Don’t mess up while buying a laptop.

Corona pandemic forced us to work from home. Many schools and colleges moved for online classes. Most of them think twice before investing in laptops.  The usage of laptops increased, for office work, business purposes, learning, gaming and also for entertainment.

So the need for laptops increased. 

Suddenly the demand for laptops increased. India’s laptop/notebook shipments grew more than double to 2.5 million in Q1 2021.

Many of them are first time buyers.

Generally, the laptops used in the office are purchased by Purchase Department with the help of the  Technical professionals in the organization or some time getting information from laptop buying sites.

Hence most people don’t have the technical knowledge and different types of uses of a laptop for different types of requirements. They get basic knowledge and technical details by visiting the best laptop buying sites.

There are different types of laptops for different types of usages or purposes so laptop buying is not an easy task.

One can classify the laptops based on usages i.e. Students Laptop,  Personal Laptop, Travellers Laptop, Laptops for Graphic Designers, Business Laptops, Gaming Laptops and Budget Laptops. 

Almost every month new models with the latest technology are launched.  Everyone is interested in having the latest version. So many laptops with different brands are available in the market. Choosing among them is a big question.

While buying a laptop for work from home or to attend online classes, to find a good laptop you need to have information about features, specifications etc. So what specifications to look for when buying a laptop?  What to check while buying a laptop?

Which is the best laptop at a low price?  Which is a laptop best at a low price?

A laptop is not a product which buys frequently. 

Normally what common man do while buying any product wherein major investment is involved?

Mostly the decision is based on own experience, friends experience/references, reviews, prices, after-sales service and discounts available online or offline all this creates a lot of confusion in mind. 

If you decide on buying a laptop as it is cheap, here you compromise with fewer features which are required for your day to day work.

Sometimes you pay too much for getting additional features and hardware, which are not relevant to carry your day to day work and you end up paying more money.

You always think of the latest technology while buying a laptop, so that you can use it for more years instead of replacing it in a couple of years.  So you need to know, What features to look for while buying a laptop.

It is always better to think about your current requirement, as technology is changing drastically.

You always think big while buying a laptop, big size, more storage memory, more ram and result paying more money unnecessary.

So there are a lot of questions in mind before buying a laptop.

Here are a few steps/Tips which will guide you to take a decision which laptop is suitable for you as per your needs and in budget.

Guidelines/ Tips which will help you to decide to buy a laptop.

How do you choose the right laptop? 

First, you need to decide on the following specifications before buying a laptop, based on your purpose/objective of buying a laptop.

1 Operating system you required.

There are not many operating systems to choose from, we need to choose from, Window’s, Mac Os and Linux and Chrome.

If you choose macOS the only option is Macbook (Apple). For the other three operating systems, you got a choice of various brands (Lenovo, HP, Dell, Asus etc) to pick up one. 

Window’s and macOS are more powerful for hardware and software options as well as interface and utilities.  

2 The CPU (Central Processing Unit) also  known as Processor used in a laptop

The Central Processing Unit is the brain of a laptop. 

While selecting a processor again you need to think about usage. Basic browsing and typing require less power, Video editing and gaming require more power, depending on your usage you need to select the CPU. 

To know how much a processor can handle, check its clock speed, measured in gigahertz(GHz), these figures tell you how many operations a processor runs every second.

The latest 11th Gen Intel Core processors can reach up to 4.8Ghz. Turbo clock speeds*

*https://www.intel.co.uk/content/www/uk/en/products/docs/processors/core/11th-gen-core-mobile-processors-brief.html

3 Is a graphic card Required?

There are two types of graphic cards 1. Integrated Graphic Card.  2 External Graphic Card. 

Most laptops come with integrated graphic cards( also called graphic processing units)

An integrated graphics card is more than enough for students and those who use laptops for mailing and daily routine work.

To use the external graphic card you need to have a slot on the motherboard of a laptop. The external graphics card is useful in gaming and video/photo editing and upgrading your old laptop. These cards are powerful enough for any task. 

4 How much RAM do you need?

The Ram means Random Access Memory also called system memory.

You need to know about  SSD.  What is SSD? (Solid State Drive)  Is it beneficial to buy a laptop with SSD?

Laptops come with a minimum of 2GB Ram to 32GB Ram and UP.

