Buying a New Laptop

July 31, 2023
DD Planet

Laptop has become an essential gadget these days. We find a lot of products in the market in various price ranges and owing to which, buying the right laptop becomes difficult.

Here are the tips and advice to help you buy the laptop of your choice that satisfies your need:

1. Define your usage. Is it going to be for basic functions such as handling documents, web browsing, listening to music and watching videos or for programming and more cumbersome tasks?
2. Frame the minimum specifications. The main consideration here is processor, the size of RAM, storage capacity and type, and screen resolution. For example, Intel i3 or i5 or equivalent AMD processor may suit you for most of the tasks, minimum 4GB RAM is a must these days while at least 8GB is desirable, storage capacity of 512GB will suffice, preferably SSD for fast speeds but hard disk would also do the job, and a monitor resolution of 1920x1080 is enough. But of course, the usage that you have decided in the step 1 above may enhance the minimum specifications further.
3. Finalise the screen size of your laptop. Generally, it has to be about 15 inches but sometimes, a compact screen size of less than 14 inch is also desirable, especially in countries where small gadgets are in more demand.
4. Decide on whether you need a built-in DVD drive or are comfortable without it (You can always buy an external DVD drive separately if required).
5. Know the battery life you need. More the life, better it is.
6. Choose the add-on features whether you need them such as touch screen, a 2-in-1 laptop in which you can convert your laptop into a tablet, finger sensor, backlit keyboard and so on.
7. If you need a specific graphic card or some specific ports, finalise on that as well.
8. Decide the colour.
9. Decide whether you need a Windows based laptop or Mac or ChromebookOS.
10. Remember there are different laptops for different purposes such as business laptops, personal or student laptops, graphic designer laptops and gaming laptops.
11. Prepare the budget, how much you can afford given the specification you’ve created.
12. Go for a well-known brand. Shortlist among the available popular names.
13. Do online research to read more about your shortlisted models and know their aesthetics and market viability.
14. Make sure the laptop you finalise has the desired minimum configuration, looks good, has enough USB ports and a good track record.
15. Ensure that the laptop has the latest OS uploaded. For example, in the case of Microsoft Windows, choose the one that has Windows11 as on date.
16. Check the keyboard, touchpad and mouse. You should be comfortable with all the three.
17. Make sure the laptop is not heavy. The most important aspect in buying a laptop is its portability.
18. Make sure the laptop carries enough warranty.
19. Get the best price. Do not forget to negotiate the best deal.
20. Don’t buy the cheapest one but the right one.