How to choose the right laptop

Compact enough to carry with you, yet versatile
enough to run demanding applications, a laptop
is the best tool for doing serious work or play
at home and on the road. While standalone
tablets and smartphones are always popular,
most people realize that everything from typing
a research paper to crunching video to gaming
works better on a laptop. So what type of
laptop should you get?
There's a wide variety of sizes, features and
prices, which makes choosing the right laptop a
challenge. That's why you need to figure out
what your needs are. To make the right call,
just follow these steps.
Quick Tips
If you're in a hurry, these are the most
important things to consider when choosing a
new laptop. For a lot more detail, see the
sections below.
12.5 to 14-inch screens offer the best
balance between usability and portability.
Larger screens are fine if you don't travel
much and smaller models are great for
kids.
If you're spending over $600, shoot for
these minimum specs:
Core i5 CPU
1920 x 1080 screen
8GB of RAM
SSD Storage instead of a hard drive.
8+ hours of battery life is ideal if you
plan to take your laptop anywhere at all.
Consider a 2-in-1 if you want to use your
laptop as a tablet. If not, a standard
clamshell notebook may be a better choice.
Chromebooks are good for kids. Windows
laptops and MacBooks both offer plenty of
functionality; which platform you prefer is a
matter of personal taste.
1. Pick a Platform: Mac,
Windows or Chrome OS?
This is not an easy question to answer,
especially if you're not familiar with both Macs
and PCs. But this quick overview of each
platform’s strengths and weaknesses should
help.
Most laptops come with one of three operating
systems: Windows, Chrome OS or MacOS (for
MacBooks only). Choosing the right one is a
personal preference, but here's a quick
summary of what each offers.
Windows 10
The most flexible operating system, Windows
appears on many more makes and models than
Chrome OS or Mac OS X. Windows notebooks
range in price from under $150 to several
thousand dollars and offer a wide array of
features from touch screens to fingerprint
readers to dual graphics chips. Windows 10, the
latest version of Microsoft's flagship operating
system, provides a number of improvements
over Windows 7 and 8, including the ability to
switch between tablet and desktop modes, a
revamped Start menu with live tiles and the
powerful Cortana digital assistant. Since its
launch in July 2015, Windows 10 has also
added a host of improvements, including the
ability to use follow-up questions with Cortana,
search your email using natural language and
use your stylus to scribble almost anywhere.
MORE: 100+ Windows 10 Tips to Help You
Master Microsoft's OS
Apple macOS High Sierra
All MacBooks come with Apple's latest desktop
operating system, macOS High Sierra . Overall,
the operating system offers similar functionality
to Windows 10, but with a different take on the
interface that substitutes an apps dock at the
bottom of the screen for Microsoft's Start
menu and taskbar. Instead of the Cortana
digital assistant, Mac users get Siri. They can
also perform transactions with Apple Pay, take
calls or texts from their phones and unlock
their laptops with an Apple Watch. However,
macOS isn't made for touch, because no
MacBook comes with a touch screen.
MORE: MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: What
Should You Buy?
Chrome OS
Found on inexpensive Chromebooks such as
the Samsung Chromebook 3. Google's OS is
simple and secure, but more limited than
Windows or macOS. The user interface looks a
lot like Windows with an application menu, a
desktop and the ability to drag windows around,
but the main app you use is the Chrome
browser. The downside is that many of the
"web apps" you use don't work particularly well
offline. However, that's changing as a several
Chromebooks, including the high-end, Google
PixelBook, can now run Android apps.
If you need a device to surf the Web and check
email, navigate social networks and chat online,
Chromebooks are highly portable and tend to
offer good battery life at low prices. They are
also extremely popular with schools and
parents, because they are hard for kids to
infect with malware and more functional than
most tablets. If you need a Chromebook, look
for one with at least 4GB of RAM and 16GB of
storage. A 1920 x 1080 resolution is preferable
but uncommon. Pay extra to get a 2-in-1 if you
plan to use Android apps.
MORE: Best Chromebooks Available Now
2. Decide If You Want a 2-
in-1
Many PC laptops fall into the category of 2-
in-1s, hybrid devices that can switch between
traditional clamshell mode, tablet mode and
other positions in between such as tent or
stand modes. 2-in-1s generally come in two
different styles: detachables with screens that
come off the keyboard entirely and flexible
laptops with hinges that bend back 360 degrees
to change modes. Most of these systems are
much better at serving one purpose than the
other, with bend-backs being laptops first and
detachables offering a superior tablet
experience. However, if you don't see the need
to use your notebook as a slate, you'll usually
get more performance for your money with a
traditional clamshell laptop.
If you decide you want a 2-in-1, note that
bendables usually have far better battery life
than their detachable brethren.
MORE: Windows Detachables Have Big Battery
Life Problem
3. Choose the Right Size
Before you look at specs or pricing, you need
to figure out just how portable you need your
laptop to be. Laptops are usually categorized
by their display sizes:
11 to 12 inches: The thinnest and lightest
systems around have 11- to 12-inch
screens and typically weigh 2.5 to 3.5
pounds,
13 to 14 inches: Provides the best balance
of portability and usability, particularly if
you get a laptop that weighs under 4
pounds.
15 inches: The most popular size, 15-inch
laptops usually weigh 4.5 to 6.5 pounds.
Consider this size if you want a larger
screen and you're not planning to carry
your notebook around often.
17 to 18 inches: If your laptop stays on
your desk all day every day, a 17- or 18-
inch system could provide you with the
kind of processing power you need to play
high-end games or do workstation-level
productivity.
4. Check That Keyboard and
Touchpad
The most impressive specs in the world don't
mean diddly if the laptop you're shopping for
doesn't have good ergonomics. If you plan to
do a lot of work on your computer, make sure
the keyboard offers solid tactile feedback,
plenty of vertical travel (distance the key goes
down when pressed, usually 1 to 2mm) and
enough space between the keys.
Look for an accurate touchpad that doesn't
give you a jumpy cursor and responds
consistently to multitouch gestures such as
pinch-to-zoom. If you're buying a business
laptop, consider getting one with a pointing
stick (aka nub) between the G and H keys so
you can navigate around the desktop without
lifting your fingers off the keyboard's home
row.
5. Pick Your Specs
Notebook components such as processor, hard
drive, RAM and graphics chip can confuse even
notebook aficionados, so don't feel bad if spec
sheets look like alphabet soup to you.
Here are the main components to keep an eye
on.
CPU: The "brains" of your computer, the
processor has a huge influence on
performance, but depending on what you
want to do, even the least-expensive model
may be good enough. Here's a rundown.
Intel Core i5: If you're looking for a
mainstream laptop with the best
combination of price and performance,
get one with an Intel Core i5
CPU. Models that end in U (ex: Core
i5-7200U ) are the most common.
Those with the a Y in the name are
low power and have worse
performance while models with an HQ
use more wattage and appear in
thicker gaming and workstation
systems. Intel's new 8th Generation,
"Kaby Lake Refresh" CPUs have model
numbers that begin with 8 (ex: Core
i5-8250U) and double the number of
cores from two to four, which
dramatically improves performance.
Intel Core i7: A step up from Core i5,
which Models with numbers that end in
HQ or K use higher wattage and have
four cores, allowing for even faster
gaming and productivity. There are
also Core i7 Y series chips that have
lower power and performance. Keep an
eye out for CPUs that have a 8 in the
model number (ex: Core i7-8250U)
because they are part of Intel's latest,
8th Generation Core Series, and offer
better performance. However, 8th Gen
processors are only available in the U
series right now.
Intel Core i3: Performance is just a
step below Core i5 and so is the price.
If you can possibly step up to a Core
i5, we recommend it.
AMD Ryzen Mobile: A new set of chips
that are designed to compete with
Intel Core i5 and Core i7.
AMD A, FX or E Series: Found on low-
cost laptops, AMD's processors -- the
company calls them APUs rather than
CPUs -- provide decent performance
for the money that's good enough for
web surfing, media viewing and
productivity.
Intel Pentium / Celeron: Common in
sub $400 laptops, these chips offer the
slowest performance, but can do if
your main tasks are web surfing and
light document editing. If you can pay
more to get a Core i3 or i5, you'd be
better off.
Intel Core m / Core i5 / i7 "Y Series"
-- Low-power and low heat allow
systems with these processors to go
fanless. Performance is better than
Celeron, but a notch below regular
Core i5 U series.
Intel Xeon: Extremely powerful and
expensive processors for large mobile
workstations. If you do professional-
grade engineering, 3D modeling or
video editing, you might want a Xeon,
but you won't get good battery life or
a light laptop.
MORE: Which Laptop CPU is Right for
You?
RAM: Some sub-$250 laptops come with
only 2GB of RAM, but ideally you want at
least 4GB on even a budget system and
8GB if you can spend just a little more. For
most users, 16GB or more is overkill.
Storage Drive (aka Hard Drive): Even more
important than the speed of your CPU is
the performance of your storage drive. If
you can afford it and don't need a ton of
internal storage, get a laptop with a solid
state drive (SSD) rather than a hard drive,
because you'll see at least three times the
speed and a much faster laptop overall.
Among SSDs, the newer PCIe x4 (aka
NVME) units offer triple the speed of
traditional SATA drives. Sub-$250 laptops
use eMMC memory, which is technically
solid-state but not faster than a
mechanical hard drive.
Display: The more pixels you have, the
more content you can fit on-screen, and
the sharper it will look. Sadly, most budget
and mainstream laptops have 1366 x 768
displays and so do more than half of
business laptops , but if you can afford it,
we recommend paying extra for a panel
that runs at 1920 x 1080, also known as
full HD or 1080p. Some higher-end laptops
have screens that are 2560 x 1600, 3200 x
1800 or even 3840 x 2160, which all look
sharp but consume more power, lowering
your battery life.
