subject: How to pick the Laptop for you [print this page] When you are in the market for a new laptop, you might find it confusing to distinguish between all the bells and whistles that are offered. Knowing how you will be using your laptop will go a long way in helping you choose one that is right for you. You don't have to be an expert at external hard drives to decide which laptop to buy. All you have to know is what you will be doing with it once it's bought.
If you are a student who is mainly going to be using your computer for school, you will need to make sure that the laptop you buy comes with a word processing program that you can use to create reports and papers for class. You will also need to take size into account when you are making your choice. Students often opt for a smaller sized laptop so that it will be light and easy to carry around campus.
Using a laptop for school purposes should require a laptop that has a hard drive of around 160GB. This should be plenty of room to store anything that you need for school. However, if you are a student who is really into music and you are planning to keep a lot of music on your hard drive, then it might be best to purchase an external hard drive, along with your laptop, so that you will have plenty of space for your music files.
If you are a photographer or videographer who will be using your laptop for work, you will have different specifications that your laptop should meet. You will need a laptop with a powerful processor and a large hard drive of at least 320GB. All laptops that you consider should have very high quality graphics cards and monitors. Consider an HP monitor for the very best in graphics viewing.
Business travelers have an entirely different list of what they might need in a laptop. Durability is the key for those who are on the road for work. If you travel frequently for business, you will need a laptop that is sturdy and very safe. Motherboards should be fully protected and the laptop should have plenty of security built into the system.
If you are the typical laptop buyer who will simply be using your laptop for home use, you can look for a laptop that has a wide, easy to view screen. Depending on your needs, you should go with a laptop that has around a 250GB hard drive. This should give you plenty of room to download music or movies and still have room for photos or anything else that you need.
By knowing how you will use your laptop, you can easily determine which features you really need and which ones are only extras. By taking your time and doing a little bit of research, you should be able to find a laptop that will meet all of your needs and your budget, as well.
