Buzz
When buying a laptop, it's not just about the product line; you also need to consider the configuration options within that line. Nowadays, most laptops offer a variety of configuration choices, allowing users to select the processor, RAM, storage, screen, or battery capacity.
1. Expert Tips for Selecting Laptop Configurations Before Purchase
When purchasing a laptop, it's essential to consider not only the product line but also the available configuration options within that line. Nowadays, most laptops provide a wide range of configuration choices, enabling users to choose the processor, RAM, storage, screen, or battery capacity.
Some manufacturers like Lenovo even allow you to customize the configuration when buying a laptop directly on the company's website. However, most manufacturers simply offer preset configuration options for a product line. In this case, you need to decide which upgrades are worth investing in to meet your needs while still saving money on unnecessary features.
Below are some tips for you to consider when selecting the configuration for a laptop.
Processor: Consider Investing More for Core i5
Most mainstream laptops nowadays use Intel Core processors including Core i3, i5, or i7, while budget models may use AMD chips or Intel Pentium, Celeron, and Atom. Typically, upgrading from Core i3 to Core i5 laptops will cost about $100 to $200 more if upgrading from Core i5 to Core i7. If you want fairly strong performance that lasts for several years, it's worth investing a bit more for Core i5. However, if your needs are only for web browsing and email, a Core i3 laptop may suffice. Moving up to Core i5 will offer a slight speed boost, but the performance improvement may not be worth it if your needs are simple.
Storage: HDD Cheap, SSD Expensive but Worthwhile
Upgrading from a small traditional hard drive (HDD) to a larger one nowadays is quite cheap. For example, you'll only spend about $20 more to upgrade an HP 15t Touch laptop from a 750GB HDD to 1TB. Switching from a 5,400 rpm HDD to a 7,200 rpm one is also not expensive. If you can't afford an SSD, upgrading the speed of the HDD is a worthwhile improvement. Toshiba charges only about $10 to upgrade the Tecra A500 laptop from a 500GB 5,400 rpm HDD to a similar-capacity but faster 7,200 rpm HDD.
However, if you have the capability, investing in an SSD instead of an HDD is the best thing you can do to improve overall laptop performance. Because SSDs have no moving parts like HDDs, everything from booting to switching applications or opening new ones and saving files is faster, usually about 300% faster than HDDs. However, SSD costs are also higher.
According to the configuration choices of laptop manufacturers, the cost of switching from an HDD to a 128GB SSD usually requires an additional $100, and upgrading from a 128GB SSD to a 256GB SSD will increase by about $140. However, SSD prices as part of configuration upgrades from manufacturers are often much higher than retail prices on the market. In the retail market, a 256GB SSD costs only about $150, while a 128GB one costs about $100. However, you should note that many laptops are difficult to replace the hard drive, and doing so will void the warranty.
If you're looking to save costs, consider getting a 128GB SSD laptop and then make it a habit to regularly back up data to a standard hard drive or migrate it to cloud storage services. Generally, upgrading from a 128GB SSD to a 256GB one for around or below 2 million dong is truly a worthwhile investment.
RAM: Don't Go Over 8GB for Regular Users
The more programs or browser tabs you have open simultaneously, the more RAM your laptop needs. Large programs like photo and video editing software also consume a lot of RAM. Nowadays, 8GB RAM laptops can be considered optimal and powerful enough for regular users, while 4GB is the minimum to ensure performance for the majority of users. Only budget laptops come with less than 4GB of RAM.
According to manufacturer configuration choices, upgrading an additional 2GB of RAM costs around $40. Like SSDs, RAM is a component with a significantly higher upgrade price from manufacturers' configurations compared to retail prices outside the market. Outside the market, 4GB RAM costs only about $20. If you need to use multiple programs simultaneously or run heavy applications, you should consider upgrading RAM from 4GB to 8GB, with an additional cost of around or below $50. Of course, graphics experts will have different RAM needs.
Display: Consider Investing More for Full-HD, Forget About Touch Screen
You'll notice a significant difference in image quality when upgrading from a low-resolution screen (1366 x 768 pixels or 1600 x 900 pixels) to Full-HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels). The price difference between a low-resolution screen and Full-HD is only about $100, but the improvement in image quality will be very noticeable.
Some high-end laptops offer higher resolutions beyond Full-HD such as 2K (2560 x 1440 pixels), 3K (2880 x 1620 pixels), or 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels). You may not need resolutions higher than Full-HD for office applications, but you'll notice sharper images and videos on 2K or 3K displays. Or if you're into graphics or play a lot of high-end games, it's worth investing in a higher resolution.
Some laptops also offer different color and brightness options. You'll get wider viewing angles and impressive images by investing an extra $100 for IPS displays or super-bright screens.
However, it's not worth paying extra for touch functionality on laptops that can't convert to tablets. Touchscreens don't offer much improvement in real-world experience while reducing battery life.
Gamers should definitely invest in Nvidia's G-SYNC technology to minimize screen tearing, ghosting, and stuttering while gaming. Laptops in the Asus ROG G751 series cost over $100 more if they feature this technology.
Wi-Fi: Choose 802.11ac Standard, Intel Chip
This is a relatively inexpensive upgrade but can make a big difference in computer experience. If you need to choose a Wi-Fi card, upgrading to a better card for around $30 is advisable. For example, Lenovo charges about $20 to switch from an 802.11n card to an 802.11ac card (Intel 7265), which is compatible with faster networks and promises improved connectivity efficiency.
Unless you're buying a gaming laptop with advanced connections, you should opt for Intel's Wi-Fi card because they offer strong performance, good driver support, and WiDi technology for streaming content from your laptop to your TV, which is very useful for presentations.
Battery: Affordable yet Valuable
Not many laptops offer different battery capacity options, but if they do, the extra cost for a larger battery is worth it as the improvement is significant. For example, Dell charges $20 to upgrade the Latitude 15 5000 from a 3-cell to a 4-cell battery, which improves battery life by about 30%. Lenovo charges only $5 to switch from a 3-cell, 23.2 Wh battery to a 6-cell, 72 Wh battery, which triples the battery life. Larger batteries may increase the weight of the laptop and may make the body thicker at the bottom or sides, but being able to use the laptop all day without needing to plug it in is a big difference.
Consider Business Laptops
If you want more configuration options, consider buying a business laptop instead of a regular consumer laptop. Except for Dell, which offers many configurations for consumer models, most manufacturers provide very few configuration options for consumer laptops. However, it's different for business laptops; almost all brands offer many configuration options for each product line, allowing you to choose key components like CPU and display. Additionally, business laptops often have better customer support.
Conclusion
By customizing your laptop with components that suit your needs or choosing pre-configured specifications that fit, you can have the performance and flexibility you need without paying extra for features you don't use.
