With the rise of tablets and smartphones, some analysts have
gone to the extent of declaring the near death of the PC industry. In my
opinion, that would not be the case. Yes tablets and smartphones are nearing
the processing capability of PCs but they would not reach the easiness and
comfort of one. As for the next 5 to 10 years, people would still prefer a PC
especially when doing work. We still
feel more comfortable typing on a physical keyboard than on a touchscreen,
editing videos, and making slides. So, their apocalypse will not come soon rest
assured. J
With that out of the picture, onto the topic: buying a
laptop. Buying a laptop could be daunting for those who are not IT savvy but
fret now. Here I would like to write a simple guide on what aspect to consider
when buying a laptop. I’ll try to make it as simple as possible so that you
could make a better decision when buying one. As time goes, I would
occasionally update its contents and maybe add in more details.
To relate this more easily to you, I would link the
specifications to the profile of normal buyers and you can then see which one
reflects you the most because in my opinion, what kind of tasks you demand from
the laptop should be the main factor.
From the purpose and use for the laptop, I’m going to come
up with the profiles of buyers:
·
Student Lite : first time buyers, limited budget,
for searching articles, browsing internet, preparing powerpoint presentations,
editing videos, very light gaming (plants vs zombies)
·
Student Gamer: first time buyers, limited
budget, study works*, light/casual gaming, high definition video editing, graphic
designer, multimedia intensive
·
Worker : doing work that is pretty much like a
student lite but with a higher reasonable budget
·
Worker/Gamer: Reasonable budget, office works*,
casual gaming. Wants a laptop that is able to switch from work to play.
·
Small/Medium Business owners: A PC to help
manage the business either to save guard important documents, saving transactions,
communicating with suppliers, and commercialising.
·
Gamer: Gaming is his life. Dedicated to it and
needs the latest hardware. No limit on budget. (Plays COD, Crysis)
Office works/Study works: Searching articles, browsing
internet, preparing powerpoint presentations, editing videos.
Very light Gaming: only play once in a while. E.g. of games:
Plants vs Zombies.
Light/Casual Gaming: several times in a week. E.g. of games:
Dota2, left4dead, the walking dead, COD and skyrim on low to medium settings,)
STUDENT LITE
Let’s start with the display size. Since a student will be
lugging his laptop to class, library and back to their dorms, a nice range of display
size would be from 13 to a max of 15.6 inches depending on personal preference.
The weight should be a maximum of 2 kg including battery.
In terms of processor (CPU), the minimum requirement would
be Intel i3 (or at least, lower to Intel Duo Core2) or AMD’s A4.
There is no need for a dedicated Graphics Processing Unit
(GPU) as a student lite is not expected to do intensive video editing. An
in-built Intel GPU (Intel HD ….) in the CPU should suffice. If you’re still not
confident, you could get a laptop with a basic nvidia or amd radeon GPU. (GPU
needs to be at least 1GB)
If you’re using the AMD’s new range of processor (AMD A4,
etc), you don’t need to worry about your laptop not having a GPU as it is
embedded into it the CPU (AMD A series is known as Advanced Processing Unit
(APU) = CPU + GPU).
For RAM, you’ll need 4GB (DDR3 is the standard) for a smooth
performance for light tasks.
Storage wise you should get a Hard disk drive (HDD) of at
least 500GB by today’s standards (and it’s not that expensive anymore). The
minimum would be 250GB but I still would advise against it.
As for the Operating system, any basic windows 7, 8.0, or
8.1 (32-bit should be fine, though if you want to add more memory (RAM more
than 4GB) get a 64-bit version). There would be no need for high ones unless it
comes free with the laptop and there’s no need to pay more to upgrade the OS. Basic
should do it.
Extras: find a laptop with a HDMI port, and a projector port
if possible. It would certainly be a nice feature since you might be using your
laptop to connect to a projector for maybe a class presentation. Another useful
feature is the DVD-RW. You might think it’s a must but since most manufacturer
do not include this so don’t make a decision of buying or not buying based on
only this feature.
Budget should be between RM1200-1800 or even close to RM2000
if you have extra budget.
STUDENT GAMER
A gamer would need at least a 14-inch screen to better enjoy
his/her games and a maximum of 15.6-inch as he might need to carry it around.
Ideal weight would be 2 to 2.5 kg. This should include the battery
as well.
CPU: To stay within the budget, an Intel i5 or an AMD A10 would
be just right. You could also go with the AMD A6 and A8 if you could get a nice
enough deal. (Getting these AMD A series would not require you to have an
additional dedicated GPU as I said above, they are APUs).
For a GPU to accompany the CPU, if you’re looking at Nvidia
the minimum should be an Nvidia GT 500 series and a maximum of Nvidia GT 700
series. (If you could get a GT 800 within your budget then by all means J ) (PS: There’s a
difference between GT and GTX, GTX is usually more powerful and more expensive)
If you want an AMD graphic card, you could get the AMD Radeon R7 or even R9,
whichever falls into your budget. (All GPU needs to be at least 2GB DDR3)
For RAM, since you’ll be playing games on it you’ll need 8
GB of RAM (6 GB is the minimum).
