Quick Laptop Buying Guide for Students

Looking to buy a new laptop? If you have done even a little bit of brainstorming for selecting your new device, you must have understood how confusing it has become to select a new laptop. With numerous features and options, it becomes almost impossible to select a laptop, if you don’t know what suits your needs and what not. so here is a quick Laptop Buying Guide for those who are confused.

Although the price is definitely one of the biggest deciding factors for most users, no one wants to pay extra for something that he/she doesn’t need. Further, no one wants to miss out on important features.

So what should you look for in your new laptop? If you are looking to know it, we have created an ultimate laptop buying guide for you. Have a look below and get to know the 10 most important things to consider while buying a new laptop.

Form-Factor / Type

In the modern times, you have a good deal of options when it comes to the type of laptops that are available. There are normal regular-use laptops in the traditional form factor, there are slim and powerful ultra-books, there are flexible 2-in-1 laptops and there are muscular gaming laptops too.

Depending upon your needs, you can choose one of these options. While gaming laptop is the clear choice for gamers, professionals can choose between ultra-books and 2-in-1 laptops. Students can go for any of the three except gaming ones for their study needs. While choosing the form factor, do mind the size of the laptop too. The size bought should be in line with your portability needs.

Operating System

Windows is undeniably the most popular operating system for laptops, and it is quite probable that it will be your first choice. However, for regular users, even Mac (Apple’s OS) is not a bad option as it comes with many good features. Further, for those who are looking to use some advanced and open source applications, Linux is a perfect choice, although it is not recommended for normal users. Further, you can go through other options like Chrome OS too.

If you are looking for a Laptop in a price range of 30,000 INR to 40,000 INR, you will only find either Windows or Linux OS. You can get Chrome books at a low price tag around 20,000 INR. Apple Mac books are heavily priced. To buy the latest MacBook you need to cough around 70,000 to 80,000 INR.

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Processor

Just like Windows is the most popular choice for operating system, Intel is pretty famous for CPUs or processors. Users can go for processors like Intel Celeron, i3, i5 or i7 processors. Celeron is the most basic one and is recommended only if you want to basic tasks like opening emails, web browsing, accessing light files and listening to music. While the other three increase their capacity in that order only, with i7 being the most powerful and advanced CPU.

If you are looking for something beyond Intel, then AMD is a good choice. It also offers 4 major options, from the most basic CPUs to advanced models.

RAM

RAM (Random Access Memory) is another crucial aspect of buying a laptop. In simple words, RAM signifies the extent of multitasking you can do on your device. Thus, with higher RAM, you can run more and more applications simultaneously.

2 GB RAM is necessary for even the most basic users, so looking below that is nowhere justified. Further, if you are a non-technical professional, then 4 GB is RAM is perfect for you.

On the other hand, if your work involves running heavy software, then 8 GB of RAM is great. More than 8 GB of RAM is suitable only for the most advanced users. For students, 4 to 8 RAM is good.

Storage

Choosing the quantity of storage is not a very tough task, as one can easily project what his/her storage capacity needs to be. However, in terms of quality, we have two types of storages, which are HDD and SSD.

HDD is the traditional hard disk that you get in a laptop. It costs less than SSD, is slower and consumes more power than SSD. On the other hand, Solid State Drives, or the SSD, is super-fast and consumes much lesser power.

But the issue in these is the cost. SSD is way too more costly, and comes with small packages, mostly up to 256 GB. Thus, SSD is only recommended for advanced users who need speed and power, while HDDs are good for normal users.

Also Read: Do You Know Which Laptop Does Linus Torvalds?

Graphic Card

Graphic Card is also an important features, as we usually do watch videos on our laptops and play games on them. Graphics Card come in various sizes, from 1 GB to above 4 GB. 1 GB graphic card is enough to get some basic video functionality. However, 2 GB variant is perfect and sufficient for all types of normal and regular users. However, if you want to do some advanced tasks that involve high usage of graphics, then go for a 4 GB card, although it will cost more money.

Screen Quality

Since the screen is one part of the laptop that is active all the time when you use it, the screen needs to be a good. There are tons of thing that one can notice about the screen, i.e. the resolution, type of panel (LCD/LED), IPS or non-IPS display and things like whether it hurts the eyes or not.

IPS Displays give better viewing angles, so are preferred. While LED panels give better colour output, and thus are a good choice. A full HD resolution (1920*1080) is perfect for almost all kinds of users and can be preferred. However, all these options do have some extra costs, therefore, select only as per your budget options.

Battery Life

You don’t want to carry a device that needs a recharge after every 2-3 hours. Therefore, having good battery life is a must. However, it should not be forgotten that the same laptop may give different amounts of battery life, depending upon their usage habits.

In normal sizes, like around 13 inches, a battery of around 44wh to 50wh is good. Although, it is better to read some reviews about the battery life before buying any device.

Keyboard and Touchpad quality

Keyboard and Touchpad are as equally important as any other features because your laptop is not complete without these. When it comes to the keyboard, the laptop should not have unnecessary keys. Further, the keys must have good space between them and must be soft to use. A backlit keyboard is always an advantage as you can work in low light conditions.

There is not much to talk about a touch-pad or a trackpad, but one thing that is surely needed with it is good built quality, so do ask for it.

Connectivity

No one wants to seem outdated with old connectivity features in laptops. So, do look for things like USB 3.0 in your laptop. Bluetooth might seem an old-school thing, but having it in your laptop surely comes handy many a times. Things like HDMI ports are also useful, and do ask what all ports and connectivity features are there in the laptop that you are going for.

One extra thing that you can look for is Brand Value and After-Sale Services. Any device can go wrong within the warranty period, and it is almost necessary to have easy accessibility to after sale services. Happy shopping!

Conclusion:

These are the key specifications that you need to check while planning to buy a Laptop. And yes keep an eye on every single parameter listed above. In the smart world where new gadgets replace old models in just weeks, to stay updated you need to pick the best to stay with the trend. So choose wisely.