Where To Buy A Good Laptop

Should You Consider Buying A Refurbished Laptop

Absolutely. You can get some serious discounts by picking up refurbished laptops. But remember a few things.

Firstly, you should only buy refurbished laptops from certified sellers. Lenovo and Dell both have official outlet websites, where you can pick up refurbished laptops that have been checked over and restored to as good a working condition as possible by certified engineers.

You should be a lot more careful when buying refurbished laptops from unofficial sellers as theres basically no guarantee that youre not getting some clapped out old hand-me-down.

The Best Macbook Pro For Everyday Users

If youre looking to buy an M1 MacBook for heavier workloads, youll want to look at the late-2020 MacBook Pro. It starts at $1,299, which is $300 more than the late-2020 MacBook Air.

The MacBook Pro has a slightly different design and look than the Air, as well as a few additional features like the Touch Bar. But the two have the same processor. The main difference is that the Pro includes a fan , which means it can sustain heavy workloads for a longer period of time without needing to throttle its performance. But you wont notice much of a performance difference between the two MacBooks unless youre routinely pushing heavy tasks for long periods of time.

If thats you, though, go for the Pro. We were able to run a number of hefty Premiere Pro exports and didnt see a dip in times. The Pro also achieved a significantly higher score than the Air in a 30-minute loop of Cinebench R23; the scores were closer together after a single run.

Focusing Too Much On Storage Space

Most of the industry has jumped on SSD storage, but you can still find laptops with traditional hard drives kicking around your local Best Buy or Micro Center. Spinning hard drives are cheaper, so youll often find laptops with more storage space for less money. But an SSD with a lower capacity is almost always better.

Its important to remember that SSDs are much faster than spinning hard drives and can make a huge difference to your system boot times and how snappy and responsive they feel. Opting for less, faster storage will make sure you get a laptop that feels modern and wont hold you back, whatever youre doing.

If you need more space, external hard drives are a dime a dozen, and theres no shortage of excellent cloud storage options for storing videos, photos, and music. A 256GB or 512GB SSD should be enough for most people when combined with an external hard drive or cloud storage.

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Looking For Portable Storage

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi speed is important because fewer laptops come with a built-in ethernet port for plugging into your local wired network.;

If this is the case, you may be able to purchase a USB-to-ethernet adapter of the same brand or a third-party alternative.;

In either case, look for a laptop that supports the current Wi-Fi standard, 802.11ac, now rebranded as Wi-Fi 5. This is backwards-compatible with previous standards including the previously most popular 802.11n, but is much faster.;

The emerging standard for newer laptops is Wi-Fi 6 which is faster and designed to support more devices than Wi-Fi 5.

USB-C connectivity

Connectivity on laptops these days is all about USB-C, the new low-profile standard that’s becoming common on more models. A USB-C plug is slimline and easy to use , but its appearance can be deceptive, as the same-shaped plug is used for several different standards USB 3.1 Gen-1 and Gen-2 and Thunderbolt 3.

Most USB-C ports will be either USB 3.1 Gen-1 which is rated at 5Gbps , the same speed as USB 3.0. The faster; version of this is;USB 3.1 Gen-2;.;There’s also USB 3.2 Gen-2×2 . Then there’s the blazingly fast Thunderbolt 3 and 4 and the new USB 4.

Avoid cheap third-party cables and chargers or you may risk damaging your computer or worse

Total computing portability is enticing enough, but what other benefits can a laptop offer?

Energy use

Size

A laptop takes up much less space in your home or office than a desktop PC.

Range

So What’s A Good Laptop To Buy

First, figure out what kind of laptop user you are. An artist who wants to be able to use a touchscreen? A student that only really needs web-based tools to create Google Docs? Maybe an e-sports wannabe? To help guide your decision-making, here are eight of our favorite laptop models, plus what makes each one so useful.

Lenovo 100E Chromebook:For K-12 Students

Despite the popularity of cloud services, a majority of laptops still store most of your files locally on your computer’s hard drive. When it comes to Chromebooks of any variety, not so mucha big part of the sell is that you require less storage and processing power because your files are stored on Google’s servers. The Lenovo 100E Chromebook is just one of many options, but it stands out as a great tool for young students, especially because it’s one of the cheapest options on the market. The 11.6-inch Chromebook is not only rugged, but comes with Google Classroom, G Suite for Education, and other learning apps.

