Buying a new laptop could be daunting. There are so many manufacturers and models along with a huge range of prices. There is a lot of what I call fluff out there. Fluff meaning stuff you may never use and are certainly not tech support requirements, such as a stylus, remote control, fingerprint reader, and dock connectors.
In essence, you need to look for 3 main computer service requirements when looking for a new laptop:
- Speed, speed, speed! Processor speed is a priority. I don’t care if you’re a light web surfer or emailer, at the end of the day, we all want it fast when we want it! Go fast or go home! Make your your processor is at least a Core i5 and preferably a Core i7 if possible. The laptop processor is built in so it may not be replaced expect in rare high-end laptop cases. Even if you think you don’t need the speed now, scale up so you can grow with your laptop in future years.
- Should I look out for the RAM speed also? Yes! Most high-speed processor laptops will come with 4-6GB of RAM. Make sure there is at least 6GB, preferably 8GB of RAM. Windows 8 is demanding and will require your new laptop to use all of its resources. So, go high! Keep in mind with the 64-bit laptops that you can always add more RAM easily so this is not a deal breaker if a laptop you like has low RAM.
- Big is better. Storage room is key. Yes, we are in an online cloud world, but it is still second-nature to save email attachments, photos, and documents first to the computer. So, make sure your hard drive is at least 500GB, preferable 640-750GB or higher. If you are a music and photo buff, this size will be a necessity.
What shouldn’t you worry about when looking for a Windows 8 laptop?
The operating system version is not a key if you’re a home user or not in a computer network office. In the past, the Windows professional or business operating system was recommended due to its stability and security. Windows has now consolidated version 8 into Windows 8 (for home users), Pro (for business users), Enterprise (for big companies), and RT (for touch screen tablets and laptops).
Now that we reviewed the Windows 8 supported operating systems, let me say that if you buy a laptop from the store, it will come installed with Windows 8 which is the home version and that’s totally fine, secure, and stable. The Windows 8 Pro version only differs by having domain administration, encryption, and remote desktop services.
