Laptop Buying Guide for Beginners
Laptop Buying Guide for Beginners
With high-performance smartphones and tablets anywhere, you can do a ton of stuff on them – basically, most of the things that you used to do on a computer. While, you can do a lot on your mobile devices, there are many tasks that only a laptop can handle, which makes laptops still essential. However, choosing a laptop is not easy due to many technical and confusing terms about specs. That’s the reason why we prepared a laptop buying guide for you.
So, what’s your laptop knowledge like? Buying one can be a bit of a mission, right? You are going to do your homework first. Have you come across terms like cores, threads, and clock speed? What about cache memory and hyper-threading? There are so many technical terms that can totally throw you off. We’ll tell you what necessary specs are. Let’s take a look.
Excerpt
- Laptop Buying Guide for Beginners
- First, Consider Processing Capacity
- CPU, the Brain of a Computer
- How to Choose a CPU
- Intel Core i Processor Model Numbers Explanation
- AMD Ryzen Processor Model Numbers Explanation
- RAM, You Need to Buy Sufficient Capacity
- Insufficient RAM Can Make You Regret Greatly
- Conclusion
First, Consider Processing Capacity
First, you need to select a laptop with the appropriate processing capacity based on your specific needs and tasks. The processing capacity, which refers to how efficiently a computer can operate within a given time frame, varies significantly between laptops. It is typically measured by the speed of the processors.
The higher the processing capacity, the faster you work. Moreover, you can run multiple apps simultaneously and without slow down, which makes even high-end games or video editing possible. But, you don’t need to buy a high-performance laptop for simple tasks such as paper editing, and web surfing. Don’t use a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It is rather eat something delicious or buy clothes that you need more with that money.
Of course, it would be nice if your laptop had high performance, but price can soar as performance enhances. So, it is smart to choose the processing capacity that suits your needs and tasks. If so, what is suitable processing capacity? Understanding this, you need to know what determines processing capacity. It can be determined by CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage.
CPU, the Brain of a Computer
The CPU is a device that acts as the brain of a laptop. Just as the human brain commands each part of the body to move, the CPU processes all the necessary calculations and commands each part to operate. It is a key component that determines the overall performance of a laptop.
Four key factors that decide CPU performance are core, thread, cache memory, and clock speed. Generally, the bigger the number, the better the performance. Let’s look what the details are below.
Core Is Like Number of Workers
You can regard a core as a small processor within the CPU. Latest CPUs generally have multiple cores, which let them manage more tasks at the same time. For instance, Dual-Core is proper for relatively simple tasks that include web browsing and word processing. Quad-Core is appropriate for some heavier tasks that contain multitasking, moderate gaming, and productivity works.
From Hexa-Core, CPU can manage heavier work that include multitasking, gaming, video editing, and other professional work easily.
Threads
Threads mean the number of operations, which a CPU can treat at once. For instance, a hexa-core CPU with Hyper-Threading can manage 12 threads, which basically doubles the workload capacity.
Cache Memory Is Data Storage in CPU
Cache memory is a temporary data storage space inside the CPU, which is one of the primary components of the CPU along with the core. Central Processing Unit call data that is stored at RAM and operate them. To prevent performance decline due to slower speed of RAM than CPU, created much faster temporary storage of frequent used data in the CPU.
Clock Speed Shows How Fast the CPU Is
Clock speed, measured in GHz, shows how fast the CPU can execute. Generally, a higher clock speed means a faster CPU, assuming cores, threads, and cache memory are the same. Based on cores or threads with the same numbers, clock speed from 1.5 to 2.5GHz is usually for mid-level, and beyond 3GHz is for high-end specs.
How to choose a CPU
You should be more careful when you pick a CPU. Because you generally use a laptop longer than 3 years and in many cases, CPU can not be upgradable unlike other components. Considering its expensive price, inappropriate choice for CPU can make you regret.
Intel vs. AMD
Except for MacBook, most laptops have an Intel or AMD CPU in it. Intel, which is most prominent in semiconductor sector, provides various CPUs that include both budget and high-end processors. AMD offers excellent value for money, which competes closely with Intel.
Intel and AMD’s flagship products are Core-i and Ryzen, respectively. There are four different categories, which are 3,5,7,9 in both of two brands. For example, Intel Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, Core i9, AMD Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, and Ryzen 9. The larger the number, the higher the line-up.
Intel Core i5 Is Suitable for Common Users
You can regard Intel Core i5 as an intermediate level, which is suitable for most common users, presenting a balance of performance and cost effectiveness. The smaller number, Core i3 is proper for basic works such as browsing, word processing, and watching videos.
The larger numbers that contain Core i7 and Core i9 are products for power users who generally run memory demanding apps, such as video editing, 3D rendering, or heavy multitasking. Especially Core i9 is for professionals.
How to Read Intel Core i Processor Model Numbers
Now, you may know what the letters follow “Intel Core” mean, which shows processor’s level. In this picture, i9 refers to a highest level in Core i series. At the end of the model name, there are 5 digit numbers plus one letter. First two numbers indicate the generation of the CPU, which defines the processor and chipset’s capabilities. The larger the number, the more multifunctional the CPU. 14 in the picture means 14th generation that is the latest one.
