Buying a laptop computer involves choosing a device that meets your needs, fits your budget, and will last a few years with reliable performance. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you through the process.
Identify Your Purpose and Needs General Use: A mid-range laptop will suffice for everyday tasks like web browsing, streaming, and office work. Gaming: If you’re into gaming, look for a high-performance processor, a dedicated graphics card, and a laptop with excellent cooling. Professional Use: For creative work like graphic design, video editing, or coding, prioritize a powerful CPU, ample RAM (at least 16GB), and a high-resolution display. Portability: If you frequently carry your laptop, consider a lightweight model with a long battery life, like an ultrabook.
Choose an Operating System Windows: Most laptops run on Windows, which supports various applications and games. MacOS: Exclusive to Apple’s MacBook lineup, known for design and ease of use, especially in creative fields. ChromeOS: found on Chromebooks, is lightweight and ideal for online-based work and simple tasks. Linux: Some users prefer installing Linux for development or programming, though it requires more technical expertise.
Decide on Specifications Processor (CPU): For basic use, an Intel i3 or Ryzen 3 is sufficient. Look for an Intel i5/i7 or Ryzen 5/7 for multitasking and heavier applications. For high-performance tasks, an Intel i9 or Ryzen 9 is ideal.
RAM: 8GB is standard for general use. 16GB is recommended for multitasking or professional work. 32GB or more is suitable for demanding tasks like 3D rendering or high-end gaming.
Storage: SSDs (Solid State Drives) are the preferred choice for faster performance. 256GB is a good starting point for light use, while 512GB or more is better if you store large files or games.
Graphics Card (GPU): Integrated graphics are fine for basic use. Dedicated GPUs (e.g., Nvidia GeForce or AMD Radeon) are necessary for gaming, graphic design, or video editing.
Consider Display and Screen Size 13 inches: Compact and portable. 15 inches: A good balance between portability and screen space. 17 inches: Best for gaming or professional use but less portable.
Resolution: Full HD (1920 x 1080) is standard and provides sharp visuals. Although it may reduce battery life, 4K (3840 x 2160) is excellent for creative work. Touchscreen: Useful for creative tasks or easy navigation but may increase cost and reduce battery life.
Battery Life Check battery ratings in terms of hours and reviews. Lightweight laptops have longer battery life (8+ hours), while high-performance gaming or professional laptops may have shorter battery spans due to power-hungry components.
Build Quality and Durability Material: Look for metal bodies or high-quality plastic. Some laptops, like Lenovo’s ThinkPad line, are known for durability. Keyboard and Trackpad: If possible, test these. Key travel, comfort, and trackpad responsiveness are essential, especially if you type a lot.
Check for Ports and Connectivity Ensure the laptop has essential ports, such as USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, SD card reader, and headphone jack. USB-C charging is a bonus for modern devices. Check for compatibility with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 for faster, more reliable connections.
Select a Brand Popular, reliable brands include Apple, Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS, and Acer. Research brand-specific warranties, customer support, and reviews to ensure quality.
Set Your Budget Basic Use: $300–$700 for simple tasks. Mid-Range Use: $700–$1,200 for multitasking and moderate performance needs. High-End: $1,200+ for gaming, professional tasks, or premium laptops.
Consider Buying Options and Warranty Buy from trusted sources, such as the brand’s official website, reputable retailers (Best Buy, Amazon), or certified resellers. Look for deals during sales events and consider extended warranties or accident protection if available.
Read Reviews and Test, if Possible To gain real-world insights, read expert reviews and user feedback on sites like Laptop Mag, TechRadar, and CNET. If you can, visit a store to test the model and confirm it meets your comfort and performance expectations.
Make Your Purchase Once you’ve settled on a model, check for deals, choose your retailer, and purchase. Consider bundling accessories, like laptop bags or external storage if needed.
Buying a laptop involves balancing performance, portability, battery life, and budget. Assess your needs and research specifications, and invest in a laptop that will meet your demands now and in the future. A good laptop can provide years of reliable service, so choose carefully.
