Buying a new laptop is an important decision. If you don’t choose wisely, you may end up with a laptop that has either too little of what you need or too much of what you don’t need. Below are the top 10 mistakes to avoid to ensure the your laptop is suited to your specific needs.

1. Not knowing the budget

How much you are willing to spend on your new laptop? This is something you must decide beforehand, especially if price is a factor.

2. Not researching what is available

There are many good laptops in all price ranges, but not each one of them will have what you need. Check out the configuration and top features of different laptops beforehand.

3. Buying the wrong screen size

The right size of the screen depends on the purpose for which you will be using it. An 11-inch or 13-inch laptop is suitable for those for whom portability is important. On the other hand, someone in the field of art and design will be much better off buying a laptop with a bigger screen.

4. Ignoring the Durability factor

Some laptops have in-built technologies that protect internal parts during an accidental fall. You should give preference to such a laptop, especially if you do a lot of travelling or if young children will also use the machine.

5. Focusing too much on RAM

The performance of a computer depends on various components. Just having more Gigs of RAM will not turn your laptop into a super computer. The minimum requirement of RAM for Windows 8 is just 1GB. Very few people need laptops with more than 4GB RAM. Anything in the range of 1GB to 4GB is good.

6. Paying for extended warranties

Extended warranties are practically useless if they don’t cover theft and accidental falls. Age-related issues with hardware rarely occur during the extended warranty period. In other words, you will still pay the normal repair charge.

7. Paying for a processor that you don’t need

If you are going to use your laptop for performing everyday tasks, like word processing, web browsing and accessing emails, you don’t need to purchase one with the fastest, latest processor. On the other hand, if the applications that you will use require serious Graphical work like Maya, 3D, or AutoCAD, you must opt for a fast processor and a high-end graphics card.

8. Paying for extra storage space that you won’t use

More is better only if you have a need for it. Most newer laptops by default offer 500GB HDD, which is good enough for most users for music, movies, documents, and photographs.

9. Ignoring the type of ports

The laptop you buy should offer different options for connecting devices. Since the ports cannot be upgraded, you should consider purchasing laptops with USB 3.0, which offer higher transfer speeds and backward compatibility.

10. Ignoring battery backup

Different laptops have different batteries. The 9-cell battery will give more battery backup than the 6-cell battery. If you are always on the move, you should consider buying a laptop with a 9-cell battery.

You can browse the various laptop models on Amazon using the links below: