4 Laptop Shopping Tips for College Students
When you are shopping for a computer in college, you need to keep a number of things in mind. For one thing, how much work are you planning on doing with your computer? This is an important first question to ask, because different computers have different computing capacities. In other words, some computers are more powerful than others. If you are planning to write emails and papers on your computer, and not much else, you will need very limited computing powers. If you are working with images, editing video or downloading lots of movies, you will need a high capacity processor. Once you have considered this crucial factor, there are a few other things you want to consider that will help you purchase the right computer. Indeed, not all computers are created equal – some are more expensive, some have a higher resolution screen and some are sleeker and design minded. When it comes down to it, some people don’t mind a less attractive computer if it means a smaller price tag. Here are four laptop shopping tips for college students.
- The Resolution Matters
When you are looking at various computers, you may see that different screens have different resolutions. Of course, higher resolution screens are more expensive, so you really have to have a few extra dollars to spend if you want to go in this direction. For instance, Apple offers super high-resolution Retina screens for thousands of dollars. If you don’t have the budget, you may want to go with something that has a lower resolution, which is fine if you aren’t used to high resolution.
- Decide on the Size of the Screen
Another factor you want to consider when buying a computer is the size of the computer. If you are going to a school like Northwestern University and you are purchasing something to bring around and take notes, you may want to something a little smaller. Of course, if you are going to school online – maybe you are taking USC’s GIS online program – you may want something a little bigger. A bigger screen means that you can see more on it, which is important when you are spending a few hours each day completing a number of tasks on your computer.
- Keep a Budget in Mind
Of course, you also want to keep your budget in mind. Some college students don’t have a lot of money to spend on a computing device. If that is the case, you probably want to go for a lower end computer. However, if you want something a little higher end, you may want to include your computer in your overall college budget.
- Gigabytes Count
On top of everything, you may want to be safe and purchase a computer with a lot of gigabytes. A gigabyte of storage isn’t much, but if you have a 700 to 900 gigabytes, you can store a lot of information on your computer. If you are working on a lot of documents, and storing a lot of music, you want to have a lot of space on your new computer.
