Buzz
Before you make a decision to buy a laptop, be sure to check some key factors
1. Important considerations when selecting a Laptop
Touchpad
Touchpad is the most utilized part of a laptop. A good touchpad significantly influences user decisions, hence laptop manufacturers prioritize this aspect. With the evolution of Windows 8, the significance of touchpad has increased even more.
Test the touchpad by opening an image in the Photos folder and performing various actions: pinch-to-zoom, two-finger rotate, three-finger flicking (if supported). You can also check the touchpad manufacturer and supported actions in Control Panel -> Mouse. Lastly, if the mouse buttons are integrated into the touchpad, ensure they are easy to press and distinguish between left and right clicks.
Keyboard
Open Notepad and type a few sentences to check if the keys are loose, placed too closely together, too small, or if they cause you to make mistakes frequently. If the answer is “yes,” consider finding a different laptop. Also, pay attention to key travel, especially on ultrabooks, as some manufacturers may have shallow key travel to achieve a thinner device. It’s a plus if the computer has direct shortcut keys for volume, screen brightness, etc., instead of having to press the Fn key first.
Webcam
Open the Start Menu and search for the webcam software of the laptop. Check your face under the store’s lighting to see if the image will be clear during your Skype chats and explore some features provided by the software. For example, Dell’s Webcam app allows you to add some humorous avatars to your face.
Display
Open a web browser and try playing a YouTube video. If there’s no Internet connection, directly access the Video folder where there are a few sample clips from Microsoft. While playing the video, tilt the screen forward and backward, change your viewing angle to see if the colors are vibrant and if the viewing angle is wide enough. Compare with some other devices before making a purchase.
Speaker Issues
Try playing one or two songs from the Music folder and adjust the volume to the maximum or near maximum to check if the sound remains clear or becomes distorted. Additionally, check the Start menu as well as Control Panel to see if there are any utilities such as Dolby Digital or Beats Audio for sound tuning.
If the speakers are placed at the bottom of the laptop, placing the device on your lap may cause the sound to become muffled.
Hard Drive Analysis
Capacity is not the most important factor with SSDs; the manufacturer and model of the hard drive are significant determinants of performance. Open Control Panel, select Device Manager, and choose “Disk Drives” to view the manufacturer and model code of the hard drive, then use Google to determine if it is a good model.
