Buying laptops can be rather confusing, especially because there are so many different models and brands in the market. However, we should be able to choose models with the suitable features and prices. This should make it easier for us to get laptops that we want. Laptops are known for their mobility and we should consider combinations in battery life, weight and size. In this case, we should know whether these laptops can be properly carried around. If we want to rely mainly on battery, we should choose models with longer battery life, especially if we will be rather far away from the power source. Laptops vary in weight, some of them can be as light as 1kg, while others could reach up to 6kg. Disc drive, storage space, screen, chassis and others determine the weight. Battery life would be shortened by powerful hardware, multiple hard drives and bigger screens. Manufacturers should tell us how much the laptop weight and this could be determined by the battery and other peripherals. Lithium ion is the most common type battery and it should provide us with up to 3 hours of operational time under typical working conditions.
It should be noted that there are many available power saving options and some higher-celled batteries could discharge rather quickly. As our computer ages, battery life will start to deteriorate and it would be minutes before our laptop will have its battery depleted completely after unplugged. Sometimes, it is important to carry an extra battery and this is acceptable if mobility isn’t a priority. Some users are more inclined to get bigger memory capacity, screen size and processor. There are types of works that could be affected by screen size and some larger or smaller models could be more appropriate for our situation. Some 11-inch models should be appropriate for lighter computing tasks and any less intensive applications. However, models with 15-inch or 17-inch display usually have more powerful hardware. In any case, longer battery life, larger screen and good performance should be a priority. However, many basic models are suitable enough for our condition. We could attach external DVD burner or TV card when necessary.
How much we plan to spend on a laptop should depend on our productivity. Many people only do word processing, browse the web and access email to perform daily task. These activities can be accommodated by entry-level machines with smaller display and less powerful processor. Medium-level users may also need to perform multimedia-related task and some gaming. In this case, it is important to consider using bigger screen and storage space, as well as more powerful processor and graphics cards. Modern laptops should have at least 4GB of RAM, because newer operating systems, such as Windows 8 and Windows 10 are more demanding in terms or hardware resources usages. However, many mobile processors are already equipped with great integrated graphics solutions. We should consider comparing other components, such as sound, connectivity and networking options.