Cyber Monday Laptop Buying Guide: Choosing the Right Laptop
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still a month away, but there’s no harm in shopping around so you can target what you want. Getting a head start now means that when the deals hit, you’ll be able to swoop in and grab the perfect piece of tech.
While you do have the option of going in-store to fight the masses on Black Friday, most prefer to do their shopping online on Cyber Monday. The benefit to online shopping, and why most people now eschew public Black Friday sales, is that shopping from home means you get great deals without the wild crowds. Cyber Monday is like the aftermath of Black Friday, with emphasis on the latest tvs, computers, smartphones and laptops. The right laptop is the focus here and our guide will help you score the best laptop.
Gaming Laptops
What to look for in a gaming rig
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA, AMD
- RAM: 8 gigs and higher
- Hard Drive Capacity: 500 gigs and higher
The Lenovo Y70 is among the best in gaming laptops if you head to any retail shop. It sports a whopping 17.3” touch screen with a 1 terabyte hard drive. The Y70 carries an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M graphics card with 8 gigs dedicated to graphics. It contains 16 gigs of RAM. The 4th Gen Intel Core provides powerful processing performance while you game without sacrificing its efficiency. Right now it’s priced at $1,299.99, which is not a bad price when you compare it to other gaming laptops.
MSI is all about gaming. It’s right up there with ASUS and Alienware, but easier on the pocket when you look at their rigs. For $1,907.96, it’s not bad when you look under the hood and see what the GS70 is packing. Right away we have another 17.3” monitor to work with, which looks amazing when you’re gaming.
It comes with a 1 terabyte hard drive and a solid state hard drive with 128 gigs. The solid state drive is separate from the hard drive with faster response times, meaning your computer won’t have the lag in loading times for processes, apps or whatever you’re running. There’s 16 gigs of RAM and the graphics card is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M, meaning your cinematics and graphics will run smooth. Included with the GS70 Stealth is Xsplit Gamecaster Streaming Software so you can stream your sessions flawlessly and upload them to any video service.
Business Laptops
What to look for in a business computers
- Battery Life: 7 hours and up
- Mobility: Lightweight laptops or 2-in-1 laptop/tablet hybrids
- RAM: 6 gigs and up
When you need a laptop that will survive a full day’s work while you’re on the move, Toshiba is there to help. The Portege Z20t is a hybrid laptop that disconnects from the keyboard to become a work tablet. This handy little hybrid sports an impressive 7-hour battery life in tablet-mode and 14 hours in laptop-mode. The Portege handles all of its heavy-duty tasks with a 256-gig solid state drive, making file transfers quick while handling multiple processes without sacrificing efficiency. The Toshiba Portege Z20t retails at $1,699 right now so keep an eye out for Cyber Monday.
The ThinkPad series is remaining at the top of reviewers’ lists for best business laptop. Keyboard comfort is amazing and grooved keys will make sure you don’t have too many mistypes. For optimum business performance, the ThinkPad T450s has a full complement of ports, meaning you can plug in all of your peripherals or hook the laptop up to a projector for meetings. The 8 gigs of RAM and 256-gig solid state drive make this laptop perfect for functionality and at 3.5lbs, it’s easy to carry around. With over 15 hours of battery life, the ThinkPad T450s is the right laptop for business and pleasure. At $935 dollars, the ThinkPad T450s is the laptop for getting business done.
School Laptops
What to look for in college laptops
- Price: Under $1,000
- Battery Life: 8 hours and up
- Functionality: Graphics, storage, processing power, etc.
At $799, this machine is a beast for the price. You can watch videos in crisp detail, write your papers or do any project on this machine. With 4 gigs of RAM and a 128-gig solid state drive, the XPS 13 runs smooth while you plug away at homework. Whether you’re a textbook scholar or an art student, the XPS 13 covers your bases with its functionality. The inclusion of an SD card slot means photos can be uploaded for work or to keep your friends and family up-to-date on what you’re doing. The expected battery life is measured to 15 hours, meaning you’ll have plenty of time to either goof off or get some work done.
If you’re an online student and strapped for cash then you need to take a look at the Chromebook line. Google’s first laptop, the Chromebook, is a browser-based computer that uses Chrome to its full potential. The Chromebook 2 by Toshiba builds on Google’s operating system to bring you a laptop that’s light on the hardware, but powerful in all other regards.
The color display is brilliant, the speed is astonishing and, with full access to everything Google has to offer, your work is in safe hands. The battery lasts for 9 hours, which is plenty of time for the home student if you don’t plan on being too far from your charger. Toshiba’s Chromebook 2 retails at $329, which is an amazing price for any student.
Whether you’re a gamer, an office jockey or a struggling student, you can find a laptop that will serve you faithfully. This list is intended to help you find the perfect laptop and there are plenty to choose from. If budget isn’t an issue, be on the look out for some high-end rigs. If money is tight, there are tons of laptops that will do everything you would expect from a computer. Keep your eyes open and do some shopping around – Cyber Monday is still a few weeks away.
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