 A minimum of 2 GB Ram is required for basic programmes. However, it is recommended to start with a minimum of 4GB Ram which can be upgraded when required. 

If the laptop is used for office work and other tasks, it is recommended to start with 8 GB with an up-gradation option.

Content creators the starting point is 16 GB. For High-end gaming, we need to have 32 GB Ram.

5 How much Storage space do you require?

Most of the users are fine with 250 GB of storage space to store files, photos and songs.  

You can upgrade it to 500 GB or even 1TB. Games, Movies and Photos take up more space than Songs and  Text Files. 

Depending on your requirement you can even go for 2TB storage also.

6 Ports available in Laptop

Ports serve as an interface between computers and other peripheral devices. In short, a port means a part of the laptop available for connecting peripherals. 

USB Port (Universal Service Bus), RJ-45 Ethernet Port, SD Card Reader, HDMI Port, Display Port etc. Depending on your requirement you can decide which is suitable for your usage.

7 WebCam and other features

External WebCam is having better quality than the laptop camera. Mostly WebCams are used for business video calling and unified communication.

Other features include the Keyboard (no of buttons on keyboard) and touchpad, the weight of the laptop, fast charging, Backlit keyboard etc. 

Those who use a laptop for calculations or deals figures prefer number keys have separate options, then the normal keyboard number keys.

Frequent travellers prefer lightweight laptops.

8 Display type and Screen size

Various types of Display types and Screen sizes are available.

 The most popular laptops have a screen size between 13 to 15 inches, there are also bigger screen size models.

Pixels play a vital part on the screen, the more the pixels better the image.

The laptop having more pixels will get a clear image on the screen. 

The most common use laptop has 1366*768 (Not a Full HD) clarity, 1920*1080( Full HD)  pixel is better than  HD and Not Full HD. Ultra HD  4 K is the best among all available options.

9 Battery 

When buying a mobile we always give preference to the long-lasting battery backup.

However, buying a laptop battery is not an issue to worry about, except for frequent travellers and those who use laptops for business presentations.

Other users can easily charge the battery in the office or at home. 

The laptop which is having a high configuration requires more battery. 

So the battery of the laptop is not all-important as compared to other features.

Once you decide to buy a laptop, then which laptop is best for you or suitable for your purpose. 

Most of the doubts will be clear if you answer the below mentions questions.

What to see while buying a laptop?

What is the purpose of buying a laptop?

What kind of features are required to carry out your daily work?  

What do you need to find out is which technical specifications you need to have in it?

Which operating system do you need?

What kind of storage is required for a laptop?

What  Ram and processor are required?

Which brand? 

What warranty you are getting?

From where to buy? Offline or Online?

What is your budget and finance options if you want to buy on EMI’s? 

If you give the correct answers to the above questions you will be able to decide between buying a laptop without any hesitation. 

From where to buy? 

Buying a laptop is not easy. You need to plan it properly.

Need to do your research.

Best laptop buying site.

Find out brand outlet’s or digital malls like Reliance Digital, Croma, Vijay Sales etc near you, visit the brand shop like Dell, HP Store, Asus, Lenovo.

Get the details of the price list. What is the price of a Laptop?

Get the information from e-commerce websites like Amazon, Flipkart, best deals on it. 

Check the shortlisted popular brands, see which brand and its product fit’s your requirement.

Compare the price of the same brand same product in the mall like Reliance Digital, Vijay Sales, Croma etc. as well as in the company outlet and on the e-commerce websites like Amazon, Flipkart.

Find out the best financial options if you are planning to buy on EMI’s. 

If your buying it with cash payment see the best possible discount. 

Conclusion

Think about what you need before searching for a laptop.

Do your in-depth research about the same.

Stick to your budget.

Before coming to the finalization of the deal compare price, specifications, features, pay attention to the warranty. 

Check for the after-sales service given by the manufacturer.

Keep a watch on offers. When a laptop company launches a new product or new version of a popular product, they drop the price of an existing product, which is the right time to buy, eg, iPhone 12 prices dropped after the announcement of the launch of iPhone 13.

In short, you should be clear about the purpose, budget and specifications required in the laptop which you are going to use for fulfilling your objectives. 

If you stick to the above, deciding on buying a laptop is not a critical decision.

So why you are waiting for? Go ahead and choose your laptop.

Want to have the best deal? Don’t wait to go for it.