What Specs Should I Look for When Buying a Laptop? (2023 Guide)

Since there are tons of laptops in the market to choose from, the one you wish to buy depends upon the purpose you are going to use it.

Moreover, you can’t expect a single laptop to be the best of all the others, though you can naturally to be the best of its kind. Apart from your choices and the specifications you have fixed, your budget criteria also matter A LOT. I repeat, A LOT.

What should I look for in a laptop? The answer to this question is not simple, and for that purpose, I have prepared a concise guide for you before buying any computer. Also, in case if you’re in a hurry, you can check out the quick tips and tricks section at the bottom of the page.

1. Find yourself the suitable PORTABILITY

Before selecting a laptop for yourself, keep in mind that SIZE is the factor that can’t upgrade or changed later on. Once you decide the size, it’s going to be the same until you turn the whole of your laptop and get a new one. So deal with this factor, very wisely!

The size of a laptop depends upon the screen sizes and powerhouse, i.e., the processor. Usually lighter laptops have a less powered processor, small screen size and vice versa. Starting from 11.6 and going all the way up to 17.3 a wide range of screen sizes offer.

If you’re an office person, a state agent or student researcher, portability must matter to you a lot. For such professional uses, I would suggest you go for a laptop’s weight in between 1 kg and 1.5 kgs. Anything heavier than that would cause a disturbance in your traveling comfort during work hours.

In the science of laptops, choosing portability makes you sacrifice on the screen size and power of the computer, so you have to keep in mind this as well!

Some of the slim and lightweight laptops include ASUS Zenbook and Lenovo Yoga. With the innovation in technology, you may more be surprised with notebooks and Convertibles, i.e., the 2 in 1 laptop that offer you a good mix of portability and performance.

Microsoft Surface’s lineup versions are leading the list for the best Convertibles. However, if you’re a person for who high-end performance and big screen size is everything, then leave behind the portability factor and go for the various ones offered by Dell and HP, since they produce the most potent laptops at a variety of screen size choices.

2. SCREEN QUALITY matters!

Before proceeding further, make a choice; Touch screen OR No touch screen? Touch screens are the new trend nowadays. However, they aren’t the best for users who have to deal with their laptop for heavy purposes such as that of graphic designing and I me, a content writer.

Also, if you are a gamer DON’T ever go for a touch screen laptop because later you are going to regret it! SUGGESTION: I would suggest you go for 1920*1080 pixels because they keep things in view and provide a full attractive display.

High-end display panels nowadays having 4K resolution are too costly and sometimes don’t even show much difference when compared to 1080 pixels one.

For a blogger, such a laptop would work great. For photo and video editors, better colors are necessary whereas gamers usually look for smooth graphics for real life like experience.

Do look for laptops having IPS Panel because they are usually Anti-Glare and have right viewing angles. If you are going to get a laptop online, be sure to check out multiple reviews and go for the screen compatible with and suits your needs.

3. Mind the KEYBOARD QUALITY

As far as a content writer also I is concerned, I will need a laptop with a comfortable keypad. A full-sized keyboard with the kind gesture, to let you control most of it around the touchpad and the typing area is what everyone generally looks new.

ACER’s offers a good range of keyboards however Apple’s keypads are much softer and smoother to work. Keep in mind that the keyboard you choose must be backlit so that it can assist you in the dark hours as well. Check out a non-comfy console below and be aware of such!

4. You can’t ever compromise on the CPU

For best multitasking, Intel Core processors are generally leading over the world today. Most of the brands because of Intel’s reliability go for Core i3, i5 or i7 depending upon the system’s RAM and the price rate.

The major problem with the up gradation as you move from i3 to i7 is the heat your laptop would produce. If it has super engineered cooling system, ALL IS WELL; otherwise, your computer is going to annoy you a lot. SUGGESTION: I would suggest you go for Intel Core i5 processor because of its fair price and high-end performance. For gamers, Intel doesn’t work best.

Another great invention in the series of processors are the AMD’S, paired up with the best of the graphics card to provide real 3D Experience to gamers. Intel has now announced Intel i9 exciting versions, Check out over here.

5. Plan for a cooperative RAM

4GB, 8GB, and 16GB are the different choices you may provided. Oh yes, 32GB’s are now offering the best experience for gamers and apparently at the best price too! For most users, 16GB works great.

However, if you are on a low budget, you may go for 8GB’s, but 4GB’s is something that I won’t suggest to you at all because you are not only going to use your laptop for the essential purposes all the time. And we all hate lagging!

6. Can I know your PRICE RANGE?

You can get a used laptop if your budget is below or near to 200$. If higher, get ready for better build, screen quality, and powerful system! Below I have listed some of my preferences for different price ranges.

• $150-$250: Dell Inspiron 11 3000 OR HP Stream 11.
• $350-$600: Acer Aspire E 15 OR Asus VivoBook E403NA.
• $600-$900: Samsung Notebooks.
• $900 and higher: Microsoft Signature Versions OR Apple MacBooks.

Check out some high-end laptops price comparison chart

QUICK TIPS AND TRICKS

Go for the best balance between portability and screen sizes. For that, I would suggest moving along the line between 12 inches to 14 inches screen sizes.

• At least get a minimum of 8GB RAM for a long time normal use.
• Core i5 CPU is a high-end specification.
• 1080 pixels are going to work great.
• Moderate battery life of 8 hours would go fine since a typical working day lasts that long.
• Chromebooks and Windows OS, both are user-friendly. You may go for any one of these.

I hope you find the answer to your question that What specs should I look for when buying a laptop?

I’ll be happy to answer all your queries in the comments section below. GOOD LUCK!