To stay within the budget, you should get a 1TB HDD. If
possible, get a 1TB HDD + 8GB SSD hybrid drive. A small SSD doesn’t add too
much to the cost but the benefit is worth it. You would get faster boot up time
and faster loading to your favourite files. Note that in this kind of
combination you could not access/see the 8GB SSD, your laptop will manage it
for you.
As for the Operating System, you’ll need a 64-bit version of
Windows (7 or 8.1). Up to you if you need a higher version of the OS
(Ultimate/Pro) but it’s not a must.
Extras: Same as the one found for Student Lite.
Worker
Most of the specifications are similar to Student Lite except for a few areas
such as, so you can also refer to the above as this part won’t be lengthy.
The ideal range of screen size would be from 13 to 15.6
inches. (14 if you need to be mobile, 15.6 inch if you like or need to show
things to others on your screen). Maximum weight should be 2.5 kg
.
CPU: you’ll need at least an Intel i5 or AMD A6. If you
could go higher and stay in your budget go ahead but this should more than
enough.
GPU: if your work does not involve any visual/graphics
demands (video editing, 3D editing etc) then you might not need a dedicated GPU
(just make sure there’s one simple GPU integrated in your CPU J )
RAM: 4GB is the minimum but with the lower cost technology
nowadays 8GB should be affordable.
Storage: Get at least 500GB that should be sufficient for
storing your work documents.
Budget: RM 1500-2300. Lower than that should be inadequate
while higher would be unnessary.
Extras: Again similar to the ones I’ve pointed out for
student. If during work you tend to move around a lot, maybe to a colleague’s
desk for work or etc., try to find a laptop that offers more than 4-5 hours of
battery life as you could be finding yourself away from charging ports from
time to time.
Worker/Gamer
Similar to most of the student gamer’s needs with just a few
differences.
Budget: RM2000-3300
Storage: At least a 1TB Hybrid Hard Disk with 8GB SSD that
seems to be the norm nowadays. It would allow for faster boot up time and generally
faster access to your data. If you want faster data speed and have a higher
budget, you could opt for a 250GB SSD but again mind you it’s quite expensive.
Extras: Get a backlit keyboard, just because they’re cool. X)
(JK, they also help you to type when working/gaming at night)
Gamer
CPU: Obviously the top of the mark, opt for an i7 or AMD’s
FX.
GPU: Go for Nvidia GTX 850/AMD R9 X minimum or higher to
what you’re willing to afford.
RAM: The minimum amount of RAM you should have for heavy
gaming is 12GB, but by new standards set by Assassin’s Creed Unity and above,
16GB is the in-thing.
Storage: Since you’ll be gaming most of the time, it’s
advised for you to choose SSD storage (either 125 or 250GB according to the
budget). If you can afford it try to get, a dual storage of HDD and SDD.
Budget: RM 3000-whatever amount you’re willing to spend.
Extras: Your laptop should have backlit keyboard, customised
keyboard for gaming, some special manufacturers’ cooling system, and ports!
(USB 3.0 and HDMI) The laptop would be heavy as it would require a lot of power
to run the intensive games and expect to be tied in proximity to an electric
port.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you rarely use and need a laptop in your daily life, if
you only open laptop to check the mail, browse the internet, read articles and
maybe watch a few videos, I suggest you buy a tablet as they are right now more than sufficient to cover
your basics needs. Plus, they have faster booting time, are portable for you to
carry around and are cheaper. You could also opt for the hybrid tablet/ 2-in-1
tablet that act as both a laptop and a tablet. If you’re not into the tablet form and still
want a similar laptop like design, you could go for a Chromebook. It size is
equal to that of a laptop’s but can cost around a quarter of the price. Though
you have to take into account that the chromebook uses a Chrome OS instead of a
Windows OS. So if your work depends a lot on you using Windows only software or
applications, then you better stick with a windows device.
As a final note, once you have decided on your
specifications and budget. Try to google and have a few models in mind that you
would want to buy. Why few? As backups since there is the possibility that the
shop does not have/offer the model that you want. Note down the
price/international price/retail recommended price and compare it with the
shop. They shouldn’t differ by much. Make sure that the specifications are the
same since a model can have several configurations at different prices. And
always survey other shops to find the best deal first. Happy shopping! ^_^
PS: I’ve heard that for graphic designing, an AMD graphics
is better but I’m not sure. I’ll get back on this matter.
*Disclaimer: Views expressed above are mines from what I
have studied; the decision to follow the guide is entirely up to you. I should
bear no fault if you are not satisfied with your purchase or of any problems/troubles
should there be any. I am merely hoping to help you by providing my insights. Do
make further additional researches before buying J
In this generation of borderless world, information could easily be retrieved
from the internet.
HAPPY SHOPPING!!
Sites:
To compare GPU: gpuboss.com
To compare CPU: cpuboss.com
Laptop reviews: notebookcheck.net
Some renowned Malaysian IT selling shops: All IT
Hypermarket, Techhypermarket.com
Another website that’s useful for reference and finding
independent sellers: lowyat.net
