Buying your first laptop
With all the fancy tech-words surrounding, one can always get confused about finding the right device. Buying a laptop can feel as difficult as wandering in a big supermarket when there are so many different options available in the market and you have no idea where to begin from. This article goes through the basics of the major components of a laptop that as a laptop user one must know about. Also, will it guide you on how to make the hassled process of choosing your laptop a lot less puzzling.
Before actually buying a laptop, it is essential to understand your requirements and also the available market options. This would help you find the device which has the best combination to fulfill your needs.
What makes a laptop?
A laptop provides portability and the ability to move your workspace as you want but at the expense of not being able to upgrade most of its components. Thus it becomes very important to choose the right laptop because the scope for upgradability is low.
Let’s start by learning what makes a laptop, a Laptop. The major components to consider as a user are the CPU(the processor), Memory(Primary and Secondary), GPU, Display, Keyboard and Trackpad, Ports, and Cooling System. There are a lot of other components that actually make a device into an efficiently working laptop. But as a buyer or user, we more or less need to know about only the before-mentioned components. If the terms feel unfamiliar, don’t worry, we are going to learn about them in easier terms.
CPU
CPU (Central Processing Unit), commonly called the processor, is your laptop’s brain. A powerful processor will allow you to ace your work with blistering speeds and untroubled flow. While powerful processors are a treat, the more power-consuming CPUs also decrease the battery hours. Understanding your requirements thus comes in handy while choosing the right processor.
Market options:
Intel
Without a doubt, Intel is the most popular processor manufacturer in laptops and PCs. Intel provides a good variety for all budget and power requirements. The popular Intel processor series are i3, i5, i7, and i9. The i3 is the weakest of these and the i9 is the most powerful. For any average user, i5 would do the job.
AMD
For many years AMD used to provide mediocre chips with below-average market influence. But with the latest gen Ryzen processors, AMD processors provide edge-to-edge performance with Intel. Similar to Intel, AMD’s popular processors are Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7 & Ryzen 9 with power and cost increasing with the model number.
Apple:
The Apple M1 chip was the most advanced and powerful CPU before its successors, the M1 Pro and M1 Max entered the market. They are custom-made chips exclusively designed for Apple’s MacBooks. They provide unmatched performance and battery life while outputting minimum heat.
Power levels in Intel and AMD:
We can identify the wattage of Intel and AMD processors by reading their model numbers. (If this already feels like too much information, you can skip this part)
On Intel processors, the first number after the hyphen is the generation indicator; the latest generation is the 12th so the very newest CPUs have a 12. Then you’ll see some combination of a two or a three-digit number signifying the specific SKU for the chip. Following that is a G and a number, identifying the level of graphics. This varies from older chips that used a single letter (U, Y, H). The line is extremely important because it tells you roughly how much wattage this processor needs. Y use ultra low power, H use high power where U stand in the middle ground providing a balance of power and battery life.
On AMD processors, the numbers and names are more straightforward. The company’s new Ryzen 5000 CPUs are named Ryzen 5, which competes with the Core i5 U series, and Ryzen 7, which competes with Intel’s Core i7 U series, and Ryzen 9 against Intel i9. The suffix on the Ryzen processor names (U, H, HS, HX) indicate the power consumption. U are power efficient and H are high power, whereas HS are high power but lower than H.
Memory
You have to consider mainly the following memories:
- Primary Memory
- Secondary Memory
- Cache
Primary (or Main) Memory is the RAM, while Secondary is for the purpose of storage. Secondary memory is the slowest out of these three. What happens during a computer process is, the processor (CPU) needs data to process. CPU is not directly connected to the secondary memory, because of its slow access speed. Rather, the Primary Memory holds the data and instructions on which the processor is currently working because of its higher speed compared to Secondary Memory. But the data is only temporarily stored because of the low capacity of RAM and is thus deleted when the program executes.
Similar work is done by cache which has an even higher speed than RAM, but has lesser capacity. Between the CPU and the main memory, it serves as a buffer. It is used to store the data and programs that the CPU uses the most frequently. The operating system transfers portions of data and programs from the disc to cache memory, from which the CPU can access them.
The Secondary memory is the slowest and hence the cheapest, while faster RAM is costlier and the Cache is the most expensive. The general trend with Cache is, the more the cache memory, the faster the processing.
Market options:
Primary Memory(RAM)
The common options are 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB. More RAM offers more support to your processor to perform multiple tasks. Upgrading RAM in the future is always a great option to have. If the RAM in your laptop is soldered, it cannot be upgraded. But if the RAM stick(s) are slotted you have an option to upgrade it in the future.
Note: There is another available option in the market called Intel Optane. It basically allows you to boost/accelerate your RAM and processing by providing some extra memory, but it hasn’t given great results practically. People face several issues with Optane memory devices.
Secondary Memory
The two main types of secondary memory available are HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and SSD (Solid State Drive). HDDs are slower but cheaper, as well as less power efficient whereas SSDs provide great speed and higher power efficiency at higher prices. Having a laptop with SSD greatly increases your OS performance. Though slightly expensive, any modern laptop must have an SSD. Make sure to get a laptop with SSD storage (even with lesser storage, say 256GB). You can always get an external HDD for extra storage.
The two main types of SSDs available are SATA and NVMe. NVMe is the latest one with the fastest read/write speeds. If you want to upgrade to an SSD, prefer an NVMe, but make sure it is compatible with your device.
