How to choose a laptop for work. Chromebooks: devices for cloud services. Periphery - what is it and how to evaluate it

It happens that a person buys a laptop "just to have it." This is not very reasonable. If you don't have a clear reason to buy, then a brand new laptop is likely to be gathering dust somewhere on a table or a far shelf.

Versatile everyday laptop

Notebooks from the middle and higher price categories fall into this category. A productive and balanced filling allows such laptops to cope with a wide range of tasks, including not too demanding games at medium and even high settings. Thus, gamers who do not prioritize graphics can save themselves from tangible expenses for a full-fledged gaming laptop with a powerful discrete graphics card.

The best laptops of 2017 according to TechRadar:

1. Dell XPS 13.
2. Asus ZenBook UX305.
3. Razer Blade Stealth.
4. Asus Chromebook Flip.
5. HP Specter x360.
6. Razer Blade.
7. Samsung Notebook 7 Spin.
8. Acer Aspire S 13.
9. Samsung Notebook 9.
10. Surface Book.
11. HP Specter x360 15.
12. MacBook.
13. Asus ZenBook Flip UX360.
14. Apple Macbook Pro 15.
15. Lenovo Yoga 910.

Laptop Mag ranked the best laptop manufacturers based on a combination of six key criteria: reviewers' ratings, design, quality of technical support and support, innovation, range of laptops offered, and loyalty to warranty conditions.

1. Lenovo.
2. Asus.
3. Dell.
4. Acer.
5. Apple.
6. Razer.
7. Samsung.
8. Microsoft.

For serious games

Gaming laptops are very powerful and very expensive. This feature allows you to use gaming laptops for any work, including design, video editing, 3D graphics and design.

The video card is the most important part. In 2016, Nvidia introduced the tenth series of GeForce GTX graphics cards, which are not only much more powerful than previous generations, but also great for installation in laptops because they do not require a bulky cooling system.

If earlier Nvidia released heavily stripped-down mobile GeForce GTX with the letter M in the name for laptops, now you can install a full-fledged video card in a laptop: like in a stationary PC, but with slightly lower frequencies.

That is, if you buy a gaming laptop with a GeForce GTX 1050, 1050 Ti, 1060, 1070, 1080, or 1080 Ti, you'll get the performance of a desktop gaming PC with a similar graphics card.

The problem is that there are still a lot of outdated gaming laptops in electronics stores, and they cost like new, and sometimes even more expensive. The consultant may try to sell you such a laptop. Don't be tempted to buy a gaming laptop with GeForce GTX Series 10 only.

As a processor for a gaming laptop, older models of Intel Core i5 (for GTX 1050 and 1060), basic Core i7 (for GTX 1070) and older Core i7 (for GTX 1080) are traditionally chosen. The amount of RAM is usually from 8 to 32 GB.

Top 10 Gaming Laptops According to TechRadar:

1. Razer Blade.
2. Asus ROG Strix GL502.
3. Alienware 13 R3.
4. Razer Blade Pro.
5. Gigabyte Aero 14.
6. Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming.
7. HP Omen 17.
8. Origin EVO15-S.
9. Gigabyte Aero 15.
10. Origin EON17-X.

For maximum mobility

If your lifestyle or work nature forces you to constantly move around, then mobility comes first when choosing a laptop. The smaller, lighter and thinner, the better. Often these laptops are called ultrabooks.

Top 10 ultrabooks according to TechRadar:

1. Dell XPS 13.
2. Asus ZenBook UX30.
3. Razer Blade Stealth.
4. HP Specter x360.
5. Samsung Notebook 9.
6. Acer Aspire S 13.
7. Surface Book.
8. Acer Swift7.
9. Lenovo Yoga 910.
10. HP Specter.

For maximum autonomy

If you spend most of your time away from an outlet, then the determining factor when choosing a laptop is the battery life.

We bring to your attention the rating of the most "long-playing" laptops according to Laptop Mag. The specified operating time is valid for constant web surfing in the browser via Wi-Fi without the use of other resource-intensive applications.

1. Lenovo ThinkPad T470 - 17 hours.
2. MacBook Air 13 - 14 hours.
3. Microsoft Surface Book - 12 hours.
4. Dell Latitude 7280 - 12 hours.
5. Lenovo Miix 310 - 12 hours.
6. Dell Latitude 5280 - 12 hours.
7. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon - 12 hours.
8. Dell XPS 13 - 11 hours.
9. Dell Latitude 5480 - 11 hours.
10. Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming - 11 hours.
11. Acer ChromeBook R 13 - 11 hours.
12. Lenovo Yoga 910 - 10 hours.
13. Apple MacBook Pro 15 - 10 hours.
14. Asus ZenBook UX330UA - 10 hours.
15. HP Specter x360 - 10 hours.

Instead of a tablet

Now transformers are very popular, combining a laptop and a tablet. The design of such a hybrid allows you to unfasten the keyboard, rotate the top cover, or literally turn the device inside out so that the screen is on top. A mandatory attribute of the transformer is a touch screen. Laptops "2 in 1" are very compact, lightweight and can completely replace the tablet.

Top 10 convertible laptops according to TechRadar:

1. HP Specter x360.
2. Microsoft Surface Book i7.
3. Samsung Notebook 7 Spin.
4. Microsoft Surface Book.
5. Asus ZenBook Flip UX360.
6. HP Specter x360 15.
7. Dell Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1.
8. Lenovo Yoga 910.
9. Lenovo Yoga 900S.
10. HP Elite x2 1012 G1.

To work on the Internet

If you only use a browser, then pay attention to Chromebook - more affordable laptops, sharpened for working on the Internet.

