In the past years laptops have been growing heaps in popularity
compared to desktop computers. Many different kinds of laptops are
available depending on your needs. It is extremely easy to find a
(cheap) laptop that will meet your needs. The question is however, what
are you looking for in your laptop? What sort of laptop will be good for
me to buy? Do I like playing games on my laptop? Do I want a long
battery life on my laptop? Am I going to carry my laptop around alot?
These are all questions that you should be asking yourself before
purchasing your laptop. In this post I'll be describing typical "laptop
user profiles" and the spec's that should be taken into account for each
of these profiles.
The student
Typically
students will be looking for laptops that are cheap, compared to other
categories of laptops. The laptop will need to have a good battery life
(in the probable case that you are last entering the classroom, and all
your classmates have hogged the power-outlets) and be portable (you
don't want to get rid of your freshman 15 by hauling around an oversized
laptop, you'd rather want to get rid of it by hauling around cases of
beer..right?).
Often this results in the choice for a netbook or
mini-laptop. This is a very good choice as often the battery life of
these netbooks will be above the average standard, and they are
extremely portable. There are a few points that you'll need to take in
account though. The benefit that portability brings to this smaller
sized laptops also brings a negative; a smaller
screen/keyboard/underpowered CPU's. So you'll have to decide if this is
OK for you, will you be using hardcore software to work on your school
projects? Will you be using the laptop for 'afterschool activities' as
well? Keep these questions in the back of your head whilst looking for
your perfect match.
A good option is to look for a slightly
'oversized' netbook, such as a 13 inch laptop. These laptops usually
have a larger CPU, and thus will have a bit more power. I wouldn't go
any larger than 13 inches though, as this will start having a big effect
on the experience of portability.
Key suggested specs: Long battery life, at least 1GB RAM; 160GB HDD and <13 inch display.
The traveller
As
a (business) traveller you'll be looking for a laptop that has
sufficient computing power, is also portable and is built into a sturdy
case to safeguard all your work documents or pictures of the worlds
wonders. A netbook would be out of the question in this case, as this
simply has to little computing power to keep up with the basic needs in
this category. A viable option would be in the 'portable' laptop
category of 12 to 15 inch laptops. These laptops usually have a stronger
computing power, are built a bit stronger and are still very portable.
However,
you'll notice that these laptops often don't come with an optical (DVD)
drive. This shouldn't be a problem for you though, as you'll be using
USB's and hard disks whenever you can as a traveller. These laptops are a
bit pricier than the netbooks, but the performance in this category
definitely makes up for it.
Examples of laptops in this category are Lenovo's thinkpad and Dell's latitude.
Key
suggested specs: 2GB to 4 GB of RAM, at least 160 GB HDD, 12 to 15 inch
display and if needed a windows professional operating system.
The gamer
Now
you'll probably say that gamers will want to get a desktop computer. I
agree, a desktop computer will indeed win from a gaming laptop.
Nevertheless, gaming laptops have greatly improved in the last few
years, and are giving desktop computers an increasing amount of
competition. Gamers will want to look into laptops that have superior
processing power, a good graphics/video card is also a great plus.
Furthermore
a big screen/display for gaming laptops greatly increases the
experience, sizes range from 15 inches to 17 inches and above! I suggest
you get that nice 17 inch laptop, or even go bigger. Since you're
looking for a gaming laptop, you might as well go big.
The more
exclusive brands (Alienware) offers high end gaming laptops. Their
laptops can be easily customized/upgraded with the latest parts and
therefore make a good choice if budget isn't an issue. However, if
budget is an issue, try looking into Gateway's P-series laptops. These
are also excellent gaming laptops and have a good overall value!
Key
suggested specs: A minimum of 4 GB of RAM, 320 GB HDD or larger, a good
graphics GPU and preferably that 17 inch or bigger display.
The home user
The
home user. This laptop category comes closest to the ordinary desktop
computer. Usually a laptop in this category is used as a replacement of
the desktop computer (and thus usually stays at a desk). This is more of
an overall laptop. 15 inch laptops are extremely common for this
category, and there's almost an infinite amount of different laptops
available here. This means that you'll be able to get a rather good
laptop (based on this categories needs) for a reasonable price.
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