Have you noticed how quicklydigital technologies are developing? Just twenty (what twenty, ten!) years ago, a home computer was a hard-to-realize dream for most Russians. Today, things are completely different. Buying a computer is not a problem. The problem is choosing a computer. And not a simple (stationary) one, but a mobile, compact, convenient and fashionable laptop. And how do you choose a laptop, for example, for home or for study, or for work? Is there a difference between laptops intended for “targeted” use or simply as a home computer? What should you pay attention to when buying? How to make a good choice? Let's try to find answers to all these questions.
Purpose of the laptop
The starting point when choosing a laptop should bebecome its so-called intended purpose. That is, what you need it for: as a home computer, as a study assistant, as a business tool or as a "game station". Let's start in order. A laptop for home use. Thanks to modern advanced models, a compact laptop can easily replace a stationary home computer. In addition to compactness, a laptop as a "home computer" has a number of advantages. Firstly, it is mobile and can be easily moved from room to room, taken with you to the country or on a trip. Secondly, it does not need special furniture. Thirdly, it does not require additional equipment with sound speakers or a webcam. And that's not all: if you want, you can find a lot more advantages. So if you are solving the problem of how to choose a laptop for home, then pay attention to the following parameters:
- diagonal screen, which should be large, with a ratio of sixteen to nine (this will allow you to easily watch HD movies);
- drive Blu-ray (a drive for reading and writing disks of various formats);
- the amount of hard disk that should be sufficient to store photo and video archives;
- video card with high performance;
- connector for connecting external multimedia devices (TV, video equipment): HDMI, S-Video, DVI.
Laptop for study.A small and compact laptop, or more precisely a netbook, is already an integral part of the image of a modern student. Such a tiny laptop will easily fit into a backpack or a handbag. A student netbook should be equipped with a USB port for a flash drive (flash card), a large disk for storing educational materials, a Wi-Fi module for connecting to the Internet, a built-in camera and microphone. A laptop for work acts as an auxiliary business tool. It is necessary for business trips and business trips, for showing presentations and storing documents. In this case, the appearance of the laptop is more important than the technical characteristics. Firstly, it should be light so as not to weigh down your gait and not pull down your arms and shoulders (remember about posture!). Secondly, it should be stylish enough, that is, strict and effective at the same time, to emphasize your status and add pluses to your business image. So choose a laptop no heavier than three kilograms, with memory of at least two gigabytes (2 GB), with a large screen and a Wi-Fi module. A laptop for a gamer. This is also a kind of working tool that should have high performance and excellent video quality. A laptop with a dual- or quad-core processor and memory (RAM) from four to eight gigabytes is suitable as a gaming station. In addition, it should have a large enough hard drive (hard disk) to accommodate modern and fairly "heavy" games. The monitor diagonal should be no less (and preferably more) than seventeen inches, and dual video cards with SLI connectors, DirectX 10 support and memory of at least two hundred and fifty-six gigabytes. These are all general requirements for a laptop, depending on what you plan to buy it for. But when choosing, you also need to understand the basic technical characteristics of the computer and the requirements it must meet: screen, processor, hard drive capacity, keyboard, etc. Let's look at them in a little more detail.
Laptop screen and form factor
The laptop's mobility is its obvious advantage.However, not all models are ideally compact. For example, if a laptop is small and fits perfectly in a bag, then it has a small screen diagonal, and it is not very convenient to watch movies on such a screen. How to choose the golden mean? The main requirements for the screen are resolution, contrast and brightness. The brightness should be maximum for a designer, photographer and gamer's laptop. A laptop with a medium-brightness screen is suitable for home use, while a laptop model with a not very bright display is suitable for students and office workers. Screen inertia affects the ability of objects to move quickly and "tracelessly" across the screen. This parameter is important for watching movies, video games, working with large amounts of text and spending a long time on the Internet. Screen size affects the weight of the laptop. So choose for yourself: either a heavy laptop with a large screen, or a lightweight model with a smaller screen. Form factor. Most laptops have standard screen proportions. As a rule, these are four to three (4:3) or sixteen to nine (16:9). The most popular (and in demand) models are those with a widescreen. It is considered more convenient for both work and watching movies. On some laptop models, the screen rotates one hundred and eighty degrees and completely lowers onto the keyboard. As a result, the laptop transforms into a tablet computer without a keyboard. Transformer models are convenient because they can be used both as a regular laptop and as a tablet. This feature is important for those who often do not need a keyboard or even find it a hindrance, such as when drawing.
Processor and amount of RAM
The processor is the electronic brain.The laptop's performance depends on its power and memory capacity. The more powerful the processor, the more programs you can work with simultaneously, and the faster the applications themselves will work. The processor's power is expressed in the number of cores, cache memory and power consumption. The main characteristic is the number of cores. One core is enough to work with text, office applications and "hanging" on the Internet. To work with graphics, video and photo materials, as well as for games, you need a processor with two cores (dual-core). Cache memory is an intermediary between the processor and the computer's RAM, which affects its performance. It can be of the first and second level and is designated, respectively, "L1" or "L2". The higher the level, the higher the performance. The RAM of modern laptop models is sufficient for storing and watching movies, working with texts and office applications and communicating on the Internet. For all this, a minimum of one gigabyte of RAM is enough. For working with graphics (for example, with Photoshop) this memory will no longer be enough, therefore, for performing resource-intensive tasks, memory from two to four gigabytes is needed. Well, if you are a passionate person and are inclined to experiment, then you will most likely need a laptop with "promising" RAM, that is, with the ability to increase its volume to four (or more) gigabytes.
