TechKnowable
Technicians, experts, and journalists specialized in computers throw the main keys to buy the best laptop for different uses.
Despite the progressive decline in computer sales worldwide since 2011, according to data from Gartner and IDC, two of the world’s leading technology consultancies, in Spain the statistics are uneven: 2014 and 2015 were years of growth in sales, while in 2016 they fell by 11.8% compared to the previous year. Although this reduction mainly affected desktop computers, since the sale of laptops was double the number of units (2.2 million), especially in the professional sector.
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Companies and professionals have a clear tendency to bet on mobility, one of the main reasons why laptops have gained prominence compared to desktop computers. But in Spain, the presence of laptops has also grown in the domestic sphere: in 2016, 84.9% of households had a computer, mainly a laptop, compared to 84.3% who had a television, according to the report La Sociedad en Red 2016, prepared by the National Observatory of Telecommunications and the Information Society (ONTSI) of the Ministry of Industry.
The data reflects that the purchase of the Best laptops for league of legends is on the rise, but do we have all the necessary information when making the purchase? Whether it’s for professionals, students, or ordinary users, choosing the laptop you need is not an easy decision. Buying the wrong computer becomes a bad investment that can make us lose money.
So that you do not fail in your choice and have the basic and necessary information, in this article we have prepared this laptop buying guide for the four most common types of use: leisure and entertainment, office and studies, graphic and audiovisual production and, finally, video games. To develop it, we have consulted journalists, salespeople, and expert computer systems technicians, whose recommendations we have subsequently followed in choosing the ideal laptops for the four categories already mentioned.
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Basic technical notions to take into account
Table of Contents
The main operating systems for computers on the market (Windows and Mac) are intuitive, which allows you to use these computers easily. Additionally, the big tech brands sell their computers with preset configurations so that users don’t have to worry about choosing the components that will make them work. However, if we want to choose a laptop suitable for our needs, it is important to know the main technical characteristics to be sure that it will fulfill the tasks we want. The relevance of one or other aspects will vary according to the type of use we want to give the equipment, but these are essential for most cases.
Laptop Performance
All the tasks of the laptop go through four basic internals: the processor, the random access memory (RAM, in English), the storage unit, and the graphics card. The speed and capacity of a computer depend on the combination of all these components.
The processor is the brain of the computer since it is in charge of executing both the operating system and the applications. Commercially, the main processors are the Core i3, i5, and i7 lines, from Intel, and Ryzen and Ryzen Pro, from AMD.
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RAM is the unit in which all applications that open the processor and other units are loaded. The more storage capacity the RAM has, the more applications and data can be handled at the same time without cluttering the computer.
There are two main types of storage drives: Hard Drive (HDD) and Solid State Drive (SSD). Both are responsible for reading and saving all the information on the computer. The difference between the HDD and the SSD is that the first works magnetically with physical disks, while the second does so through electronic circuits, which allow a higher speed of reading and writing data.
The graphics card converts the data into information that can be understood by an output device (monitor, television, or projector). It usually comes integrated into the processor. For more demanding tasks, a graphics processing unit (GPU) is used, more popularly known as a dedicated graphics card.
Laptop Screen (Display)
Considerations to take into account when analyzing a laptop screen are the size, resolution, and technology they use. Most of these computers have monitors with a diagonal length of between 11 and 17 inches, whose size must be considered depending on the type of applications and content that we use.
In terms of resolution, a Full HD screen (1920×1080 pixels) is usually more than sufficient for most, while higher resolutions, such as 4K, are better for graphic and audiovisual production.
Finally, you have to take into account the monitor technology. While TN panels offer low colors and viewing angles, in exchange for fast response times and refresh rates, those with IPS technology project more lifelike colors and viewing angles of up to 178 degrees, albeit with a slower speed than the previous ones.
Laptop Battery Life
The battery capacity is an important point when we talk about laptops since a fundamental issue of a portable device is its mobility. The amount of time the computer is able to spend unplugged from the power outlet may be more important to some users than others. Those who go long periods without plugging it in should look for durable batteries when choosing a device.
Connectivity For some users, the elements that come included in the notebook are not enough and they depend on peripheral components in daily use, from printers, projectors, USB memories, and external hard drives to dedicated graphics cards or audio interfaces. So the ports available to connect them to the laptop should be elements to take into account, since their generation and type may be incompatible with plugins of higher versions. A computer with USB 2.0 ports would not recognize USB 3.0 components, for example.
As already mentioned, the consideration of some characteristics or others is determined by the type of use that we will give the laptop. It is better to invest our budget in benefits that we need than to spend on models or fashion designs that we will not fully take advantage of.
