A laptop is an important commodity in today’s world just like a smartphone. It should be a long term investment meaning it should help you out in the long run. So, it is a good idea not to be hasty and take your time while buying a laptop. It is a costly item so if you end up buying something which ends up falling short of you will feel cheated and probably blame the company. Though it can be the company’s fault at times you should always plan ahead before looking to make a purchase to maximize your chances of getting a good laptop. Here are a few things which might help you sort certain things out when buying a laptop.
1. Usage:
This is the first and the most obvious thing to think about when getting down to purchase a laptop. What will you use it for? This will determine the other factors involved like processor, RAM, and storage. If you are an engineering student (not Computer Science) then you might need a laptop for presentations and assignments. So, the usage is for lightweight work and mostly for movies and browsing the net. Then there is no need to buy a high-end laptop. A range of Rs. 25k-35k should be good enough. But if your college or schoolwork requires you to run some heavyweight software like simulation and rendering software then you need to go deeper into your wallet.
Many people might need to build apps using the Android studio or games using unity. For this, you require your computer to have some decent speed or you might lose your momentum or interest. If you are a gamer then your budget might need to be in the neighbourhood of Rs. 75k or above for a smooth experience. Also, consider the portability of your laptop. Are you mostly going to use it at home or is it going to be a travel companion? This is important to determine the weight of your laptop. A lightweight laptop is going to cost more for the same amount of processing power and storage capacity as that of its heavyweight counterpart. Here are some laptops brands for your every need
2. Processor:
The processor is the next thing that you need to look at. It is the brain behind your laptop and will be responsible for the entire feel of the usage of it. It will determine the speed, multitasking efficiency, and much more. But if you go for a better processor you will thin your wallet pretty quickly. For example, every time you go for a better ‘i’ in the intel processors prices will increase by Rs. 6k or more. For casual users, i5 is good enough. At times even i3 is good. If you want to do light work and watch movies then i3 is not a bad choice. Couple it with 6-8 gigs of RAM and you are set for entertainment. But if you want to get more processing power then i5 7th or 8th gen or equivalent processors from other companies is good enough. AMD has made some good strides recently and has developed a much better processor at a lower price. Keep your options open.
For most gamers, i5 8th generation or equivalent should be sufficient but hardcore gamers might need a better processing power along with a graphics processor and efficient cooling system. In simple terms more cash.
3. Battery:
If most of your work requires you to use your laptop without having the choice to use a charging cable then look for a laptop which provides good backup. Look for the ratings in Watt-Hours or milliamp-hours. The larger the figures the better is the battery backup. If you run heavyweight rendering software and other stuff which involves heavy processing then a good battery backup is required since these applications will drain your laptop’s battery fast. In general cases, you can go for 40-50 watt-hour and enjoy a good battery backup. But if you are a hardcore gamer then you might need 60 or more.
4. Hard Disk Drive:
The Hard Disk Drive determines the storage capacity of your laptop. It is the place where you store all your files games, movies, videos, assignments, software and other stuff. Nowadays, a 1 TB laptop is good enough for normal use and can even last if you regularly sort your files. If you regularly deal in applications which require you to copy or move or even render a lot of files then having an SSD is a good idea. If you build a game or work with graphics then having SSD will help you a great deal. But SSD is costly. Nowadays, laptops offer both HDD and SSD at attractive prices. For most work, you will be done with 256-512GB SSD. But if you do not need that much speed then going for HDD alone is the best option.
5. Graphics Processor:
Now, if you are a casual user then this point might not apply to you. You do not need to think much about a graphic processor as they are pretty costly. Only if you have any intended use for them you need to give it a thought. If you are using your laptop to train AI models or graphic rendering then you will need a good graphics processor. Sometimes cryptographers use a GPU for faster cracking of passwords. Some of the best ones in the market are by NVIDIA. Again you need to look at your usage. Heavyweight usage needs a better processor but prices will be high. If you are a gamer 1050Ti and 4GB VRAM should be sufficient for most games without lag (given that you have other specifications). For people who use their laptop for high-end rendering might need a much better GPU.
