What to look for when buying a laptop?

A lot of the time when we’re looking to buy a laptop we don’t know what to look for. It doesn’t matter if you buying a laptop (or laptops) personally or for a business. It can be hard to know what to look for and we can all let one experience foreshadow the decision making process.

It is important to first accept that all brands can have issues appear, as Dave Lee discusses at length in his video “Every laptop sucks”. As he mentions all laptops can have their issues - so keep an open mind when thinking one brand of laptop sucks and an other is great - you could have just gotten lucky, or, rather, unlucky.

Know how big laptop you want

It is important to know when starting to know how big a laptop you want, to narrow the search. For me, a 13.3” MacBook Air is just about acceptable, but, as it turns out, the work laptop I was given at one work place, which is 13”, is just that bit too small for me. That’s not to say it will be for you, but you just have to keep it in mind. You might want a more standard 15.6” screen or a larger 17” screen - it just depends what suits you.

Keep in mind what you want it for

It is very important to know what you are going to use the laptop for now and in the future. If you just want to use it for browsing, streaming and a bit of word processing you don’t need a particularly high-spec laptop - but if you are going to be doing gaming or design you will need a laptop built for it.

If you have a budget, keep in mind what you can expect

If you have quite a modest budget you really can’t expect to get too much for you money - you have to be realistic. Laptops vary in price from a few hundred pounds to several thousand pounds. While spending more doesn’t always mean you’ll get a better laptop, it at least gives you some indication. If you are after a slightly higher spec computer, but have a limited budget and the one you want is just out of reach - it is certainly worth considering a refurbished laptop, which are often available at a more reachable price and still have a lot to offer despite not being new.

Check reviews

Finally, it is important once you have taken all of these aspects into account, to check reviews. While some people can be easily pleased and others overly sensitive to an issue that wouldn’t faze you, there is still a lot of value in reading reviews. It can identify for you if there are any issues, and if there are, you can make an informed decision.