There are hundreds of laptops on the market, so how do you go about narrowing down your options and finding the best laptop for your needs? From cheap and cheerful laptops that get the job done, to the more sleek and expensive models, we’ll help you find the perfect laptop for your needs.

Watch Your Budget

With some many laptops on the market it can be hard not to get carried away and purchase the latest most expensive model, but expensive is not always best. Go back ten years when laptops weren’t so popular and you wouldn’t think twice of spending nearly £1000 on a laptop, but today that’s considered premium, nowadays you can purchase a great laptop without breaking the bank.

Consumers have been paying over the odds for laptops for years, but now there are some great cheap laptops available. Start by determining a price range that you feel comfortable with and choose something that fits your budget.

Travel Light

When purchasing a new laptop you need to consider how much you’re going to be carrying it around with you? Will your laptop stay at home most of the time and replace your desktop, or will you be commuting with it on a day to day basis? The answer to that should determine what size laptop you need to purchase – which will define the system size and weight of the laptop. If you’re a frequent commuter and plan on taking your laptop out with you most days then a lightweight 13-inch laptop would be the most suitable.

If you’re planning on just using it in the office or at home then you can get away with a common mid-size laptop, like the 15-inch model. They’re not great for commuters due to their size, but their perfect for desk work. If you like something with a bigger a screen then a big 17-inch or larger desktop is an option too.

Design Design Design

If you know your laptops you’ll know that laptop systems, hard drives, CPUs and RAMs tend to be rather similar on the inside. This is where design comes in – if they’re going to run similarly and do the same thing, it’s the appearance that’s going to push you to buy one over the other, right?

Like anything you have to find a design and style that works for you and your needs. We use our laptops a lot, whether it’s for storing documents and images, sending emails, or connecting with people on social networking sites, so you’ve got to enjoy using it. Can you type on the keyboard, is the touch pad comfortable and easy to use? A laptop isn’t something you buy everyday, it’s quite an investment so it’s got to work for you.

What About The Categories?

There are so many laptops on the market and they all come under different ‘categories’, from multimedia, ultraslim, ultrabook, ultraportable thin and light, notebook and gaming laptops. They’re not all typically laptop ‘categories’ but with so many categories being marketed to consumers, it can be very overwhelming and confusing. To cut a long story short, we tend to look at screen size as the primary category for defining laptops, which you can see in our second tip.

Most laptop buying guides tend to focus on specifications and mechanics, but we think that’s everything you need to know when buying a laptop to start with. If you do want to find out more about particular laptop all our products come with a full specifications list. To view our range of laptops, click here.