17 Laptop Buying Mistakes I Made That You Should Never Make when you are trying to purchase a new laptop. You may think that these laptop buying mistakes are simple but compounding all of them makes you feel your laptop useless. Some mistakes are likely to commit when you are buying a new laptop. To prevent you from committing this, I am sharing my personal mistakes that I made when I purchased my new laptop.
17 Laptop Buying Mistakes I Made That You Should Never Make
Most of the mistakes that I will cover below will be the results of two main factors namely your budget and your lack of understanding of your requirements. If you have the two problems sorted out, you are most likely to commit less laptop buying mistakes. Before going any further, I have written an article on laptop buying guide, you should check the article so that you can clear your exact requirements. Check out the link below.
Laptop Buying Guide – What To Look For When Buying A Laptop
There is a fixed budget for everyone. However, it should be a reasonable budget based on your requirements. For example, if your requirement is for a high-end gaming laptop and you have a budget of Rs. 30000 only, then, you won’t get anything good out of the laptop you purchase. Again, if your requirement is just for simple usage and you have allotted a budget of Rs.80000 then you are just wasting a good chunk of money there. In this case, send me the extra Rs.40000 and I will recommend you the best laptop that does exactly your requirement. (Just Kidding).
Now that you know your reasonable budget and your exact requirements, let’s head to the 17 mistakes I made when buying my laptop that you should never do.
17 Laptop Buying Mistakes I Made That You Should Never Make
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Compromising with the budget vs your requirement
When I was searching for a good laptop that can do my requirements, I also expect to get that product at the cheapest. I was searching for a laptop that can do heavy simulations for my project. I needed a laptop that can process fast. Knowing that I ordered the cheapest laptop that met the minimum requirement. After using it, I came to know that it is not delivering the job properly and it is wasting my time. It is like passing an exam with a grade just above the passing grade. So, if you need a laptop which is available within the range of 35000-60000 with some variation in the specifications, you must pick the one within 45000. The reason for this will discuss in the latter reasons. For now, just follow the next mistake.
2. Don’t be misled by the specifications
So, let’s say a laptop has i5 processor, 8GB RAM with 2GB graphics card with 1TB HDD and your requirements are same as that. You may think there can be no laptop buying mistakes here. I will say hold my beer. Do not just read the top and agree with that. Dig underneath and seek more details. For example, for the i5 processor, which generation is that? What are the processing speeds? Is overclocking possible, etc. Again for RAM, what DDR version is it running and similarly, what is the RPM speed of the HDD.
None of the specifications matters if it is a low-quality part. That is why I recommended above to pick a laptop which is in the middle of the price range. It is because, in most cases, laptops in the middle of that price range are modern enough yet not the best which costs more. You should do a little research on the specific parts and see if it is capable of the job you are going to do.
3. Compromise the RAM Size
Third mistake people always make is that they don’t really care about the size of the RAM. They will say that they don’t use that much and it is not really necessary. However, let me remind you that as time passes, you will miss the RAM size you compromised at the time of buying the laptop. The first reason is that as the time passes, most of the software if not all will release an update and for this, each update, a little bit more of memory will be needed.
For example, you use the photoshop for your work and you ordered a laptop that just supports photoshop. After six months Adobe releases a newer version which you really need because there is a feature in the new version that you must use. Now, your laptop will run like a tortoise because it can’t support the newer version properly. RAM size matters. This is one of the easiest ways to a laptop buying mistake that you can make.
4. Don’t fall for the number of GB in the graphics card
While you are searching for a new laptop, you will find many laptops that says that it has a 2GB graphics card, 4GB graphics card, etc. Do not woo by this at the first sight. Just like the previous laptop buying mistake, dig deeper and check what is its processing speed and power before jumping to the wagon for a number of GB your graphics card has. Do not fall this trap. In fact, my first 1GB graphics card was priced around Rs10K (a long time back) but it worked much more efficiently than a normal 2GB graphics card from many of my friends.
5. Fall victim to outdated technical specifications
This point is that the laptop sales guy may say that this laptop has this and that feature that you have never heard of. The moment you see or hear those things, search in google and check if that is a new thing and if that is really going to help you. If not why waste money one something that is outdated or you don’t really need.
For example, specifications like this sound technology, this boot technology, all that doesn’t matter if that technology is in every laptop under a different name. Maybe that technology is not necessary for you, so don’t waste money on it.
6. Missing an SSD
If the laptop model you are looking offers an SSD option with some extra bucks, then take it without thinking for a second. That extra bucks will save you a lot of time in the future. You will notice the difference between HDD and SSD when you boot up your laptop or installing software or using a software. However, check the version of the SSD and buy the higher SSD one. Check out the link below to find out different types of SSD
Types of SSDs and Which Ones to Buy
7. Unclear on what you are your requirements
As I mentioned at the start of this post, you must be super clear on what are your needs. Unclear on your requirements may mean that you are under-investing in the laptop or over investing. What will you buy when you yourself don’t know what you want? So, just make sure you are crystal clear on what are your requirements so avoid this laptop buying mistake.
