How to choose a laptop for work, hobbies or games
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In our article today, we decided to share with you useful information on how to choose a good laptop – there are many nuances in this matter!
It is very important to choose the right laptop
Choosing a laptop depends on your needs and desires at the moment. These will determine which OS you choose, the technical specifications, and the
specifications and design of your future device. Note that separating functionality, operating system and battery is not possible – these are all parts of a single unit.
The first thing you should do when choosing a laptop is to decide what you will need it for and what features it should have: whether you will often carry it with you or not, how many hours you will spend in front of the screen, and whether you will need it as a work tool or as a gaming laptop. The answers to these questions will determine the choice of size, speed, programs and features, and consequently the price of your future laptop.
Laptop for home use
The first thing we recommend you consider is what processor power you need. The type and frequency of the processor will directly affect the speed and power consumption of your laptop.
For cheaper systems, the Intel i3 or AMD R3 series are suitable. Intel processors are slightly more expensive, while AMD are slightly cheaper.
But then for working with demanding applications with image processing or working with 3D objects, as well as for games with maximum graphics settings, you will need an Intel i7 or AMD R7.
The cost of a laptop is strongly influenced by the volume of the hard drive.
However, RAM (random access memory) will not help to increase the speed of the computer in any way, if all other parameters are at the lowest level. Therefore, it makes sense to take a laptop that has less RAM, but has a lot of potential behind it. After all, you can always buy an external drive – for example, an SSD (this is such a large flash drive): it is faster and more reliable than a hard drive. In addition, an SDD is more resistant to damage.
If the laptop will be used mostly at home, then we do not recommend overpaying for a powerful battery. By the way, any battery can lose its properties if the laptop is constantly connected to the network. If the price plays a decisive role in your decision to choose a laptop, we recommend that you also pay attention to used laptops, often among them you can find many excellent and inexpensive options that are not inferior in their characteristics to new models. Even after repair, laptops can serve you for many more years.
Parameters you need to pay attention to:
- Processor type and frequency
- RAM capacity
- Battery
The best choice for gamers
For those who choose a laptop for gaming, we recommend that you pay special attention to the size of the hard drive, because it will store all the downloaded information. For gamers, the hard drive is also very important, because good, beautiful and realistic games always take up a lot of space on the computer (up to 20-30 GB, and this is only for the game). And on top of that, you will have a lot of installation files, which will be 10-15 GB.
When it comes to the processor, at least the Intel i5 or AMD R5 series should be installed for gaming laptops.
For a laptop with a powerful processor, you will need a corresponding amount of RAM. The more performance you want, the more RAM you need.
You will need at least 8 GB, as modern games are very demanding in terms of technical characteristics.
If you want to choose a really good gaming laptop – you should pay special attention to the type of graphics controller, because the graphics of the game will directly depend on it. There are three types of graphics cards in a laptop:
- Built-in (the module is built into the system processor);
- Discrete (the graphics card is a separate device);
- Built-in and discreet.
Integrated graphics are good because the price of laptops with integrated graphics cards is much lower. However, the image quality will of course be an order of magnitude lower than with discrete graphics cards.
The third type (built-in and discrete) is very rare. The essence of its work is that when working with office programs, only the integrated graphics card is turned on, and when working with complex graphics - a discrete graphics card. This principle of operation helps to reduce energy consumption and, thereby, extend the battery life of the laptop.
Parameters you need to pay attention to:
- Graphics card
- Hard drive size
- Processor
- RAM size
It should be comfortable to use
If you often carry a laptop with you – you need a model that will be as convenient to transport as possible – it will take up minimal space and weigh no more than 2 kilograms. Therefore, we recommend that you choose a screen with a diagonal of less than 15 inches and with a non-glossy surface to avoid scratches during transportation.
If you need a laptop for home use – models with a wide screen will suit you. The most suitable choice for work is a matte display, as it reduces glare and makes your eyes less tired.
If you are going to type a lot, check if this keyboard is suitable for you. It is also important to pay attention to some keys: not all laptops have Page Up and Page Down buttons, in which case you will have to use the Fn key combination, which is less convenient.
Parameters you need to pay attention to:
- Weight
- Screen diagonal
- If the display is dim
- Keyboard comfort
We have prepared this article for you based on many years of experience in the field of laptop repairs.
Finally, we have prepared a short list of the most important parameters to consider when choosing a laptop:
- Pay attention to the processor type and frequency
- Decide how much RAM you need.
- Take your graphics card choice seriously
- Size and weight play an important role.
- Select your preferred screen resolution and keyboard
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