Laptop Computer The idols of the nations are silicon and code, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see, ears, but cannot hear. Those who make them, will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.- Psalm 135:15-18 (BJB version) Laptop is a portable computer small enough to use in your lap. Lower prices, more sophisticated technology and greater portability mean that laptop computers are rivaling desktop computers as consumers' computers of choice, with students leading the way. Laptops are the way of the future. - Gross, Kate, Youth Studies Australia Laptops for ESL Purposes There are many ways of using a laptop computer for ESL training purposes. How to Select a Computer If you have decided on getting a laptop (notebook) computer, then you need to decide on the type of laptop computer. There are four main types of laptops.
1. All-purpose laptops – average size and not very heavy; weight - around 2 kg (accessories are not included into the weight).
2. Desktop replacement laptops - bigger than the all-purpose laptops; they have large screens and keyboards but are heavier – not for carrying around every day; weight - around 3 kg or more.
3. Ultra-portable laptops - the lightest and most portable type of laptops with small screens and tiny keyboards; they are designed for people that carry the laptop with them every day, perhaps many times a day, therefore, the portability of these laptops is very much valued - the price is higher than for the analogous features of other types of laptops; weight – around 1 kg or less.
4.Rugged Laptops or rugged notebooks. They are more expensive than ordinary computers but are designed to work in any environment and in any location, even under severe weather conditions. They are water, dust and shock proof and are approximately twenty times stronger than the ordinary plastic laptops. They are ideal for travelers. If you are preparing to travel and teach English in a remote village school of a developing country, which is most probably tropical and humid, rugged laptop would be an ideal solution. Rugged laptops are further subdivided into fully rugged, semi-rugged and tablets.
Making a Decision The great thing about a computer notebook is that no matter how much you stuff into it, it doesn't get bigger or heavier. - Bill Gates
A few general, common sense things
1. Do not buy a laptop with a glossy screen, unless you want to see your own image while using the laptop.
2. Choose SSD (Solid State Drive), instead of HDD (Hard Disk Drive). SSD works faster, is safer regarding information storage, works without any noise but it is more expensive than HDD. However, if you need to store a lot of information and you do not care about speed, buy HDD.
3. Apple, Dell, Acer, Asus, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba are good brands. The most important are specifications, i.e. it depends on what you want. Pay attention to both hardware and software. To learn more, click here...
When looking for a laptop on e-Bay or any other website that sells laptops, read the description carefully, verify the shipping costs, warranty, discounts and ask any questions that you may have. A good supplier should answer all your questions. If you pay online with your credit card make sure that the payment is made securely.
It is important to study some constructive ways of using a laptop computer for teaching and learning purposes.
Laptop for ESL How to Use a Laptop Computer for ESL Teaching Purposes It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein Adult business English learners as well as many university students usually have their own laptops. If a school has wireless Internet connection – the situation is ideal for learning. First, there is no need to buy an expensive computer lab; second, students feel more confident if they have their own PCs – they can use them anywhere and at any time. Instead of purchasing an expensive computer lab it is much more reasonable to have an ordinary classroom with movable chairs and tables where students can have small group discussions and play ESL games. It will be a good idea if a school decides to get laptop computers for their students at a wholesale price: students will be grateful to the school for low cost computers and the school will save money on the costs of computer labs. Selection of a suitable learning software is also very important. Remember, the computer should be treated as just another learning tool; the focus of the lesson is effective English learning but not the computer. Is there a large lecture theatre in your school? Have you ever thought that English can be taught to the class size of 300 or more students? This can be done, from time to time, in a large lecture theatre, two or four hours per week. Students - intermediate level or higher. The teacher delivers a lecture on a certain topic - uses PowerPoint and the microphone, and the students take notes – they use their laptops for ESL learning purposes. While taking notes, the students develop the following skills: 1) active listening; 2) note-taking; 3) critical thinking; 4) typing; 5) dictionary and 6) spelling. Immediately after the lecture students email the notes to their teacher (this is done when students are still in the lecture theatre; wireless Internet should be available). Having received students’ emails, the teacher prints the students’ notes on A4 size paper, distributes hard copies to the students, and the lecture topic is discussed in consecutive smaller classes / tutorials. Many ESL teachers have been using this method and it proved to be very successful.
The lectures can be delivered on any topics that you think are useful to your students. They can be about how to lose weight, how to write a good essay, how to speak in public, how to study effectively, about travelling experience, or about how to use the Present Perfect and the Past Simple. The list of the topics is endless; it depends on the students' language level, their age and educational background.
During the last few weeks of the semester some best students can give lectures instead of the teacher. Let them learn how to use PowerPoint, microphone and other public presentation devices. Let them practice public presentation skills.
If you decided to get a laptop computer, you need to think about how often you will be carrying the computer. If you carry it every day, you should buy an ultra-portable laptop. If you are not carrying it often - get a heavier desktop replacement laptop. If you do not know how often you will be moving it, buy an all-purpose laptop.When you have decided which type of laptop you want, you should choose the brand.
Many people feel so confused when it comes to buying a computer, particularly their first computer, that they do not want to make a decision by themselves and would just prefer that someone tells them what to get so they can blame them later. There are many famous computer companies such as Apple, Dell, Acer, HP, AST, Compaq, CTX, Everex, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, IBM, Micron, Quantex, Swan, Toshiba, Zenith, Zenon, Samsung, Sony, Sharp, and a few more.
Everything depends on your needs and how much money you have to spend. Some schools, if they are not rich, may find some good deals on refurbished laptops and reconditioned laptops.
A refurbished laptop is usually an older laptop that has been used and then reconditioned, often by a third party, and offered at a discount price with warranty.
A reconditioned laptop means that it had a problem, went back to the manufacturer, got fixed and now it Students/schools at a discount price with warranty.
You can order such laptops online. Students / schools should consider buying refurbished or reconditioned laptops. Great savings for students and their parents.
Having decided which brand to buy (also consider the color), you need to settle on the specifications that you want for the laptop. Here the difficulties usually come up. Your laptop is going to last you at least three or four years. You do not want to start running out of disk space or memory in the first six months that you have it because you trimmed down the amount of memory or got less space in SSD.
It is essential to take into consideration the following characteristics of a laptop computer before you pay money for it. Pay particular attention to the following features:
PS Mag This is the place where you will find everything you need to know when shopping for your new laptop, along with top-rated models in a range of prices. You will find valuable information about the best laptops of the year. Read MORE...
Digital Trends Dell’s XPS 13 is considered as the best by Digital Trends. It is portable, powerful, beautiful, and affordable. They recommend it not only over any other Windows notebook, but also Apple’s MacBook line and Google’s Chromebooks. Read MORE...
TechRadar With so many options to choose from, picking the best laptop for your needs is more important than ever before. Get the best and the most impressive tech deals, reviews, product advice, competitions, and important tech news. Read MORE..
PC Advisor Read the best laptop reviews. Find the best Windows laptops and the best MacBooks. The most powerful and the lightest laptops. Read MORE...
Laptop Mag Find a professional comparative analysis of different laptops available on the market. Read MORE...
Trusted Reviews TrustedReviews covers hundreds of computing products every year in every price range to ensure you can find exactly what you need for your budget. Read MORE...
CNet Find current laptops, from budget hybrids to full-power gaming rigs. Get the best laptop deals and the latest news about laptops. Read MORE...
PS World Find the best laptops of the year: Budget PCs, 2-in-1s, Ultrabooks and more. Also, get the best tech advances in portable PCs, from new CPUs and GPUs to new materials. Read MORE...
Business Insider You will get a list of the best laptops with basic specifications for all preferences and budgets that will give you the most value. Read MORE...
Best Products When shopping for your next laptop, consider carefully how you plan to use it the most. Larger laptops usually pack more powerful processor and often a sharper display. However, they are not as comfortable to carry around as their more compact siblings. Read MORE...
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