Monday, November 5, 2012

Finding Out What Kind of Laptop Works for You

In the past years laptops have been growing heaps in popularity compared to desktop computers. Many different kinds of laptops are available depending on your needs. It is extremely easy to find a (cheap) laptop that will meet your needs. The question is however, what are you looking for in your laptop? What sort of laptop will be good for me to buy? Do I like playing games on my laptop? Do I want a long battery life on my laptop? Am I going to carry my laptop around alot? These are all questions that you should be asking yourself before purchasing your laptop. In this post I'll be describing typical "laptop user profiles" and the spec's that should be taken into account for each of these profiles.

The student

Typically students will be looking for laptops that are cheap, compared to other categories of laptops. The laptop will need to have a good battery life (in the probable case that you are last entering the classroom, and all your classmates have hogged the power-outlets) and be portable (you don't want to get rid of your freshman 15 by hauling around an oversized laptop, you'd rather want to get rid of it by hauling around cases of beer..right?).

Often this results in the choice for a netbook or mini-laptop. This is a very good choice as often the battery life of these netbooks will be above the average standard, and they are extremely portable. There are a few points that you'll need to take in account though. The benefit that portability brings to this smaller sized laptops also brings a negative; a smaller screen/keyboard/underpowered CPU's. So you'll have to decide if this is OK for you, will you be using hardcore software to work on your school projects? Will you be using the laptop for 'afterschool activities' as well? Keep these questions in the back of your head whilst looking for your perfect match.

A good option is to look for a slightly 'oversized' netbook, such as a 13 inch laptop. These laptops usually have a larger CPU, and thus will have a bit more power. I wouldn't go any larger than 13 inches though, as this will start having a big effect on the experience of portability.

Key suggested specs: Long battery life, at least 1GB RAM; 160GB HDD and <13 inch display.

The traveller

As a (business) traveller you'll be looking for a laptop that has sufficient computing power, is also portable and is built into a sturdy case to safeguard all your work documents or pictures of the worlds wonders. A netbook would be out of the question in this case, as this simply has to little computing power to keep up with the basic needs in this category. A viable option would be in the 'portable' laptop category of 12 to 15 inch laptops. These laptops usually have a stronger computing power, are built a bit stronger and are still very portable.

However, you'll notice that these laptops often don't come with an optical (DVD) drive. This shouldn't be a problem for you though, as you'll be using USB's and hard disks whenever you can as a traveller. These laptops are a bit pricier than the netbooks, but the performance in this category definitely makes up for it.

Examples of laptops in this category are Lenovo's thinkpad and Dell's latitude.

Key suggested specs: 2GB to 4 GB of RAM, at least 160 GB HDD, 12 to 15 inch display and if needed a windows professional operating system.

The gamer

Now you'll probably say that gamers will want to get a desktop computer. I agree, a desktop computer will indeed win from a gaming laptop. Nevertheless, gaming laptops have greatly improved in the last few years, and are giving desktop computers an increasing amount of competition. Gamers will want to look into laptops that have superior processing power, a good graphics/video card is also a great plus.

Furthermore a big screen/display for gaming laptops greatly increases the experience, sizes range from 15 inches to 17 inches and above! I suggest you get that nice 17 inch laptop, or even go bigger. Since you're looking for a gaming laptop, you might as well go big.

The more exclusive brands (Alienware) offers high end gaming laptops. Their laptops can be easily customized/upgraded with the latest parts and therefore make a good choice if budget isn't an issue. However, if budget is an issue, try looking into Gateway's P-series laptops. These are also excellent gaming laptops and have a good overall value!

Key suggested specs: A minimum of 4 GB of RAM, 320 GB HDD or larger, a good graphics GPU and preferably that 17 inch or bigger display.

The home user
The home user. This laptop category comes closest to the ordinary desktop computer. Usually a laptop in this category is used as a replacement of the desktop computer (and thus usually stays at a desk). This is more of an overall laptop. 15 inch laptops are extremely common for this category, and there's almost an infinite amount of different laptops available here. This means that you'll be able to get a rather good laptop (based on this categories needs) for a reasonable price.

apple macbook pro md318lla 15 4 inch laptop old version, brother printer hl2230 monochrome printer, samsung series 3 chromebox, asus n56vz ds71 15 6 inch laptop black, viewsonic vx2253mh led 22 inch widescreen led monitor black, samsung galaxy note ii n7100 16gb factory unlocked international version no warranty marble white, toshiba satellite u845 s402 14 0 inch ultrabook sky silver, hp laserjet pro cp1525nw color printer ce875a, hp pavilion p7 1240 desktop glossy black, hp envy 4 1030us 14 inch ultrabook black, planar systems px2710mw 27 inch vga monitor, vizio thin and light ct15 a1 15 6 inch laptop, apple ipad md364lla 32gb wi fi verizon 4g white, epson workforce pro wp 4530 wireless all in one color inkjet printer copier scanner fax iostabletsmartphoneairprint compatible c11cb33201, dell st2421l 24 inch screen led lit monitor, acer aspire as5560 7402 15 6 inch laptop black, acer aspire one aod270 1410 10 1 inch netbook espresso black, shuttle sh67h3 pc barebone system, asus 1225b su17 bk 11 6 inch laptop black, epson expression home xp 400 wireless all in one color inkjet printer copier scanner prints from tabletsmartphone airprint compatible c11cc07201, dell ultrasharp u2312hm 23 ips led lcd monitor 169 8 ms, hp pavilion g7 2010nr 17 3 inch laptop black, samsung series 5 np500p4c s01us 14 0 inch laptop titan silver, vizio all in one ca24 a0 24 inch desktop, asus a55a ab51 15 6 inch laptop charcoal, brother printer hl5470dw wireless monochrome printer, hp 2311x 23 inch led monitor black, agptek 7 android 4 0 capacitive touch screen tablet pc wi fi g sensor arm cortex a9 1 2ghz 512m ddr3 support hdmi 1080p flash 11 1 skype video calling netflix movies 4gb built in stora, apple ipad 2 mc764lla tablet 64gb wifi verizon 3g black 2nd generation, dell st2220t 22 inch screen led lit monitor, apple new ipad 4g 32gb black factory unlocked, hp laserjet pro p1606dn printer ce749abgj, asus ve278q 27 inch full hd led monitor with integrated speakers, samsung galaxy note 10 1 n8000 16gb black wifi 3g unlocked android tablet international version, tursion 7 capacitive a10 tablet pc 4 0 android 8gb wifi 3g mid allwinner 8gb white, acer s271hl bid 27 inch screen lcd monitor, acer aspire v3 731 4695 17 3 inch laptop midnight black, hp officejet pro 8600 e all in on wireless color printer with scanner copier fax, asus pa248q 24 inch screen led lit monitor, apple ipad first generation mb292lla tablet 16gb wifi

No comments:

Post a Comment