As a tech support agent, I have to literally duck down an alley to avoid handing out advice about PCs and their general well-being. To most people computers are a mystery that just gets more convoluted the more you attempt to enlighten them. Hence the first question I ask of someone who would like my advice on a new laptop is, what do you want it for? Generally this question is met with a blank stare of incredulity. That’s when I have to elaborate.
Will you use it to play games?, if yes what sort of games? Are you gonna use it just for office work? Or would you like to mix a little pleasure with business and watch a movie from time to time? If they are buying a laptop, how compact do you want it? What sort of files do you usually work with? How long do you plan to use it?
Generally speaking these questions make for excellent cover while I make a clean getaway. But seriously speaking, these are valid questions, how else do you decide what sort of laptop you would like to buy, Do you just go into an electronics store and buy any of their laptops on sale? Or would you rather have a considered opinion, thus enabling you to fully utilize your machine, instead of making me and my ilk rich by purchasing something that fell off the back of a truck.
Now for a basic computing lesson. More RAM means more memory for the processor to store its calculations and less need for the same instruction to be executed again and again. RAM stands for Random Access Memory. Newer processor, generally means better computing, bigger Hard Disk Drive means more space to store your stuff. So if you are looking for an inexpensive laptop, do not charge at the sign ‘Cheap New Laptops ‘with your card out, but reflect.
Go online and check out different models, get their specifications and research them online. For example, if I liked the look of a Dell Inspiron 15 R laptop and it said on their site that it came with either the i5 or i3 processor, I’d look up both and if I wanted something which doesn’t consume a lot of power and doesn’t score too highly on computing power, I would opt for the i3, or i5 if I would like a little bit of juice, thus enabling me to enjoy a movie or two.
Next I would check the ports, which are the stuff that comes attached to the laptop. Does it have a DVD drive will I be able to burn movies on said drive. How much is the battery charge time and, how long will it run between charges? Does it have a graphics memory onboard? You don’t need to have a tech savvy friend, who does this for you. You can just google it. All the info you need is just a bit of typing and some mouse-clicks away. And now to let you in on a little secret, we google too, I know it sounds incredible, and you probably don’t believe me but in your heart of hearts you know it’s true.
Lastly, when you’re buying an inexpensive laptop, you are, its true limited in your choice. But that doesn’t mean you have to compromise on quality or computing power. Be patient, look up opinions in independent forums, and don’t waste time looking for cheap deals.
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