7 Tips to Pick the Best Laptop for Your Needs

It’s no secret that pretty much everyone these days needs some kind of a computer on a daily basis. Some opt for a PC while others go for more flexible laptops. When it comes to laptops, their main advantage is mobility and ease of use. However, this results in a slightly higher price tag, as well as difficulties with repairs, especially since the majority of components within a laptop are integrated so when something gets broken you might have to replace the entire machine. 

Needless to say, picking the laptop isn’t as simple as it may sound. There are a lot of factors to be considered before you decide to make a purchase. For instance, do you need a laptop for home, business or gaming needs? Based on what you need a laptop for will determine its components. That being said, here are a few tips on how to pick the best laptop for your needs. 

1. Pick a laptop brand

The very first thing you’ll notice when browsing through laptops is the numerous brands behind certain models. Each brand offers something unique to consumers, and they manufacture a wide variety of laptop models. The key is getting the best quality for your money.

As an example, some of the laptop brands are MSI, Lenovo, HP, Asus, Apple and so on. A laptop brand is more of a personal preference rather than a deciding factor, but you should consider it nonetheless, especially since some are cheaper while others focus on quality.

2. Choose an operating system

Laptops come with two major operating systems, which are Windows and MAC (Macintosh). Deciding between the two is very important. Every laptop brand comes with Windows OS except Apple. Their devices are MAC-based. So how to decide? 

The best way forward is to choose based on familiarity. If you worked with Windows before, go for any brand other than Apple. On the other hand, if you’re familiar with iPhones, iPads and other i-stuff, a MAC will be no stranger to you. 

If you’re not familiar with the OS your device is using, you might accidentally cause a malfunction. When that happens on MAC, chances are you won’t be able to fix it yourself and you’ll have to rely on specialized MAC repair services. Windows, on the other hand, has an overabundance of fixes and solutions online which you can explore to fix the problem yourself; that’s assuming your warranty has expired – if it hasn’t, just take it back to be serviced. 

3. Pick a screen size

A laptop’s screen size is an important factor. The screen itself will determine the resolution and the quality of the display. A standard size is 15.6 inches with a resolution of 1366×768. 

Of course, laptops with a 15-inch screen size are more lightweight and easy to carry around, whereas laptops with bigger screens, such as 17-inch ones are bulkier and heavier. In the end, the choice for screen size and high resolutions comes down to personal preferences and needs.

4. Pick a CPU

A CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the core of every computer. It’s one of the most important components aside from a graphics card (GPU) and working memory (RAM). For any computer, not just laptops, there are two major manufacturers Intel and AMD. 

Deciding between the two is fairly easy. Both brands have exceptional CPUs to offer so it’s pretty much personal preference. However, what you should consider in a CPU is the number of logical and physical cores (Dual-core, Quad-core, etc.), as well as the working frequency (GHz – gigahertz) per-core performance. Logically, more cores with higher frequency means a better performing CPU.

5. Pick a GPU

A graphics card will determine the high-resolution and texture of detail on everything you see on your laptop’s screen. Again, two major manufacturers are present in the GPU world Nvidia and AMD (Advanced Micro Drives). However, the majority of laptops come with an integrated graphics card from either AMD or Intel HD Graphics. These are the very basic forms of GPUs with the least performance. 

If you want a dedicated solution, you’ll have to choose between Nvidia and AMD Radeon GPUs. The choice is up to you. Both manufacturers are exceptional and provide GPUs for demanding games. If you don’t plan on playing any graphically-intensive games on your laptop, you can still go for a dedicated GPU or you can settle for the integrated solution in your laptop.

6. Deciding on the amount of RAM

RAM or Random-Access Memory determines the speed and efficiency of read/write of data on your computer. 

For most basic needs, i.e. work or home use, 4GB of RAM would suffice. However, modern trends revolving around Internet use keep demanding more and more memory. That’s why it’s recommended to pick a laptop with at least 8GB of RAM. For gaming purposes, 8GB is the bare minimum and you can go for 16, 32 or even 64GB of RAM, should you have a need to do so.

7. Internal storage

Storage space is also very important when choosing a laptop. After all, the amount of data you plan on storing on your laptop is determined by your needs. The standard storage option is a hard disk drive (HDD). 

For basic needs, an HDD with 500GB or 1TB would be quite enough but you can always go for more. There’s also the option of choosing  a solid-state drive (SSD). They are faster and more reliable solutions, as well as more expensive. SSDs are recommended for gaming laptops but anyone can choose this option if you want your laptop to be much faster. 

As you can imagine, choosing a laptop for your specific needs isn’t as easy as you initially thought. The more research you conduct for both models and individual components, the easier it will become to find the best laptop that will suit your every need. 

Bily Bum

Bily Bum is an electrical engineer, tech, and gaming fan with 15 years of experience in the technology world. He is also a contributor on site Technivorz.

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