Factors to consider when buying a laptop

When buying any computer the primary thing to consider is what you will be using it for. This post will look at buying a computer for an applied psychology course and will consider the key factors of RAM (random access memory), hard drive, battery life, programs and operating system supplied with the computer. This may seem like an excessive amount of jargon, however it is important to understand these components as many people end up purchasing a computer which is not suitable to their needs.

RAM

     Firstly let’s consider RAM. This stands for random access memory, it is measured in gigabytes and is an indicator of how fast a computer is. For example a computer with one gigabyte of RAM would not be as fast as a computer with three gigabytes of RAM. In the case of buying a laptop for an applied psychology course, the latter would be preferred. This is because during the course you would be using multiple programs at the same time as well as large programs such as photoshop which require a large amount of RAM to run efficiently.

     The next thing to consider when buying a laptop is its hard drive. The size of the hard drive determines the memory capacity of a computer. This means how many documents, images videos etc. which you can save to your computer. For an applied psychology as well as most college courses a large hard drive is a necessity, as it would be a disaster to find in your final year that your hard drive has reached full capacity. This would leave you in a situation in which you have a slow computer and also need to buy expensive external storage.

Hard Drive

     Another important factor when buying a laptop for your applied psychology course is its battery life. This is more of a convenience then an absolute necessity, however there is nothing more annoying then spending a lot of time on a document only to have your computer run out of battery before saving it. In order to avoid this situation, as well as forever looking for a plug socket, I would recommend buying a laptop with at least six hours of battery life.

     The final factor I would consider is the programs and operating system supplied with the computer. Programs such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop are essential for assignments on an applied psychology course. The operating system is a set of programs which control hard ware, software, file management and provide a user interface. Luckily most modern computers come with high quality concurrent operating systems, so it is ultimately a matter of preference between Macintosh, Microsoft and if you’re completely insane Linux.

    To conclude, although the task of purchasing an appropriate laptop for an applied psychology course may seem daunting. With a basic knowledge of computing an informed decision can be made.