For since last two years I was in search of a perfect laptop and eventually ended up accumulating various suggestions from my friends. “i5 10th Generation is the best”, “11th Generation is latest and will give better performance”, “i3 or i5 doesn’t matter, what matters is the speed of the processor”. These statements and many more that I kept on gaining from here and there only increased my dilemma leading me towards a path of exploring the “Why’s” rather than blankly considering these statements as fact.
Here, I will take you through my journey of purchasing a perfect laptop which will start with my requirements and what I was looking for?
My expectations from this fruitful purchase!
Professionally I am a content writer and my hobby is playing games so I wanted a laptop that could satisfy these two poles apart purposes that too at a cost-effective rate. I know it was too much to ask and probably this is the reason why it took me so much time to make a decision.
Anyhow, I learned a lot about technology and the value of even the minutest of specifics that can make a vast difference to the efficiency of your gadget.
So, if you are a newbie exploring the possibilities of purchasing a good yet affordable laptop, then do read the below-mentioned points which I acquired over the time of thorough research, experience and maniacally going through a lot many reviews.
Some Significant Points to Ponder-
Metal body or plastic body?
Trust me, before I had no idea that even the body of the laptop can make a vast difference considering its durability in long term. Apparently, plastic body laptops have also got plastic hinges which are more susceptible to wear off or breaking, whereas, metal body laptops are more durable. This is what I have known from my personal experience as well as the dealer at the store told me, but one of my friends who is a tech geek himself said that this difference is not relevant. Well, do let me know in the comments if you have any experience related to this point.
Processor- i3, i5, i7, or i9?
With my dedicated research, I concluded that in the Indian laptop market the i3 laptops are in the range of 30k, i5 laptops are in the range of 40k to 50k, and the i7 laptops touch the bar of 60k to 70k. The prices further vary based on its generation and brand for e.g., the i5 10th generation will be no less than 50k but can reach 65k (especially if it is Dell or HP).
Should you blindly go for i5 just because it is in trend?
The answer is clear NO! and why? Because every processor has also got further diversions that determines its performance. To know what I mean refer to the graph below.
Are you confused if i3 will make any difference from i5 or i7?
If you are an avid computer user- playing a lot many games, using two or more software at once, and using your laptop for many hours straight, i3 will make you feel that the performance is slow. But if you are like me, a casual laptop user then i3 or i5 is not something to be all paranoid about (I was quite paranoid about it, but luckily, I had good guidance from my friend).
The thing is that i5 processor or even the i7 processor will definitely be more efficient but does it make i3 completely irrelevant? No! the dependency on processor strength largely depends on your requirement, for a person like me who is all day writing content the i7 processor is surely an overkill whereas an i3 is suitable and i5 might have been perfect.
Intel or AMD?
I had no idea about these two processor rivals before but it was quite significant that AMD laptops were cheaper than the Intel laptops (with all the same specifics). Now, why this variation? I was really confused! Then again… I went back in my cocoon thinking about this new piece of discovery and came out triumphant with more info about it. I came to know that AMD has got a strong foot in the world of graphic cards, whereas Intel is the king of the processor world. But as my tech geek friend predicted, AMD will soon take over the processor market as well, so let’s see what does the future hold.
9th Generation, 10th Generation, or 11th Generation?
The generation of the processor signifies the age of the CPU. The increasing generation will render more efficiency, will have a better clock frequency, and definitely will be faster. So, always go for a higher generation if you can.
Brands- Asus, Lenovo, HP, Dell, or Acer?
Asus- It was and is still known as the best in providing gaming laptop series. Earlier Asus was entirely into gaming laptops but then they started to provide office use laptops as well. Hence, the benefit here is that their processor functionality is good. Also, a lot of scope in color combinations and metal body.
Lenovo- It is one of the highly promoted brands in the market not by the users but by the sellers. The store from where I got my laptop, the sellers were hell-bent to make me purchase a Lenovo laptop but with a personal bad experience and similar experiences with my friends… I strictly avoided it.
HP- More durable and efficient but is expensive! Also, the appearance of the laptops is very basic but if you are more interested in the internal features rather than the outside appearance, then it is a good purchase.
Dell- Same as HP, expensive but reliable. The better side of Dell is that it has got some good choices in model design and color.
Acer- Acer, and Asus share a neck-to-neck position in the laptop market but Asus (I personally feel) is more reliable as compared to Acer.
What about the screen size?
Laptop screen sizes tend to range from 11inches to 17 inches. When I made my mind to purchase a laptop, I was very sure to purchase a 12inch screen or a maximum 14inch screen, but ended up getting a 15inch laptop! There is a reason behind this choice as well, and that was display quality! As I am also into gaming so even if I was looking for a 12inch laptop (due to portability reasons) I switched my mind to purchase a 15inch because- It is full HD, bigger screen better game view, and less stress on the eyes.
The specifics of my laptop (yes finally, which laptop did I choose?)
Sooooooooo, after a long time of research, analysis, bouts of anxiety, and unlimited stress of challenging every new information, I purchased ASUS VivoBook Ultra 15. Its features are-
Intel Core i3-1115G4 11th Gen 15.6-inch FHD (8GB/256GB NVMe SSD/Integrated Graphics/Windows 10/MS Office 2019/White/1.8 kg).
It has been one month using this laptop and things are great. I have played many games on it and its 1080P resolution is a plus point to it. Apart from this, it is packed with many other benefits such as-
· Full-size keyboard with separate number keys.
· 720P webcam, ideal for virtual meetings.
· Mine is a white color variant and the finishing is simply beautiful.
· Built quality is light and slim yet quite sturdy.
· 11th gen i3 processor is the best among i3 processors launched so far.
· It has got a backlit keyboard which helps me to write content even if the room is dark.
Do share your own personal experience and reviews of laptops from various brands in the comment section.