When it comes to purchasing a new computer, the options can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to hardware. In this article i'll break down what you should be looking for. I won't get too deep into one brand vs another, but I will talk about what all those acronyms mean and the difference between RAM and Storage.
Later in this article i'll provide links to systems I would recomend based on budget and workload requirements. You can also jump down now to see my list of Recomended Systems
Aren't these all computers? Yes of course! but to put it another way, all laptops are computers, but not all computers are laptops. This is like saying all Labradors are dogs, but not all dogs are Labradors. Make sense? OK let me explain further.
The best way to think of a laptop is a computer that can sit on your lap and be used. Think if you were waiting at your gate at the airport. You can sit (albeit uncomfortably) and work on your laptop computer with it on your lap. The laptop was designed to be portable, and still have all the functionality of a desktop computer. It has a keyboard, a trackpad instead of a mouse, and a monitor all in one foldable, portable package. An example of a laptop would be a Lenovo Thinkpad or Apple Macbook.
Previously, laptops were designed for less intensive tasks, such as e-mails and word processing. The hardware resembled that as laptops needed to be small, portable and have the ability to be properly cooled. More recently laptops have become more popular that desktops, and their capabilities can match most desktop systems - I won't include servers in this comparison -
If you read the previous paragraph, you probably figured out that a desktop system is designed to be on your desk, and not the most portable. You would attract a lot of attention bringing your desktop computer through the airport and trying to find enough plugins to power the computer itself, and the monitor. Which brings me to the next point
Desktops have several parts. The main one being the computer which everything else plugs into. Generally you have a box (the computer itself), then a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse / pointing device such a trackpad. There are all-in-one systems which basically are a big monitor which also houses the computer. A good example of this is the iMac. These systems still have an external keyboard and mouse, and require power as they do not run on a battery like a laptop or tablet.
If you're a Star Trek fan, you've seen the cast use tablets to pass information to one another. Apple thought this was a cool idea and invented the iPad. (I'm just guessing here, I have no basis to assume this is where Apple got their idea for the iPad). Tablets at its most basic form is a touchscreen computer, with zero periferals. Meaning no mouse, no keyboard required as it is all on the tablet screen. I like to tell people that the difference between the iPad and their iPhone is the phone part and the screen size. They are extremely similar systems and functionality is almost identical. My recomendation here if you want a tablet and don't need it to be a Windows computer, get an iPad. There's a reason they're so popular. I've had a lot of bad experiences with Android based tablets, and for the price, a basic iPad is extremely hard to beat.
Previously tablets were underpowered, for the same reason as laptops were. They used tablet specific hardware made to fit in small spaces, which meant it wasnt as powerful as a laptop or desktop system. That has mostly changed thanks to better cooling solutions in tablets, and far better engineering of components. The latest iPad Pros will put a lot of laptop and desktop systems to shame with it's capabilities.
Tablets previously also were handcuffed by requiring a specific operating system in order to function. The early Windows tablets were horrible to use as they were Windows like but lacked functionality such as file management to be a capable system for the work environment. Now the Microsoft Surface line (which im creating this website on currently) can run any Windows Operating System.
Now that we know the different form factors, you can make a choice as to which one works for you. Now we'll get into choosing the right hardware for your system.
In the world of Processors you have two major players: Intel and AMD. Apple has recently started sourcing their own processors, which are only available on Apple systems. On Windows computers you have options. I'll touch on Intel and AMD.
Talk to anyone that is into computers and they are likely of one or two camps, Intel or AMD. Both are very good options but each has their die hard fans. Personally I prefer Pepsi, but I wouldn't turn down a Coke.
What you're looking for here is a good processor to do the job you're asking of it. This is like buying a yaught and trying to tow it with your Volkswagen Golf. It may work but it's going to be very slow going and very intense on that little car and not an enjoyable experience. On the other hand, you could buy a canoe and put it on the roof of your Ferarri. It'll be plenty fast, the car wouldn't even notice the canoe, but you paid a fortune to get your canoe to the lake when a Volkswagen Golf would do the trick easily. Processors are the same.
At a minimum, I would be looking for an Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3. I would recommend this processor for anyone that just wants to check their e-mail, watch some YouTube videos, simple word processing like creating or editing their resume. I would not recommend anything in the Celeron line of processors. Of course you could look at i5, i7, i9 or the equivelent AMD Ryzen processor depending on your budget.
RAM or Random Access Memory basically represents how many things can be running at the same time, without having to utilize the hard drive for computing space. Thing of a school bus. If you have a normal sized school bus, the ones with many rows of seating, you can have loads of children at one time. The smaller buses, the ones with maybe 6 rows of seating, can only have so many children before it's at capacity. Now think of those children as programs like Word, your web browser, your music player. On a big bus (lots of RAM), you can run those programs and still have lots of seats for more programs. Also don't forget that your Operating System will take up some seats as well, and it doesnt like to give up it's seat for anyone. If you have a small bus (a small amount of RAM) the Operating System can take up a larger percentage or seats, not leaving many for programs that you'd like to run.
I like to start with recommending 8GB of RAM. That's a good starting point, however when it comes to RAM, there is no such thing as too much RAM so get as much as you can afford. Ideally 16GB is a lot for the average home user unless you're gaming or doing video processing, 16GB is great. Let's not confuse this with Storage, which confusingly enough is described in a similar fashion to RAM
This is where your pictures, documents, and things that don't dissappear when you reboot your computer live. Think of it like a garage. You store stuff there. You can close the door and not look at it for months, yet it's still there. The question is, how big of a garage do you need.
Lower end systems will come with 256GB of storage. In my experience this isnt much at all, and it won't be long before you'll be wishing you had more space. Which can get complicated with external drives, changing the current drive, etc. Look for a 500GB drive, and ideally that drive will be a Sold State Drive (SSD). Do not buy a system listing HDD - Hard Disk Drive. These are much slower and not ideal for today's computing scenarios.
To put it basically, this is the user interface, and the programming that allows you to run the programs you want to run. You can't power on a computer and just have Word. It needs an Operating System to run it. You have a few options here but Windows 11 and MacOS are the major players in Laptops and Desktops. Tablets are dominated by OS for iPads, and Android for Google based tablets. My suggestion here if you are unsure, go and try one at your local Best Buy. If you've been a Windows user and you're thinking of moving to a Chromebook or Apple based system, it can take some time to get used to. You may be able to rent such a system to try it before committing to a totally new computing environment.
