When it comes to purchasing a new personal laptop or laptops for use in your business, it can be difficult to know where to start. With the huge variety of features, sizes and prices, you may be overwhelmed by choice. Follow these simple tips to help make your decision easier:
1. Use
Business/productivity: if the laptop will be mostly used to work on documents, presentations, spreadsheets and the like, you should look for a laptop with reliable processing speed, a sturdy design, a good keyboard, and a sharp screen.
Creative professional: if the laptop will be used to edit and produce photos, illustrations or videos, you need a laptop with a powerful processor, a large, high-resolution screen, discrete graphics, and a solid state drive (SSD).
All-purpose: if the laptop will be used to do a little bit of everything, you can think about most models: anything from an inexpensive, lightweight 11 inch notebook to a fast, touchscreen, 17 inch system.
2. Size and weight
The thinnest and lightest laptops usually have screens that are 11 to 12 inches; these are ideal if you just need a laptop to edit documents on-the-go. Laptops with 13 to 14 inch screens provide the optimum balance between usability and portability, so they’re ideal if you need to do work both on-the-go and at the office.
15 inch screens are usually the most affordable but can be slightly heavy, so they’re a good option if you won’t usually be carrying your laptop around. Laptops with 17 to 18 inch screens are generally the heaviest and most expensive. They often have top-of-range processors and graphics, and also provide extensive storage space.
3. Specifications
CPU: the Intel Pentium/Celeron or AMD E Series CPUs can easily handle internet surfing, email, and social network use, as well as common business programs. Power users should get at least a Core i7 system.
RAM: 4GB is the minimum a laptop should have; 8GB will mean you’re more prepared for multitasking and advanced programs.
HDD/SSD: a solid state drive (SSD) is much better and faster than a hard disk drive (HDD), but it has a price tag to match and often has a smaller capacity.
Display: Try to pick a laptop with a pixel count of 1600 x 900, 1920 x 1080 or above. The more pixels there are, the sharper the screen will look and the more content you can fit on it.
If you’re still unsure exactly what kind of laptop would be best for your office or employees, it might be best to contact your IT support team to get the most informed advice.
If you’re looking for managed IT support or other IT solutions, look no further than AWD. We can take care of all your IT, web and cloud needs, so you can have the peace of mind that your company’s IT network is running as smoothly as possible. Get in touch today with our friendly team to find out more.