LAPTOPS AND CHROMEBOOKS BUYER’S CHECKLIST

THE KEY SPECS, FEATURES AND TERMINOLOGY YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN BUYING A LAPTOP OR CHROMEBOOK

CPU

Affordable laptops tend to have lower-end CPUs that are great for editing documents and browsing the web, but not more demanding applications.

RAM

Although 2GB of RAM will suffice, look for at least 4GB to handle memory-hungry apps and browsers, such as Chrome.

RESOLUTION

For larger screens, 1,920 x 1,080 is ideal, but on smaller 11-inch and 12-inch panels, 1,366 x 768 is fairly sharp.

STORAGE

Many affordable laptops use smaller eMMC SSDs (avoid mechanical HDDs if possible), but storage can be expanded via microSD.

2-IN-1

A 2-in-1 with touchscreen is great if you need tablet mode, but otherwise doing without reduces the cost and improves battery life.

PORTABILITY

The smaller affordable laptops can be easily slipped into a bag, but the 14-inch and 15-inch models are usually much chunkier.

GET TOUGH

Many Chromebooks aimed at the education market have fantastic features such as extra-tough rubber-protected bodies and spill-resistant keyboards.

BATTERY LIFE

8+ hours on battery is needed to get through a long day. 5 or 6 hours is typically enough for lighter duties.