Work from home has increased the demand for laptops and tablets. All of you definitely need a laptop or tablet to work from home properly and efficiently. You can also work from home using a desktop or computer but according to me, desktops are not reliable for working from home as they are heavy, not compact, you cannot carry them, not portable, etc. But all these things do not apply to laptops. That is why in this post, I am going to explain to you the Best Laptop Buying Guide
They are easy to carry, portable, compact, and not bulky. You can also choose a tablet but there are some limitations. You can’t do all the things on a tablet that you can do on a laptop. The laptop is best as it can work as both tablet and desktop.
So, in short, you need to do all your work. But the problem is that many people don’t know how to buy the best laptop for them. So to clear all their doubts regarding the laptop, In this post, I am going to explain to you what are the things to keep in mind while buying a laptop and whatnot.
Before doing research, there’s one important thing you need to do first. I always recommend this tip to my relatives, friends so that they can choose any type of device (not only a laptop, smartphone, best wireless mouse but any type of device) with a little research.
First, you have to make a checklist. You need to rank your needs on that checklist. Suppose if you have processing power as a priority then write processor in the first point of the checklist. This will help you remember that your priority is the processor, not the look of the device (just for the example, I mentioned). If you’ve made a checklist, you’re half done
Budget- Best Laptop Buying Guide
I would say the budget is the first thing you should consider but a lot of people ignore it. Personally, I suggest you always stick to your budget. If your budget is ₹40,000 then stick to it. Always try to find a laptop that is under ₹ 40,000.
You might like the features of a ₹50,000 laptop but you should also keep in mind that you have some limitations. Try to find the best laptop in your budget so that you will not face any problems while working.
You should not increase your budget just for the sake of show-off. Many people buy MacBook Air but they don’t need that kind of laptop. They buy them just to show them to their friends and relatives. So don’t be that kind of person, stick to your budget. You can increase your budget if the laptop does not meet your work requirements.
If you want to do 3D modeling or video editing but your budget is less than Rs 25,000 then I think you should not stick to your budget. Because 3D modeling or video editing requires rendering time. Each frame needs to be rendered to give output. In this way, you can increase your budget. I hope you understand
Platform
Which OS laptop should you buy now? Most people buy either Mac OS or Windows. For those who want to buy Mac OS then I thought they have that much budget. If you want to buy a MacBook and you have that much budget then buy it.
This is the best for the work. But also keep in mind that MacBook is not for hard-core gaming. In this post, I mainly focus on the Windows platform as most of the people in India prefer Windows over MacBook due to budget.
Form-factor
What is a Form Factor? Well, it means size, portability, the physical arrangement of the laptop. The form factor mainly depends on the display size. If you want to do some office work or school work then a 14-15 inch laptop is fine or you can say best for you. The reason is that they are portable, compact and you can carry them easily due to their low weight.
But if you want to do gaming, video editing, photo editing, etc. then it is better to go for a bigger screen like more than 15 inches. Due to the large size of the laptop, you will get a more powerful processor, more RAM, and a bigger screen.
2-in-1
Nowadays foldable laptops, touch screen laptops, or simply 2-in-1 laptops are available in the market. Personally, I think a foldable laptop that can rotate 360 degrees better than a touch screen laptop. Because foldable laptops are good for multimedia consumption.
But I don’t think of buying a touch screen laptop because you can’t do anything new by using the touch screen of that laptop. If you want a touchscreen laptop, buy a tablet with a keyboard instead of a laptop. But still, I would say that it is your personal choice what type of 2 in 1 laptop you want to buy or you may not prefer to buy 2 in 1 laptop. It is completely your choice.
Refresh rate- Laptop Buying Guide
If you are the type of person who plays a lot of games or watches action movies a lot then you can go for a faster refresh rate if the laptop is under your budget. Otherwise, if you want to do normal office or school work then you can go for a normal refresh rate (60Hz). 60Hz refresh rate is more than enough for normal tasks.
Color accuracy
If you do a lot of photo editing, video editing, or gaming in which color is very important, then check its color accuracy. You need to check its color gamut. Normally it should be around 92%-95% then you will get very good color accuracy. If your color accuracy is not good then the displayed color will be different from the actual color.
WebCam
Webcams have become an essential part of laptops, especially after the lockdown. Nowadays almost everyone meets each other in Google Meet, Zoom call, etc. That’s why the webcam and built-in microphone are an important part of the laptop. If you attend online meetings or online classes a lot, try to buy a laptop with good webcam quality and good microphone quality. This will help you improve your impression.
Nowadays many laptops come with 2-3 mics. One mic is for noise cancellation while the other is for recording your voice. So try to choose this type of laptop if it is under your budget.
