Laptops have become an indispensable tool for all students and workers. They are second only to mobile phones in frequency of use, and they play a very important role in our lives.
However, as with most electronic products, the purchase of laptops still requires some basic knowledge. I still remember the first time I bought a computer: I was confused by all the different models and parameters. I then learned about hardware through a variety of channels before finally becoming comfortable with it all.
Now, my most important information is organized and combined with the problems that often arise when buying a machine to write this article. I hope to help more students who do not understand the hardware knowledge.
Online stores don't offer the same selection as physical stores, but they're also more reliable and usually cheaper. If you want to buy a laptop, go ahead and try it out in person first. But if you don't like it, you'll be able to return it easily online.
1. CPU (processor): currently mainly designed by Intel and AMD two companies
(1) Intel Core.
The latest Intel Core models:
2) AMD Raider.
Similar to Intel's Core, there are R9, R7, R5, R3 series, while divided into low-voltage and standard-voltage versions.
The latest Raron processor models:
2. GPU (graphics card)
Used for image processing, such as playing large games, rendering of video effects.
Gaming notebooks: performance sort RTX3080Ti > RTX3080 > RTX3070Ti > RTX3070 > RTX3060 > RTX3050 Ti > RTX3050 > RTX2050
3. Memory
It is recommended to choose 16G.
Most of the game book, all-round book and a small number of thin and light book memory can be upgraded later.
4. Hard disk
Divided into mechanical hard disk (HDD) and solid state drive (SSD).
Be sure to have a solid state drive. Storage data is not much then 512G can be, the budget is sufficient to choose 1T or larger. Some computers have extra hard disk space for later retrofitting, in addition to too much data can also be external mobile hard disk.
5. Screen
The name suggests that the body is very thin and light, generally using low-voltage processor, no independent graphics card or equipped with MX series graphics card, performance can meet most of the daily and office needs, the battery life is good, you can play some of the configuration requirements of the game is not high.
Game book: the body is more heavy compared to the thin and light book, equipped with a standard processor + game graphics card, strong performance but poor battery life. The traditional appearance of the game book are more "silly black", but now the game book is also gradually pursuing a thin and low-profile appearance.
All-in-one: between the thin and light laptop and the gaming laptop, Intel in the past two years in the promotion of a concept of "content creation notebook" belongs to this type. The body is not too heavy, equipped with a standard processor and entry-level gaming graphics card.
The configuration requirements for some common applications.
Choose a specific configuration：
After determining the type of computer you need to choose the configuration and body size, because the same computer often also has different configuration combinations (mainly CPU and graphics card)
1) Thin and light netbook.
① CPU choice i5 or R5 can be, need a strong nuclear performance can also choose R7, i7 in the thin and light notebook is not very cost-effective.
The MX550 and MX570 are not particularly recommended because they do not have a lot of improvement over nuclear graphics.
③The thin and light netbook mainly has 13, 14, 15 inches. Among them, 14 inches is the golden size, taking into account the portable and use experience; need for large screen can also consider 15 inches; 13 inches due to the limitations of the body interface less often need external expansion interface, less convenient for daily use.
2) Game book / all-around notebook
①CPU: If your use is to play games, then the standard i5 or R5 can be, because most of the game configuration requirements are mainly focused on the graphics card rather than multi-core performance; if your needs are professional video editing, 3D modeling and other tasks that require high CPU, then you can consider the standard i7.
② Graphics card: students who play large games and have high requirements for image quality and frame rate can choose RTX3060 (or higher models), otherwise RTX3050 (Ti) can be.
③ Game book mainly has 15, 16, 17 inch. 15, 16 is the current mainstream size; 17.3 inch body is not very portable, often to take the computer out of the students carefully selected.
Although the subject of this article is laptop shopping, but I have to ask this question first.
The notebook is designed to sacrifice some of its performance for portability, so it is recommended that students who do not need portability and have high performance requirements give priority to desktops.
2. I only occasionally play XX games, can I choose a lower configuration?
The computer can run a game/software only depends on whether the configuration can meet the requirements, and the frequency of use is not related. For example, if you only play chicken once a week and spend the rest of the time in the office, then the computer should be a gaming laptop that can take chicken.
3. Which brand should I choose?
One of the misconceptions of buying electronic products is to consider only the brand. Most PC manufacturers today have a complete line of high, medium and low-end products, so analyze the specific model, do not have "XX brand are good" "XX brand are bad" thinking.
Lenovo, HP, Dell and other large manufacturers of after-sales outlets, maintenance is more convenient, so from the point of view of after-sales advice to students afraid of trouble to give priority to these first-line brands. By the way, it is not recommended that white people blindly buy Apple notebooks. lukas students: mainstream brand notebook model summary review (Apple)
4. After-sales service of the laptop
Laptop problems are repaired in the official after-sales service outlets, and most items are free of charge during the warranty period.