One way to know is doing the task or the work you are going to do in your new laptop in an already available laptop like laptops of your friends so that you can have a gauge on the performance. This will allow you to calibrate your requirement based on the performance on the laptop that is already available. This will save you from major laptop buying mistakes that may be a result of this specific laptop buying mistake.
8. Hurrying on buying without proper research
This is a common laptop buying mistake that we tend to buy a laptop without proper research when we see an offer attached to the laptop. Don’t rush to buying a laptop thinking that the offer will be over in a short period of time unless you are sure that the offer is very good. Do better research before buying it.
Getting bored on reading the long list of laptop buying mistakes? I have post articles about the best laptops under Rs.30000 and Rs.80000. Check them out by following the link below.
Best Laptop Under 80000 in India 2018
Best laptop under 30000 in India 2018 (6th number will surprise you)
Alright, let’s back to the 17 laptop buying mistakes that you can avoid while you are planning to buy a new laptop.
9. Minimising the weight of the laptop
I am telling you to choose the lightest laptop you can get with all the requirements in it. When you carry that thing for a long period of time have a significant factor in your ability to work efficiently. You may think, it is just an extra 300 grams but you can’t even hold a nail for half an hour without feeling tired. So, even a gram matters. Choose wisely.
10. Laptop battery factor
You may think that you have the power all day long and you can charge the battery anytime you want. However, one day or another, you will find yourself in a situation where you got no electricity and you have to finish some work. Like an assignment but the light is out citywide but you have to submit to your teacher the next day. So, do not make such laptop buying mistakes which is very easy to avoid. Always choose the laptop which provides the best battery life.
11. Not paying attention to keyboard and touch-pad
This is one thing I missed so much that I wish I could’ve done better. Check if the laptop keyboard is comfortable with you. Sometimes, the touchpad may disturb you so much while typing something. So, make sure you are comfortable with it before buying it.
Having said that I recommend you use an extra keyboard and mouse whenever possible because chances are high that you may do something on the keyboard. The original mouse is much easier and comfortable to use. I found the keyboards and mouse below very good and easy to use.
Check out the best laptops under Rs. 50,000 with SSD by following the link below:
Best SSD Laptops Under 50000 [i3/i5, 256/512GB, 4/8GB RAM, Windows 10/Office]
12. Money charged for features you don’t really need
I have discussed this earlier that you should keep an eye and ear to features that are outdated or just giving a name and charging you for it. This is one of the easiest and silliest laptop buying mistakes because most of us fall to this trap. This is because most of us don’t remember the latest techs and names or features, etc. So, when we hear the name and sales speech we are overwhelmed with it and ready to buy.
So, it is better you keep your tech knowledge up to date so that you can avoid such silly laptop buying mistakes.
13. Expecting or searching for the best speaker laptop
What do you expect from a laptop speaker? A surround sound system. No matter what the sales page or guy claims, the speaker of a laptop will never be as good as a simple 2.0 sound system. So, an average quality speaker is enough for a laptop. But, do not buy a laptop that can’t even beat the sound of a smartphone. You should know the minimum. However, paying extra bucks for a speaker that will never top. This is one of the laptop buying mistakes that people do.
14. Buying un-necessary add-on while leaving essential add-on
By un-necessary add-on means the cheap antivirus software, cheap media players and another addon that the vendor offers that is freely available on the internet. Instead, save the money and buy a printer or an external HDD. This way you should stop wasting time and stop this mistake when buying a laptop.
15. Not caring about accessories of the laptop
This includes keyboards, mouse, USB multiple ports, Laptop bags, etc. If you do not use these accessories, chances are high that you may do some damage to the laptop. This will cost you a lot. For example, buying an external keyboard is much cheaper than replacing the keyboard. This applies to other parts as well. Another example is the laptop cooler. I personally like this because it really boosts the performance of the laptop and preserve the laptop as much as possible.
16. Having a vague idea about warranty
This is another major mistake that people often makes when buying a new laptop. Most will simply see the warranty of 1 or 2 years and they are happy. But check and contact support on how to avail the warranty in case you need it. What is the coverage of the warranty? How to register for warranty in case if you are buying online. Is the service centre available in your city or area, etc? If you need to go to a city that is 300 km away to avail the warranty then there is no point of buying the laptop. So, do not make these simple laptop buying mistakes.
Laptop and Tablet Warranties: What They Cover
17. Not knowing how to operate the features in the laptop
This may sound like a small thing but not knowing how to use all the features in your laptop is one of the major laptop buying mistakes. You have paid for each and every feature that is there on that laptop. So, why not use it? Some will say that they don’t necessarily need the features. In this case, the previous they have done the previous laptop buying mistakes of not knowing their requirements and falling to the trap of extra unnecessary features.
This is it, everyone. Thank you for reading until the end. These are the 17 Laptop Buying Mistakes I Made That You Shouldn’t make. If you have any friend trying to buy a new laptop, then share this article. This may help him a point or two in buying the new laptop.
Now, I want to know your feedback. If there is any mistakes you think that should be in that list then comment down below so that I can check and update with it. Stay tuned for more posts. Do not forget to check out other articles as well.
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