Guide To Get The Best Laptop Deals This Discount Season

There are many benefits to owning a laptop. Laptops are easy to travel with and offer much more power than other mobile computing devices, such as a tablet or smartphone.
Laptops are highly customizable, so you can get the exact model to meet your computing needs. They are especially popular among college students, since it is easy to carry a laptop from class to class. Many employees also rely on a laptop to get their work done.

There are also personal uses for laptops, including gaming and watching movies from the comfort of your bedroom. If you want to save the most money on your laptop, it helps to understand the technical details so you can decide what parts to focus on and where to save money.

Screen Size

For many shoppers, one of the first aspects to look at is the size of the screen. Most laptops are either 12.5 to 16 inches in size, though there are a few larger and smaller variants available. Larger screens are better for watching movies or gaming, but the larger the screen, the bulkier the computer. If you have poor vision, larger screens also have better visibility options. Larger screens are more expensive than smaller screens, but with most brands, it is only a small price increase.

Battery Life

Another important issue is battery life. If you are normally traveling with your laptop and do not have many opportunities to charge it, you want a laptop with at least 8 hours of battery life. Certain features can cause a battery to drain faster, such as having a powerful graphics card. More expensive laptops often have more powerful batteries, but if you are shopping on a budget, it may be cheaper in the long run to purchase a portable power bank.

Operating System

Operating systems are what you use to run apps and programs on your laptop. The three main operating systems for a laptop are Windows, Chrome and MacOS. Windows is considered the most flexible platform and is typically more available than the other options. Many providers include Windows for free. Otherwise, you must purchase your own copy of Windows, which normally costs between $175 to $200.

• MacOS is available on any MacBook. MacBooks are compatible with Apple software and offer similar functionality to Windows, but there are several apps which are incompatible with MacBooks. In addition, MacBooks do not have a touch screen. If you need to use specialized programs for work or school, make sure the programs are Mac compatible.

• Chrome is much more limited than either Windows or Mac. The interface is similar to Windows, but there are few apps compatible with Chrome. In addition, Chromebooks are much weaker than your average laptop, having limited storage space and minimal power for gaming. However, Chromebooks are much less expensive than other laptops, making them a good choice if you do not frequently need a computer, or only need something for browsing the internet and managing basic documents.

CPU

The CPU acts as the brain for the computer and has the largest effect on performance. Most CPUs use an Intel Core. The 10^th generation cores are the newest as of writing, and the most powerful. They are also the most expensive. Both the i9 and i7 are still considered powerful and recommended for high-end gaming. If you do not need a specialized computer, an i5 is considered an average CPU for most computer tasks, and because it is an older CPU, it is relatively inexpensive. If you are on a tighter budget, you can drop down to an i3. It is slower than an i5, but if you are only performing basic tasks, like browsing the web or viewing Office documents, an i3 is powerful enough to meet your needs.

In addition to Intel, there are also AMD chips. AMD does not have as many options as Intel. The AMD Ryzen 4000 is currently the newest CPU and comparable to an i7. AMD A, FX and E are similar in power to an i3. In general, AMD CPUs are less powerful than Intel, but typically less expensive.

RAM and Hard Drives

The other two important specs to consider are RAM and your hard drive. The more RAM your laptop has, the faster it runs applications. On a modern system, 4 GB is considered standard. This is enough for most computer needs. If you want a gaming laptop or run specialized programs for work, consider upgrading to 8 or even 16GB. Upgrading RAM is fairly expensive, so stay with 4 GB if you are on a budget.

Your hard drive determines how much space is on your laptop. Most laptops have smaller hard drives. A lower end laptop has 256 GB. Specialized computers, such as a Chromebook, has an even smaller hard drive. Documents and pictures are small and barely take up any space. Even movies and television shows are fairly small. In most cases, you only need to get a bigger hard drive if you want to use your laptop for gaming.

In terms of types, the biggest decision to make is whether you want a solid-state drive (SSD). Your computer reads files much faster from an SSD, which can directly improve performance. However, even a small SSD is expensive.

Buying a Laptop

There are certain periods where laptops go on shares. November is considered the best time to purchase electronics, thanks to big sales like Black Friday or Cyber Monday. February, May and June are also good months to find laptop sales.

Many shoppers prefer to buy a laptop online. Shopping online gives you access to more options, with many sites allowing you to directly build your laptop and pick out individual parts. Amazon and Newegg are two of the biggest computer marketplaces. You can also buy directly from manufacturers, such as Apple or Microsoft. If you do not want to buy online, consider electronic stores, such as Best Buy.