Never go to a offline store that sells computers and laptops to fix them! Offline stores are just dealers. I have more than once seen white people with a problematic machine to the physical store, the original free repair items were charged by the crooked businessman.
5. Talk about "and so on party"
This is a rather controversial topic, my view is: short-term can wait, long-term (such as more than six months) there is no need to wait hard. Electronic products are rapidly changing, no matter when you buy, at most a year later will be out of date, so do not have too many psychological barriers, such as feeling that the new product than they bought a lot stronger than a short time ago is out of balance. The value of product performance is to use rather than own, the cost of time is also to be considered.
Also remind everyone to buy within their means, electronic products are not a step in the right direction because the technology is changing so quickly. The laptop is just a tool, choose the one that suits you within your means, it is not the whole life, and its price should not become an additional burden for us.
However, as with most electronic products, the purchase of laptops still requires some basic knowledge. I still remember the first time I bought a computer: I was confused by all the different models and parameters. I then learned about hardware through a variety of channels before finally becoming comfortable with it all.
Now, my most important information is organized and combined with the problems that often arise when buying a machine to write this article. I hope to help more students who do not understand the hardware knowledge.
Where to buy a laptop?
I suggest you not to go to the offline laptop stores! They are a terrible place to shop laptops and peripherals: the prices are inflated, and the computers themselves are poorly configured.Online stores don't offer the same selection as physical stores, but they're also more reliable and usually cheaper. If you want to buy a laptop, go ahead and try it out in person first. But if you don't like it, you'll be able to return it easily online.
The necessary hardware knowledge to buy a laptop
Hardware to note when buying a computer and a laptop:1. CPU (processor): currently mainly designed by Intel and AMD two companies
(1) Intel Core.
CPU series: i9>i7>i5>i3 (mainly i5 and i7 for notebook platforms), note that this performance order only holds when comparing the same generation and type of processor.
CPU generation: i5, i7 after a horizontal bar, the first or first two numbers behind the bar is the generation, such as i5-9300H for the 9th generation, i5-1240P for the 12th generation.
CPU type: marked at the end of the CPU model, divided into low-voltage version (12 generation for P, 11 generation for G + digital) and standard voltage version (H). Low-voltage version has average performance, but low power consumption and less heat, mainly used in thin and light books; standard voltage version has stronger performance, but high power consumption and more heat, mainly used in gaming books and all-round books.
The latest Intel Core models:
- 12 generation low voltage: i5-1240P (4 large cores, 8 small cores, 16 threads); i7-1260P (4 large cores, 8 small cores, 16 threads); i7-1280P (6 large cores, 8 small cores, 20 threads)
- 12 generation standard pressure: i5-12500H (4 large core 8 small core 16 threads); i7-12700H (6 large core 8 small core 20 threads); i9-12900H (6 large core 8 small core 20 threads)
2) AMD Raider.
Similar to Intel's Core, there are R9, R7, R5, R3 series, while divided into low-voltage and standard-voltage versions.
The latest Raron processor models:
- Low-voltage: R5-6600U (6 cores and 12 threads); R7-6800U (8 cores and 16 threads)
- Standard pressure: R5-6600H (6 cores and 12 threads); R7-6800H (8 cores and 16 threads); R9-6900HX (8 cores and 16 threads)
Used for image processing, such as playing large games, rendering of video effects.
- nuclear / set / Torch graphics card: graphics functions integrated in the CPU, no independent graphics card, the performance is weak, running large games are more difficult. But the corresponding lower energy consumption, so the computer lasts a long time, very suitable for office thin and light book.
- independent graphics card: mainly designed by NVIDIA and AMD, but the current notebook graphics or NVIDIA-based.
Gaming notebooks: performance sort RTX3080Ti > RTX3080 > RTX3070Ti > RTX3070 > RTX3060 > RTX3050 Ti > RTX3050 > RTX2050
3. Memory
It is recommended to choose 16G.
Most of the game book, all-round book and a small number of thin and light book memory can be upgraded later.
4. Hard disk
Divided into mechanical hard disk (HDD) and solid state drive (SSD).
Be sure to have a solid state drive. Storage data is not much then 512G can be, the budget is sufficient to choose 1T or larger. Some computers have extra hard disk space for later retrofitting, in addition to too much data can also be external mobile hard disk.
5. Screen
- (1) according to the material is divided into IPS, OLED and TN screen. IPS is suitable for most users, OLED color better can also be considered, do not buy TN screen.
- (2) resolution selection 1080P or 2K, 4K for notebooks is not necessary.
- (3) color gamut: the screen can display the range of colors
High color gamut: 100% ARGB / 100% sRGB / 72% NTSC
Low color gamut: 45% NTSC
It is recommended to buy high color gamut screen. - (4) refresh rate: the ordinary laptop screen for 60Hz, some of the game book uses a high refresh rate of the gaming screen (120Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz, etc.), the purpose is to reduce the game when the screen tearing, so that the viewing experience is more fluid.
