By Suzana Replacing Your Laptop: A Buyer’s Checklist
1. Budget. For most people, price plays one of the most important roles in deciding which laptop is right for them. How much money you are willing or able to spend on your purchase can affect many of the other factors, such as which brand you ultimately choose and what special features come with your computer. Nowadays, there are a lot of companies that sell Acer laptop computers for discount and wholesale prices. The best place to find retailers that sell Acer laptop models cheaply is on the Internet. In addition to online stores that sell Acer laptop computers, you can also go to websites like eBay and Craigslist, where private sellers sell Acer laptop computers that they own, often for low or negotiable prices.
2. Personal needs. There are some basic things that pretty much everyone needs to be able to do with their laptop, such as surf the Web, check their email, and do basic word processing. From there, though, what people use their personal computers for tends to vary a lot depending on differences in lifestyle and personal preferences. Someone who wants to play a lot of video games, for example, may need a different model than someone who wants to use their computer for graphic design.
3. Size. No matter what they say, when it comes to choosing a laptop, size does matter. Just how big or small your laptop is will affect what you can do with it and where you can take it. Bigger versions will be heavier and may restrict your mobility. But if you are going to be watching a lot of movies on your laptop, then having a bigger screen can be a huge asset (no pun intended).
4. Brand. Some people do not care at all who made their computer, as long as it gets the job done. For other people, though, brand is very important. Regardless of whether you care about brand or not, it might be a good idea to check and see what different manufacturers’ strengths and weaknesses are.
5. Processor. The processor you choose will affect the overall speed of your laptop. Currently, there basically two different types of processors to choose from. These are Intel and AMD. Intel is generally considered to be the better of the two, which means it is also the more expensive option. In addition to processor type, you will also need to think about raw speed, which tends to be measured in Gigahertz (GHz). The more GHz you have, the faster you computer will be.
6. Memory space. How much room there is on your hard drive to store data will also affect how fast your computer is. Measured in Magabytes (MB) and Gigabytes (GB), if you do not have enough memory space, your computer’s speed can suffer greatly. As a rule of thumb, it is suggested that you choose a computer that has at least 1 GB of memory space, which is equal to 1000 MB.
7. Hard drive. Considered the slowest part of your computer, this is your laptop’s primary storage device and also effects speed.
8. CD writer and DVD reader. These are pretty standard laptop components nowadays, and it is a good idea to choose a model that includes them in order to back up your data and watch movies.
9. Warranty length and coverage. Check on this with whoever is going to sell the Acer laptop to you.
10. Connection ports. Depending on your specific needs, you will want to make sure that the laptop that you purchase comes with a USB port, as well as a place to plug in extra devices like printers, mouses, and digital cameras.
