Laptop Buyers Guide
Common Laptop Scenarios
As a general rule laptops fall into one of three categories depending upon your intended use. It's important to think about this before your purchase, as laptop upgrades are difficult and in many cases impossible.
1. Beginner: Budget/Entry level
2. Intermediate: More Power/Smaller Desktop Replacement
3. Advanced: Ultra Portable/Desktop Replacement/Gaming
This guide gives a brief rundown of the three main 'genres' of laptops and what you should expect.
Beginner : Budget/Entry level Laptops
Expect to pay £200-£400
Budget laptops make ideal machines for students or basic office work. They are also a really good starting point for Desktop PC users looking for a second machine to share between members of the family or to enable use in other rooms. Common uses would be standard software (such as Microsoft Office, the internet etc), keeping in touch via emails, playing the odd bit of music or smaller videos, viewing pictures and storing data. They are usually pretty basic laptops with 14" screens and cheaper Intel Celeron type or AMD Athlon 4 processors. Hard drives sizes could be up to around 40GB (This is still plenty for most people), 256MB RAM, built in Modem and Ethernet and probably a CDRW/DVD drive. Wireless is becoming increasingly more common on budget laptops so look for this if possible. Working with large videos, advanced photo editing and even low end gaming might be a struggle for these laptops due to the 'shared' graphics which are rampant in this price range but they are OK for general use. Expect to pay the price of saving a few quid by ending up with a slightly heavier (approx 3Kg) and less well built laptop.
Handy Tip: This is probably one of the fastest growing sectors of the laptop market and prices are very competitive. There are some very good deals and free upgrades to be had if you shop around. The canny buyer armed with my tips above will get a real bargain here!
Intermediate : More Power and smaller Desktop Replacements
Expect to Pay £400 - £800
Moving up a price bracket opens up a world of functionality. DVDRW drives are standard, as is wireless, Centrino CPU technology, 512MB RAM, 60-80GB hard drives and integrated card readers. Dedicated graphics with 64MB or 128MB video memory are commonplace. These laptops will be a real jack of all trades and handle most applications with ease. Expect larger and widescreen LCD's (15" or 17" widescreen) and better display resolution (see section on screen resolution). Laptops may be slightly larger due to screen sizes and high end video work or the latest games will still stretch them to the limit. Many people consider buying these laptops to replace their current desktop PC's. In my opinion you should think hard before doing this. If mobility isn't the key issue then you'll probably do better in terms of value for money and performance by considering other desktops rather than laptops. There are a lot of laptops in this price bracket and don't be afraid to shop around as there is bound to be a laptop that suits your needs exactly. This is where I would be looking if I was buying a new laptop.
Handy Tip: This price range covers a huge range of laptops. Many companies will allow you to customize to suit your needs so it might be possible to get a system with lower graphics and more RAM or a larger hard drive but smaller screen etc. It pays to shop around.
Advanced : Ultra Portables/Desktop Replacement and Gaming
Expect to Pay £800 - £2000
The Ultra portable laptop group is all about weight or, rather, the lack of it and is aimed at users who are going to be on the road (or in the air) where size and weight are ultimate factors in your purchasing decision. You won't get the additional performance of the laptops mentioned above (expect specs to be nearer entry level) but what it will provide is a super lightweight machine with mobile processor technology that gives the right balance of performance and power consumption and options for wireless networking all as standard. Screens will be sub 14" and laptops will be very thin and light (some are almost pocket sized!) When you are comparing ultra-portables look out for the additional weight of items like mains adaptors and any external drives as well as the weight of the basic unit itself. If you need them, you'll be carrying them separately so factor them in to your choice. For me, these are the laptops with the real 'wow' factor.
Desktop Replacement and Gaming machines provide the ultimate power and pay the biggest price in mobility. Modern gaming/desktop replacement laptops are just as powerful as a high end Desktop PC. I've seen them with 4GB RAM, 2 X 160GB hard drives 20" widescreen LCD's and 512MB SLI graphics. This is the only time I would even consider a laptop with a desktop CPU. Completely unstoppable in gaming and graphic performance but with painfully short battery life and only portable in the sense that you can just about manage to carry them from one room to another. If you're heavily into LAN parties or want a gaming machine to move from room to room then this is for you but only the hardcore need apply!
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