Laptop Buying Guide: How to Choose the Right Laptop for You
Choosing a laptop these days can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to finding the best value for your money. Take the Dell Inspiron, Acer Nitro, and HP Spectre, for example. Each of these could be the best laptop, but it all depends on the price you pay. A $1,400 laptop on sale for $1,000 is a far better deal than a $1,000 laptop. Instead of telling you exactly what to buy, let’s go through how to buy a laptop, so you can shop with confidence and get a great deal on the right machine for you.
We’ll also include some honorable mentions to give you a good starting point, whether you’re looking for something thin and light or a mobile workstation.
Be Honest About Your Needs:
The most important thing to do when shopping for a laptop is to be honest with yourself about what you’ll actually use it for. Most people don’t need top-of-the-line components. A mid-range machine will save you money, be lighter, quieter, and last longer on battery. However, if performance is what you need, start your search with gaming laptops. Even if you don’t game, these typically have better cooling, faster processors, and more upgradeability than laptops marketed towards professionals or creators. Plus, they’re often priced more aggressively across all performance tiers.
For Gaming:
For those who do game, but also need a laptop for school or work, models with an NVIDIA RTX 4050 or RTX 3060 will handle 1080p or even 1440p gaming in most titles, provided you turn down the settings a bit. Here are some budget-friendly options worth considering if you find a good deal.
If you’re into more intense gaming, you might think you need a faster GPU. However, things aren’t that simple. For instance, a laptop with an RTX 4060 could outperform one with an RTX 4070, depending on the power allocation. In the ASUS G14, the RTX 4060 is given up to 90 watts of power, whereas a 4070 in a more professional-oriented Acer laptop might get just 50 watts. Also, laptop GPUs share almost nothing in common with their desktop counterparts with the same names. The only way to see through this confusing branding is through rigorous testing. Thankfully, resources like Jared’s Tech have already done the heavy lifting.
Gaming on a Budget:
For those who enjoy casual gaming, such as playing “Stardew Valley,” you might not need a dedicated GPU at all. Many recent CPUs can handle AAA games at lower settings. Speaking of CPUs, choosing the right one can be tricky.
Choosing a Right GPU:
If you want the absolute best, Apple’s M-series chips are the way to go. These provide unmatched single-core performance and excellent battery life. However, Macs come with limitations: they can’t play many games, and they are generally more expensive. There are deals to be found on refurbished models, especially for students.
For Windows users, AMD and Intel offer compelling options. AMD’s Ryzen 7040 series, for example, provides excellent efficiency and performance, giving some laptops an additional three hours of battery life. However, be cautious about AMD’s confusing naming scheme. For instance, a Ryzen 7 7640U chip uses the Zen 4 architecture, while a Ryzen 7 7320U uses the much older Zen 2 architecture, leading to significant performance differences.
Intel’s latest chips, while slightly behind in performance compared to AMD, offer good battery life. The upcoming Intel Lunar Lake series promises even better performance, but it might be a while before these hit the market. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips also deserve mention for their exceptional battery life, though they have compatibility issues with many software applications.
Budger-Friendly Laptops:
For instance, Acer’s $230 Aspire Go might struggle with basic tasks due to its Intel N100 processor, but the $300 version with a Ryzen chip is significantly faster. The $400 Aspire 3, with 16 GB of RAM, offers a good balance of performance and value, although it uses older AMD architecture.
Buying Used or Upgrading:
How much Ram do you Need?:
Storage Consideration:
Display Choices?:
For outdoor use, look for a display with at least 400-500 nits of brightness. High-refresh-rate displays (above 60 Hz) are beneficial for smoother experiences, not just for gaming but also for everyday tasks. Touchscreens are a matter of personal preference, and while Apple does not offer them, they are available on many Windows laptops.
Conclusion:
Remember, a well-chosen laptop can last for years and be a vital tool in your daily life, so take the time to make the right choice.
