How to Buy a Laptop: A Step By Step Guide

If you’re buying a laptop, there’s a lot to consider. Not only do you need to find the right size and specifications, but you also need to make sure it has all those ports that will make your life easier later on.

This is a complete guide on how to buy a laptop; it will help you pick out what features are most important for your new laptop so that when you get home with it in hand, you’ll be ready to get started right away!

What is a Laptop Buying Guide?

A laptop buying guide is a great way to help you find the right laptop for your needs. This article will help you decide what features are most important to you, as well as explore the different components of a laptop.

1. Pick a size

The size of your laptop is one of the most important things to consider when buying a new one. Larger laptops can be used for extended periods, but they’re also heavier, so carrying them around may be tiring.

In contrast, smaller laptops are often less powerful but lighter overall—you’ll generally want to opt for a model with at least an 8th gen processor if you want something that will last longer than an hour before needing a recharge.

If portability is your top priority (like if you’re planning on taking your laptop everywhere), then 13 or 15 inches might be what works best for you.

These sizes are ideal when traveling lightly long distances because they fit easily into bags without taking up too much room or weighing down any other belongings carrying them (like books).

On the other hand, if productivity is more important than mobility, then 17-inch laptops make excellent choices as well because they don’t sacrifice either aspect too much either way:

They’re still small enough to slip into bags quickly sufficiently while still providing plenty of processing power needed for work-related tasks such as word processing documents; however, those same features aren’t sacrificed either since these models typically offer better battery life than smaller laptops do.

Also See : 8 Best Laptop for Office Work Use

2. Choose an operating system

With the dawn of the net, it’s no wonder that laptops have become more affordable and accessible. However, there are still many aspects to contemplate before buying a laptop.

The operating system (OS) is one critical aspect of a laptop and should be considered first when choosing one. Several operating systems are available: Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android/iOS (Apple’s mobile OS). Each has pros and cons for users who want to use their computers for different tasks.

Also See: 8 Best Laptop for Office Work Use in 2022

3. Get a resolution you’re happy with

Resolution is the amount of pixels on your display. A more increased resolution denotes more pixels, which means a sharper image. The standard resolution for most laptops is 1366 x 768, or 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio—1,366 horizontal pixels and 768 vertical ones (1,037 total).

But if you’re looking for something that looks better than an HDTV or computer monitor with this exact resolution, you’ll need to increase it by adjusting how much space each pixel takes up in each direction.

This can be done using different types of scaling—or “upscaling” if you prefer: increasing the distance between individual dots on the screen without changing their size; downsampling would result in smaller-sized dots taking up more space than larger ones and vice versa.

4. Know your ports

• USB-C is the future, and it’s already here. You might have heard that USB-A ports are still in use, but they will be gone soon. So if you want to buy a new laptop with one of these legacy ports (which includes VGA), you’ll need an adapter or dongle that converts between the two different cables.
• The good news is that most newer laptops will come with at least one USB-C port—and it’s reversible! That means if your device doesn’t come equipped with one (like an iPhone 5s), there will be no problem plugging in any cable because they all work fine on either side!

5. Pick a processor

Processor speed is the most important aspect of a laptop’s performance. The faster your CPU, the smoother your experience will be. So if you’re buying a gaming laptop or one that will be used for content creation, look for processors with more cores and higher clock speeds.

• Speed: The processor speed determines how fast programs run on your machine (and, therefore, how much lag they might cause). A 4-core Intel Core i7-8750H running at 2.2GHz has more power than a 6-core Intel Core i7-9750H running at 3GHz—but only by 25%. That doesn’t mean every “I” in “i7” is equal; some have fewer cores than others because they’re older designs (Intel’s current top-end processors all have eight).
• Type: There are two main types of processors: legacy x86 architecture and modern ARM architecture; both use similar underlying technology but offer different levels of integration into systems’ operating systems and applications software packages.
• Legacy x86 consists mainly of 32-bit extensions to IBM’s 16/32-bit instruction set architecture (ISA); newer versions also include 64-bit extensions. These architectures share some similarities with other families, such as RISC family architectures, which also use multiple instructions per cycle instead of one instruction per cycle, as seen in CISC machines like DECstations or VAXes.

Also Read: 10 Best Laptop Processor Lists for Gaming

6. Choose your hard drive wisely

The next step in your laptop buying process is to choose the hard drive size. Choose an SSD if you’re looking for speed and performance or an HDD if you need more space or prefer moving files around via the Windows OS.

SSD stands for solid-state drive (or “flash”).

It has no moving parts, which means it’s faster than traditional hard drives and uses less power—but it also takes up far less space on your computer. If you want your laptop to boot up quickly and save battery life, go with an SSD; however, if the price is essential, consider getting one with a larger capacity than what would be necessary just for basic word-processing tasks like this article!