Hard Drive Capacity
The capacity of the hard disk (hard drive) determinesthe amount of information that can fit on a laptop: programs, texts, pictures, movies, photos, music and everything else. For a home computer, you need a laptop with a disk capacity of at least two hundred and fifty gigabytes, for working with office programs - about one hundred and sixty gigabytes, for working with graphics and for games you will need at least four hundred gigabytes. Well, if your laptop will only act as a "window" to the Internet, its hard drive should have a capacity of up to one hundred gigabytes.
Video card
How to choose the right laptop according tothis characteristic? According to this characteristic of the graphic system, all modern laptops can be of only two types: with a built-in video card or with an additionally installed one. Laptops with a built-in video card use their RAM during operation, and they are intended for students, schoolchildren, office workers. The tasks that such a laptop can easily handle are working with text, surfing the Internet, and virtual communication. Laptops with a built-in video card are quite compact and do not weigh much. To work in graphic programs, process photos, play games, and watch high-quality movies, you need a laptop with a separate (discrete) video card. Its advantage is that it is equipped with its own, dedicated memory. The advantages of such a card are in the quality, accuracy, and speed of image transmission. The screens of laptops with a separate video card display real colors, the picture on them changes more dynamically, and small details are drawn more carefully.
Keyboard
Unlike desktop computers, whereThe keyboard is an external and replaceable device, all laptop models have built-in keyboards. Therefore, after purchasing a mobile computer, you will not be able to change the keyboard. Therefore, when choosing a laptop, you need to pay attention to this important element of the device. First of all, look at how clearly and contrastingly the letters and symbols on the keys are drawn, how well the Latin font differs from the Cyrillic alphabet. Pay attention to the usual arrangement of the buttons - it should not differ much from the standard, otherwise you will have to relearn and get used to the new order of the keys. There will still be minor differences (especially on compact models), so choose an option in which nothing would confuse you. Check the keys for "free play" - are there any sticking or popping out keys. Try typing some text. Is everything okay? Then choose this model (if, of course, everything else suits you too).
Cursor control
A touchpad that replaces a laptopmouse, called a touchpad. By moving your finger along it, you make the cursor on the screen move. Instead of a touchpad, a laptop can have a small joystick (trackpoint), which is located directly on the keyboard between the keys. The touchpad is considered a more convenient device than a joystick due to its ease of use and direct analogy with mouse control. Pay attention to the location of the touchpad - it is most preferable when it is located directly under the space bar, and not strictly in the center of the stand. In addition to the alternative to a mouse in the form of a touchpad or joystick, most laptops are equipped with a small mouse. If the mouse is not included in the kit, you can always buy one.
Network connectivity
Probably (except for mobility and compactness)the ability to access the network anywhere and anytime is the main feature of a laptop. The more wired and wireless Internet connections you can make from a laptop, the greater the communicative value it represents. In addition to connecting an optical cable to it (for example, in an apartment), you can connect a modem with mobile Internet to any laptop (for example, at a dacha or on the road). In addition, any laptop model (regardless of class) is equipped with a Wi-Fi module. What does this mean? This means that in any cafe, restaurant, hotel or institution where there is a Wi-Fi network, you can use the Internet from a laptop for free or for a small fee. In addition to the Wi-Fi module, the laptop has another very useful option (feature). This is a Bluetooth module. With such a module, you can very quickly access the Internet via a mobile phone, transfer (also to a phone) music, photos or videos, and also organize all your contacts. The rapidly developing WiMax technology is not yet very common in laptops. WiMax is an advanced analogue of Wi-Fi, which allows you to connect to a wireless network from a greater (from six to ten kilometers) distance and in any country in the world, and also provides high Internet speed. So if you need constant access to the network using a laptop, and your lifestyle is mobile, then such an option in your laptop will not be superfluous.
Battery
This is one of the defining characteristics ofchoosing a laptop. Because the battery capacity determines the amount of time it can work without recharging. The standard time for the vast majority of laptops when they work on battery power is two or two and a half hours. For a home laptop, this time is more than enough, considering that the source of recharging (an electrical outlet) is literally at hand and in every room. But if you often use your laptop outside the home or travel a lot on business trips, then you need a “long-lasting” battery. With such a battery, the laptop can work without recharging from five to ten hours in a row. So pay attention to the capacity of the laptop battery, so that at the most inopportune moment you would not have to frantically look for an outlet.
Additional features and equipment
In addition to the basic characteristics of the laptop(processor performance, RAM and hard drive capacity, screen size) it is worth considering the additional features that most models have. Almost all modern laptops have a built-in webcam and microphone (except for economy class models). Therefore, they can be classified as mandatory components. Moreover, the majority of buyers do not even consider models without a camera and microphone. Here it is important to pay attention to the number of pixels in the camera and the power (volume) of the microphone. A headphone jack and HDMI output (video and audio) can be classified as almost mandatory. Another addition is a disk drive (a drive for reading disks). Pay attention to what kind of drive is on the laptop: read-only or with the ability to write. In portable models, these are usually only “reading” disk drives. And in some models, it can be external, that is, connected only when necessary. So, when choosing, consider not only the main parameters of the laptop, but also pleasant additions. In general, in order to find the answer to the question “how to choose the right laptop”, decide, first of all, what you need it for. Believe me, manufacturers take into account the features of laptops used for different purposes and areas. Therefore, the seller will definitely ask why you are going to buy a laptop and will offer the most suitable models. And all you have to do is choose the optimal configuration, which you will definitely cope with! We recommend reading:
