Buying A New Laptop? The Only Guide you will Need[2022].

Buying a new laptop is not easy. laptops come in many sizes, specs, and specializations. Each user has different needs and different laptops suit them perfectly. But finding that you are correct laptop can often be hard and it is easy to make the wrong decision. Let’s try to get a good idea of how to narrow it down to your best options. I hope that after this post, you will no longer have that confusion and can make up your mind. first, let’s look at the different components of the laptop

Specs of Laptop

Processor

Having a good processor is of prime importance. because it mostly desires how powerful the laptop is and what workflows it would support. just like desktop CPUs or mobile CPUs. there are many tiers of laptop processors. thin and light laptops use U, series processors, while gaming laptops use H series processors (Intel and AMD both follow this naming scheme). But unlike popular belief, an H series processor is not necessarily faster than a U series processor. for example, Ryzen 5 5500u is faster than the ryzen 5 3550H.

So in order to measure the comparative difference, we use specific software called bench mars, which evaluates a processor’s performance based on many factors. Check out this widely recognized and accepted GeekBench website to compare different processors.

processors for budget laptops -This includes intel Celeron, Pentium i3 7th gen and earlier, AMD a series, and Ryzen 3 2nd gen. they mostly have 2 cores sometimes with multi-threading. but are good enough for basic word editing or entertainment purpose.

U series processors – They are slower than the same generation H series processors, but maybe faster than old processors. the main advantage is that they run on 15W TDP, hence enabling them to be embedded into thin and light designs. but that doesn’t make them weak, a ryzen 7 5800u can easily outperform a Ryzen 4 4600h.

H series processors -They are the fastest processors, with TDPs from 35-55 Watts. when paired with ample cooling, they can be as productive as it gets on a laptop. Ryzen 4th series has brought 6 and 8 cores with multithreading to budget laptops so that even base model processors perform well in gaming, rendering, or video editing.

Intel processors are not better than AMD and actually, it is the reverse for most cases. do not avoid AMD on the misjudgment that Intel is better.

P series Processors – Latest intel 12th generation processor also includes mid P series processors, which are faster and more powerful than the U series processors, but not as power hungry as H series processors, so they could be fit in medium or even properly cooled thin and light laptops.

Ranking of some Popular processors in terms of performance: i7 12800H > i5 12500H > Ryzen 7 6800H > Ryzen 7 6800U > Ryzen 5 6600U > i7 1260P >i5 11400H > Ryzen 5 5600H> i5 1240P > i3 1220P > Ryzen 5 5500U > i5 11300H

If you want to know more about processors, read this post.

Ram and Storage

• 4 GB: select only if you are on a tight budget. Windows takes up about 2Gb ram and only 2 GB remains with which you cannot load more than 2-3 medium software.
• 8 GB: enough for most people. we can run multiple apps in the background and switch easily. even most games run fine on 8 GB ram.
• 16GB: if you plan to do any video editing, Rendering, playing AAA games, etc, you Will need 16GB or higher ram, and having more ram improves its working. but don’t prioritise Ram over processor as most laptops have upgradable RAM.

Choosing storage is a similar story. Never buy an HDD lap If you don’t plan on upgrading down the line. SSDs offer much faster app loading, booting up, etc which makes it worth the low storage. if you have to store a lot of content, however, using an HDD is better as SSDs will cost a fortune.

DDR5 RAM modules and PCIe 4.0 SSDs are available in the market, coupled with only intel 12th gen or Ryzen 6th gen. Do note that not all of these come with the latest Technologies, So check if your laptops have these before you buy them. For example, a 70K galaxy book uses DDR4 RAM while a 90K galaxy book uses DDR5 RAM.

Most gaming laptops and many other laptops provide easy expansion slots, so you can always add either an SSD or HDD later. but many gaming laptops by default ship with hybrid drives. if you don’t know how to upgrade manually, you can always choose from them.

display

• Resolution: higher resolution is always better. try to get a 1080p panel at the least.
• Refresh Rate: If you plan to game, then go with a higher refresh panel, or else,60 Hz might just be enough for you.
• Colour Reproduction: displays with higher colour reproduction produces more crisp and true-to-life colours on the screen. it does not matter much to gamers, or ordinary users. but if you plan on doing any sort of content creation, watching high-quality videos etc. choose a display with a wider colour gamut.