ThinkPad X1 Extreme : For the Netflix Binger

MacBook Pro 16-inch: For the Artist

Google Pixelbook Go: For the College Student

Razer Blade 15:For the Gamer

Dell XPS 13: For the Movie Buff

Still not sure what to buy? Check out some of our other expert recommendations:

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How To Pick The Best Laptop For You

So, what makes a laptop worth buying? First, it needs to offer excellent value for money. That means budget laptops below the $400/£400 price point need to still offer good performance and build quality.

Meanwhile, ultra-expensive devices need to justify their high price tags with best-in-class performance, premium build quality and lengthy battery lives.

If you want something to work on, a laptop with a modern processor, at least 8GB of RAM and a large screen are worth considering.

For gaming, you’ll want a gaming laptop with a dedicated graphics card and fast and responsive screen.

Check out our guide on;what you should look for when buying a new laptop;at the end of this page for more in-depth advice on buying a laptop.

The Best Laptops In India For 2020

Meet the champions

Laptop buying can be a complicated affair. There are far too many products from each brand that it can become difficult to figure out which offer the best value for money. Add to that the ever-fluctuating prices of products on eCommerce and the plot continues to thicken.

If youre in the market for a high-end laptop with a rather flexible budget, weve compiled the best laptops from every major brand to make your job easier. These cover multiple price points, so you still have a few options to choose from. As with most products, the decision will be a lot easier if your usage pattern and preferences are defined. For instance, some laptops prioritize portability while some go for better performance. Knowing where you lie on that graph will make the shortlisting easier.

Xiaomi

Honor

For this buying guide, weve excluded gaming laptops. If youre in the market for one, check out our best gaming laptops in India compilation. If you identify as a heavy user, a professional or a creator, youre at the right place.;

As always, visit the appended product links to know the current pricing and offers for each laptop as those often fluctuate. These are the best laptops from each brand in India.

Reasons to avoid

Reasons to avoid

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Opting For The Highest Available Resolution

A device boasting a 4K display is certainly worth more than a cursory glance, but its not always the right choice, as smaller screens dont let you enjoy the full benefit of the higher resolution.

Worse still, 4K screens can have a big impact on your devices battery life. Many 4K notebooks have lackluster endurance with higher resolution screens, and really, you wont see many benefits. Unless youre buying a super high-end gaming laptop or one with a huge screen, wed recommend 1080p for savings on your wallet and battery life.

For Those Who Love To Customize

If you purchase directly from a company like Acer, Apple, Dell, or Microsoft, you can avoid the confusion of digging through listings on Amazon or Best Buy. This option is best for those whove done the research and know exactly what they want.

Also, purchasing through a manufacturer gives you the most amount of options for customization. Want a laptop with extra memory but dont care about the 4K display? Chances are, youll be able to configure it that way.

If you love tweaking features to get exactly the computer you want, consider buying from a manufacturer its worth the extra cost and shipping fees. This rule applies to boutiques too: specialty shops that custom-build PCs. These include Digital Storm, OriginPC, and even Razer.

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The Best Gaming Laptop In 2021

At just over four pounds, the Zephyrus G15 is one of the lightest 15-inch gaming laptops you can buy. But youre not compromising performance for that portability. The G15 is powered by the top mobile chips AMD and Nvidia have to offer, and pairs thim with a fast 165Hz QHD display. In our testing, the system was able to handle even the toughest AAA titles at QHD resolution.

Almost everything else about the G15 is great too: the audio sounds good, the keyboard and touchpad are some of the best on the market, the port selection has just about everything youd need, and the battery can last over eight and a half hours to a charge. If youre looking for a high-powered gaming machine that also works great as a daily driver, the Zephyrus G15 should be at the top of your list.

Do I Need Any Extras When I Buy A Laptop

To my mind, the whole charm of a laptop is that it gives you everything you need in one device. That being said, I know that some people find laptop keyboards cramped and trackpads annoying. Thankfully, these days almost every peripheral keyboard and mouse is Bluetooth enabled so all should connect to your laptop with ease. You can find my guides to the best keyboards and best computer mouse by clicking those links.;

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Components And Connectivity: What To Know

The good news is that you’ll have to accept fewer compromises with the budget laptops of today than you did in the past. Intel’s Celeron and Pentium processors have evolved to the point that they can support most of your web browsing and basic productivity needs without feeling sluggish. That said, the $400-to-$700 Windows laptop market is mostly populated by systems based on the much peppier Core i3, Core i5, Ryzen 3, and Ryzen 5 families of processors. Opt for these CPU lines if you need more than just the basics.

Best Buy Customers Often Prefer The Following Products When Searching For The Best Laptops

Browse the top-ranked list of The Best Laptops below along with associated reviews and opinions.