1. Asus Chromebook Flip.
2. Samsung Chromebook Pro.
3. Dell Chromebook 11.
4. Acer Chromebook 15.
5. Acer Chromebook R11.
6. HP Chromebook 14.
7. HP Chromebook 13.

As a more compact and aesthetic replacement for a desktop computer

A large system unit, monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers and a bunch of tangled wires do not add beauty to the interior and take up a lot of space. The laptop solves the problem easily and gracefully.

The configuration and cost of such a laptop will depend on what you usually do on the old stationary computer and what you plan to do on the new one.

For special work

This includes design, video editing, sound work, 3D graphics, engineering and other specialized activities.

The configurations of such laptops are highly dependent on the tasks being solved and the software used, and the cost ranges from tens to several hundred thousand rubles.

If you are looking for just such a professional laptop, then this guide is unlikely to be useful to you. For information about the correct configurations for narrow-profile laptops, it is better to look at the appropriate sites and forums. Only there you will find experienced professionals who are ready to help with advice.

What is worth paying extra for

Now you will learn about really useful things that justify every ruble invested in them.

Latest generation processor from Intel

There are no good laptop processors from AMD yet. Perhaps the situation will change with the advent of the Ryzen mobile line, but now the only reasonable solution is to buy a laptop with Intel Kaby Lake on board (Core i5 7xxx or Core i7 7xxx).

You can buy a laptop with a previous generation Core i5 or Core i7 (fifth or sixth) and get slightly less performance, but the trick is that the difference in cost between them is minimal or non-existent. Accordingly, it is better to choose the latest technology.

A powerful processor turns the laptop into a multitasking combine that not only works quickly, but also allows you to play not too demanding games, do video editing, graphics, and so on.

SSD instead of HDD

In order not to burden you with unnecessary words, we will simply leave here the indicators of the time required to launch some applications on a laptop with an HDD and an SSD, all other things being equal.

8 GB RAM

You've probably heard how gluttonous the Chrome browser is in terms of memory consumption, and it's not the only program that requires a lot of resources to run fast.

RAM is cheap and greatly affects the speed of the computer. Don't skimp on it.

Full HD screen

A laptop with a Full HD screen at a standard distance from it makes the pixels invisible to the human eye. Thanks to this, the picture becomes much better. Full HD fits more content, making working with desktop applications and on the Internet more comfortable and convenient. High-resolution matrices are usually made using more advanced technologies and have better characteristics than their younger HD counterparts.

Tenth series GeForce GTX graphics card

If you're buying a laptop with an eye for new games, then choose a model with discrete GeForce GTX 1050, 1050 Ti, 1060, 1070, 1080 or 1080 Ti graphics, depending on your budget.

In no case do not purchase laptops with GeForce GTX ninth series or even earlier. Save a little money and you'll end up with a much less powerful laptop without future headroom and decent VR support.

WiFi 5 GHz

Now Wi-Fi points are everywhere, but a side effect of such a ubiquitous presence is a drop in quality and connection speed. Roughly speaking, wireless routers jam each other.

The solution could be to switch to the 5GHz Wi-Fi band, known as 802.11ac.

Unfortunately, 5 GHz Wi-Fi also requires a router that supports this technology, but as a reward for spending extra, you will get super-fast and stable wireless Internet.

By the way, 5 GHz Wi-Fi support is useful not only for a laptop, but also for a smartphone.

USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 connectors

USB-C is the inevitable future, sooner than you think. In the next few years, this standard will become the only universal interface for charging and connecting any peripherals to a laptop.

The symmetrical design allows you to connect USB-C on either side, and therefore the familiar “does not fit, turned over, does not fit” problem familiar to everyone will be a thing of the past.

Advanced Thunderbolt 3, in addition to being compatible with USB-C, has enough bandwidth to connect a 4K monitor, an external drive with read and write speeds comparable to an SSD, and a full-fledged external graphics card.

What you shouldn't pay for

Not all manufacturers are distinguished by the ability to create balanced laptops. In addition, some of the features present in laptops are often frankly useless.

Backlit keyboard

A laptop is a one piece device and its screen is always illuminating the keyboard. Accordingly, additional backlighting of the keys is not needed.

The only reason to choose a backlit model or to pay extra for this modification is the habit of working in complete darkness with a minimum screen brightness.

Above Full HD screen

The possibilities of the human eye are limited. With sufficient pixel density, we will not see them from a typical distance for working with a particular device. Such screens are best known as used in Apple products.

For a laptop with a screen diagonal of 13 inches and Full HD resolution, the distance from which the pixels cease to be distinguishable is 51 centimeters. Approximately at this distance, our eyes are when working at a laptop. Thus, increasing the screen resolution, and, accordingly, the pixel density, does not make sense.

If someone is persistently trying to prove to you that QHD and even more so Ultra HD (almost the same as 4K) is cool and necessary, then either you are dealing with a consultant in an electronics store, or you are faced with a marketing victim.

In addition to meaninglessness in terms of picture quality, over-resolution displays consume more battery power and require much more resources to render the picture, which negatively affects performance.

Mandatory Intel Core i7

The latest generation Intel Core i7 is a really cool processor, but there is such a thing as sufficient performance.

Simply put, you don't need a Nissan GTR if you use your car to travel to Auchan and work on congested roads.

Core i7 is good for heavy computing, video editing, graphics work and top gaming computers. An ordinary user will not use even a fifth of its performance, but will pay the full cost.

Mandatory discrete graphics card

A separate video card is needed for hardcore gamers who want to play new games with cool graphics, as well as for individual specialists. For web surfing, office work and watching movies, there is enough power offered by the integrated graphics.

32GB RAM or more

If you don't know why you need so much RAM, then you don't need that much RAM.

