My laptop takes about 45 minutes to start up and a bit longer to do anything else and I realized that, while we’ve upgraded several parts of it over the years, the thing is over 6 years old and that I should probably invest in a new one (I just got a new desktop last year). This will be the first laptop I’ve actually purchased for myself (last one was a gift from the husband) so I’m a bit intimidated by the process. But, this is a big time of year for savings so it would be silly to let it pass me by without getting a new one, especially since the old one is slow as spit.
So, since this is a weird week with some people on vacation and some begrudgingly working, I thought I’d take this opportunity to pick your brains. What do you wish you knew before you bought your latest laptop? What advice would you give someone who was about to buy a laptop (in this case, me) based on past experience?
For example: One thing that is on my list for sure is an external battery indicator. My current laptop’s only battery indicator is in the task bar so, while working on something full screen, I have no idea how much battery is left and frequently lose work because the thing just dies with no warning. This is something that may not seem like a problem when you’re shopping for a laptop but something that experience has taught me is a deal-breaker.
So, what would you advise that I look for from your past laptop experiences?
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Two of my top laptop-buying criteria are weight and battery life. The first laptop I ever bought was a Dell and it was a beast that weighed around 10 pounds. Way too heavy for travel, but it made a good desktop substitute when mine had a hard drive meltdown. I bought that one in 1999 and it still runs fine, even though I rarely use it anymore.
Battery life is a big deal if you want to be able to work without having to hunt down an outlet everywhere you go. I’ve found that you have to take the manufacturer claims with a very big grain of salt, since heavy use (like video) will drain the battery faster than what the specs show. Sometime they offer extended-life batteries, which may be worth getting, depending on how you plan to use it.
Overall, I’d recommend sticking with a name brand like Dell, Sony, HP, etc… since they’re easier to get repaired and serviced. Sony has been especially good, in my experience.