If you need to read more about displays, read this post.

Graphics card(integrated graphics too)

A wide misconception about graphics cards is that they are only useful for gaming. in fact, they can greatly improve performance on many types of hardware-accelerated workloads. with that said, Not all graphics cards have this capability. select GTX, RTX, and RX cards have these capabilities, with RTX having a comfortable margin of performance.

• Integrated graphics: every processor has a small integrated GPU to handle basic graphic processes such as rendering screens. they are the least powerful. but the Vega and later iris XE have upped the game and now provide much better performance than before, and even question the existence of the Dedicated notebook GPUs.
• Dedicated notebook GPU: mainly the Nvidia MX series, they offer better graphic capabilities than an integrated GPU, but with smaller heat output than dedicated GPUs. lately, their relevance has been questioned by the vega and iris XE graphics, as they only provide a marginal improvement with a premium price tag.
• Discrete Gaming GPU: The performance-oriented Graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD aim at nothing but more and more FPS and faster and even faster Raw power. Greatly useful, and even necessary for Gaming, Content creation, Rendering ETC.

Performance of popular GPUs: RTX 3070 (160W)> RTX 3060 (135W) >RTX 3060 (115W) > RTX 3060 (100W) >QHD high RTX 3050 ( 95W) > RTX 3060 ( 65W) > RTX 3050 (60W) > 1080P ultra (RTX 2050=GTX 1650)>RDNA 2 (680m) 1080P high> Vega 8 > iris XE > vega 6 >720P low vega 4 > intel UHD graphics>potato.

Battery And I/O

Battery life can be very crucial for many people, but most laptops below 60K won’t make it past 8 hours, with gaming laptops only lasting about 4-5 hours. this is where the MacBooks and XPS shines, they provide as much as 12 or more hour on a single charge (M1 macs last as long as 20 hours on a single charge). so battery life is important, go with a premium laptop with at least 70WH battery. with gaming laptops, you are supposed to run plugged in all the time to get the most out of your hardware.

I/0 is a different scenario, gaming laptops usually have multiple USB 2.0, 3.0, type c, HDMI, and plan inputs, while notebooks, due to their space limitations, lack many of the inputs. Always there is an option to buy a USB dongle, which can solve much of the problem.

The only advantage left for intel processors over AMD is their thunderbolt. it looks like Type C but can offer speeds much higher than any other ports. so if you either have to transfer a lot of data between devices or if you have to connect high-resolution 4K or 8K monitors, A thunderbolt connection might just be important as its performance.

Build Quality and Weight

A laptop is only good when the parts we interact with, the keyboard, chassis, speakers, etc are good. in any price range, a selection must choose between build quality VS performance. but as we got higher, the build quality also increases. The likes of Elitebook, MacBook pros ThinkPad go all the way up to 2 lack for their most premium offerings. so our expectations for a gaming laptop, that too under a lakh should have a limit.

Usually, gaming laptops have the least build quality, then midrange notebooks, and ultrabooks at the top.

Types of Laptop

With these things in mind, let’s look at the different types of laptops.

1. Budget laptops
2. Ultra-books
3. 2-in-one laptop, convertible
4. Gaming laptops

There are laptops that have properties of two or more types, like the ROG-X Flow 13 or The Zephyrus series. but they often compromise on something. so unless you really need to get the best of both worlds, sticking with a more traditional design is advisable. first, let us look at the different types of laptops.

First, we have to choose what type of laptop are we looking for. This is the biggest mistake we make while choosing a device. Having more specs or build quality doesn’t matter if it doesn’t suit your usage. if you don’t use a graphics card, having it is a liability, a graphics card reduces the battery life, increases the weight significantly, And produces more heat. so only Go for a feature if you need it.

