How to Buy a Laptop to Meet Your Needs

If you got to this page you are probably in the market looking for a new laptop.

You are looking around trying to decide what meets your needs and what is best for you money.

It happens all the time, you look and compare. Then you make a decision and buy it.

You get all excited about it, you tell your family and friends, you are very happy about your decision. And then, a few days later… you find out that you could have got a better laptop for the same price or a better deal on the laptop you bought or worse than that… a better laptop cheaper.

You also learn after using the new computer for a while that it is not quite what you wanted. It is too loud, too slow, too small, too big, the sound quality is not what you expected, the video quality sucks, the keys are too close together or too far apart… you are just not happy about it.

You get disappointed and frustrated, you don't want to comment with your friends and family anymore. All you want to do now is just forget about it. But every time you use the laptop, all those thought come to your mind, even if don't want to think about it.

Then after some time, the same thing happens again, you need to buy a new laptop.

For many years I have been asked to help people to buy their laptops; and in order to help them I ask a few questions that make the decision quite easy to make. Basically it is getting to know what fits their needs.

But what exactly do you need to know to choose the best laptop to fulfill all your needs?

What are the things you should think about before doing the purchase?

I consider laptops even more personal than PCs, even though they are not called Personal Computers.

Your laptop has to have "your face", your style, your ways of doing things. It has to have all your favorite softwares and things that make your experience using it nothing less than great.

The number one thing you need to think about is what are you going to do with your new laptop, what is the use and purpose of it?

What are you going to do with the laptop?

• General, everyday machine to surf the Internet, Read e-mail, Facebook and others
• Gaming (play games)
• Listen to music while you write articles
• Edit Videos and Pictures
• All of the above

Some people are using their computers as their entertainment center now. With Full HD Screens new laptops are great for small areas.

You can also use the Intel Wireless Display or HDMI to push the display to the wall TV and Surround Sound in your living room.

Ask that question to yourself; what am I going to do with this computer?

Now that we know the usability of your new laptop we can go to the next step. How much you want to spend on it.

Ohh yes, price. Price is always an issue.

Here we have to be careful because the most expensive is not always the best one for you.

How much you want to pay on your new laptop?

• Less than $500.00

• From $500.00 to $700.00

• From $700.00 to $1,000.00

• From $1,000.00 to $1,500.00
• More than $1,500.00

One thing you should know up front is not to expect Usability to be "All of the above" meaning you going to do everything with your laptop, and Price "less than $500.00" to happen at the same time. If you are able to do that, then let's open a business together and get rich :)

Are you going to travel a lot with your laptop or is it going to sit on your desk from the moment you bring it from the store?

How many pounds are you willing to carry with you if you travel with it?

The question you have to answer now is: How portable do you want it to be?

• Ultraportable (very small, thin and light)
• Portable (small and light)
• Semi-Portable (big and light)
• Desktop Replacement (big and heavy)

Screen sizes have a crucial role in this decision, they range from 8" to 17"+. Laptops with small screen and lots of power usually cost around a couple thousand dollars.

Do you like small screens or big? Smaller screens and laptops are better to work on planes and a lot more portable. Bigger screens and laptops are better to actually see your stuff.

Laptops for gaming also have big screens but they require a much better Video Card, which you will cost you some extra money for that.

How fast do you want your computer to be?

Ohh, I know what you are answering now… THE FASTER THE BETTER.

Sure, but with speed comes price. We need balance here… think smart. Choose the right processor for your new laptop.

• Atom
• Core 2 Duo,
• i3
• i5
• i7
• AMD

Think wisely about speed and performance, remember that you may have this new laptop for the next 3 to 4 years.

Think about how many hours are you going to be in front of it waiting for a software to load or performing a task for you.

Think, how long you want to have this new laptop.

RAM Memory

This is another crucial point along with the processor you get.

The performance of your laptop is directly related to the amount of memory it has.

The standard today is 4 GB of RAM.

• 2 GB
• 4 GB
• 6 GB
• 8 GB

Hard Drive

Storage, is another interesting point to think about.

You have to "feel" how much space you going to use during the next few years using the new laptop.

Are you going to store a lot more things than you do today?

How about pictures and the new HD videos you are recording now?

Did you know that the size of a Full HD video is a lot larger than the regular movie you used to record with your older camera/phone?

• 320 GB
• 500 GB
• 640 GB
• 750 GB
• 1 TB

Don't forget to check the speed of the Hard Drive, the standard is 5400 RPM. Top of the line computers have a 7200 RPM Hard Drive which is a lot faster.

Remember that you can always buy an external Hard Drive, for storage and backup.

Note: Solid State Hard Drives are becoming very popular now, but they are still pricy. Make sure you take a look at them before you make your final decision. They are much faster than regular Hard Drives.

What are the expansions and ports you want in your new laptop:

• Intel Wireless Display
• Blu-ray Burner
• Blu-ray Player
• DVD Burner
• SD Card reader
• Memory Stick PRO reader
• ExpressCard
• HDMI
• S400 Port
• eSATA
• Mini DisplayPort
• USB Ports 2.0 and 3.0
• Bluetooth

Yes, you can always plug your laptop into a wall outlet, but the Battery duration is another topic you should consider.

Batteries duration can range from 2 hours to 7+ hours. The longer the better, of course.

• 2 Hours
• 2.5 Hours
• 3 Hours
• 3.5 Hours
• 4 Hours
• 5 Hours
• More than 5 Hours

Tip: Make sure you set your power plan to Power Saver every time you have your laptop unplugged. This will make your battery last a lot longer.

You may be wondering why I left Brand last.

It is simple; I did not want you to narrow all your options up front.

You should always look at the market without any pre-conception of a particular brand, and then start narrowing down your options.

Now look for one or two particular brands you like and trust, study and compare them.

• Acer
• Alienware

• Apple
• Asus
• Dell
• Gateway
• HP
• Lenovo
• Samsumg
• Sony

• Toshiba

• Other

When you buy a new laptop also consider buying a wireless mouse , they are very affordable and much faster and easier to use than the touchpad.

Consider also a good pair of Noise Cancelling Headphones, they help you concentrate and focus on your work a lot.

Do your homework, study these questions, ask them to the sales person or have them handy while you are buying online and good luck :)

If you like this or have and questions, please comment and let me know.

Thanks for reading and best wishes to all...

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