Which laptop is better to buy for work? How to choose a laptop for work - the main parameters for professional success

Choosing a good laptop can be very difficult. In the store, the buyer is faced with a huge number of manufacturers and a significant range of prices. Descriptions of laptop characteristics are sometimes simply discouraging. In this article, we will tell you how to choose the right laptop for your home, what you should pay attention to when purchasing, and answer frequently asked questions about laptops.

When choosing a laptop, a consumer is faced with a variety of processors, memory capacities, storage devices, screen resolutions, and a long list of ports and interfaces. And try to understand all these names: Pavilion, Inspiron, XPS, Latitude and others. In this regard, many people simply buy an inexpensive laptop, or one that looks good, or leave the store without a laptop and continue to work with a pencil, calculator and notepad. So, how to choose the right laptop for your home.

1. Determine how much you are willing to spend on a laptop

A fully functional laptop from a good manufacturer costs about 20,000 rubles. The computing power of such a computer will be enough for home and office, provided that you do not plan to run hardware-demanding games.

A cheap laptop can be bought for 10,000 rubles. This will be a small, low-power computer that is suitable for surfing the Internet and typing.

A good gaming laptop costs from 50,000 rubles. These computers are equipped with a powerful processor, a significant amount of RAM and a powerful graphics card.

Laptops from Apple are somewhat more expensive than similar computers from other manufacturers. The high price isn't just due to the greed of Apple's marketers. Apple laptops are reliable, convenient, and sell well. One of the disadvantages of the MacBook is the relatively small amount of software.

2. Determine how important laptop mobility is to you

The mobility of a laptop depends on its weight and dimensions. If you plan to often take your laptop on the road, then pay attention to light, thin laptops with a 13-inch display. The battery life of your laptop will also be important to you.

For frequent business trips, a MacBook Pro or one of the thinnest laptops is well suited - its thickness is 10 millimeters. However, these super-thin systems do not last very long on battery power, and it is difficult to fit a battery with good capacity into such a device.

3. Choose a design

In this case, design means weight, thickness, display size, keyboard and touchpad features. Particular attention should be paid to the keyboard. It should be comfortable, especially if you type a lot.

This also includes the appearance of the laptop, the material from which the case is made, the thickness of the display edges and many other features of the device.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Windows or Mac OS?

The Windows operating system is installed on the vast majority of computers. It is reliable, convenient and there is a huge selection of programs for it. The stores have a huge variety of laptops with Windows OS, for every taste and color. There are laptops with Windows for 8,000 and there are for 150,000 rubles. Windows is suitable for those who like to delve into the settings and clean the registry. In addition, this operating system can work perfectly with a touch screen and is installed on 2-in-1 laptops. There is an opinion that Windows is much easier for beginners.

Mac OS is very similar to Windows. It is no less reliable and convenient. The disadvantages include the initially high price of Apple computers and a smaller number of programs. Macintosh computers are bought for their good design, high build quality and performance. In addition, Mac OS is considered a more secure operating system, with it you are much less likely to pick up a virus from a USB drive.

What about Chrome OS?

Not long ago, laptops running Chrome OS were limited, cheap computers that required an Internet connection to function. All work on such a computer took place online, in web applications. All data is also stored online in the Google cloud.

Third and even fourth generation Chromebooks have appeared on the market. Their functionality has been significantly expanded. However, most of the work on these computers still happens on the Internet. Chromebooks are completely unsuitable for working with graphics and other hardware-intensive applications.

What ports will be needed?

You will need a standard USB anyway. Without USB, you can’t look at a flash drive or charge your phone. Many modern laptops come with the new USB-C port, which is smaller, faster, and more convenient than regular USB.

If you plan to connect your laptop to a TV or second monitor, then you will need an HDMI port. Fewer and fewer laptops are equipped with an Ethernet network port and an SD card slot. Ethernet is being replaced by Wi-Fi, and you can buy a card reader to read SD cards.

How much hard drive space is needed?

Classic hard drives (HDD) can be a terabyte or even two. They are being replaced by SSD drives, they have no moving parts and work faster. Their volume is 128 and 256 gigabytes. SSD drives with a capacity of 512 gigabytes are much more expensive. You will need a large disk if you plan to store a lot of photos, movies and music on your laptop. For computer games, it is also advisable to have more disk space (500 gigabytes minimum).

Chromebook storage is often limited to 16-32 gigabytes. The user stores all data on the Internet, in cloud storage on Google servers.

Do I need a video card, optical drive, or touch display?

A powerful graphics card from Nvidia or AMD is essential if you're a serious PC gaming enthusiast or plan to edit 4K video. A standard graphics card handles 4K video playback well.

You may need a DVD optical drive if you have a large collection of movies and music on discs. Most users prefer to watch and listen online; programs are also downloaded from the Internet. Therefore, not all laptops are equipped with DVD drives. If the laptop you chose does not have a DVD, but you really need a DVD, you can buy it separately and connect it to USB.

The touch display allows you to manipulate objects directly on the screen, just like on a tablet. Laptops with touch displays are more expensive, but if you don't like using a touchpad, then a touch display is your option. The Windows 10 operating system works great with touch displays.

Do I need to buy the newest model?

It is best to purchase a laptop depending on what tasks you plan to perform with its help: for computer games and working with graphics programs you will need a powerful device; for surfing the Internet, as well as for text documentation, you can take a cheaper machine. The cooling system plays a very important role in laptops; you should definitely pay attention to it when choosing. If it is weak, the equipment will quickly overheat or fail altogether. Battery capacity is another important factor that will have to be taken into account. It is advisable to purchase a laptop with a battery that can work in autonomous mode for about 6-7 hours.

