Ten tips to buy a good laptop computer.

Todays market is crowded with offers from computer vendors that want to sell you their
products. And sometimes these
offers promote computers and
accessories that don't satisfy your personal requirements and just dig a big whole in
your pocket. If you are a student, a small business owner or just a regular professional, you need to look for a laptop
that will be reliable and at the same time will not suck all your
money. These are a set of tips that have
worked for me and several other people when buying laptop computers. Although the number of options in the market is vast, there are a few things
that, when you put the required
attention, will result in an excellent buying choice.
Finding the best deal in computers is not always that easy. Many stores, specially
when the holidays are
approaching, put together deals that look promising at first
sight, but that are really bad if you don't pay enough attention.
Getting a good computer comes
up to select quality for the right price. Although saving money is
important, it is not a matter of just saving in the store. You should look at the long term savings by your equipment.
That is why it is important to look at some of the items bellow.
1. Be aware of the warranty One of the most overlooked
issues when buying a laptop is the warranty
. In the excitement of the new toy you don't even care about
this. However, when the laptop
has a problem this can be a real headache.
Make sure that you get informed if the warranty for your equipment is good enough.
Check with friends that had to use the customer services if the company is efficient. Finally,
check if you need to buy an additional coverage package.
(examples)
2. Choose a processor that is adequate but not too expensive
Processors are the engine of your laptop. If you get a fast one, you can run a lot of
applications faster. That is why
processor is such an important
factor in choosing a laptop.
These days, however, speed is not the only indicator of capacity for a processor. Some
processors are more efficient, even at lower speeds. Higher
speeds also mean higher temperatures, which can be difficult to manage in a small
laptop -- they can literally burn
under the heat.
Many processors nowadays
have a dual core, which means
that they have a copy of itself
available for similar work. This is
great because different
programs can use different
processors, and therefore can
run faster as a result. Dual cores
are the ones with such
capability, and quad-cores (with
four processors) are coming to
the market.
Intel has made available in the
last year a lot of new processors
that bring extra processing
capacity for laptops.
(Examples)
3. Find a laptop with enough room for growth Laptops are different from
desktop computers mainly in
that it is difficult to expand its
capacity. If your hard disk, for
example, gets full after a few
months, it is difficult to replace
it with a bigger one. Especially if
you find out that this is not allowed by the company.
4. When purchasing laptops, think about the best size and weight for your portability needs.
I think 10 inche to 17 inche display is the best size. If you use your laptop
for multimedia, consider
purchasing a larger laptop hard
drive and discrete laptop video card. I think 500GB to up is the best for the purpose.