In the market for a Notebook or Laptop computer? Here is what you need to know.

Over and over I get asked what to look for when buying a Laptop or Notebook computer. In this article I will try to cover the basics of what sort of computer you should be looking for. I will also explain just what the difference is between a Laptop and a Notebook.

Well first thing I want to point out is that there isn’t any such thing as a Laptop. The name Laptop stopped being used after several people successfully sued due to burns on their laps. Notebooks can get very hot, especially when you block the air vents with your legs.
Now on to something useful..

With majority of Notebooks coming out with windows 10 now, there’s some definite things to look for.
1. Plenty of Ram. I would recommend at least 4 Gig preferably 8.
2. Minimum 500 GB Hard drive.

Beyond those it comes down to your needs.

What size should you get?

The most popular size is 15.6″. This is the screen size which also determines the keyboard size. 15.6″ is generally the smallest that still has a dedicated numerical pad to the right of the main keyboard. Below this size the keyboards get a bit small and cramped for some people and many don’t come with a DVD drive.

How powerful should it be?

If you are going to use your Notebook primarily for general office type work, you really only need the bare basics. a Dual core machine would do you just fine.
For home use where you may be editing your happy snaps or making home movie’s, go for a larger hard drive. perhaps a 1TB.
For the more serious photographer or movie maker you want to look at a Quad core machine with a dedicated video card and 8-16 GB of ram.
If you a looking for serious performance you will want a Notebook with 2 hard drives. C drive being an SSD (Solid state drive), and a larger secondary Hard drive for your storage.

Touch screen or not?

Well that is personal preference again. Personally I find most people end up not using the touch screen. It makes the screen too dirty. From a repair point of view it costs more to fix a touch screen.

The Battery

As many mah (milliamp hours) as you can get. The higher the number the longer it will generally last.

Optional Extras

Those sales people will try to sell you anything and everything. Just remember they are sales people and probably know little more than you do. If you ask a sales person if you should buy something they are going to say yes. it’s their job. Many of them will even make up what they don’t know ie lie to you. (I’ve caught out many of them).

Key Points

Some key points to save you some money – If you are replacing a machine (Desktop or Notebook) you can legally use your copy of Ms office and your antivirus on your new machine provided that you remove it from your old one. Just keep in mind that a really old version of something may not work on windows 10.

If you have any questions I haven’t covered feel free to send us a message via the contacts page.

Happy Hunting