Which Laptop Should I Buy

Due to a wide range of brands offering a variety of laptop models having different features and latest functions, laptop computer buying has become one of the most difficult tasks. Due to the versatility and variety of laptops, they have been normally divided into categories such as student laptops, gaming laptops, office laptops or notebook computers, desktop replacement laptops, and so on. If you take a look at the top ten best laptops for college students, office professionals, and gamers; you will find several models from Sony, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Toshiba, etc.

Laptops for College Use

If you are a student planning to buy a laptop model suitable for doing college projects, you need to consider some important things. A very crucial requirement for a laptop to be suitable for college is that it should be light enough to carry and also small. As you would require to take your laptop to different places, a lightweight and small one would be the best bet. Coming to the technical configuration; a college laptop should ideally have about 1.8 GHz processor speed, a hard drive of anywhere from 120 to 160 GB capacity, and 512 MB or 1 GB RAM. It should also have a screen size from 13 to 14 inch, a card reader for additional memory transfer, and a longer laptop battery life.

• Sony VAIO VGN-FW140E/H
• HP Pavilion dv4-1275mx
• Asus Eee PC 1000HE
• Toshiba Satellite Pro U400-S1001X

Laptops for Home Use

The requirements of a home use laptop computers are completely different from that of a college laptop. A home laptop is also sometimes referred to as a desktop replacement laptop. Since you are going to use it as a replacement to a desktop computer, it has to be one with a bigger screen and the latest entertainment features. The standard features in home use laptops are 2.26 GHz or more of processor speed, 1 to 3 GB RAM, a hard disk capacity of 160 to 320 GB or more, and a graphic card. The standard screen size of home use laptops should be between 15 to 21 inches. Note that the features in desktop replacement models might be quite similar to those of gaming laptops. Not to miss the very essential graphic cards like NVIDIA or ATI or audio cards.

• Dell Precision M6500
• Sony VAIO VPCF13AFX
• Dell Studio 17
• HP Envy 17

Laptops for Office Use

When it comes to office use laptop computers, the size of the model needs to be not too small or not too big. A good screen size for an office laptop is 17 inches. You also need to have top-notch specifications owing to the laptop use in your office work. For example, a photographer's or a video editor's laptop would definitely have the best configuration for speed, data storage, and reliability. Standard office laptops can have a configuration of 3 to 4 GB RAM, a hard drive of 320 to 500 GB data storage, 3.2 GHz or more processor speed, and most preferably a graphics card for official presentations. However, an office laptop may even have a lower configuration if its use is not that extensive.

• Lenovo ThinkPad T510 - 4384-GEG
• HP ProBook 6555b
• Compaq Presario CQ61-406SA
• Samsung R530-JA09DE

Laptop accessories play a very important role in enhancing the usability of laptops meant for their respective purposes. While buying laptops, make sure you get most accessories such as USB flash drives, external hard drives, webcam, USB mouse or keyboard, and so on. The battery life is also to be thought of when choosing from the best laptops. This is because more the features, lower tends to be the battery life.