Browse the top-ranked list of The Best Laptops below along with associated reviews and opinions.

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Thinking If You Should Buy A Laptop Online Or From A Store

Honestly, as long as you know exactly what you want, you can do either. At Croma, we try to ensure a seamless buying experience – in-store, online or mobile. Among a flurry of benefits, we provide personalised exclusive offers, convenient EMI payment options, etc. Just in case you face any problem with your gadget. Also, while the Laptop prices in India may vary from brand to brand and technology to feature, we strive hard to provide a wide catalogue of Laptops and Laptop accessories for every budget. After all, the core purpose of Croma is to convert each and every dream of our customers into reality.

Now that you have a broad idea as to what you should be considering to buy the best Laptops to suit your need, you should also consider availing post sales services for your Laptops to save big on repairs.

You can avail the following services for your Laptops:

ZIP Extended Warranty

Croma offers a curation of Extended Warranty Plans to secure your Laptops with an additional warranty of select number of years, after the expiry of the manufacturers warranty.

ZIP Spills & Drops Protection

Your Laptops can suffer damage due to spillage of water or even when you accidently drop it. Spills & Drops protection plan is applicable for a tenure of 1 year from the purchase date of the covered device and runs parallel with the manufacturers warranty.

ZIP Screen Protection

ZIP On-boarding

ZIP On-demand Repair

The Best Laptops You Can Buy Today

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid

The Dell XPS 13 is one of our favorite laptops thanks to its excellent performance, beautiful display, and svelte design. While the battery life isn’t as good as some other laptops of similar price, it’s usually more than enough to get you through a day of work without scrambling for a charger.

Plus, in 2021 Dell began offering the XPS 13 with a 3.5K OLED touchscreen option. If you can afford it it’s well worth the investment, as the OLED’s deep, inky blacks, vibrant colors, and high contrast ratios really shine when mounted in the XPS 13’s thin-bezelled InfinityEdge design. As mentioned earlier, it’s so good that it won the awards for best laptop display and best laptop overall in our Tom’s Guide Awards 2021.

Not interested in OLED? Don’t miss our Dell XPS 13 review.

Reasons to avoid

Apple has revolutionized its laptops, thanks to its own Apple silicon processors, which are replacing the Intel chips it’s previously used. This chip delivers faster speeds than the Air’s ever seen, and the longest battery life in any MacBook either: it lasted 14 hours and 41 minutes on the Tom’s Guide battery test. Not since 2015 has a MacBook come close to that. Not only does the M1 chip make the MacBook Air a multi-tasking fiend, but it also enabled me to play Rise of the Tomb Raider smoothly, and that’s even with Rosetta 2 conversion of that Intel app.

Reasons to avoid

Reasons to avoid

Reasons to avoid

Reasons to avoid

Reasons to buy

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Operating System What Type Of Laptop Do I Need

There are three major players when it comes to the software your computer runs on. You can find out more in our guide to MacOS, Windows and ChromeOS, or look at our brief summaries below.

Buy a Windows 10 laptop if

• You prefer the familiarity of Windows
• Have specialist software you cant live without
• Want a big variety of laptops to choose from

Buy a MacBook if

• You have a budget of at least £999
• Value longevity and build quality
• Use other Apple products, or are happy to learn a new operating system

Buy a Chromebook if

• Dont mind working in web-based applications

What Is A Solid

Unlike HDDs, solid-state drives have no moving parts. While they have lower capacities than normal hard drives theyre much thinner and run much faster, making them ideal for high-performance computing. However, they are more expensive than other drives, so tend to be featured on more premium or performance-focused laptops.

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Becoming Obsessed With One Specification

Tunnel vision is bad news when buying a laptop. While its fun to pit spec sheets against each other, avoid picking out one particular specification as your favorite and only looking at that factor. While you should have a baseline specification in mind to ensure that you get the performance you need dont obsess over maximizing any single specification.

Its easy to be excited about paying a little extra for double the RAM, for example, but most people dont need more than 8GB;unless you are using some serious software for work purposes.

Likewise, dont become obsessed with battery life, resolution, or processor speed. If youre on a budget and most people are youll need to learn to balance a variety of hardware. Ensure the laptop you want has the features and hardware you need anything else that comes in under budget is just a bonus.

How Often Should You Update Your Laptop

You need to update your mattress every eight years, your TV every five years, and your phone every two years. So what about laptops? How long should you hang onto your device before its officially outdated? Chloe Harris-Williams, tablets & computing buyer at John Lewis says: We would recommend updating your laptop every three to four years, depending on how much it is used during this time.

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