Build Quality
Many people neglect this part. But you need to keep in mind that if you want to use your laptop for more than 4 years then you need a laptop with the good build quality.
Try to buy a laptop from a good or well-known brand as they mostly provide good build quality as per the price of the laptop. If you are buying from an unbranded company just because it is cheaper, then most likely you will have to compromise on the build quality. So your laptop cannot last long.
Ports
Now let’s talk about ports. There is generally no need for an optical or CD drive. Because nowadays I don’t think anyone uses CDs or DVDs. But still, it is your choice if you need an optical drive then you can choose a laptop which has an optical drive but chances are you will get a thick laptop instead of a slim one.
Now I am going to give my personal opinion about ports. Your laptop must have at least 1 C-type USB port. Your laptop must have at least 3 USB-type ports. If you want to transfer data via USB cable, try to buy a laptop with a USB 3.1 port.
You can also check the HDMI port but it is up to you whether you want to connect your laptop to another monitor or not. I have seen that many people buy a small laptop with a powerful display but they connect the laptop to another monitor which gives them both performance and a good view. If you want to be one of them, buy a laptop with an HDMI port.
Audio
If you are buying a laptop for multimedia consumption, then try to buy a laptop with good audio and video quality. Usually, laptops do not have good speakers but if you have external speakers then you can connect to the laptop.
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 6 is available in the market but laptops with Wi-Fi 6 features are expensive. Try to buy a laptop that has at least Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0. Don’t go for Bluetooth 4.2 or 4.3. Personally, I don’t recommend them. But if you do not have that much budget then you can ignore this part.
OS
Windows has already launched Windows 11 but many laptops do not provide Windows 11. So you can go for the laptops which have the OS Windows 10 even if it is a home edition. If it has Windows 10 Pro then it is good but if you don’t have that much budget then go for Windows 10 Home Edition.
Keyboard
The keyboard is the second most interactive part of a laptop after the display. The keyboard is very important if you type a lot. If you are going to use an external keyboard for typing then you can ignore it but you do not want any extra gadgets then try to buy a laptop with a good keyboard.
Good keyboards mean a good key travel distance and size of the keys. Also, look at the gap between the keys. If your keys are too close, you may have problems while typing.
Battery
Try to buy a laptop that can give at least 4 hours of backup. Companies or brands claim that the laptop can last for 6 hours, 8 hours, 10 hours but these are only claims. You can get 40% less than the battery backup that the companies claim the laptop can provide.
That is why, if a company claims that it can give 10 hours of the backup battery while using it, you will get only 6 hours of battery backup. They claim more hours because they test under ideal conditions.
Also, if you have enough budget then try to buy a fast-charging laptop with a fast charger.
Storage
If your budget is ₹ 40,000 or more then you should go for SSD. You can also choose a laptop that has both HDD and SSD. The main difference between HDD and SSD is that SSD has higher read and write speed than HDD. Because of this SSD is more expensive than HDD. The 1+ point of SSD is that it doesn’t have moving parts like HDD so the life span of SSD is longer than the HDD.
Processor
Let us now talk about the most important part- Processors. Intel processors are good but in the last 3 to 4 years AMD processors have also performed well. So which processor laptop should you buy, AMD or Intel? If we talk about AMD Ryzen 3, 5, 7, and 9 series, then these are really powerful processors.
The reason behind this is that they work on 7nm technology. But its drawback is that they heat up very fast. So the Ryzen processor heats up very fast but the processor power is very high.
If we talk about Intel processors then they are very stable. You can work with Intel processors for a long time but they are not as powerful as AMD processors. The reason behind this is that Intel’s processors use 10nm technology.
Even many older Intel processors use 14nm technology. If you want to buy an Intel processor then try to buy a new generation Intel processor. Don’t go for the 7th or 6th generation.
RAM
Try to buy a laptop with 8GB RAM even if the budget is low. You need to work efficiently, so you need good RAM. Don’t go for 4GB RAM as you will experience lagging while using that laptop. If your budget is more than ₹30,000 then you should get a laptop with at least 8GB RAM. 4GB of RAM is not enough for efficient work.
If you work very hard or you are going to put a lot of load on your laptop then try to buy a laptop with 16GB RAM. For things like video editing, gaming, animation, etc., you should have at least 16 GB of RAM and a powerful processor. If your budget allows more RAM like 32GB RAM or 64GB RAM then go for it. Why are you still reading this post?
Graphics Card
The integrated graphics card is more than enough for normal people who work normally without any heavy visuals. But if you are a hard-core gamer, video editor, VFX artist, animator who is going to put a load on your PC, then try to buy a good dedicated graphics card laptop.
Graphics cards are usually expensive if you buy a new generation graphics card. You will see graphics cards that cost more than ₹ 1 lakh. That’s why graphics cards are very expensive
