Things to know before buying a laptop or computer

Contents

• Select a suitable computer (quick)
• Major Components Elaborately
• Processor or CPU
• RAM or Memory
• Hard Disk
• VGA card or graphics card
• Additional Utilities
  

When it is required to buy a computer, people are often confusing about specifications and the cues offered from sellers or in showrooms.

* dual-core, quad-core, octa-core, i3, i5, i7, i9
* 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
* 160GB, 320GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB

* VGA card or graphics card 1GB, 2GB, 4GB

What info should I know before buying a computer or laptop?

What are these numbers?

How it is related to the performance of a computer?

which one should I select for my need or afford my budget?

  It is confusing even after you have reached a selling center. Following are some important facts that relate the specs with their performance. The facts will get rid of your confusions and help to buy the most suitable computer for your purpose within your budget. I don't talk about brands here and you can buy any of your favorite brands.

Select a suitable computer (quick)

  Buying a high-performance computer since you can afford it means you are wasting your money. You are not going to utilize all of its resources and they will be wasted for life. So, you should buy what fits your needs. Following criteria will help you to choose the right machine. I've used 3 types of usages to select a computer that has appropriate values for some major specifications

• Classical usages: browsing the internet, watching videos, light games, other ms office works such as word, excel, PowerPoint
• Intermediate usages: programming in IDEs (Android Studio, IntelliJ Idea, Visual Studio), basic video editing, video games, academic engineering purposes such as MatLab, AutoCAD, machine learning etc. and all classical usages.
• Extreme usages: video editing, 3D video and graphics processing, industrial engineering purposes, high-quality 3D games, to host servers and all Intermediate usages.

1. Processor or CPU

1. Classical usages - an i3 computer or barely even a p4 dual-core/quad-core can do all those very well.
2. Intermediate usages - i5 or i7 if you can afford
3. Extreme usages - i7 or i9 if you can afford

• The number of cores - the price afford your budget. No guarantee that all cores are utilized if your programs don't support.
• Clock speed - You shouldn't worry too much about the clock rate since all modern CPUs has a significant clock rate. Even so, you should consider the basic clock rate but not the Turbo Boost. Maximize the GHz value and find one with turbo boost if you suppose, you will do data science or heavyweight computations.
• Size of the cache - It improves performance and speed for high computational applications. Maximize the sum of L1 and L2/L3 caches if budget supports.

2. RAM or Memory

1. Classical usages - 2GB enough
2. Intermediate usages - 4GB required or 8GB
3. Extreme usages - 8GB required or any your budget allows

  It is good to buy a laptop or computer that has the whole memory in a single slot. So, you can upgrade with additional memory later if it is required.

3. Hard Disk (HDD or SSD)

1. Classical usages - 250GB enough or 500GB HDD
2. Intermediate usages - 500GB or 1TB (1000GB) HDD and 64GB SSD if budget allows
3. Extreme usages - more than 1TB(1000GB) HDD and at least 128GB SSD or more than 1TB SSD

4. VGA card or graphics card

1. Classical usages - not necessary, 1GB or 2GB max
2. Intermediate usages - 2GB at least shared (consider additional 2GB RAM size if it is shared)
3. Extreme usages - at least 4GB at least shared (consider additional 4GB RAM size if it is shared)

5. Additional Utilities
  DVD or Bluray ROM, fingerprint, smart card, wifi will increase the price of the computer. You will select them based on your needs and budget. I suggest should not consider an inbuilt 3G or 4G modem which would increase the price but not efficient. You can use a wifi router for internet usage which is cheap and healthy.

6. Display

  Also, if it is a laptop, You will choose the right size of the display, suitable for you and afford your budget. There are many kinds of displays. LCD, LED, IPS, value increases in the same order and you should not buy LCD ever. you might consider a touch screen if only it is very useful for your career or work.

7. Software (Operating System e.g. Windows, Mac)

  It would cost less if you purchase the Operating System(OS) software installed along with a computer. If you've planned to buy a Mac computer, you don't need to worry about it since the Mac OS is coming with every Mac computer. There are computers in the market that don't carry any OS but named as DOS, Ubuntu or Linux which are freeware.

  If you prefer the Windows OS, you must be careful if it is the original windows installed. A sticker specifying the serial key should be on the computer but also sometimes the key is installed in a chip inside the computer and no sticker there. It will cost you around 100$ additionally for the OS but it is cheaper than you buy it externally. You can download the genuine validation tool and check whether your copy of windows is genuine or not.

Congratulations! to buy an amazing laptop or computer. Read further if you have time. You are welcomed to ask in comments if any questions.

Major Components Elaborately

1. Processor or CPU

Versions
  First, i7 does not mean a seven-core processor!. The "i" numbers are the versions of Intel processors to indicate their relative performance. But, their overall performance often increases with the "i" number. Performance of a processor is depending on the following,

1. the number of cores,
2. clock speed (in GHz),
3. size of the cache (often increasing with the number i3, i5, i7),
4. as well as Intel technologies like Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading.

Generations

  Generations of the processors are different from the versions and they have their own architecture(s). With generations, CPUs have higher compatibility, high performance, reduced power consumption, durability etc. Also, the price of the computer increases with the generations. It is denoted as first few digits of its model number. The latest Intel CPU generation is 11, launched in September 2020.

Cores and Clock Rate
  Clock rate shows how many calculations a computer can do at a time and basically the speed of the computer. It is multiplied with the number of cores but limited to the ability of a program to be executed in parallel.

Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading

  i5, i7, i9 generations have turbo boost and work at their peak frequency (clock rate) for some supported operations. Hyper-Threading provides some redundant calculations units that utilized often so programs/operating system would feel them as additional cores.

  Intel and AMD are the most popular processor brands in the market. To know more about specifications of different CPU versions and generations, summarized.

2. RAM or Memory
  The capacity of the RAM determines the amount of work you can handle simultaneously. The higher the number would allow you to run the more programs at a time parallelly. However, often more capacity RAM reduces chances a computer getting stuck and make it faster since it can load the program in advance. People who want to play high-quality games needs more memory at least 4GB to accommodate the game.

  The capacity of modern RAMs may vary between 1GB and 64GB or even more which you need not know. Since you are going to buy an assembled PC you shouldn't worry about frequencies(1600MHz, 2333MHz,..) and slot type (DDR3, DDR3,..).

3. Hard Disk
  Hard is the secondary storage where you will store your files and programs, also where the operating system is installed. It will take too long to boot up your computer if the hard disk is slow. That's why technical people often prefer the SSD (Solid State) which is faster than the traditional hard disk(HDD). But it costs more. You can have a small SSD and an HDD which makes its price affordable.

4. VGA card or graphics card
  It computes and renders graphical images into the display. Some computers don't have additional VGA card but sharing the memory of the RAM. High-quality video utilizations such as video games, video editing, architectural development i.e. AutoCAD, HD or 4K video etc require more graphical memory. Typically, it may range from 0 to 8GB.

5. Additional Utilities

  You may look for additional features such as DVD or Bluray ROM, fingerprint, smart card, wifi etc. Typically, all modern laptops come with wifi and webcam.

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