A Beginners Guide to Laptop Shopping

So, you have decided you wish to purchase a laptop computer. The convenience and the technology are certainly tempting but when you visited the Dell site and the HP site, the various laptop options seem expensive and confusing. What is the difference between memory and hard drive space? What size screen or what screen resolution do you actually need? How long should a battery last and do you actually need the latest and greatest Window’s release?

Shopping for a laptop without knowing the facts about the options out there can make the buying process painful and frustrating. Additionally, you may buy more laptop than you need on impulse. Many people are convinced to buy a new, high tech laptop when they could be happy with a far less expensive refurbished notebook or used laptop for less than half of what a new machine might cost. What you need to do is assess your needs and then make smart decisions.

First step back a moment and think about your computing needs. If your laptop is for your summer home and will only be used an hour here and there for a few months or if it will sit in your extra bedroom and get minimal use, or if you just need a machine to handle e-mail and browsing the web, then you don’t need the latest and greatest laptop technology.

You need to consider and decide what applications you will be running. E-Mail and browsing are included with the Operating System, but word processing and spreadsheet programs are usually not. Microsoft Word often must be purchased separately and is expensive. Here are some of the applications you may want to consider and the technical resources they will require.

* Word Processing – Word processing requires a minimal CPU (Central Processing Unit), since you cannot type faster than a very old Pentium 90.

* E-mail – Email applications will also require a minimal CPU, minimal RAM (Random Access Memory) and your internet connection speed will not matter, unless you are sending or receiving very large files (photos).

* Browsing Web Pages – Internet browsing requires minimal CPU, 64MB RAM performs ok, but 128MB will be better. The speed at which you are connecting to the Internet is more important than the speed of the CPU. For example, a 56K dial up modem is slow and DSL or cable modem connections are at least ten times faster.

* Online and Computer Gaming – You should review the Minimum Systems Requirements of the games you play the most. Some games require a very fast CPU (2 GHz, lots of RAM (maybe 2GB) and a specialized graphics chip while others may not. If you are interested in participating online, you’ll have another set of requirements to meet as well in terms of internet connectivity.

* Music – Music does not require much in the way of computing resources. The amount of storage depends upon how many songs you have. The average song takes about 5MB, so 300 songs would be 1.5GB.

* On-line Shopping – This in essence is just like browsing the web. You should have at least 128MB. The CPU is not as important as your connection speed (56K modem is much slower than DSL or Cable).

* Database Applications or Personal Finance – Simple database applications like Goldmine or other sales applications do not usually need much in the way of CPU or Hard Drive space. Again check the Minimum Systems Requirements of your application. A very complex or large database (like QuickBooks) might need a large hard drive and a very fast CPU.

Overall, your communications link to the internet is going to be an important factor in your laptop choice. As discussed, 56K modems are slow by today’s standards and cable or DSL are much faster. It is also quite easy and inexpensive to add Wi-Fi (wireless internet access) if you have cable or DSL and a Wi-Fi card can be added inexpensively to most laptops.

If you do not have an Internet Service Provider you need to sign up for one. Many people choose the local telephone company for DSL access or go with a national service, like AOL or EarthLink for dial up. Call your local cable company for rates on access through a cable modem.

If the laptop will mostly stay in one place, then the size is not that important. Obviously, newer laptops are lighter and often more portable, and the weight will change depending on the size of the screen you choose. If you will be moving it around a lot then check out the size, the weight and perhaps the battery life. Some of the newer laptop can hold a charge for five or six hours, but it various considerable and you need to carefully check the specifications and how they determine the charge time. Additionally, if you are traveling extensively, carrying a prohibitively heavy laptop computer can be incredibly inconvenient.

In many instances, your first step will be your own budget assessment. Think about how long you will keep the laptop and how much use it will get. Spending $1000 might make sense if you us it 2-3 hours every day and will keep it for three years. That is $3.00 a day, which seems very inexpensive for a valued tool. On the other hand if the budget is $300 and you are only browsing the web and doing e-mail then an older refurbished laptop would be fine. As with any technology, figure out what you need and what you can pay before doing your research and making a decision. Refurbished laptops and used laptops can be a great buy and you’ll have the tool you need without spending more than you should.

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