When laptops first made their public appearance, it made people go crazy. The evolution from a bulky desktop to a slimmer version with ease of portability has wooed customers across the world.

Market is flooded with an array of variations and versions of laptops, making it difficult for the buyer to make the right choice. Choosing a laptop in today’s market is a tough task with lots of brands and features available. With so many opinions, reviews and criticism floating around on the internet, even reading up and doing research on the product needs to be smartly handled. The ideal solution to buying a laptop is to plan well and then execute the plan step-wise.

Let’s look at how you should go about buying a good laptop.

Consider the Need

Everyone’s computing needs differ. There are laptops for almost every kind of computer user. So define your requirements first.

This first step in your laptop buying process involves you taking a look at yourself and asking “What do I need?” You may require a laptop for just your office work as you have a fine enough desktop at your home. You might need one because you want it to be your total entertainment package. You might even be a pro-gaming enthusiast and want a laptop to never quench your thirst for gaming.

Consider the Budget

Once you figure out the need, start thinking about what you would want. This part mostly consists of the ‘extras’. If the first step was about the “need”, this is more about “the desire” and your style requirements. More extras means more features, which also means a steeper price.

So the bottom line is, you need to decide about what how much you are willing to splurge on your new gadget.

Consider the Features

Once you gather your thoughts and have some kind of idea regarding the kind of machine you want, you should shift your attention towards the specifics. Not everyone knows or considers these features while buying, but if you do, you’ve made an informed purchase of a laptop.

Processor: You could think of the processor as the engine of your laptop. A more powerful processor guarantees better performance. Modern processors have remarkable multi-tasking capabilities as well, which makes them able to run the most high-end applications simultaneously, without breaking much of a sweat. So, it is best to buy a laptop with the most updated processor version.

You could think of the processor as the engine of your laptop. A more powerful processor guarantees better performance. Modern processors have remarkable multi-tasking capabilities as well, which makes them able to run the most high-end applications simultaneously, without breaking much of a sweat. So, it is best to buy a laptop with the most updated processor version. RAM: The Random Access Memory is yet another important point to consider in the laptop configuration. Higher RAM specs for a laptop should only impress you, if it has a powerful processor to go with it. More memory and a lean processor may not be a good match.

The Random Access Memory is yet another important point to consider in the laptop configuration. Higher RAM specs for a laptop should only impress you, if it has a powerful processor to go with it. More memory and a lean processor may not be a good match. Hard Disk Drive: Commonly abbreviated to HDD, the hard disk handles the storage capacity of the laptop. HDDs boasting capacities of 1 TB or more are generally intended for people who have a lot of data, music, movies, games and software to store. General office related work documents do not usually consume a lot of space.

Commonly abbreviated to HDD, the hard disk handles the storage capacity of the laptop. HDDs boasting capacities of 1 TB or more are generally intended for people who have a lot of data, music, movies, games and software to store. General office related work documents do not usually consume a lot of space. Graphics Card: This is a device for enthusiastic gamers. A huge graphics card really isn’t necessary, if the work you will be doing on your laptop mostly revolves around office applications and basic internet browsing. Games and visual design software generally consume a lot of additional video memory. RAMs are not specialized to handle these heavy duty tasks and hence, suffer quite a bit without a dedicated graphics card. But with a graphics card installed, all visually intensive tasks can be done effortlessly. There are a lot of options even when it comes to gaming laptops, but the really good ones will definitely cost you a good sum of money.

This is a device for enthusiastic gamers. A huge graphics card really isn’t necessary, if the work you will be doing on your laptop mostly revolves around office applications and basic internet browsing. Games and visual design software generally consume a lot of additional video memory. RAMs are not specialized to handle these heavy duty tasks and hence, suffer quite a bit without a dedicated graphics card. But with a graphics card installed, all visually intensive tasks can be done effortlessly. There are a lot of options even when it comes to gaming laptops, but the really good ones will definitely cost you a good sum of money. Miscellaneous: These include the regular features of any modern laptop such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options, along with sound quality from the internal speakers. The optical drive falls under this category as well.

These include the regular features of any modern laptop such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options, along with sound quality from the internal speakers. The optical drive falls under this category as well. Battery: Many people tend to ignore the importance of the laptop’s battery, but this is in fact, the part of the laptop that symbolizes portability. It is thanks only to the battery that we are able to take the laptop with us no matter where we go. You should enquire regarding the battery’s standby time, and how long it can sustain itself under pressure situations.

Consider the Weight

Last but not the least; try to avoid the most lightweight laptop models. These laptops generally aren’t normally built from the sturdiest of materials and may be more prone to damage than the bulkier ones.

Conclusion

Buying a laptop can be a daunting task, but with a little bit of conscious planning, we all have the power to get amazing deals for super laptops that are sure of lasting for a long time to come. Do not forget reading user reviews of the laptops you shortlist from different websites and make an informed decision.