In the ranking of the best laptops, we tried to combine both expensive and relatively cheap models that have an excellent price-quality ratio. The top 10 includes the best devices designed for both work and entertainment. In the process of compiling the rating, we relied heavily on the opinions of customers.

This is a transforming model - its thickness is 14 mm and its weight is about one and a half kilograms. The device has good performance. The device has 16 GB DDR3 RAM, the motherboard contains an Intel Core i7 processor with a clock frequency of 2.7 GHz, and the internal hard drive has a capacity of 512 GB. The battery is quite powerful; when fully charged, it can work in autonomous mode for about 4-5 hours.

There is nothing superfluous in the device - only everything you need: one USB 3.0 port, providing high-speed data transfer from external media. This is not very convenient, since if you need to connect several external devices at once, you will have to additionally purchase an adapter. There is no port for an HDMI cable and a slot for SD memory cards; there is a socket for an Ethernet connection. It works quietly and practically does not heat up, although this device is very fast, it is not possible to increase the processor temperature even when using powerful games. The monitor is touch-sensitive and has high definition.

Advantages:

• Light weight;
• High performance;
• Fast battery charge.

Flaws:

• High cost;
• Thick bottom frame;
• Insufficient number of ports for connection.

The device has a streamlined aluminum body with no backlash. The housing will not loosen or creak over time. The screen diagonal is 15.6 inches, it is touchscreen with a resolution of over 1080 pixels. The display is connected to the main unit and keyboard using one hinge. The weight is not too large - a little more than 2 kg, with dimensions of 355.6 * 256.54 * 20.32 mm this is quite acceptable. On the sides of the main unit there is a significant number of connectors - a socket for the power cord, a port for HDMI, Ethernet, USB 3.0 and an audio output, there are also two USB 2.0 ports and a slot for a memory card. In addition, there is an original latch that functions as a security lock.

The laptop has an integrated video card of the latest model, which allows you to simultaneously work with several graphic resources at once. The standard package, like all other best laptops of 2018, comes with a webcam with a resolution of 480 pixels. It’s not suitable for shooting videos, but it’s quite enough for chatting on Skype. The battery is not very reliable - even a new one, when fully charged, will last no more than 5.5 hours, and only if not all of the device’s resources are used.

Advantages:

• Beautiful appearance;
• Good multitasking;
• High performance;
• Reliability.

Flaws:

• The keyboard is small and sometimes creates inconvenience;
• Battery life leaves much to be desired;
• The sensor is not very sensitive.

This is a fairly well-known premium model, characterized by its compact size and the latest display technology. The laptop is very interesting not only for fans of computer games, but also for photo or video processors, especially since the display allows you to fully cover the Adobe RGB color space. The appearance of the device is strict, the body is made of an alloy of magnesium and aluminum, and is quite durable. The thickness is insignificant considering that the diagonal of the laptop is 15.6 inches. The display is touch-sensitive and is additionally protected from damage using a special protective glass, Gorilla Glass, coated with olephobic compounds that are highly resistant to various types of scratches.

The hinges of the laptop are quite tight and do not become loose during use, which prevents any backlash from occurring. There are no decorative elements, but there are rubberized legs, about 8 mm high. On the right side of the device there is a memory card port, a USB 3.0 slot and a security lock, while on the left side of the case there is another USB 3.0 connector, HDMI and several other outputs for peripheral devices. The buttons are backlit, which can be turned off if necessary, and make virtually no noise during operation.

The battery will last for about 7 hours when browsing the Internet and working with text documents, 2 hours while playing games and 12 hours without much load. The cooling system is powerful and reliably removes heat. It has two fans and several copper tubes. The latest generation processor is installed, there is a combination of two Pascal-GTX 1050 and HD Graphics 630 video cards. The RAM is 16 GB, if necessary, it can be expanded to 32 GB, and the operating speed is in no way inferior to models from Apple.

Advantages:

• Good performance;
• Ability to use several graphics programs at once;
• Convenient screen, resistant to damage;
• Small dimensions.

Flaws:

• Webcam location;
• There is no additional numeric keypad;
• The speakers start to hiss at maximum volume;
• The headphones do not fit into the jack too tightly, which is why the sound is completely lost;
• The speakers are located at the bottom.

It has a beautiful appearance, the display diagonal is 15.6 inches, the screen itself is matte. The case is made of reliable plastic with a matte finish; dust will not accumulate on it and fingerprints will not be visible. The keyboard is comfortable, backlit, the keys are a little hard. The screen has a resolution of 1920*1080 pixels – quite high for this budget model. The laptop has three USB connectors, one of which is with accelerated data transfer format 3.0.

RAM is not enough for graphics or games - only 4 GB, but it can be increased by installing additional dies. Internal memory – 1 TB. This is enough for documents and media files. The processor does not require a lot of current power: 15 W is enough for it to work, but its clock frequency is 2000 GHz.

Advantages:

• Excellent value for money;
• Good display resolution;
• Capacious hard drive;
• If necessary, you can upgrade the device - replace the hard drive, RAM, sound card, and so on.

Flaws:

• The plastic case becomes loose over time;
• Low battery capacity;
• There is a high probability of breaking the plastic hatch covering the RAM slots.

