Choosing a Laptop

A very difficult choice ...

Buying a desktop PC is simple for me as I would always build or get one built to my specification. Unfortunately you cannot do this when buying a laptop. At the moment you can get good value for money if you shop wisely. I would go for an Intel processor which range from i3 to i5 to i7 and unless you really want budget at i3 or high end gaming at i7, I would target an Intel i5 processor. Assuming that this is going to run Windows 7, I would be looking for 4GB of RAM and at least 320GB of hard disk. DVD-R/W, decent speakers, microphone and camera should be automatic inclusions. Connectivity should include Wi-Fi (802.11n at least), Bluetooth, Ethernet, HDMI and both USB2.0 and USB3.0 sockets. Battery life is a difficult one as this is often over rated by the manufacturer and, of course, it depends what the laptop will be used for. Aiming for a 3 hour battery life would be a good start as this tends to fall off as the laptop gets older.

My overriding rule is not buy more than you need just because the salesperson says it is "an excellent buy". The less you pay for what you require is the "smart" buy. The laptop will probably be superseded before you get it out of the shop! Better to buy one for $800 now and another for $800 in three years than buy one for $1,600 now! The lower the price, the less risk if the laptop has an unfortunate accident or gets stolen.

I often get asked to recommend a particular Make of laptop and this is almost impossible as all laptop manufactures have some very good models and they also have some bad models. I recommend the buyer looks at various (maybe 3 or 4) Makes and Models that meet their requirements and then accurately takes down their specific Make and Model numbers. The precise Model number can often be found on the underside of the laptop. Then do a Google search on the Make and Model number and look for hardware reviews written by independent reviewers like the PC Magazines. If bad reviews are found about a particular Make and Model, cross it off the list of candidates and go to the next one!