Buying a Laptop Essay

Buying a Laptop

My name is Raymond Cullen and I have to buy a laptop or computer for my applied psychology course in IADT. There are many factors that need to be looked at when going to buy a laptop. These include the price the laptop, the make of the laptop, the type of laptop, the type of processor, the size of the hard drive and the size of RAM also known as memory. I am going to take an individual look at each of the above factors whilst deciding what type of laptop I will buy for my course.

So the first thing I have to figure out is my price range. Now being a student my funds are limited, however I think that I could stretch to seven hundred euro. So this gives me a basic platform to work off. The next thing I have to decide is what make of laptop. I have the choice between a Mac or a Windows laptop. Now I have always been a windows laptop man, so that is the type of laptop that I am going to choose to buy.

Next I have to look at the type of laptop. I would be looking for a laptop that I can use not only at home but at college as well. So I would need a laptop that would be easy to transport, so I would be looking for a laptop that has about a 13-16 inch screen. That would mean I have an easy to transport laptop as well as a decent size screen so I can see what I am doing easily. I would like to have the Windows 7 64bit programme on my laptop to get the most out of the RAM, as 32bit can only run 3GB of RAM.

The type of processor is extremely important in the laptop because the processor is the central unit in a computer that interprets instructions and carries out the data processing. Taking this in to account I would like the biggest processor that I can get however this may be hindered by my lack of funds. But I certainly will get the largest one possible that is available to me.

The hard drive is where all of the information on the laptop is stored. So naturally the bigger the better. The bigger the hard drive is the more information can be stored on the laptop. So if I was to have my preferred choice I would get a laptop with a 320GB hard drive, to save all my files on the laptop. Of course naturally I would back them up on my external hard drive which I already have.

The last main thing that needs to be considered when buying the laptop is the amount of RAM (Random-Access Memory) or as it is also known as memory. The RAM allows the running of programmes at greater speed. Meaning that I could run multiple programmes at the same time without having a significant effect on the speed of the laptop. This is important as we use a few different programmes for our Multimedia Design module such as photoshop and illustrator. So as before the bigger the size of RAM the better for the laptop. I had a look around and the best option in my price range is 4GB of RAM.

So those are some of the main things that I would consider if or when I would buy a laptop for my course. I had a look online and found a laptop that would be best in terms of my finances and needs. This is the result: http://ireland.dell.com/ie/en/home/Laptops/inspiron-13z/pd.aspx?refid=inspiron-13z&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1. The laptop I have chosen is the last one on the page. It comes with Windows 7 64bit, as well as 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. So check out the link if you are looking for a laptop with the same needs as me. However be quick because its on sale at the moment for only €699.