This is one of the best gaming laptops presented in the ranking. The basis here is a powerful quad-core Intel Core i7-7700H processor with a clock frequency of 2.8 GHz; when turbo mode is activated, this figure increases to 3.8 GHz. In addition, this processor has Turbo-Boost technology, providing 8 threads with 4 cores. The laptop has a powerful Intel HD Graphics 630 graphics card, and also has an integrated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card with 4 GB of memory.

RAM format DDR4 - its capacity is 8 GB, there is another slot for installing an additional module. The laptop supports a maximum of 32 GB of RAM. The hard drive is designed to store 1 TB of data. The case has all the necessary volumes for connecting various external devices. The battery is non-removable; a full charge will be enough for 4.5 hours of continuous operation with an average processor load. The cooling system is powerful - this is very important for a gaming laptop; it is possible to regulate the fan speed.

Advantages:

• High build quality;
• Performance;
• When a mouse is connected, the touchpad is automatically disabled;
• Doesn't overheat;
• It runs all modern games well at the highest levels.

Flaws:

• Low battery capacity - you have to constantly charge it or even work from the network.

It is one of the best models in the inexpensive price segment. It won't handle powerful games, but it's perfect for work. The body is made of metal, with small plastic inserts, which ensures high durability of the product. The hinges are not very tight, the laptop can be opened even with one hand. The weight is small - 2.2 kg with overall dimensions of 378 * 260 * 229 mm. The keyboard is full-size, has an additional block, is assembled very neatly, does not make any extraneous sounds, and is equipped with a switchable backlight.

The basis is a dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with a clock frequency of 2.25 GHz, in turbo mode it accelerates to 3.1 GHz. There is a GeForce 940 MX graphics card with 2 GB of memory, DDR3 RAM - quite suitable for not too demanding games, and shows its capabilities well in graphic editors. 1 TB hard drive. The device practically does not heat up and makes minimal noise during operation.

Advantages:

• Metal body;
• Insignificant mass;
• Solid State Hard Drive;
• Articulated stand.

Flaws:

• There is no protective glass for the display;
• Not every user will find the keyboard comfortable;
• The body has sharp corners.

Beautiful design, like any product from an American company, light weight - only 920 g, which is very small for a laptop. The buttons on the keyboard are located almost flush with the panel and have a decent area, which will be convenient for users with large hands. There is only one USB port, so you will have to additionally buy a special adapter. The body is made of thin aluminum, the display diagonal is 12 inches with a resolution of 2304*1440 pixels, and has an oleophobic coating that protects against damage and repels dirt.

The central element of the laptop is the Intel Core M-5Y70 processor, the hard drive is designed for 512 GB, RAM is 8 GB. When the equipment is fully loaded, the bottom becomes very hot, which is why you will have to purchase a ventilating stand. It charges quickly: when turned off - in an hour and a half, when turned on - about two hours. In offline mode it can work up to 10 hours with active use.

Advantages:

• Appearance;
• High build quality;
• Ease of use;
• Insignificant mass.

Flaws:

• Cost (like all Apple brand products);
• An operating system that is different from what most Windows users are used to.

This is one of the best universal laptops - it is perfect for both work and play, it has a low cost and an attractive design - the plastic cover has two raised lines and red reflective stripes that create an imitation of backlighting. There are all the necessary connectors for connecting peripheral devices.

The display has a diagonal of 15.6 inches with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. It has a wide viewing angle and a matte coating that prevents glare - it's enough for games and movies, but its capabilities are not enough for color correction. Processor 4-core Intel Core i7 with a clock frequency of 2.8 GHz, in turbo mode it accelerates to 3.8 GHz. There are several model options depending on the amount of RAM - 8, 12 or 16 GB. The maximum hard drive capacity is 256 GB, which is not too much for a gaming model.

Advantages:

• The price is quite reasonable for its characteristics;
• Supports all modern games;
• Attractive appearance;
• Reliable cooling system;
• Light weight.

Flaws:

• Low battery capacity;
• Small hard drive capacity;
• Weak microphone and quiet speakers.

Excellent performance, elegance, slim form, aluminum body - this is what characterizes this model, which took an honorable second place in the ranking of the best laptops for home and work. Weighs only one and a half kilograms, the display diagonal is 13.3 inches with a wide viewing angle. The device will cope perfectly with any task. It supports any application well, even those requiring a significant amount of resources. The device has a sixth-generation Intel Core processor, up to 16 GB of RAM, and an integrated Nvidia GeForce 940 MX graphics card.

There are all the necessary connectors for connecting peripherals. The display has excellent color reproduction: it is able to reproduce 72% of NTSC colors, fully supports SRGB and 74% of Adobe RGB, making the device perfect for working with any format of graphic editors. The viewing angle is almost 180 degrees, there is an Eye Care mode that reduces eye fatigue when working on a laptop for long periods of time.

Advantages:

• Small size and weight;
• There are additional slots for installing additional RAM;
• Discrete graphics;
• Good sound quality;
• Beautiful appearance.

Flaws:

• Small hard drive capacity;
• The touchpad does not turn off when a mouse is connected.

This is a recognized leader among the most powerful laptops sold at a fairly reasonable price. In terms of performance, it is practically in no way inferior to modern gaming-type personal computers. Display diagonal 15.6 inches with a resolution of 1920*1080 pixels, quad-core processor with eight threads.

Nvidia GeForcce GTX 1050 Ti video card model, 8 GB of RAM, expandable up to 16 GB. 1 TB SSHD format hard drive with operating speed of 6 Gbit/s. The battery is reliable - even at maximum load, the device will work for about 2.5 hours in autonomous mode.

Advantages:

• High-quality assembly, without backlash;
• Beautiful appearance;
• Good hardware, works stably even at maximum load.

Flaws:

• Apart from the high price, no.

Purchasing computer equipment on the domestic market causes not only a lot of positive emotions, but also a number of problems associated with choosing a worthy product from a huge range of goods. As practice shows, about 50% of users end up getting something completely different from what they originally wanted. Some are let down by the performance of a mobile device, while others are let down by ease of use or high cost.

In this article, the reader will learn how to choose an inexpensive but good laptop that can cope with all the tasks. Tips, recommendations, feedback and reviews of worthy products will help a potential buyer quickly navigate the computer market and avoid becoming a victim of scammers and unscrupulous sellers.

Physical dimensions come first

Before proceeding to the technical part of the question, the user needs to decide on the diagonal of the mobile device. The fact is that it is the size of the laptop that affects the final cost of the product. Before choosing an inexpensive but good laptop, read expert reviews. They will clarify this issue:

• devices with a diagonal of 8-11 inches are designed for entertainment on the Internet and are aimed at active people who always want to stay connected;
• a diagonal of 12-13 inches occupies the corporate segment (business, business trips, conferences, trainings);
• The niche of 14-16 inch devices is given to consumer laptops;
• For lovers of resource-intensive games, as well as for creative individuals, a specialized niche has been created, which includes laptops with a diagonal of 17-20 inches.

From simple to complex

The cheapest devices on the mobile market that have a physical keyboard are netbooks with a diagonal of 8-11 inches. When choosing, it is better to focus not on performance, but on battery life on a single battery charge. Ideally, such a device should work on a single charge for about 6-8 hours.

Those who are interested in how to choose a good inexpensive netbook can be advised to pay attention to the display of their mobile device. It must be of high quality (IPS matrix), have a high resolution (at least 1366x768 dpi) and have decent brightness. The bonus here is the presence of a sensor with multi-touch function. Netbooks from Asus Transformer, Acer One, Lenovo IdeaPad and HP Stream have performed well in the domestic market.

A real businessman

Before choosing an inexpensive but good laptop in the segment of 12-13 inch devices, you need to decide on the list of tasks that will be assigned to the mobile device. The recommendations of experts in this matter are quite clear - all requirements need to be divided into two components:

• work is the cheapest segment;
• entertainment is an expensive class.

Then everything is simple - having chosen the desired category, the buyer focuses on cost, appearance and ease of use. If the user wants to combine business with pleasure, then it is better to give preference to a more expensive device.

office kid

Focusing on the segment of mobile devices with a diagonal of 12-13 inches, many users do not know how to choose a good and inexpensive laptop for working with office applications. After all, for equipment in this category it’s difficult to call the price low (20-25 thousand rubles). If the user does not plan to play resource-intensive games, then it is better to focus on the amount of RAM that is used when working with programs. The second selection criterion is the processor. It is better to give preference to a device with two cores and an operating frequency of more than 2 GHz.

You should not overpay extra money for increased hard drive capacity and a discrete video adapter. All modern laptops have components installed that will not cause inconvenience to the owner during operation. In this segment, the following are considered worthy: HP ProBook 430, Acer Aspire V3 and Asus Zenbook.

Time killers

Many users are interested in how to choose a good one that can be used for work purposes. It is clear that a potential buyer wants to combine business with pleasure. Everything is simple here - you need to focus on the central processor and gaming video card. All other components (memory and hard drive) have already been selected by the manufacturer to increase the gaming power of the mobile device.

With processors everything is clear - it is better to give preference to products from the Intel Core i3/i5/i7 line, but with a video card you need to be extremely careful. It's better to focus on the gaming class. For Nvidia products, the second place in the label must be at least 4 (for example, GTX 960M). Worthy products in this segment include: Dell Alienware 13 and

Luxury device segment

Among users looking for information on how to choose an inexpensive but good laptop for gaming and work, there will certainly be fans of Apple products. On the mobile technology market, under the logo of this brand, there are devices for combining work and leisure, equipped with 11-13 inch screens. Although the manufacturer does not please potential buyers with a large assortment, there are no identical devices in the product line - finding the necessary gadget in terms of performance and price is quite simple.

In the inexpensive segment (from 80,000 rubles), you can take a closer look at MacBook and MacBook Air laptops, which can cope with any office tasks and multimedia work. But game lovers should give preference to MacBook Pro devices that are more advanced in terms of performance. Mobile technology of this class can handle any resource-intensive games, not to mention complex tasks created by the user.

Inexpensive solution for home

The cheapest laptops with a 14-inch form factor are in the price category up to 25,000 rubles. The purpose of such devices is to provide the user with access to the Internet and the ability to work with multimedia. And before choosing an inexpensive but good laptop for home in this segment, you should get used to the idea that a mobile device will not be capable of more. You don't need to expect any resource-intensive games, convenient transportation or long battery life.

As for advice, there is simply none here. The buyer must choose the cheapest laptop that he liked in the store window. The only advice that experts give to home users is that it is better to buy mobile equipment without a pre-installed operating system. In this case, the savings will be about 20-30% of the total cost of the laptop.

Top seller

Multimedia devices for work and having a great time with a diagonal of 14-15 inches occupy almost half of the market, and here the choice is made according to the specific needs of buyers. The user is naturally interested in the question of how to choose a good inexpensive laptop in this segment. There is a list of basic requirements for all laptops of this class, you should definitely familiarize yourself with them:

• low price;
• portability and autonomy;
• high performance;
• mobility, beauty and elegance.

And then the user will have to select the two most important criteria from the four provided by the experts. Once you select the right items, finding a decent laptop will not be a problem. What you shouldn't do is claim 3 or 4 points. The fact is that it is impossible to find a device with all the requests at the same time in this class of mobile equipment.

The most productive devices

Before looking for answers to the question “how to choose an inexpensive but good laptop for gaming,” it is worth deciding on the gaming applications themselves that the user plans to run on the mobile device. The fact is that a high-performance gadget, capable of handling resource-intensive applications at maximum settings, a priori cannot have a low cost.

You can play Dota 2 or drive a tank in World of Tanks on inexpensive devices with integrated video adapters or entry-level discrete solutions, but to run FarCry 4, FIFA 16 or Fallout 4 you will need a very powerful laptop equipped with a modern processor and a powerful video card.

Ready-made solutions for players

Game lovers, before choosing an inexpensive but good laptop, need to pay attention to the presence of a gaming video adapter. It is this device that determines the purpose of mobile technology on the market. AMD products must have the "R9" series, and Nvidia solutions are classified by the second digit in the label, which must be at least five.

The second criterion when choosing a gaming solution is the presence of a powerful central processor with 4 physical cores: Intel Core i5/i7 or AMD A4. Platforms of a lower class are not even worth looking at - they are not suitable for resource-intensive games.

As for the RAM and hard drive, it’s worth looking at finances; naturally, the larger the volume, the better for efficient work. In the gaming segment, laptops from Asus N752 and ROG series, Acer Aspire Nitro and Predator, and Dell Precision and Alienware have proven themselves well.

Computer for creativity

Many users, wondering how to choose a laptop that is inexpensive but good for gaming, find that in the expensive segment there are not gaming solutions at all. Having a diagonal of 17-20 inches and a high cost, mobile devices are not at all intended for games due to the lack of powerful discrete video adapters. But the amount of RAM is simply amazing (8-16 gigabytes). These devices are intended for designers, programmers, editors and other creative people.

The main criterion for such a device, in addition to RAM, remains a high-performance processor that can quickly perform complex calculations. Users should not forget about the quality of the liquid crystal display, which is capable of excellent color reproduction (IPS matrix).

Minimum RAM requirements

The weak link in all portable systems on the domestic market is the small amount of RAM, which many device manufacturers are trying to save on. Before choosing a good one, the user needs to know that for the full operation of one Windows operating system (8 or 10), 1.5-2 gigabytes of memory are needed. Accordingly, to run even office applications, the laptop must have 2 times more memory installed. For games, the multiplicity is four.

Don't forget about the possibility of increasing performance - the mobile device must have at least one slot for installing additional memory modules. By the way, the laptop motherboard must also support increasing the amount of RAM.

Constant in a laptop

When wondering how to choose an inexpensive but good laptop for work, many potential buyers discover rather strange tips and recommendations in the media regarding the purchase of a mobile device with a weak processor. In the future, the user is offered to use regular overclocking using special utilities.

In fact, this is stupidity - the laptop is simply not able to work continuously at maximum. The standard cooling system will fail at any time and the mobile device will burn out. Repair and restoration are not covered under warranty.

It is better to choose a processor that is as affordable as possible, even if it comes at the cost of RAM and hard drive capacity. In fact, this is the only component in the system that cannot be replaced or duplicated.

Increasing system performance

A potential buyer should not chase the speed of the hard drive, searching for an answer to the question of how to choose an inexpensive but good laptop. Expert reviews here boil down to one thing - the hard drive still needs to be changed after purchasing a mobile device to a solid-state SSD drive. Otherwise, you can forget about the high performance of the platform forever.

Alternatively, you can initially purchase a laptop with such a disk, but the inflated cost of such devices can scare even an experienced buyer. It is better not to trust mobile equipment manufacturers with such a question, but to take the process under your own control.

In pursuit of happiness

From year to year, more and more new gaming applications are released, which force users to purchase more powerful mobile devices in the computer market. Naturally, any buyer will ask the question: “How to choose an inexpensive but good laptop?” Asus (a Taiwanese manufacturer) approached this issue quite interestingly and offered owners of portable devices the XG Station gadget, which plays the role of an external video adapter. The problem with resource-intensive games can be easily resolved:

• purchase a laptop with a powerful processor and additional slots to expand the amount of RAM;
• You will need a monitor or LCD TV with an HDMI input;
• purchases an Asus XG Station gadget and a high-performance video adapter on the computer market.

Throwing away all fantasies

Having studied the tips, recommendations and reviews of owners of mobile equipment, experts came to disappointing conclusions - most users, before choosing an inexpensive but good laptop, do not pay enough attention to searching for information about the required device in the media. This is where the negativity towards mobile technology comes from: heavy weight, slow operation, loud noise and similar problems related to the technical part.

A laptop is an ordinary personal computer, which is several times smaller in size and not so power-hungry. You should not expect that an expensive mobile device will be able to perform additional functionality. The maximum is the provision of wireless technologies (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) and autonomous operation outside the home. All. There is no need to fantasize about how spaceships navigate the expanses of the universe using a laptop.

In conclusion

Before choosing an inexpensive but good laptop on the domestic market, the user simply needs to get acquainted not only with the product, but also with the technologies that the manufacturer uses when assembling a mobile device at the factory. A future owner who wants to purchase a decent gadget at an affordable price will have to give up abundant advertising in the media and study the basic components of the laptop and their purpose.