If you are not a gamer, then 8 GB of RAM is enough for you, and if you play heavy games, then 16 GB is enough.

The fingerprint scanner

Now it is fashionable to put fingerprint scanners in laptops as a more convenient alternative to entering a password. Perhaps this will save you an extra second, but is it worth the money that manufacturers are asking for this feature?

Touch screen in an ordinary laptop

A touch screen is required for transformers - hybrid devices with a removable keyboard that combine a tablet and a laptop.

For an ordinary laptop, a touchscreen is not just useless, but also a frankly harmful excess that increases the cost of the device, battery consumption and sometimes worsens the quality characteristics of the screen itself.

Other guides for choosing equipment from Lifehacker.

Recently, laptops are losing their popularity. It so happened that they are confidently crowded with tablet computers, about the difficulties of choosing which is written. However, these devices cannot completely disappear from store shelves. The fact is that some people simply cannot work without a laptop. A laptop computer allows you to carry out calculations, write text, edit photos and videos, without being tied to an outlet. Also, it is in favor of laptops that people who regularly change their place of residence or often go on business trips make their choice.

Any laptop is a set of screen, keyboard and many computer components. Choosing a laptop is another problem. If you don't read the specifications, you risk being left with a poorly functioning device. To prevent this from happening - read this article, it will definitely help you.

Main selection rules

Decide on the purpose of the laptop

Before going to the store, you need to understand: why do you need a laptop at all? Perhaps a desktop computer will suit you? After all, it is much cheaper, especially in the case of self-assembly. A laptop should only be taken if you intend to move it regularly. For example, it can be used as a workhorse when you are on a business trip. Or the laptop will be used at different points in your apartment for writing texts. It makes no sense to buy a portable computer if you absolutely do not need its portability.

Mandatory familiarity with the technical characteristics!

You can not choose a laptop at random, just glancing at several models located on the counter. This is a serious device, the appearance of which is not the most important thing! Do you want to continue using the laptop for several years? In this case, it is necessary that it meets all modern requirements. Its operating system should not slow down, and several applications should work in the background. To do this, the device requires decent components. It is their list that is indicated in the technical specifications. You can read more about all the main components below.

Don't save

Unfortunately, you will not find a normal laptop at a very low price. Manufacturers cannot perform a miracle - in order to reduce the price, they need to save on components. Even if the technical characteristics suit you, it is likely that some components will begin to function poorly after six months. Quality components are not cheap. Also, budget laptops are not able to please with long work on a single battery charge.

Windowsor Mac OSX?

Photo: cache.gawkerassets.com

It must be admitted that most people do not face the problem of choosing an operating system. The fact is that Mac OS X gets at its disposal only Apple products. And its cost makes many consumers look towards Windows-based laptops. Consider the positive and negative sides of these operating systems.

Windows

A huge number of laptops operate precisely with the help of software developed by Microsoft. This operating system is now considered the most popular. It has existed for several decades, during which time an incredible number of applications have been released for it. It is also in her favor that gamers make the choice, since games for a competing platform are released very rarely. The reverse side of the operating system is its ill-conceivedness. An unprepared user may not understand exactly how programs are removed. Not to mention the more complex system settings, hidden very deeply. There are also regular bugs in the system that can be very annoying.

Pros: the maximum number of compatible applications, affordable price, a large number of games.

Minuses: unstable operation of some laptops, difficulty in mastering, minimum battery life, the need to install an antivirus.

MacOS X

Mac OS X does not have the problems described above. What can I say, the Apple product does not have any serious problems at all, if we forget about not the largest number of compatible games. Notebooks from the MacBook series are protected from viruses, so there is no need to deal with them. It is convenient to work on such devices: ergonomics are at their best, and the stable functioning of the OS does not make you waste your nerves. Of course, after using Windows, you will have to get used to the new interface and the changed key combinations. But it's worth it! It's a pity that Macbooks are obscenely expensive.

Pros: stable and high-speed operation, decent battery life, easy upgrades.

Minuses: very high cost, minimum number of games.

CPU

Photo: www.overclockers.ua

Modern laptops are endowed with central processors from AMD and Intel. In favor of the first company speaks a good ratio of quality and price. As for Intel, its products are interesting for their high power. Also, when choosing a laptop, you should focus on the number of cores of the installed processor.

Dual Core Processors

Buying a laptop based on a dual-core chipset is only worth it if you need austerity. Such laptops can already be safely called obsolete. With a dual-core processor, it is impossible to work normally in Adobe Photoshop and other heavy programs. And you should definitely forget about the games. However, such a solution also has its advantages. Dual-core chipsets consume not the largest amount of electricity, which affects the duration of battery life. In a word, laptops with such a chip can be used to solve simple tasks - watching movies, writing text or browsing websites.

Pros: low cost, relatively low energy consumption.

Minuses: minimum performance.

Quad-core processors from AMD

These are already more productive solutions. Depending on the graphics card installed, laptops with a similar chipset may even allow you to play games while enjoying 3D graphics. Also, the power of the chip should be enough for the stable operation of a graphics editor or other heavy programs.

Pros: good performance, not the highest cost.

Minuses: high power consumption.

Quad-core processors from Intel

Intel products benefit from the best technologies in them. Usually quad-core chipsets from this company have more power. Although this must be checked by familiarizing yourself with the clock frequency. But such a product is also much more expensive, and therefore the price of a laptop will be higher.

Pros: high performance.

Minuses: high price.

Octa-core processors

Solutions endowed with eight processing cores are still rare guests in laptops. This is explained by their increased energy consumption - and after all, for a laptop, battery life is a very important parameter. The main advantage of such a chip is its very high power. This is where the list of benefits ends. Therefore, gaming laptops are usually equipped with eight-core chipsets, for which the above parameter is the most important.