HDD is an abbreviation for disk drive (or “hard drive”). These are typically slower than SSDs but do offer better storage space at lower prices since they don’t need as much space as the memory required by other types of hardware.

7. Check that Keyboard and Touchpad

The most important thing to look for is responsiveness: you want keys that feel like they instantly make contact with each other when pressed.

If you have to push down harder than necessary or if there’s a delay in response (like when typing letters), this could be problematic for typing accuracy and comfort over time.

The touchpad should also be large enough to easily locate on the screen (and vice versa). It should also have enough space around each button so that it’s easy to use without accidentally hitting something else by mistake—not only do these kinds of errors cause frustration, but they’re also potentially dangerous if left unchecked! 

Finally, ensure all buttons work smoothly by pressing them repeatedly until satisfied with their response before buying anything else online/in person later down the road.

Also See: Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio: Everything You Need to Know

8. Don’t Skimp on Battery Life

Battery life is important.

Battery life depends on the laptop’s size, processor, screen, and storage capacity. For example, a larger screen will use more power than a smaller one because it has to illuminate more pixels and higher resolution (higher contrast).

The operating system also plays a big role in how long your battery lasts: if you run lots of apps at once or have several tabs open in multiple windows or applications, you’ll drain your battery faster than someone who uses only one browser tab with no other programs running at all times.

It’s worth keeping track of what apps are using up the most energy during load time to determine whether there are any culprits contributing to poor performance or decreased longevity overall—or perhaps even switch them out for ones with less impact on performance overall!

Also See: Top 12 Tips to Increase the Battery Life of your Laptop

9. Pick Your Specs

• CPU

The CPU is the most important specification in your laptop because it determines how fast your computer will run and how much power it needs to operate. Therefore, you should always buy a laptop with a quad-core processor if you can afford it—it makes a big difference in performance and responsiveness.

The Intel Core i5-8250U or Core i7-8550U are good options for budget laptops, while the Core i9 Extreme Edition from Intel’s new line of high-end processors can handle more intensive tasks like video editing or encoding.

10. Get the correct quantity of RAM for your needs

RAM (random access memory) is your computer’s memory to run programs. The better RAM you have, the better programs you can run simultaneously. This means that if you want to do something like watch a movie or play a game on your laptop without having to wait for anything else to load, having more RAM will make it faster and less likely that something will happen when all of your other apps are running in the background.

The good news is that most laptops now come with between 4-16GB of storage space—and some have up to 64GB-the amount may vary depending on whether they’re gaming-focused or general purpose—and although this isn’t enough room for everything under the sun (mainly if those things include video files), it should be enough for basic tasks such as web browsing and email;

However, if these activities aren’t enough for what’s going on inside those machines, then adding extra storage via an external hard drive could help alleviate some stress points later down the road!

11. Remember the extras

You also have to consider what comes with your laptop. It’s important to consider the things included in a purchase because they can make or break your experience. Here are some additional features you might want:

• USB ports – One of the most common extras on laptops and other devices. You need at least two USB 3 ports to connect your mouse and keyboard (or other peripherals), but ideally, more would be better!
• SD card reader – If you don’t already have an SD card reader built into your computer, this is an easy way to add another one simply without having to buy another separate device or tool—and it also makes transferring files between devices even faster than before!

12. Plan Based on Your Budget

If you are on tight funds, it’s essential to be practical about your laptop’s capabilities. For example, if you don’t need a workhorse machine that can run games and video editing software, it may be better to go with something smaller and less powerful.

However, if you want something more powerful than most laptops offer at this price point (or any other), it will probably cost more.

When thinking about how much money you want or need to purchase a new laptop, consider how often you travel with your device and how many applications are used regularly during those periods. The higher the number of hours per day spent using an application or playing games online on their device during standard usage patterns. 

13. Mind the Brand

The brand of a laptop is important, but only some of the important things. When it comes to buying a new laptop, there are many factors that you should consider before making your decision:

• What will you use it for?

Buying a low-end laptop will do just fine if your primary purpose is word processing or homework assignments. However, if you plan on doing some gaming or video editing (or both), your needs will be different and may require something more powerful.

• What sort of attributes do you require from your next laptop? Are there any specific applications that you plan on using regularly? Make sure those are reflected in what kind of specs come with each model, so there’s no confusion later down the line when trying out various options at different stores around town!

Take your time to find a laptop that serves your requirements and is within your funds.

• Use the laptop buying manual to assist you in finding the correct laptop for your demands.
• See a laptop within your funds and with the right specs for your needs.

Conclusion

So, now that you’re armed with the knowledge of what to look for in a new laptop, it’s time to get out there and find one. The options are endless, and many different brands and models can choose from.

Hopefully, this blog, ‘a complete guide on how to buy a laptop,’ has helped narrow your choices so that everything will be much easier when it comes time for you to buy!