You should also trust the recommendations of experts who are not interested in sales, but provide independent advice and reviews on products on their own initiative. Otherwise, it is unlikely that you will be able to purchase a laptop based on the “price-quality” criterion.

With this article, our portal begins a whole series of useful materials, the purpose of which will be to make it easier to choose any product from the thousands of options offered on the market. Agree, choosing a specific model of a gadget always takes a lot of time, which can be spent usefully. In today's material we will talk about choosing the right laptop - for work, for study or for entertainment.

What do you need a laptop for?

First you need to decide what you will use the laptop for. There are several options:

Working with office applications and studying

Even the cheapest laptop is suitable for these tasks. The only condition that must be met is that such a laptop must be of high quality and durable in order to serve you as long as possible. Pay attention to the manufacturer (it is best to choose laptops from well-known brands) and the ease of use of the device’s keyboard. There are no more delays here - you don’t need a powerful processor (even the weakest, more or less new laptop will be able to play music and movies), or a powerful video card (you’re planning to study and work, right?), or a large hard drive (documents and tutorials) take up very little space).

Replacement desktop computer, laptop for home

Such a laptop should fulfill the wishes of all family members at an acceptable level: help parents with work, entertain children and keep grandma in touch with her friends. Here it is also worth paying attention to the strength of the case (when purchasing, look at how it bends when not pressed too hard). In addition, it is worth buying a laptop with a capacious hard drive (500 gigabytes is the minimum) and a large set of ports (for connecting all possible home devices). The processor, memory and video card should also not be the weakest, but you shouldn’t chase top-end characteristics.

Ultraportable laptop (ultrabook) for travel and business trips

Here, the weight of the laptop, its thickness (no more than two centimeters) and battery life are at the forefront. It's also worth considering options with an SSD rather than an HDD (more on that later) - the extra speed on the road won't hurt. Ultraportable laptop cases are often made of metal or carbon fiber - this will be a nice bonus. There is no need to pay attention to the video card and extra ports here. Note that in some cases, ultrabooks do not have a standard port for a network cable - you will have to use Wi-Fi or purchase an adapter.

Powerful laptop for games and multimedia tasks

Such a laptop must have a large and high-quality screen (both games and work in multimedia programs require this), powerful internals (processor, RAM and video card) and a capacious hard drive. Unfortunately, you will have to forget about autonomy and portability: even the best and most expensive models of gaming laptops (with the exception of some exceptions) will be heavy and quite thick, and their battery is unlikely to withstand more than a couple of hours of intensive use of all systems.

Workstation

Such laptops are used in work that requires a lot of computing power. They differ from gaming ones in that they usually do not require a good video card (unless one is needed to perform specific work tasks), but they do need all possible ports for connecting peripherals. If you don’t need to work with graphic materials, you can neglect the screen.

Hybrid 2-in-1

The recently popular hybrids are often a real minefield. At the moment, it is best to choose an ultrabook and a tablet - two separate devices. If you want to combine them, then there are not many options - pay attention to recent models of this form factor from Lenovo, Microsoft, Asus and Dell.

Which laptop screen is right for you?

The size of a laptop's screen is one of the most important factors that influences the user experience. You need to decide on these indicators immediately after determining the tasks that your future laptop will perform:

10-12 inches

The lightest and thinnest laptops, weighing no more than 1.2 kg. For many users, their compact keyboards won't suit them, and they simply don't have multimedia applications. But laptops with such screens are best transported and used for short work sessions on the road.

13-14 inches

A good balance between portability and convenience. Their keyboards are usually quite large and weigh less than 2 kg - a good option for those who spend a lot of time on the road but prefer to work in greater comfort.

15-16 inches

Most popular size. Such laptops can weigh up to 2.5 kg and are already able to accommodate good components that will be sufficient not only for work, but also for entertainment.

17 inches or more

Huge laptops, which usually contain the most powerful processors, the most powerful video cards and the most capacious hard drives. An ideal option for a laptop that will not leave your apartment or house.

Matte or glossy?

A laptop screen can be either matte or glossy, and choosing one is a matter of personal preference. The best way to look at a laptop with your own eyes is on the store counter. Let's put it this way: glossy displays have brighter and more saturated colors, but reflections are very noticeable on them (in the worst case, direct sunlight from a window or on the street). Matte screens make colors less pronounced, but they are protected from glare by a special coating. Note that Apple MacBook screens are glossy in most cases.

How to understand the characteristics of a laptop?

A lot of incomprehensible abbreviations, names of unknown brands and unclear numbers can confuse anyone. In this section we will talk about RAM, CPU and other GPUs.

Screen resolution

The more pixels you fit on a display, the sharper the image becomes (but also the more processing power required). It’s not worth considering options with a resolution lower than 1366x768 pixels (it seems they don’t make them anymore anyway), but it’s better to focus on something more impressive. 1600x900, 1920x1080 or higher is already very good. Naturally, in the case of small screens, you will have to settle for a low resolution, and for clearer screens you will usually have to pay a hundred or two more dollars. Apple MacBook screens have Retina resolutions - for example, the 15-inch MacBook Pro has a resolution of 2880x1800 pixels. This is also a very good indicator.

