A laptop is a travel companion that will accompany us for quite some time, so it is advisable to know what we are looking for and what to look for when buying a new computer. We have selected the most important factors when choosing a laptop to make it easier for you to choose when buying the laptop that best suits your needs.
From here we recommend that you compare different models and brands because in the long run is going to be a product that you use a lot, so it is important to have a good computer. These are some of the factors to take into account when buying a laptop.
Operating System
Think about what you are going to use the laptop and what your knowledge, Windows and MacOS are the most common and Ubuntu is more technical. Depending on the use we are going to make of the computer, we may be interested in one or the other.
A Mac can be more expensive, but the durability of its components and the useful life of the computer makes it an option to consider if we have more budget. But if what you are looking for is a normal and uncomplicated computer, go for Windows.
Inches
If you are only going to use it at home, I recommend one of 15″ or 17″, are usually the largest models and therefore more powerful, but also much heavier and more difficult to transport. In addition, spending a lot of time working on a small screen can end up tiring your eyes too much.
If, on the other hand, you give it a lot of use outside (university, work …) between 13-14 inches is a good size, since they are lighter and their size will allow you to carry them more comfortably anywhere. You also have 11 inches and under but they are a bit small for my taste and are quite uncomfortable to work with.
Battery
You have to be very foresighted with this, the battery life is directly proportional to the number of cells it has. If you’re going to use it a lot without a charger I recommend a minimum of 6 cells, because yes no, the laptop battery will run out practically without you noticing.
Keep in mind that the harder you try, the more the computer will consume. So keep in mind what you’re going to use it for. A laptop for gaming or design is not the same as a laptop for work, all the components are more powerful, one that you simply use to watch movies and one that has integrated graphics.
Display
Currently, LED is the best you will find without reaching extreme prices, LED screens have the best quality in terms of colors, refresh rate … but also its thickness is much thinner than that of LCD screens, which in a laptop is something very important.
Screens can have two types of panels:
-
TN (Twisted Nematic): Cheaper, but worse quality.
-
IPS (In-Plane Switching): More expensive but with superior color and contrast, ideal for designers and gamers.
Within this part, you also have to weigh whether you want to have a touch screen or not.
Nowadays you have many models with touch screen, which is really useful as we are more and more accustomed to pressing everything due to smartphones and tablets. The touch screen gives you a plus to work faster and take less time to choose the application we want to open on the desktop.
Weight
Carrying a heavy computer every day can be very uncomfortable, so if you plan to move your laptop around frequently, take a good look at the weight of the laptop you’re going to buy if you don’t want to end up with a shattered back.
It all depends on whether you’re going to use it more at home, or whether you’re going to be carrying it around. The weight will be determined by how many components the equipment has, the size and the materials it is made of. It’s not the same to buy a 17″ laptop with a graphics card than a 13″ laptop with few components. To see a clear example of this we show you these two laptops:
-
Asus ZenBook 3: A 14″ laptop that barely weighs 1 Kg.
-
Asus Rog Strix: It weighs 3 times more, 3 Kg. This laptop has a graphics card and is 17″.
RAM memory
Make sure it has at least 8GB of DDR3 RAM, with that you will be able to practically with all the common programs and Windows 10 will go like silk. If you want 16Gb, the price goes up a lot and you may not really get enough out of it to justify the price.
Hard disk
Here I can’t say much, everyone knows the capacity they need. But I’m one of those who think that the more the better and we won’t fall short. With a hard disk of 1 Tb we will not have problems of space.
SSD
A computer with an SSD disk is really useful, as it increases the loading speed of the programs and the operating system. It’s a wonder to see how it turns on in just a few seconds. If you can find that it has at least 120GB of SSD, it will make your computer turn on and off quickly and your most used applications too. They also weigh much less than the usual hard drives, which is a relief when transporting the laptop.