Touch Screen: If you're buying a regular
clamshell laptop, rather than a 2-in-1, you
won't get much benefit from a touch
screen and you will get 1 to 3 hours less
battery life. On 2-in-1s, touch screens
come standard.
Graphics Chip: If you're not playing PC
games, creating 3D objects or doing high-
res video editing, an integrated graphics
chip (one that shares system memory) will
be fine. If you have any of the above
needs, though, a discrete graphics
processor from AMD or Nvidia is essential.
As with CPUs, there are both high- and
low-end graphics chips. Low-end gaming or
workstation systems today usually have
Nvidia GTX 1050 while mid-range models
have GTX 1050 Ti or GTX 1060 and high-
end models have GTX 1070 or 1080. Nvidia
maintains a list of its graphics chips from
low to high end, as does AMD.
Ports: While the absence of ports is usually
not a deal-breaker when choosing a laptop,
it's helpful to get the connections you
need right on the system, rather than
having to carry a slew of dongles. Most
mainstream laptops will have USB 3.0 ports
and HDMI out for video. However, an
increasing number of laptops use USB
Type-C or Thunderbolt 3 ports that are USB
Type-C compatible. Getting Type-C is a
definite plus, because you can use it to
connect to universal chargers and docks.
DVD/Blu-ray Drives. Few laptops come
with optical drives, because all software
and movies are downloadable. However, if
you really need to read / write discs and
your laptop of choice doesn't come with a
built-in DVD drive, you can always buy an
external one that connects via USB for
under $20.
If you want to save money, you can skip
certain unnecessary features such as a infrared
camera or Windows 10 Pro.
6. Don’t Skimp on Battery
Life
If you're buying large, bulky notebook that you'll
use only on a desk near an outlet, you don't
have to worry about battery life. However, if
you plan to use the laptop on your lap, even if
it's at home and or work, you'll want at least 7
hours of endurance, with 8+ hours being ideal.
To determine a notebook's expected battery
life, don't take the manufacturer's word for it.
Instead, read third-party results from objective
sources, such as our reviews.
MORE: Laptops with the Longest Battery Life
7. Plan Based on Your
Budget
These days, you can buy a usable laptop for
under $200, but if you can budget more, you'll
get a system with better build quality, stronger
performance and a better display. Here's what
you can get for each price range.
$150 to $250: The least-expensive
notebooks are either Chromebooks, which
run Google's browser-centric OS, or low-
end Windows systems with minimal storage
and slower processors, such as the HP
Stream 11 and the Dell Inspiron 11 3000 .
Use these as secondary computers only or
give them to the kids.
$350 to $600: For well under $600, you can
get a notebook with an Intel Core i5 or
AMD A8 CPU, 4 to 8GB of RAM, and a
500GB hard drive, all respectable specs.
However, at this price, most notebooks
don't have an SSD, a full-HD display or long
battery life. There are a few noteable
exceptions, such as the Acer Aspire E 15
and Asus VivoBook E403NA .
$600 to $900: As you get above $600,
you'll start to see more premium designs,
such as metal finishes. Manufacturers also
start to add in other features as you climb
the price ladder, including higher-resolution
displays and SSDs.
Above $900: At this price range, expect
notebooks that are more portable, more
powerful or both. Expect higher-resolution
screens, faster processors and possibly
discrete graphics. The lightest, longest-
lasting ultraportables, like the Apple
MacBook and the Dell XPS 13 , tend to cost
more than $1,000 (although you can get
the Dell for less if you don't opt for a touch
screen). High-end gaming systems and
mobile workstations usually cost upward of
$1,500 or even as much as $2,500 or
$3,000.
MORE: Best Laptops Under $500
8.Mind the Brand
Your laptop is only as good as the company
that stands behind it. Accurate and timely
technical support is paramount, which is why
Laptop Mag evaluates every major brand in our
annual Tech Support Showdown. This past year
Apple came in first place, followed by Acer and
Lenovo.
Support is only part of what makes a notebook
brand worth your money. You also have to
consider how the manufacturer stacks up to
the competition in terms of design, value and
selection, review performance and other
criteria. In our 2017 Best and Worst Laptop
Brands report, Lenovo placed first, followed by
Asus and Dell. We've also rated gaming laptop
brands , with Alienware taking first place.

 

When choosing the right laptop, one needs to consider certain factors. The first and the main factor is the purpose for which you are buying the laptop for which may include office work, minor activities and gaming among others. All these activities require different laptop specifications (the second factor) such as processing speed, RAM, the type of processors, graphics, resolution, and battery capacity. For example, an office work laptop may require a 4 GB RAM and a battery that can last long enough. Other purposes such as gaming, and using heavy softwares may require high processing speeds, better graphics and a high RAM (at least 8GB) for a smooth usage. Once a person has identified the purpose for which the laptop is intended for, choosing the appropriate specifications becomes an easy task.