How to find the right laptop for you
Before buying a laptop, you should first define your needs and determine the type of laptop. Laptops on the market today can basically be divided into three categories: thin and light, gaming, and all-around notebooks.The name suggests that the body is very thin and light, generally using low-voltage processor, no independent graphics card or equipped with MX series graphics card, performance can meet most of the daily and office needs, the battery life is good, you can play some of the configuration requirements of the game is not high.
Game book: the body is more heavy compared to the thin and light book, equipped with a standard processor + game graphics card, strong performance but poor battery life. The traditional appearance of the game book are more "silly black", but now the game book is also gradually pursuing a thin and low-profile appearance.
All-in-one: between the thin and light laptop and the gaming laptop, Intel in the past two years in the promotion of a concept of "content creation notebook" belongs to this type. The body is not too heavy, equipped with a standard processor and entry-level gaming graphics card.
The configuration requirements for some common applications.
- Programming, Office: no graphics card requirements, thin and light notebook can be.
- PS: no requirements for graphics cards, it is recommended to choose a high color gamut screen.
- Pr, AE: light editing (short video vlog, etc.) thin and light notebooks can run completely, graphics cards can help rendering acceleration but is not necessary. Professional video editing / special effects production recommended desktop or game book.
- CAD and other two-dimensional mapping: no need for graphics cards, thin and light notebooks can.
- LOL, CSGO and other small games: lower graphics card requirements, thin and light notebooks with core graphics or MX550 can run.
- PUBG, Battlefield and other large games: mainly need graphics card and CPU single-core performance, we recommend RTX3050 and higher graphics card gaming notebook.
Choose a specific configuration：
After determining the type of computer you need to choose the configuration and body size, because the same computer often also has different configuration combinations (mainly CPU and graphics card)
1) Thin and light netbook.
① CPU choice i5 or R5 can be, need a strong nuclear performance can also choose R7, i7 in the thin and light notebook is not very cost-effective.
The MX550 and MX570 are not particularly recommended because they do not have a lot of improvement over nuclear graphics.
③The thin and light netbook mainly has 13, 14, 15 inches. Among them, 14 inches is the golden size, taking into account the portable and use experience; need for large screen can also consider 15 inches; 13 inches due to the limitations of the body interface less often need external expansion interface, less convenient for daily use.
2) Game book / all-around notebook
①CPU: If your use is to play games, then the standard i5 or R5 can be, because most of the game configuration requirements are mainly focused on the graphics card rather than multi-core performance; if your needs are professional video editing, 3D modeling and other tasks that require high CPU, then you can consider the standard i7.
② Graphics card: students who play large games and have high requirements for image quality and frame rate can choose RTX3060 (or higher models), otherwise RTX3050 (Ti) can be.
③ Game book mainly has 15, 16, 17 inch. 15, 16 is the current mainstream size; 17.3 inch body is not very portable, often to take the computer out of the students carefully selected.
The notebook purchase of common problems
1. Should I buy a laptop?Although the subject of this article is laptop shopping, but I have to ask this question first.
The notebook is designed to sacrifice some of its performance for portability, so it is recommended that students who do not need portability and have high performance requirements give priority to desktops.
2. I only occasionally play XX games, can I choose a lower configuration?
The computer can run a game/software only depends on whether the configuration can meet the requirements, and the frequency of use is not related. For example, if you only play chicken once a week and spend the rest of the time in the office, then the computer should be a gaming laptop that can take chicken.
3. Which brand should I choose?
One of the misconceptions of buying electronic products is to consider only the brand. Most PC manufacturers today have a complete line of high, medium and low-end products, so analyze the specific model, do not have "XX brand are good" "XX brand are bad" thinking.
Lenovo, HP, Dell and other large manufacturers of after-sales outlets, maintenance is more convenient, so from the point of view of after-sales advice to students afraid of trouble to give priority to these first-line brands. By the way, it is not recommended that white people blindly buy Apple notebooks. lukas students: mainstream brand notebook model summary review (Apple)
4. After-sales service of the laptop
Laptop problems are repaired in the official after-sales service outlets, and most items are free of charge during the warranty period.
Never go to a offline store that sells computers and laptops to fix them! Offline stores are just dealers. I have more than once seen white people with a problematic machine to the physical store, the original free repair items were charged by the crooked businessman.
5. Talk about "and so on party"
This is a rather controversial topic, my view is: short-term can wait, long-term (such as more than six months) there is no need to wait hard. Electronic products are rapidly changing, no matter when you buy, at most a year later will be out of date, so do not have too many psychological barriers, such as feeling that the new product than they bought a lot stronger than a short time ago is out of balance. The value of product performance is to use rather than own, the cost of time is also to be considered.
Summary
This article is not a hardware science article, only trying to use as concise language and as few concepts as possible to help you find the right laptop as soon as possible.Also remind everyone to buy within their means, electronic products are not a step in the right direction because the technology is changing so quickly. The laptop is just a tool, choose the one that suits you within your means, it is not the whole life, and its price should not become an additional burden for us.
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