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Laptop buying guide – 10 Things to Consider before buying a

    In this 21st century, it seems everything is done online. Well, except making babies. The demand for laptops has increased so drastically. In 2010 over 50 million laptops were sold.

    If you were opportune to see the laptops sold in 1995 you wouldn’t even spend a kobo to get it. Laptops were out rightly ugly like a bulldog).

    Not just ugly, but also heavy and expensive. You really need to be rich to be able to buy a small 4:3 screen, chunky keyboard, and a hard drive measured in megabytes. (yes megabytes, not gigabytes-isn’t that funny?).

    When people ask us which laptop is best for their needs, we just smile and say, “it depends on what you want to do with it”.

    You know there are too many types of laptops and price ranges to suit different purposes that it is almost impossible to make a choice.

    There are desktop replacements laptops, ultralights, high-end systems for game-lovers, and notebooks for taking notes (that will really fit a blogger).

    So, before you click that “order now” button or step into that shop, consider these things.

    10 Things to Consider Before Buying a New Laptop

    1. Size:

    If you carry your laptop everywhere you go like I do, then you need to consider buying a notebook that has a small screen and a lightweight.

    In fact, there’s no point in carrying a heavy laptop unless you are a weight lifter, or are you? Any laptop marked as an Ultrabook is good for you as they are designed to be slim and light. This will really fit students and bloggers.

    2. Comfortable keyboard:

    No matter what you are using your laptop for, you will one day need to type a couple of things. Do not buy a laptop which has all the keys under the sun. It can be really difficult to locate a particular key.

    Go for a laptop that has a comfortable layout with full-sized keys and some space around the arrow keys. Let your keyboard have this snappy responsiveness when you let them go and also make sure it is backlit.

    If you have the best laptop with a terrible keyboard, forget it, you do not have a laptop.

    3. Quality Screen:

    Remember that you’ll be staring at your laptop for many hours every day (especially if you’re a blogger). So, go for a laptop that has a comfortable screen to look at.

    NOTE: DO NOT BUY A LAPTOP WITH A TOUCHSCREEN. They are usually glossy which leads to reflection and may have a bad effect on your eyes. You don’t want to visit an optician after typing for an hour. Do you?

    4. RAM:

    More RAM equals more applications to be run at the same time. 4GB of RAM is just the best. Don’t settle for less.

    5. CPU:

    Go for Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7. These CPUs give you the best performance when it comes to multitasking and editing pictures and videos.

    As a beginner, you can start with Core i3. But if you want the best performance from your laptop, go for Core i7 but remember that the heat from the base of the laptop can boil a tuber of yam….you know what I mean.

    6. Storage:

    You can either go for a laptop with Hard Drive (HD) or Solid State Drive (SSD). The difference is that Hard Drives are usually slow, somewhat bulky, and produce heat and noise while an SSD offers a lot more speed, runs silently, and is very light. The only problem is that it offers less capacity that’s either 128GB or 256GB in size.

    Remember that the SSD is pretty expensive. So, if you have extra cash to spend, go for SSD. If not you can always manage the HD.

    7. Good Battery Life:

    Things to Consider Before Buying a New Laptop

    How long your battery will last depends solely on what you do with it like streaming online videos, screen brightness, running many apps at the same time, playing HD games, and lots more, then your battery will drain sooner than expected.

    A battery with 4400mAh (milliamp-hour) will give you a good experience.

    8. USB 3.0.

    To make the best use of your laptop get a laptop that has a USB 3.0 port. This is because; you will need them for plugging in an external Hard Drive to back up your system, a mouse, keyboard, or speakers/earphones.

    9. Wireless Networking and Bluetooth

    Since you’ll be relying a lot on an internet connection, at the very least you need a laptop that has a dual-band WI-FI adapter. This will allow you to share your phone’s internet connection with your laptop.

    And finally, look for Bluetooth 4.0. It helps to transfer files and for connecting to wireless mice and keyboards.

    10. After all said and done:

    You need to balance these features with your budget and needs. You might forgo some features. It is not so easy to get a laptop with all the cool features on earth especially when it comes to price.

    So, cut your coat according to your size.