Shopping for a new computer and not sure where to start? There are tons of options and features on the market to consider before making a purchase. Do you want a laptop or desktop? What about touchscreen features?
And besides style features, there’s a whole other world of tech specs to cover— like storage, processing power, and clock speeds. If you’re already struggling to keep up, you’re not alone— and we’re here to help! We’ve got some tips to help you find a new computer that fits into your lifestyle perfectly.
Desktop or laptop?
Step one—desktop or laptop? This question may sound simple and you probably have an idea of what you’re leaning toward, but this should always be your first thought when buying a new computer. Desktops typically have more processing power than laptops and are most convenient for office spaces. But a simple search of the best rated laptops, and you may find one with the desktop level processing power you need.
Perhaps you’re a creative professional that needs an oversized display for your office to capture your greatest creations, but you’re thinking about going with a laptop to save on desk real estate. Get the grand desktop display you need and maximize your desk space by getting a desk extension.
And if you’re a professional that’s always on-the-go, nothing beats a portable laptop that allows you to work from anywhere. Just be sure to get a Private WiFi connection before you get to work at the airport or coffee shop abroad.
Another solution to the smaller laptop display is investing in a display monitor to cast your laptop screen onto the connected display monitor to increase productivity or expand your view for intense gaming sessions.
1. Use: Processing speed and power
When purchasing a new computer, your usage is one of the most important things to think about. The features you need will greatly depend on how you plan to use your computer. Are you constantly playing complex video games? Or are you more of a casual user— streaming and browsing the internet? These are questions you should ask yourself before purchasing a new computer.
If you’re going to be running intense programs like Adobe or multitasking for work a lot, you may want to get a computer with a multi-core processor to handle your many tasks with ease and efficiency.
2. Storage
Storage is another consideration you’ll want to think about when investing in a new computer. Having adequate storage space can help you avoid headaches and annoying notifications telling you to free up storage. But, if you don’t need to save all of your files to your local drive, but still need a robust storage solution, check out your cloud-based storage options. So you can access your files from anywhere and save up space on your local drive.
You can also easily compress your files to help you save on storage space when you download or send files outside of your network. Even if you opt for a computer that has limited storage availability, there are still plenty of options to make the computer you desire work for you!
3. RAM
Your hard drive will be responsible for storage and your CPU will handle processing, but there is one extra factor to consider: RAM. You can have the best processing power in the world but if it can only handle one task at a time, that’s next to useless.
RAM helps your computer handle multiple tasks at once and ensures that neither your processor nor hard drive is taking too much strain at any time. RAM has come a long way and most computers offer more than enough to run common programs and apps, but if you’re doing anything complex, you’ll need some additional RAM to ensure everything is running smoothly.
4. Extra features
Depending on how you plan to use your computer, you may want to check out the special features different models have to offer. From special ports that allow you to seamlessly connect your computer to an external display to touchscreen features that allow you to design at your fingertips, there are tons of unique features to choose from.
5. Read reviews
One of the best ways to get a sense of what kind of computer you want to purchase is by reading other customer reviews. Look through tips from other customers to see how the computer you’re interested performs when it’s out of the box.
Look for keywords like “fast,” “slow,” “storage,” “best,” and “worst” to make sure you’re reading reviews from every perspective. You can even filter your reviews to go from low ratings to high ratings so that you can see what the best and worst features are about a specific model before you purchase.
The Final Words (Conclusion)
Buying a computer is a substantial investment— so finding one that fits perfectly into your lifestyle is actually priceless. Everyone is different, so the most important thing to remember is to consider your use when buying a new computer.
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