So you find yourself shopping for a new laptop. What should you consider when searching for potential laptops to buy? This certainly isn’t an easy question as there are hundreds if not thousands of laptops available to purchase. And if you're looking for a custom laptop there are millions of options. So how do you narrow it down?
Begin by considering what you are going to be using it for. Will this be a computer you take with your from class to class, or across the country on business trips? In that case you should focus on lightweight and thin laptops. Are you going to use your notebook for gaming? In that case you should look for a large screen with good resolution and high refresh rates, as well as a dedicated graphics card. The current generation of graphics cards for laptops from Nvidia are the GeForce GTX 9xxM series, i.e. 960M, 980M, etc.
You’d be surprised that today’s gaming laptops can rival the performance of traditional gaming laptops and have enough power for you to play the latest AAA games at 1080p and high quality with a decent refresh rate. In fact, laptops with a 980M graphics card can run Far Cry 3 at 1080p and nearly maximum quality settings and achieve an FPS of 60!
If you’re going to be using your computer for just basic tasks like Facebook, email, internet browsing and YouTube videos, you’ll want to look for a more basic computer. Just make sure that you have enough RAM to run many tabs at once in your browser! I know Chrome love to gobble up all the memory my computer has if I let it.
Considering the mobility of the laptop is also important when you’re shopping. If you’re in an industry like oil and gas, or law enforcement, you may consider a rugged laptop that will be durable and last a long time even in the harshest environment. If you’re not going to be moving your custom laptop much at all, but still want the option to pack it up and move it to a new place, consider a desktop replacement. This class of notebook, as its name implies, packs much of the power of a conventional desktop custom computer into a laptop for factor. They aren’t light or thin though, so don’t think about using this one on a plane or on your lap.
Lastly, consider that size of screen that you need. Almost all modern laptops have a 16:9 screen display aspect ratio, but they come in different sizes. Common sizes include 13 inches, 15 inches and 17 inches. Of course there are smaller and bigger ones too. Also, all of these screen sizes also come in different resolutions. Some top-of-the-line gaming laptops will have 4K resolution (and some will even have G-Sync!) while entry level laptops will have much smaller resolutions like 1366 x 768, or just enough for basic HD. Other common resolutions include 1600 x 900, or HD+, and 1920 x 1080, or FHD.
Perhaps the most important factor is price. Your budget will limit what laptop you will be able to buy, and what bells and whistles it will have. Choosing a refurbished or off-name laptop will certainly bring the price down, but be careful with bargain-basement laptops as you may be disappointed in the quality and you will be stuck with your purchase for years to come.
Begin by considering what you are going to be using it for. Will this be a computer you take with your from class to class, or across the country on business trips? In that case you should focus on lightweight and thin laptops. Are you going to use your notebook for gaming? In that case you should look for a large screen with good resolution and high refresh rates, as well as a dedicated graphics card. The current generation of graphics cards for laptops from Nvidia are the GeForce GTX 9xxM series, i.e. 960M, 980M, etc.
You’d be surprised that today’s gaming laptops can rival the performance of traditional gaming laptops and have enough power for you to play the latest AAA games at 1080p and high quality with a decent refresh rate. In fact, laptops with a 980M graphics card can run Far Cry 3 at 1080p and nearly maximum quality settings and achieve an FPS of 60!
If you’re going to be using your computer for just basic tasks like Facebook, email, internet browsing and YouTube videos, you’ll want to look for a more basic computer. Just make sure that you have enough RAM to run many tabs at once in your browser! I know Chrome love to gobble up all the memory my computer has if I let it.
Considering the mobility of the laptop is also important when you’re shopping. If you’re in an industry like oil and gas, or law enforcement, you may consider a rugged laptop that will be durable and last a long time even in the harshest environment. If you’re not going to be moving your custom laptop much at all, but still want the option to pack it up and move it to a new place, consider a desktop replacement. This class of notebook, as its name implies, packs much of the power of a conventional desktop custom computer into a laptop for factor. They aren’t light or thin though, so don’t think about using this one on a plane or on your lap.
Lastly, consider that size of screen that you need. Almost all modern laptops have a 16:9 screen display aspect ratio, but they come in different sizes. Common sizes include 13 inches, 15 inches and 17 inches. Of course there are smaller and bigger ones too. Also, all of these screen sizes also come in different resolutions. Some top-of-the-line gaming laptops will have 4K resolution (and some will even have G-Sync!) while entry level laptops will have much smaller resolutions like 1366 x 768, or just enough for basic HD. Other common resolutions include 1600 x 900, or HD+, and 1920 x 1080, or FHD.
Perhaps the most important factor is price. Your budget will limit what laptop you will be able to buy, and what bells and whistles it will have. Choosing a refurbished or off-name laptop will certainly bring the price down, but be careful with bargain-basement laptops as you may be disappointed in the quality and you will be stuck with your purchase for years to come.