Budget laptops

They are tablet replacements they are less powerful and have lower-quality bodies than their expensive siblings. They usually come in either 14 inches or 15.6 inches. what they are good at is at giving a desktop environment at an affordable price. they usually have processors starting from Celeron up to the i3 series or ryzen 3. and almost never get paired with a graphics card or touch display. some of the higher-end laptops even feature a thin and light design, but often lack other features, such as being limited to 256 GB SSDs.

With a Budget laptop, we can write and edit documents, do presentations learn to program, surf the web, watch videoes comfortably, and lite gaming. so if you are buying a laptop for your children to attend online classes, this is the obvious choice due to price. they can be also used as a backup for your data as even cheap laptops have 1TB of storage. you won’t want to play heavy games, dive into content creation, and generally any heavy load in general.

If you have made up your mind to buy a Budget laptop, here is a more detailed post along with suggestions in all price ranges.

Ultra Books (Thin And Light)

The most common and premium laptops belong to this category. They are powerful, feature premium materials such as aluminium or magnesium alloy in the body, Have high-quality (up to 4K) displays and have an all-day battery. they are paired with a 15 W U series processor which is more than enough power for most tasks. they are divided into two segments-midrange and premium.

As the name suggests. midrange ultrabooks pack the same performance, but in a less expensive and premium chassis. they often lack some premium bells and whistles, but more than enough for most people. Acer Aspire 3 and 5 the Asus Vivobook lineup, Hp 14 and 15 series, Lenovo V and slim pad series, etc belong to this group. the second group includes the most premium laptops. they feature an all-day battery, crisp display, audio, very thin and light design, etc.

MacBooks, Dell XPS lineup, Asus Zen book lineup, and Lenovo’s ThinkPad lineup belong to this group. they start at around 70,000 and go all the way up to 2 lakhs and more.

You can do pretty much everything from basic word editing to mediocre video editing on these laptops. moreover, the longer battery life and less weight all make them businessmen’s favourites and enable them to be productive on the go. they feature up to ryzen 7 octa-core processors and Nvidia MX series graphics, Which make them powerful enough to do even light gaming and content creation. (Asus has actually included 1650 in their ultra-niche laptops)

If you have made up your mind to buy an ultrabook laptop, here is a more detailed post along with suggestions in all price ranges.

2-In 1/Convertible

As the name suggests. they have touch displays and 2in1 can be used as tablets when needed. noted examples are the Zenbook duo, Lenovo yoga, surface books, and HP EliteBook. They most often lack graphic capabilities, but more than enough makes for it in the display and usability segments. almost everything else is similar to ultrabooks.

The touch interface is useful for artists, 3D modelling, and almost everyone else as we are now accustomed to using touch displays all the time. and 2 IN !s can double as a tablet when needed. which provides extra flexibility.

If You have made up your mind to buy a 2in1 laptop, here is a more detailed post along with suggestions in all price ranges.

Gaming laptops

Gaming laptops are the most powerful. they Have two things that other computers lack. A graphics card and lots of heat dissipation power. They almost always use an H series processor and an Nvidia GTX/RTX or AMD RX series graphics card. they also lately come with high refresh rate panels, even for budget models making them incredible for esports gaming.

Obviously, gaming laptops are best for gaming, But The powerful hardware decoders and hardware acceleration that come with higher-end graphics cards also mean that they perform much better than ultrabooks with similar-performing processors. Most CAD and editing software supports this hardware acceleration, so gaming laptops are not just meant for gaming, it greatly simplifies many workflows too. so if you are into gaming or content creation, and can adjust with the weight and battery backup-this is the way to go.

If you are going for a Gaming laptop, here is a more detailed post along with suggestions in all price ranges.

Now, if you have selected the type of laptop that will suit you the most, go check out the list for that kind of laptop. If you still have doubts that you need us to clarify, Don’t hesitate to connect with us via the many options down below, and we are happy to provide personalized suggestions, so that you get products that are tailored right for you.