Processor (CPU)

The most budget models are now equipped with AMD E and Intel Celeron / Pentium processors. They are not designed for tasks more complex than working with email, editing documents, watching movies or listening to music. The next step is Intel Core i3 and AMD A. These processors should provide acceptable performance in multimedia tasks, but for games and serious work it is better to choose a laptop with Intel Core i5 (preferably the fourth generation, codenamed Haswell; the names of such processors look like “ Core i5-4xxx"). And finally, the most productive and expensive laptop models are equipped with Intel Core i7. You can also find expensive models with AMD processors, but at the moment these solutions are losing performance to Intel processors quite seriously. The latest rating of mobile processors can be found.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

For everyday work with documents and other “light” tasks, 4 gigabytes will be enough. Games and work with large software packages will require at least 8 gigabytes.

Hard drive (HDD/SSD)

Buying a laptop with a hard drive of less than 500 GB can be justified in two cases: 1) it is small and portable; 2) it is equipped with an SSD disk. Often these cases are combined. In addition, more expensive models can be equipped with a hybrid disk, most of which is mechanical (HDD), and the smaller part is chip-based (SSD). SSD drives provide very high data read and write speeds and also consume less energy, but are significantly more expensive than mechanical drives.

Video card (GPU)

This point is important only for those who are going to play games on a laptop - for the rest, any chip built into a modern laptop will do. Players should better pay attention to high-performance options from AMD and Nvidia - Radeon R9 and GeForce GTX 9xxM. It is also necessary to take into account that such discrete video cards require much more battery power. The latest rating of mobile video cards can be found.

Ports

Pay attention to the number of USB ports and their standard (you should buy a laptop with USB 2.0 only as a last resort, look for options with USB 3.0), the presence of an HDMI or VGA output for connecting to a TV or external monitor, as well as the presence of specific ports to connect the peripherals you need in your work.

Optical drive

In most cases, you won’t need it - the digital future and high-speed network access allows you not to use outdated optical drives and, if necessary, use USB flash drives. We advise you to save as much money as possible on this component - you will not need to burn DVDs, much less Blu-ray (unless, of course, you do this for work).

Battery

Be sure to pay attention to the battery life of the device indicated by the manufacturer. At a minimum it should be 6 or 7 hours. The best models (either ultra-portable or heavy and large) can provide up to 10 or even 20 hours of operation. At the same time, manufacturers often lie and overestimate their operating time estimates - it is better to turn to independent tests.

operating system

In fact, it is not the operating system that you have to choose - everything is much simpler. Do you need a MacBook? This short guide will help you understand this issue.

A completely universal operating system that will allow you to perform any task (work with documents, games, watch movies, etc.), but requires more care than OS X. If the laptop will be used by someone who has never used Windows before, it is better pay attention to the next option.

OS X works great with all Apple devices and is suitable for all beginners. In addition, it is a favorite work environment for designers, musicians and other creative people. Unfortunately, it also has its many disadvantages: this OS is not intended for gamers, and only Apple produces laptops with it, which allows it to keep their prices at a fairly high level.

Linux laptops are suitable for those who use Linux for work. Everyone else is advised to consider the previous two options. However, laptops with Linux (and sometimes with DOS) are often cheaper than their Windows counterparts due to the free OS license.

Chrome OS

Laptops running this operating system are popular in the United States, but outside this country they are almost never seen in stores. A good option for those whose work with a laptop occurs entirely in an Internet browser, but in Belarus it is almost useless to buy a Chromebook - for the same money you can buy a full-fledged laptop with Windows.

Additionally

There are still many details left in the business of buying a laptop, which we will draw your attention to in this section.

Firstly, check the Wi-Fi standard that the laptop's wireless chip supports. All laptops worth buying can handle 802.11 a/b/g/n networks, and many newer and more advanced ones can handle 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. In addition, if you are going to use Wi-Fi Direct, make sure that this technology is supported.

Secondly, pay attention to whether the laptop battery is removable. In many cases, it becomes unusable within a couple of years, and replacement will be much easier if the laptop does not have to be taken to service.

Thirdly, check for an SD card reader. It may be needed to work with photos and videos from external devices.

Fourth, make sure you have a good webcam above the screen (however, it is almost always there). The camera must have at least an HD sensor (1280x720 pixels) - this will be useful for video calls via Skype.

Purchasing process

Have you chosen a model and are ready to call the store? Don't rush, we recommend remembering two simple rules.

Test your laptop before purchasing. Launch a few programs, go online, try using its keyboard and trackpad a little. We also recommend checking the screen and case for cracks and scratches (even the smallest ones) to make sure that the laptop came to you directly from the factory and not from the previous owner.

Check the warranty. Laptops are very complex electronic devices, and many of their parts often become unusable. A long warranty period from a reliable service center will help avoid headaches in the future.

Conclusion

We hope that this article helped you understand the difficult task of choosing your future laptop. Next week we'll help you choose a tablet!

In order to choose the perfect inexpensive laptop, we spent around 100 hours analyzing and comparing various models. For our top cheap laptops of 2016, we evaluated almost 100 models. It's always difficult to find a decent cheap laptop, but in this article we will tell you about inexpensive models that exceeded all our expectations. We have compiled our rating that will help you make the right choice.

It's hard to definitively recommend just one cheap Windows laptop because manufacturers release new models and discontinue every week and prices can change overnight. We hope that the laptop we've chosen is still on sale when you read this article, but if not, we've found a few other inexpensive Windows laptops that we like. And since we can't guarantee that these specific models will always be cheap (or in stock), we've also put together some tips on what to look for when purchasing.

Are you sure that a budget laptop is right for you?