Pros: very high performance.

Minuses: very high cost, increased power consumption, abundant heat dissipation.

RAM

Photo: catalog046.ru

When choosing a laptop, you should pay attention to the amount of RAM built into it. Budget models get only 4 GB - this is not enough to run several heavy programs in the background. What can I say, even a graphics editor will work with great difficulty on such a laptop. And you can completely forget about editing the video. Buy such a laptop only if it supports memory expansion without voiding the warranty. This will allow you to add another 4 GB of "RAM" in the future, making your work more comfortable.

More expensive laptops get 8 GB of RAM at their disposal. Most of the time this is enough. And only game models are able to please twice as much. 16 GB of "RAM" is required not only to keep a large number of programs in the background. This volume is useful if you regularly work in video or photo editors.

graphics accelerator

The presence of a video card in a laptop should be considered if you are going to use it for games. It will also come in handy for video editing, but certain graphics adapters are required to speed up this process - this should be taken into account.

Simple discrete graphics cards do not affect the weight of the laptop too much. But they are deprived of power, so the games will only run on the minimum graphics settings. Another thing - top models. In terms of power, they will not be inferior to expensive video cards that are installed in the system unit of a desktop computer. But a laptop with it will weigh 3-4 kg - you will get tired of taking it out of the house every time very quickly. Not to mention that the price tag of gaming laptops is extremely high.

In some cases, you can do without a discrete graphics card. If you are not going to play on a laptop, then pay attention to those models that have a built-in processor with an integrated graphics core. This laptop is perfect for simple tasks. And it will be much easier to carry it with you, because some models are close to tablets in terms of thickness and weight. Not without reason they were called ultrabooks for a long time.

Screen

Photo: tetext.ru

Its size and ease of use depend on the display built into the laptop. Models with the smallest screen are called netbooks - they are designed only for working with documents and surfing the Internet. There are also especially large copies - they are usually bought to replace a desktop computer.

10-11 inches

This screen is equipped with the aforementioned netbooks. They were very popular in the late 2000s. But now they are being squeezed out of the market by tablets, which have a similar display and are much more convenient to transport. A netbook is worth buying if you don't intend to use it for many years. It must be remembered that such a device is only capable of working with the simplest applications. Even browsing websites can be much more convenient on a tablet - the screen of a netbook has neither a touch layer nor a high resolution.

Pros: compact size, low cost of such laptops.

Minuses: minimum resolution.

12-14 inches

Usually it is in this range that the diagonal of an average laptop is located. If you do not miscalculate with the resolution (ordinary HD may not be enough), then such a screen will contribute to comfortable work. Of course, this is still not a laptop for video editing and professional photography, but the user's orientation in other programs will definitely not be difficult.

Pros: relatively compact, good overview.

Minuses: difficulties when using professional programs.

15-16 inches

People working in the field of programming or video editing usually buy laptops with a 15-inch screen. Most often, such a display has a Full HD resolution, so that all interface elements of complex programs are placed on it. But you need to understand that such a laptop will have a decent size, and its large weight will not allow you to regularly carry a laptop with you.

Pros: great review.

Minuses: large size, high cost of such laptops.

17 inches or more

Finding a laptop with a 17-inch screen in stores is not as easy as it seems. Most often, such a display is equipped with gaming models. Such devices weigh prohibitively much, so they are usually used only at home. But this allows you to get rid of the desktop PC, which takes up even more space.

Pros: the most convenient work, ideal size for games.

Minuses: huge size and weight, very high cost.

Other selection criteria

Photo: www.3dnews.ru

When choosing a laptop, pay attention to its design. If budget models do not surprise you, then more expensive ones may be of interest to you with a swivel screen or some unusual touchpad. The swivel display is able to turn the device into a tablet - this action comes to the rescue in those moments when you just want to surf the Internet or read a magazine. Ideally, this technology works if the screen has a touch substrate.

You should also meticulously evaluate the laptop case. Are there any large gaps on it where accidental moisture will get in? Will the paint come off after six months? It is best to purchase a laptop with a metal case. However, such a purchase is not affordable for everyone.

An important factor is the type of drive. A 500 GB hard drive is ideal if you're buying a budget laptop that's only designed to work with documents and watch videos. If you are going to play regularly, then it is better to look at a model with a larger hard drive. After all, the weight of modern three-dimensional games can reach 50-60 GB! If you want to get a laptop that never slows down, then everything is much more complicated. In this case, you may need a laptop with an SSD drive (preferably paired with a traditional HDD). Only such a design will allow the device to instantly load programs and avoid brakes. Do I need to say that the presence of a solid state drive significantly increases the cost of the final product?

Finally, don't forget about data transfer. Any laptop has a wireless Wi-Fi module. But the supported standards may be different. Expensive models offer the user the opportunity to use Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, and even in two bands (2.4 and 5 GHz)! If you live in a large city, where the standard range is literally clogged with devices connected to it, then this standard will come in handy. Everyone else won't notice much of a difference. If you are chasing modern technologies, then the presence of other modules will not hurt you: Bluetooth 4.1, NFC and LTE. However, they are not very common in laptops.

The most popular laptop manufacturers

Lenovo

The history of the Chinese company Lenovo Group Limited began in 1984. At the start of its existence, it was engaged in the development of encodings for hieroglyphs and the supply of computer equipment. Own production of laptops was launched a little later. The impetus for the development of the corporation was the purchase of the IBM division, which was engaged in the creation of personal computers. And now under the wing of the company is Motorola Mobility.

