How to select what computer you want to buy?

My friends always ask me about what computer they should buy? Since my years in engineering university, everyone in my friend circle and family asked for my opinion about what computer they should buy. Maybe that's because I always kept very good information and knowledge about computers and IT. Some even took me with them when they went to buy their computer. Technology has so much changed since 2004-05 and now we have much advanced computers in a very affordable price range. I remember the first computer I used in 1999 was an Intel Celeron processor of 366MHz speed and of 64MB ram and 8.4GB HDD. 

Desktops/ Laptop?

Let’s get to the point. To select a computer to buy first you'll need to choose whether you need a desktop computer or a laptop. 

If you always plan to use the computer at home or office and not to carry it during travel, desktop PC should be your choice. Because, it’s cheaper compared to a laptop of same configuration, and if you want to expense some more money you can have almost ultimate machine. You can have large display monitor, surround sound system, large HDD etc. And you will have a broad number of options to buy. You can even buy a branded desktop from reputed brands like dell or HP or Asus, but I think it’s better to customize your PC according to your need. Like, if you love gaming, then you can go for a high configured PC with large screen monitor, dedicated graphics cards and powerful processor and good sound system. If you want to buy an office PC or for internet cafe etc. for daily light like emails and word processing, you can even go to a low end PC. You even can cut off the speakers if you like.

Laptops and Tablets:

Now here comes the laptop. There are varieties of laptop model available for varieties of purposes. There are ultraportable category, gaming category, standard desktop replacing models, heavier large models, netbooks, tablets etc. to select the type of your laptop you first need to identify your need. Think what you plan to do with your laptop first before you think of buying one.

First let’s consider laptops only. I will discuss about tablets in another post.

Ultraportable and Netbook :

For those who travel a lot, there are options for them- ultraportable and netbook. Ultraportable and Netbook both is lightweight, have long battery backup, capable of doing almost everything on the go. The main differences between ultraportable and netbooks are the processor and the price tag of the machine. Ultraportables incorporate high end processors like Intel corei3 or corei5 or core i7 whereas netbooks generally incorporate Intel Atom processors, AMD processors. Now, even dual core Intel Atom processors are available. So, how to choose which one you need?

 If you have a powerful desktop PC to do your work at home or office and if you do not do high end resource hungry works on the go, you can definitely choose netbooks. Because they are lot cheaper, they have excellent looks, they are very light and have really long battery backup. You should remember in this case you have to give away the optical disc drive i.e. DVD drive as netbooks doesn’t have it.  With this although you won’t be able to play modern games and do works that requires high resources, but your everyday computing needs will be nicely carried out. Netbooks screen sizes range from 10.1 inch to 11.6 inches, generally 320GB to 500GB HDD, no ODD(Optical Disc Drive), battery backup for around 6-12 hours and weights generally less than 1.5KGs. You can choose from numerous models available from all reputed computer brands.

Now, if you plan to possess a laptop to use it for all purposes from internet surfing to high end work like video editing etc., you travel too much and want to carry the laptop with you always, then ultraportable should be your choice. They have long battery backups, high end processors, some even do have dedicated graphics card. They are bit pricey but they are elegant. They are like an ultraportable workstation. They generally incorporate Intel corei5/i7 processors, 12 to 13.3 inch screen, generally have 128/256GB solid state drive (some includes both solid state drive and standard 7200rpm HDD), ODD (sometimes Blue Ray disc drive), weight is less than 1.5kg and battery backup is about 7 to 14 hours with a price tag of above $1000. Toshiba, Lenovo, Fujitsu, HP etc brands have their ultraportable models available on the shops. There is a type of laptop you probably seen on TV ads is ‘Ultrabook’. Don’t be confused. This is just an ultraportable category laptop with special Intel processors designed to perform better while consuming less battery hereby adding really long battery life.

High performance gaming laptops /Desktop replacement laptops:

If you want a desktop replacement then you should go for standard laptops means like 15-17 inch screen, Intel core i3 or i5 or i7 processor, pick model with dedicated graphics if you plan to play games. The thing you need to consider that these kinds of laptops are heavier, hard to carry and have a limited battery backup but they are powerful as desktops. You'll be able to do all sorts of works those requires very high configuration as well as can play recent 3D games. Well, this gaming laptop would cost you definitely a lot of money, but the performance will be beyond your expectation.

Budget Laptops:

If you have a limited budget, then you can buy the budget laptops. They are generally Intel core i3/i5 or Intel/AMD dual core processor based laptops with integrated graphics runs for about 2-3hours on battery, around 320 to 500GB HDD, generally 14 inch display and weights about 2.3-2.6 KGs and has optical disc drives. There are various models of these available on computer shops at a reasonable price.

General ideas for buying a laptop:

What to check before buying a laptop:

1.     Processor: indicates what sorts of working you’d be able to do on it. Also check processor cache memory, the more the better.

2.     Graphics: Integrated/ dedicated? Depending on your urge to play modern games

3.     HDD: Is it 5400rpm or 7200rpm? Or SSD? for data transfer speed, also the size

4.     RAM: How much is supplied and up to how much you can upgrade?

5.     Weight: Do you want to carry it all time? Do you travel a lot? then weight matters.

6.     Battery backup: Depends how much time you want to remain unplugged.

7.     Upgradability: Do you want to upgrade your machine in future or want to buy a new one?

8.     Warranty: Does it have an international warranty? Does the brand have its service center on your location?

9.     Screen type: Matte screen or glossy screen? If you work outdoor then matte screen, or glossy if you work indoors. Also standard size/ widescreen which one you prefer?

10.  Optical Disc Drive: Do you need DVD burner? Or Blue Ray disc Drive? 

This is all so far I have in my mind right now. If I think something needs to be added I will include it. Thanks for your patience and time to view this. Thank you.