Advice: What laptop should you get?
Computer expert Bobby Bennethum shares his tips on finding the best laptop for you.
In this day and age, everyone needs a laptop, even for school. I will show you in this article what laptop you need, yet not spend too much money.
The first thing you need to decide is what you plan to do with your computer. If you want to use it just for just watching YouTube, browsing the web, or writing papers in Google Docs, you can get a Chromebook.
If you want to use desktop applications like Microsoft Word to write papers, or iTunes to backup your iPhone, or even edit images in Adobe Photoshop, you want an Ultrabook running Windows.
They are typically fast and powerful computers. For added speed you might want an SSD (Solid State Drive) which is faster and stronger against drops vs the HDD (Hard Disk Drive) which is much cheaper for more storage, but is 30% slower than the SSD because it has a spinning disk like a DVD player. You also probably want a smaller screen, like 14″ or below, so it is easier to carry with you.
Now if you want a laptop that you can play games like GTA 5, Fallout 4, PUBG, Overwatch, Fortnight, and more, you want a gaming laptop running Windows 10. These laptops start at a much higher price, but can handle much more than a normal Windows PC because they have a graphics card.
These PCs tend to have a larger screen, like 15″, and 17″ screens. They also don’t have good battery life and are thicker and heavier.
Finally there is the budget laptops. These laptops are typically not very well built, with under-par screens. They are also typically slow (excluding Chromebooks) with HDDs and typically full of bloatware. Bloatware are extra programs that companies pay to put on your computer to get you to buy something. They also have do not much power, but are fine for small things like Microsoft Word and browsing the web. These are for people that don’t want to spend a fortune on a computer.
--By Bobby Bennethum, LS News reporter
