Some might consider this pretty lame, but here, I will try to give you some tips on buying a laptop especially for the students..
1. The Basics
There are 4 main types of laptops :
Ultralight
Pros : Extreme portability, designed for long battery life
Cons : Minimal power, very expensive, less durable
Tablet
Pros : Swivelling touch screen, good for note-taking, compact
Cons : Limited power, generally expensive, designed mainly for business not students
Budget/Mainstream
Pros : Best price, good power, lots of features
Cons : Less portable, beware of stripprd-down models
Desktop Replacement
Pros : Extreme power, biggest screen, best for gamers
Cons : Terrible battery life, expensive, not at all portable
2. What Matters Most
Screen Size
The bigger the screen, the more satisfying it is. But bigger screen also means heavier loads, shorter battery life and probably more expensive.
CPU and RAM
These 3 specs are the essence of your laptop : Get an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and 1GB of RAM at a minimum. For gamers, you may opt for a real graphic card from Nvidia or ATI, not “integrated” graphics.
Battery Life
Most notebooks will get you through a 90-minute class, but few offer battery life beyond a couple of hours. Invest in spare batteries and tweak your system to save power when you are unplugged.
Price
It is not economical to spend so much for a starter notebook. Go with the one that you can afford and is optimally best for you.
3. Popular Laptops
- Apple Macbook Pro
- HP Compaq Business Notebook 8710p
- Sony VAIO FZ180E/B
- Dell XPS M1330
Leave a Reply