Next three digits are SKU numbers, which indicate different features of the processor, including its base clock speed, frequency, cache, cores, and so on. The large numbers show stronger performance.
You need to pay attention to whether the SKU number is high or low within the same brand and generation. For example, Core i7 14900H is better than Core i7 14700H, as SKU number of the former is larger than the latter.
A letter at the end is suffix, which represents the key characteristics of the processor. You can check what the meaning of a suffix is from the table here.
AMD Ryzen CPU
AMD Ryzen line-up is closely similar to Intel. Ryzen 5 is an intermediate level processor that is for most board users, which is comparable to Core i5. It is proper for everyday use, multitasking, and light gaming. The smaller number, Ryzen 3 goes well with simple tasks like web browsing, word processing, and watching videos, which you can buy at relatively cheap price.
The bigger numbers that include Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 are processors for experienced users who typically operate high memory-consumption applications, like video editing, 3D rendering, or heavy multitasking. In particular, Ryzen 9 is a flagship model for professionals.
How to Read Ryzen Processor Model Numbers
AMD Ryzen processors have 4 digit numbers plus one letter, which come after its brand name. The first number means the generation of the processor, which shows the launching year of the processor. For example, 7 indicates that AMD launched this processor in 2023. If the number is 8, which means that the the company introduced the processor in 2024.
Second number out of 4 digits let you know what classes this processor belongs to. For instance, if it is 5 or 6, it indicates that the processor is a member of the Ryzen 5 class. The Ryzen 7 can either include 7 or 8 as the second number. Finally, 8 or 9 hints that the processor falls into a Ryzen 9 family.
Third number indicates what microarchitecture AMD employ for this processor. While, “3” in third digits means that 7nm or 6nm microarchitecture is used, “4” shows 5nm technology that enables to decrease power consumption.
The letter at the end of model number means what the processor’s power demands under maximum load. There are E, C, U, HS, HX based on power consumption. While, E is for affordable laptops, HX is usually for flagship models.
RAM, You Need to Buy Sufficient Capacity
If you choose a small capacity to save money, the component that makes you regret greatly later is RAM. Let’s look what the reason is below.
RAM Is Primary Memory
RAM stands for Random Access Memory, which stores all data that CPU is processing. So, we call it “main memory” of a computer. You may have read about “another memory” already in this post, which is Cache Memory. If you don’t remember well, read this part again.
Along with cache memory and main memory, there is Auxiliary Memory like SSD or HDD in a computer. Each component can vary significantly in speed, capacity and price. The speed that transfers data from memory to CPU is in the order of cache memory, RAM, and auxiliary memory. In contrast, the capacity is generally in the reverse order.
Insufficient RAM Can Make You Regret Greatly
If RAM fails to store the data that CPU needs in advance due to insufficient capacity, the processing speed can slow down. Because CPU must frequently retrieve data from secondary memory which is the slowest among data storages.
To avoid slowdown in processing speed, buy sufficient capacity of RAM. We recommend you buy 16GB of RAM, as 8GB to 16GB of RAM is suitable for moderate usage, while the price gap between 8GB and 16GB is not much large. If you are into professional tasks, of course, choose 32GB or more.
Clock Speed of RAM
Clock speed refers to how fast the RAM can process data, you can usually call it frequency in other words and measure it in MHz. It shows the number of cycles the RAM can operate per second. Higher frequency generally let RAM process data more quickly. For instance, a RAM with a clock speed of 4,800 MHz completes 4.8 billion cycles per second.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth means the maximum amount of data which the RAM can deliver in a given amount of time. The unit of bandwidth is MB/s or GB/s. There are two factors to affect bandwidth, which are clock speed and the width of the memory bus. For example, DDR5-4800 RAM has a theoretical bandwidth of 38.4 GB/s.
Other factors to consider
Some laptops let you upgrade RAM, while others do not. It is great for someone who plans to enlarge memory over time, based on growing needs and tasks.
Choose DDR4 or more, which is common and affordable for most laptops selling in the market. DDR5 is faster than DDR4, but relatively expensive. We think DDR4 is enough for most common users.
Conclusion
While, you can do a lot on your mobile devices, there are many tasks that only a laptop can handle, which makes laptops still essential. However, choosing a laptop is not easy due to many technical terms about specs. That’s the reason why we prepared a laptop buying guide here.
First, consider processing capacity, which refers to how efficiently a computer can operate within a given time frame. It is typically measured by the speed of the processors. There are four elements that determine processing capacity, which include CPU, RAM, GPU, and storage.
If you are common user, choose Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5, which is suitable for daily tasks. In addition, pick at least 8GB RAM, 16GB would be better. If you are heavy user who typically runs memory demanding apps or does professional tasks, select 32GB RAM and Core i7 or Core i9.
How’s our laptop buying guide? Is it helpful for you? We hope so and come back soon with rest part of the laptop buying guide. Thank you for reading.