren’t that expensive, and they have enough processing power to handle practically all of your daily duties without a hitch. Newer Intel i5 processors have four cores and future-proof capabilities like Wi-Fi 6. I7 laptops, on the other hand, provide more power, so if you’re looking for a laptop that can do video or photo editing while also playing games at high frame rates, an i7 CPU is the way to go. Then there are the i9 processors, which are ideal for folks who need a lot of processing power for video rendering or engineers and architects who want a lot of power.
You may also go with AMD‘s newer Ryzen products, which have a very strong price-to-performance ratio. Ryzen CPUs that are less expensive can actually outperform some Intel processors that are more expensive. In some benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 4500u can outperform Intel i7s from the 10th generation. When it comes to Ryzen 4000 and 5000 series processors, you get a lot for your money. It also follows the same logic as purchasing an Intel processor. Ryzen 3 is the entry-level processor, Ryzen 5 is the mainstream processor, while Ryzen 7 and up are the enthusiast and professional processors.
Storage Size (SSD & HDD)
Some consumers may be able to buy cheaper computers since some manufacturers reduce the amount of storage in a laptop to reduce the price. So, figure out how much capacity you require and whether or not you require a laptop with expandable storage. Some laptops have storage baked or soldered into the motherboard, making future upgrades impossible. Most laptops, on the other hand, allow you to upgrade your storage in the future, and some even offer a second drive bay for an NVME SSD or a memory card slot for further capacity.
Also, as a pro tip, make sure you have a laptop with an SSD or Solid State Drive. They are far faster than traditional hard drives, making your laptop feel incredibly responsive. Most laptops these days come with an SSD; I only recommend that you double-check.
Get a laptop with at least 256GB of storage, as the OS will consume a large portion of it. You’ll need at least some storage space for your own documents.
Display
The more objects you can fit on a screen, the better the resolution of your display. So you can accommodate more stuff on your desktop with a 4K panel, even on a 13-inch laptop, than you can with a 1080p display. Budget laptops have a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. If you’re looking for the best display quality, steer clear from these. They won’t give you the ideal experience when using your laptop. Look for one with a 1080p screen. A 4K display, on the other hand, is your best pick if you want the finest visual experience.
You can also look for a laptop that has a touchscreen. If you need it, go for it, but sometimes they merely add to the cost of a laptop, especially if you don’t need it in the first place.
Laptops are also available with a variety of display technologies. Laptops with IPS displays provide excellent color accuracy. OLED laptops are all the rage these days, but they come with a hefty price tag.
When purchasing a gaming laptop, high refresh rates are also the norm. When completing day-to-day work as well as gaming, displays with refresh rates of 144hz and above provide a smoother experience.
Graphics Chip
A graphics processing unit is included in every laptop. Most processors come with an integrated graphics card, and some have separate graphics cards. The most important consideration is what you intend to do with the laptop. A dedicated graphics card is required if you need something for multimedia editing, such as picture and video production, or gaming.
Graphics cards come in a variety of levels as well. A GTX 1650 or 1650 Ti is standard in newer laptops with dedicated graphics cards. Laptops with an RTX 3050 or 3050 Ti are the next step up, followed by those with a 3060 or higher. But, what does it all mean? Lower numbers, such as 1650, indicate that they are more of an entry-level dedicated graphics card, albeit they are still far more powerful than integrated graphics cards.
So you’ll need to figure out what you’ll be doing with the laptop; if you’re a heavy gamer, you’ll need a more powerful graphics card.
AMD, like processors, has its own range of extremely powerful graphics cards. The current AMD RX 5600 and 5700 graphics cards are quite competitive with the most recent NVIDIA graphics cards. So, if you’re a supporter of Team Red, you should absolutely look into their cards. These graphics cards also work well with AMD CPUs in laptops, as the company has developed many improvements for the pairing of the two in laptops.
RAM (Random Access Memory)
Random Access Memory, or RAM, is critical in every laptop or desktop computer. This is the device’s short-term memory; when your computer has to do anything rapidly, it uses RAM. When you have a lot of tabs open, more RAM allows your computer to open more tabs and do so much faster. The original standard was 8GB of RAM, but many individuals now believe that 16GB should be the baseline. Most cellphones have 8GB of storage, and experts recommend that your laptop have at least as much.
Ports
Check to see if the laptop you’re considering has enough ports to meet your needs. Some laptops only have one or two USB-C connections, with no support for older USB 2.0 or 3.0 graphics cards. If you require an SD card to save your photos from your camera, look for a laptop with one. You wouldn’t want to carry a USB hub about with you all the time merely to plug in all your accessories and gadgets.
Connectivity
Since then, many laptops have been released with 4G or 5G connectivity, allowing you to plug in a SIM card and stay connected to the internet wherever you go. However, you may easily use your smartphone as a hotspot, so these aren’t always necessary. For better connectivity to your home internet, check for laptops with WiFi 6. I also recommend getting a laptop with Bluetooth 5.0 for better wireless device connectivity.
Design
Think about the design of the laptop you want to buy. There are already tiny and light laptops with attractive designs, such as the Dell XPS range. With all the RGB lights built-in, some have the gamer-y design that many like.
Ultrabooks, which are thinner and lighter computers with powerful specs, are normally more expensive, whereas laptops with similar specs but without the tiny form factor are usually less expensive.
The keyboard is also important because some people prefer a numpad on their computers while others do not. Newer laptops include their own mechanical switches that simulate the feel of a mechanical keyboard.
Depending on the material chosen, a laptop’s design usually makes it more expensive. Laptops made primarily of plastic are less expensive than those made of aluminum or other metals.
Which best suits you?
They claim that the ideal laptop does not exist. It’s possible that you’ll find the ideal laptop for you! It only needs to check all of the boxes you’re searching for, and then you’re good to go, as long as you have the funds. My recommendation is to look for a laptop that will last you 3 to 5 years because most of the parts inside the laptop cannot be upgraded. You’ll be stuck with that device for a long time, so choose one you’ll enjoy looking at and that will serve you well for many years.
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