Purchasing a Laptop

Perhaps you need a laptop to do some work for your home business or just need one to surf the web. Whatever your reason this guide will help in purchasing one.

Needs

Ask yourself why you need the laptop. This is one of the most essential tasks towards purchasing a good laptop that meets your needs and wants. Assuming you want a laptop to browse the web and check out your email. Obviously you don’t need a super-fast processor to do those stuff. Here are the ideal specifications for those needs.

Casual Specs

• 1-2 GB of RAM 
• Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core 2-3 GHz
• 128 MB Graphics Card
• DVD/CD Drive
• Over 200 and Below 320 GB Harddrive

Maybe you want a computer suitable for work and for checking your email and using Microsoft Word.

Work Specs

• 2-3 GB of RAM
• Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core 2-3 GHz
• 256/512 MB Graphics Card
• DVD/CD Drive
• 320-500 GB Harddrive

You might be a tech maniac who wants the latest and greatest things and can’t stand for anything less.

Tech Fanatic

• 4-6 GB of RAM
• Intel Core 2 Extreme
• Nvidia Geforce 9800 GX2
• 64 bit Windows
• DVD/CD and Bluray Drive
• 1 TB Harddrive

Now that you understand what you need, you need to establish a budget.

Cost

Your needs will determine the cost. Obviously a work laptop won’t cost $300 bucks so you have to define a price point.

Casual Laptop Price

As a casual user you’re laptop will cost less and generally be affordable but a drawback is that it will be slower but since you’re not going to be using your laptop for anything else there is no need for a expensive laptop. The general price for a casual laptop varies between $500 and $600 but there are some exceptions.

Work Laptop Price

Since you want a work laptop prepare to spend approximately $700-900. Your laptop will work well and be decent for typing out spreadsheets and documents. You should get one that is durable but not too expensive.

“Techie” Laptop Price

Geeks like you (and me) need a very good laptop to do all the Photoshopping and tech stuff. The average price point would be……………… $2000 – $3000 and if you want everything possible prepare to be charged $5,000

Manufacturer

There are tons of of laptop manufactures that have their own unique style. I tend to prefer HP and Dell laptops but that’s a matter of taste. While HP does overprice their laptops are durable but with Dell, laptops are cheap and somewhat durable. Gateway is good for casual laptops and if you want a really durable laptop get the Panasonic Toughbook.

Overall

Laptops are a one of a kind. They’re more portable than desktops and are getting cheaper every year. Hopefully this guide helped you into purchasing a good laptop. Enjoy!