Selection of laptops and notebooks
Laptops and notebooks offer many advantages over traditional desktops. The most obvious is their portability, allowing you to work anywhere even when power isn't available. Other factors include ease of setup, compact size, and easy connection of peripherals. Although notebooks earlier than smaller and lighter than laptops were thought to be, today the differences between them are minimal.
Operating systems for laptops and notebooks
There are three popular laptop operating systems: Windows, macOS and Chrome OS. A Windows notebook running the Microsoft operating system remains one of the most common options that are well suited for general use. The Apple
MacBook
uses macOS. Popular with the creative community, this easy-to-use software is very competent when it comes to graphic design and similar applications. Google's Chrome OS, used on
Chromebooks
, is a web-based system suitable for browsing and social networking.This lightweight solution runs well on laptops with 4GB RAM and is compatible with Android applications.
Screens for laptops and notebooks
Screens vary from 10 to 18 inches. A small screen is lightweight, easy to carry, and great for browsing, while large screens are more suitable for gaming, spreadsheets, and editing photos. Screen resolutions vary between 1024 x 768 dpi and 3840 x 2160 dpi. A low-resolution screen is suitable for surfing, word processing, and reading documents, while a higher resolution is optimal for viewing games, photos, movies, and highly detailed spreadsheets and documents. LED-backlit screens produce bright colors and saves batteries, while IPS screens offer true colors and wide viewing angles.Windows 10 supports touchscreens, which are commonly found on 2-in-1 convertible notebooks.
laptop portability
A laptop's size and weight affect its portability. While a thin notebook is lightweight and easy to carry, it often does without bulky items like a CD drive, large battery, and other peripherals. Many
2-in-1 laptops
take advantage of this concept and feature small screens, energy-saving SSD drives and detachable keyboards. As performance and specifications increase, weight and size increase, and this affects the portability of the laptop.
Laptop and notebook performance
It is important to match the performance of the notebook to your use. For light applications such as browsing and document editing, a budget or mid-range notebook is more than sufficient. On the other hand, if you need a device for editing photos and videos and running 3D designs or prefer a gaming notebook, higher performance is essential.
Factors affecting laptop and notebook performance include:
processor speed
processor cooling
R.A.M.
Access time on hard disk or SSD
Mid-range multi-touch laptops typically use lower-spec processors, around 8GB of RAM, and traditional spinning hard drives, while
gaming laptops
require fast processors, excellent cooling, and at least 16GB of RAM, and they work best with SSD drives.
Whether you are looking for a work laptop for daily business tasks or a notebook for entertaining at home, you will find what you are looking for in the large selection of laptops and notebooks at B&H Photo Video.