Acer

Taiwanese company Acer was founded in 1976. Its first computer, intended for export, was designed three years later. Then product development began. Now the company produces both low-cost laptops and mobile products. Also, in many offices in most countries in Europe and Asia, you can find Acer monitors.

ASUS

ASUSTeK computer Inc. founded in the Republic of China Taipei on April 1, 1989. As the name implies, the company has been specializing in the production of computer components throughout its history. In particular, its motherboards, sound cards and graphics adapters are very popular. You can find ASUS laptops on store shelves.

Apple

Apple is very different from other laptop manufacturers. Its products operate using the Mac OS X operating system, which is considered invulnerable to viruses and works more stable than Windows. The MacBook brand regularly shines on TV shows, series, games and feature films. Apple products are used by a huge number of Americans. It repels some consumers only because of the inflated price tag.

HP

The history of Hewlett-Packard Company began in 1939 with the release of measuring equipment. But now we know this company for laptops and peripherals. In particular, printers, scanners and MFPs are in great demand. Laptops are quite popular due to the adequate price tag.

Toshiba

The Japanese company Toshiba Corporation is well known for its excellent LCD displays. Not surprisingly, Toshiba laptops are distinguished by a high-quality screen. However, the corporation did not produce such devices throughout its history. It was founded in 1939 from the merger of two other companies. Various electrical equipment and incandescent lamps rolled off the assembly line in those days. Now the Japanese giant produces both portable and tablet computers.

MSI

Taiwan Micro-Star International Co., Ltd was founded in 1986. It produces various computer components - in particular, you can easily find MSI video cards on the shelves of the respective stores. The company also creates laptops based on its own and externally purchased components. The products of the Taiwanese manufacturer regularly receive awards at international exhibitions.

DELL

The American company Dell has existed since 1984. More than 100 thousand employees already work for it. The corporation earns the most money through the production and installation of server hardware. The company also creates storage devices and laptops equipped with them. Such products are in greatest demand at home and in some European countries. The company came to Russia quite recently.

Samsung

Samsung Electronics has dabbled in many areas over its long history. She came at one time to the laptop market. These products were considered very reliable and almost elite. However, now everything has changed - portable computers are in low demand, so the South Koreans have almost completely focused on designing tablets.

Fujitsu

The history of Fujitsu Limited began back in 1935. The German company Siemens AG took part in the creation of the enterprise - it cooperated with it until 2008. Now the Japanese corporation specializes in the production of computer electronics. Fujitsu laptops can be found in many countries - they are always in demand.

Laptop for study

In this case, pay attention to:

1. Compact dimensions- a large laptop is difficult to transport.
2. Price- not every student is ready to pay more than 20 thousand rubles for a laptop.
3. Display size- it is worth looking towards laptops with a small screen.

A laptop designed for study doesn't have to be expensive. The student does not need advanced components, unless he is studying to be a photographer or video editor.

Laptop for games

Gamers should pay attention to:

1. graphics accelerator- it must be implemented as a powerful discrete graphics card.
2. CPU- Requires at least a quad-core variant running at least 3.3 GHz.
3. Display size- it must be at least 15 inches.

A gaming laptop is expensive. He must have powerful components. And its display should have Full HD resolution. It should be noted that on such a machine, video editing will be a joy. Therefore, these laptops are purchased not only by avid gamers.

Laptop for work

It all depends on the type of your work. But try in any case to focus on:

1. Display size- it will be hard to carry a typewriter with a 15-inch screen, look for smaller options.
2. RAM- 8 or even 16 GB are required.
3. CPU- A quad-core solution must be installed inside the laptop.

The working machine should not be particularly powerful, but not weak either. It will be a shame if, due to a lack of RAM, applications close and the operating system slows down. Therefore, just try to forget about savings - comfortable work is much more important.

How to choose the right laptop? - a question that is natural when there is a desire to buy a modern functional device. For a successful choice, the buyer needs to decide in advance on the parameters of the monitor, the weight of the model, and the characteristics of the battery. No less important is the choice of disk - it can be either ssd or Hdd.

To decide how to choose a good laptop, you need to start with the most important parameter - the weight of the purchased device. The importance of this particular characteristic is due to the fact that the device should always be with the owner.

When deciding how to choose a gaming laptop for stationary use, the issue of weight becomes secondary. However, most often this device is purchased as a portable one, so it is recommended to pay special attention to this characteristic.

When wondering how to choose a laptop for home, you should keep in mind that the vast majority of models have a weight in the range of 2-2.7 kg.

There is such a pattern that the larger the diagonal of the laptop, the greater its weight characteristic. If you need to choose a laptop according to the parameters, then you have to make a choice of a diagonal within 8-24 inches.

Currently, versions with a diagonal of 15-17 inches are in the greatest demand. Popularity is due to a successful combination of portability and impressive performance. They also have a high level of image quality, in most cases - HD.

What is a screen, is it a display, monitor or screen?

Weighing all the arguments necessary to decide how to choose a laptop for work, consumers sooner or later come to the understanding that this component of the device must be perceived as a combination of different parameters. Of these, the monitor resolution is the leader (according to the physical size of the sides of the display in pixels).

Standard version: 1024x768. Important information is also an indication of the ratio of pixels vertically and horizontally. Common options:

When deciding how to choose a laptop for gaming, it is important to know that the vast majority of all manufactured devices have widescreen monitors. It is this version that is ideal both for multimedia entertainment and for working with various graphic applications, as the review shows.

A laptop may have one of the following two types of screen:

• matte;
• glossy.

And here again it is worth referring to the data that reflects the review. A laptop with a monitor of the first type will be perfectly protected from glare. However, the same basic overview provides more detailed information.

