Guidelines For Buying Laptops And Saving Money

By Author: M S Nath
Total Articles: 2
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If you are a busy executive who travels frequently on business work and needs to constantly refer to your office documents and reply to e-mails, then you positively need a notebook (or a laptop). Your desktop PC is more convenient with a larger keyboard, wider screen and has a more powerful processor. But you cannot carry it with you. The good news is that laptop prices have fallen to even below Rs 30,000. However, some laptops could even cost Rs 200,000. Here are some tips that you should look out for when buying a laptop.
Brands: It's advisable to go for a branded laptop. Brands include HP-Compaq, Dell, Lenovo, LG, Sony, Acer, Zenith, Apple and HCL.
Budget: Decide on a budget and scout for laptops within that range. Do remember that you can get high-end laptops (with high configurations) but at lower prices simply because the brand does not command a premium price. It does make sense to explore these laptops if the after-sales service is good.
Processor: When coming to processors, there are Intel Celeron M Processor (basic), Intel Centrino Mobile Technology with Core Solo processor and Duo Mobile Technology ...
... with Core Duo and Core 2 Duo processors. AMD (the other major chip player) offers Turion 64 (mid-range) and Sempron processors (basic). However, regardless of what kind of processor you decide on, you should get at least 1.6GHz of processing speed.
Memory and Video card: For basic laptops, the bare minimum should be 512MB. High-end users should consider 1GB and above. Basic laptops come with an integrated graphics card that shares memory with the system chipset (mostly an Intel and in some cases from ATI / NVIDIA). High-end laptops will also feature dedicated graphics cards from ATI.
Hard drive: A 60GB 4,200rpm is the basic capacity you get in most of the latest laptops. Ideally, if you plan to carry music and video on your system, consider 80GB and more. And look for the latest SATA drives with 5,400rpm at least.
Optical drive: Basic laptop users may do with a CD-DVD combo drive. However, high-end users must get one with DVD/CDRW combo drive. The RW stands for read and write and will enable you burn CDs and watch DVDs.
Screen size: Depending on the type of work you do, you will want to make sure your screen fits the job. Graphics and spreadsheet tasks call for larger (wider) screens while e-mail requires very little space. The minimum you will require is a 12-inch display. High-end users should go for a 15- to 17-inch screen.
Weight: If you are mobile, you need a lighter laptop. But lighter laptops with smaller screens (to reduce the weight) come in the ultra-portable category and are expensive - generally Rs 90,000 and above. However, anything from 1.5-3 kg is good enough.
Battery: Laptop batteries do not last as long as they should. For basic laptops, a single Lithium-ion primary battery should at least last 2 years.
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