Considering a new laptop? - Asks Peter Clarke of PC PAL
Following last month’s article, I have had several customers ask me to go into more detail on how to choose a laptop that’s right for them.
The key question, once again, is, what will you use it for and where? Screen sizes vary from about 11 inches to 17 inches and some are very portable with a long battery life whilst others are heavier but cheaper.
Does it need to be portable? A recent Which? Survey found that 88% of people will use their laptop at home. In which case do you need an ultra-light (more expensive) model with a small screen?
If being able to easily carry it around with you is important then you need to know that the best will give a battery life of about 5 hours and lighter laptops may have less storage if they make use of solid-state drives (SSDs). SSDs are lighter, quieter and quicker but may only have 128GB storage compared to a hard disk which typically will have 500GB storage.
If the whole family is likely to use the laptop you need to find a good all-rounder. Specifications will vary but 4GB of Ram will give good performance for web browsing, word processing, email and even watching films. Storage will probably be important to you, so look for at least 500GB.
If you want a laptop for multimedia usage you will need higher specifications as graphics will need to be good – but expect to pay more accordingly.
Once a choice has been made I’ll be happy to help set up your new device, connect it to your router and transfer files from your old device etc.
Happy shopping!
