Tech Advisor – October 2019

50 TECH ADVISOR • OCTOBER 2019

BUYING GUIDE

fewer ports, but it will be more portable. A 17in laptop,

on the other hand, is a desktop replacement laptop

and not deigned to be moved around often. You’ll

likely get a full-size keyboard and potentially an optical

drive. Generally, 13in is the sweet spot for portability

and usability. While many laptops have a resolution of

1,366x768, Full HD, Quad HD and even 4K laptops

are available. A touchscreen will add to the cost and

generally isn’t needed on a laptop. Also look out for a

matte, non-reflective screen.

Storage

How much storage you need depends on what you

want to use a laptop for. As a general rule of thumb,

werecommendyougetasmuchaspossiblewithout

wastingmoneyontheupgrade.

An SSD will help your laptop run faster, but offers

less space for your files (consider supplementing it with

a portableUSBdrive).Youcanalsousecloudstorage

• but only when you have an Internet connection.
  Memory (RAM) is where programs and files are
  stored only while you’re using them, and more is always
  better – up to a point. Consider 4GB a minimum, unless
  it’s a Chromebook, with 8- to 16GB the ideal.

Processor

Unless you’re going to run complex and demanding

software or gaming you don’t need a top-spec

processor. If you’re happy to splash out you’re probably

looking at the latest generation (8th) Intel Core i7 chip.

Entry-level spec models are likely to offer a Core i3 or

even a Celeron, Pentium or AMD processor instead. A