If you're shopping for a new computer, looking for a lower price is a smart move, but please don't try to buy a laptop for £15,000 (or less!), it's unlikely to give you what you want and will only frustrate you. you exactly from the moment you take it out of the box. Better spend another 5-10 thousand on a fairly powerful laptop that will be capable of almost everything, at least for the next couple of years. A decent laptop for RUB 35,000 is good for general web browsing and working with simple documents and spreadsheets, while a more expensive laptop will be able to handle more complex tasks, such as photo editing.

A budget laptop is a great choice if you're a student, for example, and need one device that can handle everything from running multiple web applications at once to basic video editing programs. Yes, it will be a little heavy to carry around with you, and the charge will not last as long as expensive ultrabooks, but you can still use it in class if necessary.

What options do you have besides a laptop?

We still recommend saving up for a laptop like our favorite cheap ultrabook, the Asus ZenbookUX305UA, if you want a faster, much more portable laptop with longer battery life. On the other hand, a great budget laptop will have good performance and very good performance, and you'll save a lot of money.

Another device—a Chromebook, tablet, Ultrabook, or cheap gaming laptop—may be better for you than a budget laptop. Which one you choose depends on what apps and games you use, what you want from your device, how portable you want it to be, and how much you can afford to spend on it. A budget laptop is a great general-purpose device that does a lot of different things, but it's worth taking a few minutes to read our Which Laptop Should I Buy? guide, even if you think a budget laptop is totally right for you - just to make sure that you buy the device you need before you spend tens of thousands of rubles on it.

What makes a good budget laptop (minimum specs)

A great budget laptop combines the best benefits with the fewest drawbacks. Getting down to specifics, here are some minimum requirements where you should never compromise on your purchase. Go higher if you can, but never settle for less.

Without taking into account large discounts and rare exceptions, you must understand that choosing a budget Windows laptop with such characteristics and paying 35 thousand rubles is almost impossible. If it is cheaper, then the processor will not be powerful enough, and the RAM will be too small, in which case your laptop will seem slow now, and in a few years - simply unbearable. Weaker specs are not good enough for a primary computer that you want to use for a long period of time.

You will never be able to find the perfect budget laptop because if it had the perfect specs, it wouldn't be a budget laptop.

Read more about the required characteristics

Intel Skylake: the most advanced processor system to date

Laptops running on the latest Intel Skylake processors also provide maximum battery life. Last year they were rare and overpriced. Lots of laptops still use older Broadwell processors, and while those models offer slightly worse performance and higher power consumption, they work absolutely fine and you probably won't notice the difference. Laptops with AMD processors may be cheaper than laptops with Intel chips, but when we tested them last year, we found that laptops with AMD A8 Kaveri are not able to keep up with laptops based on Intel Broadwell processors. The A10 Kaveri series processors are better, but still slower than Broadwell (and they are not much cheaper either). For more information about top processors and what to choose, read the corresponding article.

How much RAM will be enough

This happens often. In fact, we encountered these problems with two laptops we wanted to recommend in our rankings last year: the Dell Inspiron 15 5000 disappeared without warning while we were writing our guide, and the Toshiba L50-CBT2N22 jumped from 30 thousand to 40 thousand rubles, and then dropped to 28 thousand right before we published this version of the guide. For now, Toshiba has completely stopped selling non-commercial computers in the United States. A depressing experience.. All this turns the purchase of an excellent budget laptop more into “waiting for the weather by the sea” than an impulse purchase. But we have some tips for making smart trades.

Once you've selected a few models that look promising, stop by your local M-Video, Media-Markt, Know-How or other store to get your hands on the devices. This is very important: a laptop may have brilliant specs, but a lousy trackpad or keyboard that can ruin everything. You should also pay attention to the quality of the screen. Most cheap laptops have low-quality screens with poor color reproduction and narrow viewing angles. Make sure you can live with that screen.

Once your laptop arrives, carefully open the box, don't throw away any parts or components, and give it a thorough test drive. If you notice anything you don't like, return it to the manufacturer or store as soon as possible. If you wait, you won't be able to return it - some manufacturers only accept returns within two weeks.

Top budget laptops at the moment

In order to simplify your choice, we have compiled our own rating for you. So our Top 5 inexpensive but good laptops.

Lenovo IdeaPad 100S

Over the next few years of use, periodically check and install the latest drivers for all internal components of your laptop. Some manufacturers pre-install update utilities that automatically check for new drivers. If your laptop can’t do this and starts to glitch - the screen flickers, the speakers crunch, or other mysterious things happen - take a look at the technical section. Contact your laptop manufacturer's support website to find the latest versions of your laptop's drivers and utilities.

If a Windows update or new driver unexpectedly causes problems, say if you can no longer connect to a Wi-Fi network, or if your laptop won't log out, you'll want to hunt down the specific driver component that's causing it. If possible, you should use the drivers provided by the laptop manufacturer, but contacting the component manufacturer is a good troubleshooting method if Plan A fails.

What else will we update in this review in the near future?

So far, based on our research, the HP Pavilion x360 13 seems to be the best cheap convertible laptop (with a 360-degree rotation so it can function as both a laptop and a tablet) - it has an Intel Core i3-6100U processor. 6 GB of RAM, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, and the choice of a 500 GB hard drive or a 128 GB SSD and a 1366x768 or 1920x1080 screen. We spent some time with it in the store and found the keyboard, touchscreen, and build quality to be quite satisfactory, but the trackpad was a bit laggy. This could be a problem, whether it's a laptop or just a worn-out display sample, so we'll need to tinker with it a little longer before making a firm recommendation. We will update this guide as more information becomes available.