The laptop will provide a better and more natural picture with a second type display. The choice of the diagonal is entirely determined by the statement of the key task of the consumer.

The same review will provide another help in choosing. A laptop purchased for stationary work is a model from 17 inches. The mobile model must have a diagonal of 15.

RAM, or random access memory

A detailed overview will also help to obtain the necessary information about this characteristic. The laptop in the modern version must have a minimum of 512MB. It makes no sense to save on this parameter, which is as important as the map.

After all, it is he who completely determines the speed of solving everyday problems. As the review shows, a laptop with 2Gb of memory will provide the user with the expected activity. These requirements can be applied to Asus, etc.

In the information that the review provides, a laptop with a 32-bit operating system, due to architectural specifics, cannot see memory exceeding 3Gb. At the same time, 64-bit operating systems cope with the task without any problems.

When collecting information on how to choose a laptop for a designer, you need to pay some attention to the type of memory. In this regard, it is worth emphasizing that DDR3 is 2 times faster than DDR2.

When wondering how to choose a laptop for study, you need to pay attention to the features of disk space. The same topic is relevant for solving the problem of how to choose the right gaming laptop.

In any case, it is currently possible to find a device whose hard disk sizes vary between 120-500 Gb. And at the same time, if necessary, you can easily increase the volume of the hard disk without resorting to the help of specialists.

So, focusing on a variety of information on how to choose a laptop, you need to know that disks are represented by two varieties:

• classic hard drives HDD;
• developments in diskless SSD technology.

Thinking about what is better to buy - or a laptop, what to choose for solving tasks - you need to take into account that, using old HDD drives, you can store music and photos, movies, and much more on a laptop in a large volume.

A 17-inch laptop can be used as a thin client, you can choose SSD drives for Internet surfing, mail and office.

Regardless of the results of solving the problem of which processor to choose a laptop with, you need to remember the advantages of SSD over HDD. The first category has greater lightness, less energy consumption, much less criticality to mechanical damage.

And their most important plus: impressive speed! There is only one minus for devices of this series: the price characteristic. It is she who sometimes forces you to start studying the topic of how to choose a used laptop. The cost of a 120GB SSD drive is around $150.

And again, a review will help: the Asus k501ux laptop and other similar models in terms of have a battery that determines the battery life of the following types:

• lithium-ion;
• lithium polymer.

The price to a certain extent reflects 2.5 hours of battery life, which is generally recognized as an excellent feature. However, not all models can "boast" of such resources.

The price is also influenced by the following factor: manufacturing companies supply batteries with increased capacity to the market, which is achieved extensively, that is, by increasing the number of device cells. With this approach, there is an increase in weight and size of the battery, which, when expanded, does not fit within the laptop.

Features and importance of the processor

A laptop for home use is purchased with maximum attention to the processor, which is responsible for the performance of the device as a whole. Currently, experts are approaching the division of this component into two subspecies conditionally: those with power and those that are not.

Thinking about which laptop is better, you need to keep in mind that Celeron and AMD Turion have affordable price characteristics. They do an excellent job with the standard tasks of processing text documents.

However, if you need a powerful model, it is better to choose the Intel or AMD brands. Currently, these models are on the wave of demand. Of these, dual-core processors are preferable, which clearly outperform single-core designs.

Periphery - what is it and how to evaluate it?

According to the data of 2017 and the previous period, the attention of consumers and potential buyers is increasingly focused on the features of additional equipment. The latter can be a 3G modem or a Wi-fi card. Reviews from successful device owners in 2017 confirm that you need to consider buying these products in advance.

The reason for such a balance when purchasing a device for work and study is that not all models available for sale have free space for regular installation of additional accessories.

In an effort to successfully resolve the issue of how to choose an inexpensive device, it is necessary to take into account the following factor: a device with a large body will have more free space. There is also a high degree of probability that space for an additional connector was provided under the cover.

Intending to purchase an inexpensive laptop, the buyer at the same time imposes rather strict requirements on it.

In this situation, you should listen to the recommendations of experts: one of the important properties of a laptop is its mobility!

And based on this postulate, it is better to abandon the built-in DVD. The “sacrifice” will pay off in full: in this case, it will be possible to save both cost and weight, regardless of whether it is an inexpensive gaming laptop or a student laptop.

In this scenario, you won't have to puzzle over the dilemma: which is better: a laptop or ... You can purchase a DVD-ROM with a USB interface at no additional cost.

Do you need one more - additional - strong argument? It's easy: how often do you have to use DVDs? Similarly, you can evaluate a working USB HDD and flash drives!

What about expansion slots?

Thinking about whether a laptop or tablet, studying the characteristics and description of each option, it is important to know that one of the most important indicators is the variety of connectors.

Regardless of what conclusions the buyer comes to when choosing a laptop, “which company is better” is a question that can be successfully solved without knowing that there are no extra connectors, as a rule, it is unrealistic.

Judging by these parameters, we can say that the minimum set is 3x USB, a connector for a desktop monitor, audio input / output. We also need wireless technologies that can be selected taking into account all the characteristics.

When purchasing a video card on a laptop, you must also consider that most modern models support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

All the nuances of the characteristics can be clarified when choosing and purchasing a product, which will ensure a satisfactory use of the purchase.

Classification of devices by purpose

When purchasing a used or newer laptop, it is best to resort to the following product classification:

• stationary;
• game;
• multimedia;
• as a workstation.

However, buyers of the “former xiaomi laptop” or “budget laptop” variety, or something else, should understand that this categorization is rather arbitrary.

Mobile laptop - a reliable way to the Internet

When looking for a means to enter the virtual space according to its characteristics, the question of which brand of laptop to prefer and the need to solve a wide range of tasks are taken into account:

Selected Laptop Hp 250 g5, or cheap laptop Lenovo ideapad 110, Lenovo ideapad 110 15acl - among the numerous possibilities of a good choice for solving the above tasks.

When buying a model 13 of any brand, it makes no sense to attach great importance to the configuration, since the performance of any modern version is quite suitable for solving all the necessary tasks. By choosing device 13, you can be sure, by default, that it will completely replace a model with a powerful processor, an impressive amount of RAM and a discrete card.

Devices with a diagonal characteristic of 13 are a modern development, equipped with all integrated tools for accessing the virtual. Using model 13 will allow you to enjoy Skype communication. You just need to think in advance about the webcam built into the device 13 and how to choose a video card.

The only significant note for a 13-inch laptop would be a recommendation about WiMAX networks. Regardless of the manufacturer's choice, many products come with an integrated WiMAX model along with the Wi-Fi wireless module to provide wireless Internet access. For a reputable manufacturer, it is important to take care of several pitfalls.

In particular, laptops have such a disadvantage as the wide variability of the WiMAX standard. Regardless of whether a laptop or computer, netbook or laptop is purchased by the buyer, each integrated module is "sharpened" for a specific provider, and it will not work with another's network in any case.

Where is the best place to buy?

Obviously, in the 21st century, various online stores of digital equipment provide a greater choice at lower prices. When choosing a laptop, we recommend paying attention to the following trusted well-known online stores from Yandex.Market:

As much as Steve Jobs would like it, we do not live in the post-computer era. Laptops are still an important part of our lives - so we can work at home, in a cafe, on an airplane, in a sauna, in steam. However, manufacturing companies are constantly increasing speed, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to understand all this variety of inches, cores, frequencies and kilograms. In this regard, the highly respected hipster publication The Verge has prepared a colorful guide for choosing the right laptop for you.

We present here the Russian adaptation of this material, which is also suitable for young Russian startups. Surely some of you will find the text to be the embodiment of obviousness, but do not rush to announce your superiority over those who do not understand hardware - it is better to share your wisdom in the comments, because we must have missed something interesting and important.

The “iron” sphere changes every month, and it is difficult to make any universal choice. This article will help you find the right laptop for you. Or, at least, you will know where to poke in the preferences settings on Yandex.Market and what is a GeForce or Core i5.

How to use this guide

You can constantly drive a Toyota or buy furniture from Ikea, but you can't buy a laptop based on a brand alone. The quality varies from model to model - it doesn't matter what logo is on the lid. It is also worth paying attention to the cost, because starting from a certain price category, the quality decreases very much.

For greater objectivity, we have identified several categories of users, where you can trace some gradation - from those who only surf and read mail, to those who want to run "Crisis" at maximum speed. Instead of scrolling down and looking for yourself, try to read the whole thing - this will help you structure your knowledge about the world of laptops and understand that there is something else besides a powerful graphics card in a gaming laptop.

The conversation will mostly be about hardware, but you will have to choose an operating system as well. If you are not a red-eyed Linuxoid, then there are few options - Windows or Mac OS X. And there is no wrong choice here - Windows is well configured, Mac OS X looks nice, both have a lot of useful applications and drivers. Users from almost all of our categories can afford a Macbook, and a PC is definitely for everyone. So it's very convenient to start with the choice of OS, but this is more a matter of religious preference - in any case, you can't go wrong.

So, it is very important to understand what type of user you are.

1. I want to be a startup

Look at any laptop in the store - does it look like a quality product or like a piece of junk?

If you browse pages, write letters, sometimes fill in cells in Excel spreadsheets, then even the minimum equipment will serve you for several years. However, there are a few important things to focus on.

The trick is to find a laptop that isn't expensive, but isn't cheap either. It is very easy to separate the wheat from the chaff. Look at any laptop in the store - does it look like a quality product or like a piece of junk? Will you be able to use this keyboard and touchpad for two or three years? Material and details are less important here than build quality and design - the outside points to the inside, that is, if the manufacturer hacks from the outside, then he does it everywhere.

Intel Atom processors help cut power consumption and improve battery life on devices like the HP Envy X2. But even despite the well-known brand, these processors are not as powerful as we would like - and if you do not particularly need performance, then consider purchasing a tablet.

As for the more powerful Intel Core line, look for the letters Y and U at the end of the chip model number. These series allow you to increase performance in jerks, due to which the system heats up much less, which is very good for those laptops that are too thin for the built-in cooler. Of course, you have to sacrifice speed, but the Haswell series is on the way, which, moreover, involves a serious increase in battery life from a single charge.

Manufacturers always list the maximum possible battery life, but always count on at least 70% of what is claimed, or even less. This doesn't always work - for example, the new Macbook Air is capable of running even longer than the advertised 12 hours.

Many thin and light laptops like the Toshiba Kirabook (marketers coined the term “ultrabook”, but don’t bother yourself with all sorts of one-day neologisms) replace the usual hard drive with an SSD, which works noticeably faster, and is also assembled monolithically, that is, it is not afraid of shaking and falling . Flash memory is still quite expensive, so for the sake of speed, you will have to sacrifice volumes. But the difference is obvious - laptops with SSD start up and work much faster. In some laptops, SSD and HDD are combined - files are stored on the hard drive, and the flash drive is used as a kind of cache. In any case, you can always buy an external HDD and store "heavy" files there.

The keyboard backlight is not available on all models, but it will definitely be a serious trump card, especially if you have to work on a night plane or an evening park - who knows where your travels will take you. Since we are choosing a compact laptop here, the screen will be clearly less than 17 inches - it would be logical to look for a laptop with a video output for connecting an external monitor. An HDMI port would be a good option for Windows laptops, but Macbook owners have had the dubious pleasure of looking for accessories for a Thunderbolt/Mini DisplayPort port. Look for as versatile options as possible - when a manufacturer clings to its own standard, cables and adapters are unreasonably expensive.

Some laptop models have a mobile communication chip, but this is a rare and expensive thing. It's always easier to find a Wi-Fi point somewhere or stick to your phone as a modem, or even buy a 3G whistle.

3. I want to watch movies

Sometimes a laptop is more than just a laptop. It can serve as a digital entertainment center by combining TV, music center and media player

Sometimes a laptop is more than just a laptop. It can serve as a digital entertainment center by combining TV, music center and media player. A high resolution screen is definitely needed in this case, but not all 1080p displays are the same. Brightness is good, but try looking from different angles; check for image distortion or color inversion.
Make sure the display is bright enough to ignore the light from the lamps; soft enough not to destroy your eyes at night; that black and white don't look like yellow and grey. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find a laptop that honestly displays black - and that's all you need for a good movie night. Glossy or matte screen is a matter of personal preference, glossy looks cooler, but matte will work better outdoors.

Of course, even the best laptop will sound worse than average external speakers, but some laptops definitely sound better than others. The best way to test this is to crank it up to full volume and then play a fast-paced movie trailer and a few songs from various genres. High frequencies will often give off metallic notes, and weak bass will make a stormy movie scene insipid. The built-in subwoofer is usually fine, but don't be fooled by meaningless branding: a Beats Audio sticker is by no means guaranteed to sound amazing. As a rule, the best speakers are located along or on top of the sides of the laptop and are directed towards the user.

Music collections and video collections are not getting smaller, so look for more space - 1 terabyte should be enough for a while.

In this category, you don't need to chase incredible battery life, but you should make sure that the battery does not die right in the middle of a movie that you are about to watch while sitting on the couch. In general, you will come across laptops with a run time of 3-5 hours, cool screens and speakers always take a lot of energy. There are exceptions, but they are few.

4. I want to make movies and music

Find a laptop with at least four cores

If you are seriously involved in video editing or working with sound, then you should pay attention to the speed of the processor and RAM. Find a laptop with at least four cores - for example, an Intel Core processor labeled QM (quad-core), not U (ultra-low voltage) or M (mobile). You'll want at least 8GB of RAM, and 16GB or 32GB will reduce rendering time and allow you to run Photoshop, Premiere, and GarageBand at the same time without much delay.

It lies in the list of tasks that will have to be solved on it. For modest office documents, a netbook will be enough, which will cope with such tasks with a bang. More serious requirements are put forward to multimedia systems where it is planned to listen to music and watch movies. If you need a mobile gaming PC or such a device should be many times better. Therefore, first of all, you need to decide what you need a laptop for, what you will do on it. It is the answers to these questions that determine both the technical characteristics and the final cost of the device.

Appearance

Let's start answering the question of how to choose the right laptop, with the simplest - appearance. The case must be matte. Due to this, the initial one is much longer preserved, it is more resistant to dirt, scratches on it are almost invisible (which cannot be said about the glossy finish). Although quite rare, there are still such mobile PCs with a cropped keyboard. It's also better not to buy them. Working on it is not very convenient, and the technical specifications leave much to be desired. That is, it is necessary to have an extended keyboard, which has a numeric block on the right. The last factor to look at is the location of the touchpad. You will often have to work on it. Therefore, it should be in the most convenient place for you.

Screen

The larger the screen size, the more comfortable it is to work. But at the same time, the operating time from the built-in battery is reduced. The minimum diagonal recommended by experts today is 14.1 inches. If more is better. The second important factor that also plays an important role in how to choose the right laptop is its resolution. The bigger, the better. For text, 1024 x 768 will be enough. But for games or graphics packages, there should be at least 1920 x 1080, that is, HD quality. The last point worth paying attention to is the type of matrix installed. The most common are TN (obsolete) and IPS (this solution is more preferable).

Filling

It is necessary to choose based on the future tasks that will be solved on this computing device. For example, let's find out how to choose a laptop for study. For text, spreadsheets, basic programming, a low performance processor with integrated graphics will suffice. It can be either from Intel - Celeron (or Pentium) or from AMD - A series CPU. It should have at least 4 GB of RAM and one 320 GB hard drive. But if more serious tasks are to be solved, for example, 3D modeling, then you simply cannot do without a Core i5 and an external video card of the GeForse 650 or Radeon 7790 series. At the same time, there should be at least 8 GB of RAM, and there should be two drives - an SSD for the system and an HDD for user data. The size of the first must be at least 128 GB, and the second - from 320 GB.

Battery

Battery capacity affects only 2 points: the battery life and the weight of the mobile computer. The larger the first parameter, the heavier the battery, the greater the weight of the PC. The minimum time without recharging today should be 4 hours. The best laptops in this regard provide up to 12 hours of autonomy.

Manufacturers

Now let's figure out which brand to choose, that is, which brand. The largest number of mobile PCs are sold under the Lenovo brand. But quantity does not mean quality. It is better to overpay and buy a device of those brands that have managed to prove themselves in this market segment: HP, Asus and Samsung. Acer, Dell and LG have slightly worse quality. But still, these are devices with a sufficient level of quality. And it is their products that are best to pay attention to at the stage of choosing a laptop.

findings

Within the framework of this article, basic recommendations were given on how to choose the right laptop. First of all, you need to decide on the range of tasks to be solved, and only then pay attention to the price and technical characteristics. After all, the last two factors directly depend on the first, and this should always be taken into account during the choice.