GPU
A GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is used in a wide range of applications, including graphics and video rendering. Although they’re best known for their capabilities in gaming, GPUs today are more programmable than ever before, affording them the flexibility to accelerate a broad range of applications that go well beyond traditional graphics rendering like creative production, parallel processing, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning.
Integrated vs Dedicated GPUs
The majority of GPUs in the market are integrated graphics. They are attached to the CPU and help in better video rendering. Fully integrated GPUs allow for thinner and lighter systems, reduced power consumption, and lower system costs. Many computing tasks can be performed well with integrated GPUs.
For tasks requiring more resources and power out of your computer, a discrete GPU is a better option. These GPUs provide a ton of processing power while also requiring a lot of additional energy consumption. Discrete GPUs generally require better cooling systems to work better.
Market Options:
The three major GPU providing companies are Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. While Intel currently produces integrated GPUs, they will be launching their dedicated GPU ranges soon.
AMD provides a variety of GPUs usually under the name of Radeon in laptops. AMD GPUs have turned out to be highly compatible with AMD’s CPUs which is obvious while working with the same company’s product environment. The naming scheme goes as follows: RX usually goes in front of graphics cards that are in the mid to low end, such as the RX 570 or RX 5700XT, their Vega either goes with higher-end GPUs such as the Vega 56 and also Radeon Vega graphics are also integrated into the CPU.
Nvidia has three popular series namely MX, GTX, and RTX going with increasing power from left to right. MX is entry-level series. GTX is mostly mid-range and can handle more or less moderate to heavy tasks. RTX series is the most powerful one in Nvidia. Naming in Nvidia GPUs is pretty simple. The name usually starts with GeForce followed by series name followed by a number (higher the number, better the GPU) optionally followed by an alphabet (like Ti indicating better performance).
Screens
The laptops screens are available in different sizes and types. The common sizes are 13.3, 14, 15.6, and 17 inches. The smaller screens are more portable while the larger (17 inches) are usually used in gaming laptops and can be a load to carry around.
A lot of letters get attached to a laptop display: LCD, LED, VGA, CCFL, XVGA, VGA. It’s important to keep those straight. Laptop monitors are all liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) and have two kinds of light sources — LED or CCFL. The common panel types are TN, VA, and IPS (Prefer the IPS panel).
The common refresh rate is 60Hz (higher refresh rates like 120Hz,144HZ, etc are more suited for gaming). The common resolutions are Full HD (1920 x 1080), QHD (2560 x 1440), 4K (3840 x 2160).
Ports
The primary function of this port is to allow one hardware component to be plugged into another in order for them to communicate with one another. Following are the most common and useful ports found in laptops:
- USB: USB ports and cables are used to connect hardware such as printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, flash drives, external hard drives, joysticks, cameras, and more to computers of all kinds, including desktops, tablets, laptops, netbooks, etc.
- HDMI: A High Definition Media Interface (HDMI) port permits the transfer of audio and video signals between your laptop and other devices like laptops, digital cameras, monitors, game consoles, projectors, etc.
- Ethernet: Found primarily on business laptops and on desktops, this port allows you to connect directly to wired networks.
- SD card reader: This slot reads SD/microSD memory cards, the kind that smartphones use for external storage.
- Thunderbolt: Thunderbolt gives users a chance to use one cable to access high-speed and high-resolution media using one port with a cable that can access both DisplayPort and PCI Express. It is mostly found in high-end sleek laptops but is a great asset to have.
- Display Port: This port (like HDMI) comes with a 20-pin connector and also sends video and audio signals to external display devices like monitors.
Cooling System
With the modern CPUs and GPUs providing so much processing power and getting work done with blistering speeds, heat generation is obvious to appear with the higher power consumption. Cooling systems have to be efficient in order to prevent damages and increase the life of laptops. In laptops typically, a long copper heat pipe goes from the CPU (and/or GPU) and goes out some aluminum fins with a fan behind them so air can carry the heat out. There are even newer cooling systems (like vapour chambers) available in the latest laptops. In short, make sure that the laptop has a good enough cooling system and does not face heating issues with other users. If you are a gamer or use any heavy applications, this becomes an important part of the checklist.
Keyboard
Keyboards come in different sizes, styles, and keys with different brands. But still, the overall variety is less compared to dedicated external keyboards. The two main sizes are full size (including the number pad) and a 70% size (excluding the number pad). Gaming keyboards usually have better and bigger direction keys for a better gaming experience. One very essential feature to add to your checklist is to make sure the keyboard has backlighting. Using keyboards in dark surroundings can be a drag, and backlit keyboards are a lifesaver in such conditions (not to mention the aesthetics).
How to buy yourself a perfect laptop?
While knowing all the stuff written above may make selecting a laptop look more confusing, following the given order will help you ease the task of finding the best match for your budget and requirements:
- Fix your budget
- Find the best CPU offering in that budget
- RAM
- GPU and SSD
- Display, Ports and Connectivity, Portability (Weight and Size)
- Expandability (Slots for RAM and SSD)
- Customer Service Centres near you (Brand)
Some good practices
Buying a laptop is one thing, but you also have to maintain it for it to last longer. Following are some good practices that I would recommend following to increase the life of your laptop:
- Do not leave your laptop plugged in when not in use
- Shutdown your laptop once in a while
- Use a microfiber cloth to clean the display
- Ensure enough ventilation for the cooling system to work properly
- Do not use your laptop on blankets or beds
- Keep the temperature in check using programs like HWiNFO
- Ensure that your laptop has the latest security updates
- Clean temporary files at least once a week and recycle bin at least once a month
