Buying guide: Laptops

Types of laptops

The laptops can be largely classified depending upon the purpose or use for which it is built. All laptops are generally designed with an attempt to strike an appropriate balance between portability, performance, and pricing in accordance with the consumer segment they are targeting. The good thing is that the technological advancements have enabled the manufacturers to offer more in terms of features and supported functionalities as compared to the previous generation laptops. Features like USB ports, built-in camera and speakers, Ethernet port, and wireless connectivity support are common with current generation laptops. Following is a broad-level classification on the types of laptops available:

1. Portable laptops: These, as the nomenclature suggests, are primarily designed with enhanced portability. Small, compact, lightweight, and easy to carry, these mini laptops are aimed at users who are frequent travelers and are looking for mobile “computing” on the go. Note, however, that computing here refers to accessing/creating/modifying documents, watching videos and movies, surfing the Internet, social networking, checking emails, etc. These laptops are usually not well-suited for gaming or graphics heavy applications. The primary strengths of these laptops include long battery life, small size, and light weight. These laptops are often powered by decently fast and low-power consumption processors and often the barest in terms of hardware. Features/items usually lacking in these are graphics cards, multi-core processors, HD screens, and large storage capacity. Still, you can get quite a few cheap laptops with good features in the market. Note, however, that not all low-end laptops are portable and small. Some can be quite bulky.

1. Mid-level laptops: These are the “jack-of-all laptops and expectedly, constitute the most popular laptop segment in the market. Laptops in thee range are generally well configured and can also be used as a replacements for desktops. One can find many models within this range with low- to mid-range graphics cards along with other better-performing components to enable better gaming even on the latest titles. Besides a faster processor, these laptops also feature higher-capacity hard drives, higher-resolution screens, better design with larger and more spaced out buttons, more RAM, and so on. Some of the upper end models may also come with additional battery packs for longer battery life. These are ideal for those looking to strike the mid-point among portability, performance, and pricing. Acer laptops and Toshiba laptops are some featuring various choices in terms of mid-level models.

1. High-end laptops: These laptops are meant for graphics professionals, visuals artists, gamers, and computing enthusiast, and are more than a match for any desktop computer, baring of course the top-most models. Featuring high-end graphics cards and plenty of RAM, these laptops use the latest and fastest processors to give exceptional performance. High-end laptops may also feature high quality sound system. More often than not, these laptops also feature unique skins and designer cases, and definitely look the part. These laptops also come with the option of additional battery packs, for these consume high amounts of power. Naturally, these are heavier than their counterparts and are also less portable. HP laptops and Dell laptops are some that come in various high-end models. Also, Apple laptops with its MacBook range of laptops offer some very attractive high-end models. 

Laptop purchasing criteria

Read on to know more about the key aspects of a laptop and how these influence your purchase.

1. Portability: Portability here refers to the ease with which the laptop can be carried around on all kinds of travel. Two main points to be noted here are size and weight. These days, there is a trend toward slim laptops that are often less than 1 inch thick. These, however, are strictly meant for portability and will certainly be a compromise on the configuration aspect. Needless to say, the better the configuration, the heavier and bulkier the laptop. Nevertheless, even higher-end models do not actually weigh too much and are mobile enough to carry around if your commute is hassle-free.

1. Configuration: If portability is not that big an issue, then the one thing that you need to look for is a laptop that has all the goods. Go in for those that feature multi-core processors for these are not only faster but are also low on power consumption. Multi-core processors work well if there are multiple RAM sticks on your laptop; do check for these too. When it comes to the hard drives, the rpm supported by the hard drives (5400 vs. 7200, with the latter being better) is as important as the storage capacity.  If you plan to use your laptop for gaming purposes, then ensure that it comes with a graphics card. The graphics cards used in laptops, which though less power-hungry than their desktop counterparts, do lead to a drop in the laptop’s battery life. Almost all laptops (baring some ultra-portable models and some low-end models) come equipped with a CD/DVD drive. The trend these days is toward Blu-ray drives; these, however, are expensive. Also check for the connectivity options that are available with the laptop (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, and so on). Also with the laptop screens (larger the better), go for a laptop featuring high-definition (HD) capability. Most laptops will come with speakers that won’t satisfy any audiophile. As such, a good pair of earphones or portable speakers is a must-have accessory that you need to buy with the laptop if you love listening to music.

1. Pricing: This is probably the most important criteria for any purchase, especially given that laptops cannot be upgraded as easily as desktops and that most laptops will get outdated with in a few years. It is always preferable to narrow down the selection to a chosen few models (depending on features, portability, and brand loyalty) and then go in for the one that is friendliest on the pocket.

Summary

1. Any personal computer that is mobile and can be operated almost anywhere is called a laptop. In modern parlance, the term “laptop” no longer exclusively applies to mobile computers that can be placed and operated on one’s lap.
2. The factors that need to be focused upon when buying a laptop computer are portability (size and weight), battery life, configuration (processor, motherboard, RAM, hard drive, optical media drive (CD/DVD drive), display screen, etc.), wireless connectivity, and warranty.
3. Also the operating system and the software to be installed needs lot of consideration to ensure that you are able to perform most functions and run applications that you might need.
4. Usually, it is rather difficult to upgrade a laptop. Hence proper care must be taken while buying a laptop to ensure that you get the right one for your needs.
5. Though, as with desktop computers, you can buy individual components and assemble the machine yourself, this is uncharted territory and almost all of the laptops sold are of the branded type.

Final Word

When buying a new laptop, it is very important that you first decide on the type of laptop that you want. Be aware of all the options available to you within your budget range before you make the purchase. Always remember to research well either online by checking out reviews on different laptop models, or by visiting stores and checking models first-hand.