How to Buy a Laptop - 7 Areas to Cut Costs
I get asked time and again how to buy a laptop. Sometimes it’s for a student, other times for an adult who just wants the freedom to roam around the house while computing.
The best advice I can give is to consult my laptop buying guide.
But what if the advice there leads me to a $2000 laptop that I can’t afford?
Simple. You make compromises. At this point, only you can decide where you are willing to skimp.
The $2000 laptop is tailored to last 3 - 4 years, with contented computing along the way. Ok, maybe you’ll have to reload Windows at the 2 year point to regain that new computer performance, but at least you can do it.
Here are 7 areas to consider for paring the cost:
- Overall brand quality. Not a good idea in my book. Witness previous posts about the Sony VAIO. Others on the web have had similar recommendations to avoid that one.
- Processor. I normally pick the fastest processor on the price/performance curve that sits right where cost starts increasing faster than performance gain. You can cheat a little here and hopefully still get 3 years from the hardware.
- RAM. This isn’t a bad place to save some money, because you can easily upgrade later. Just don’t go through the manufacturer; companies like DELL can really sock it to you on upgrades. Choose someplace like Crucial.com instead.
Tip: Depending on price structure, getting, say 512MB in 1 DIMM now lets you add 1 more 512MB DIMM later for a total of 1GB and still make use of the 512 that came with it. If you buy 512 via 2 DIMMs, you will have to remove 1 or both DIMMs later to add more, thus throwing away value (maybe you can eBay it for a couple bucks). - Screen. Older eyes might prefer the lower resolution of a less expensive screen. Most laptops have 1 or maybe 2 native resolutions that actually look good. These are fairly high resolutions that many over 40, especially women, find difficult to read. Dell’s WSXGA is as good of screen as WSXGA+ or WUXGA, just lower resolution. Compare before you buy!
- Hard Drive. Go smaller if you like, but don’t go slower. 7200rpm or faster (faster not available as of this writing) is all you want to consider. End of discussion, don’t listen to anyone else.
- Video card. For strictly business usage on Windows XP, you can save a little here. If you are doing a lot of graphics work, watching movies, or expect to use Windows Vista with the Aero interface, I wouldn’t advise skimping here.
- Warranty. This is your call. See my post on CompleteCare. Repairs are expensive; do you ordinarily self-insure? Computer hardware has a nasty habit of dying within 30 days of warranty expiration - call it Murphy’s Law if you like.
There you have it!
The choice is yours. Choose wisely!
