Studying without the use of your own laptop is just not ideal today. Having a portable computer is a necessity for all Australian students. In fact, most high schools in Australia will not accept the use of laptops if they are not school issued. This is for a good reason because study modules require expensive programs to complete (Microsoft Office, MS Project, or Adobe Creative suite) and schools have arrangements where these often expensive software programs are pre-installed on school issued laptop computers.
But what if you finished your High School Year 12 (Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE)) are starting your new university adventure. Or what if you are already in to second or third year of Uni? In this blog post we’re going to share great insights which you can consider before buying a brand new laptop.
First thing is first. Did you know that High School Issued Laptop can still be used for your university studies. If you just finished your Year 12 and whether you are a student or a parent of a student in need of a laptop device, you can approach the high school tech department and ask them to reset your current school issued laptop and install Windows Operating System. This will then allow you to continue using your laptop saving you hundreds of $$$ because your laptop can still be adequate in terms of performance.
Second option before spending thousands of dollars on a new laptop, do strongly consider getting a professional to look at your current laptop computer to find out if upgrading some parts can be worthwhile. Because unknown to many Australians, changing some parts such as CPU or SSD can drastically improve overall performance. That means, your current laptop can still serve your well while you are in University.
New Laptop for Uni?
If you are in search of a brand new laptop, then, there are few important considerations to be made before you buy one. Because laptops are a must-have due to their portability and importance, for example: your laptop could aid you in jotting down and organising your notes, assignments, homework. Also logging in to Uni IT Portals for studying and researching is undeniably easier with the use of a portable computer.
But choosing the best laptop for your needs can be a dilemma. There are a lot of available brands and devices on the Australian market today. Almost every year, a new model is introduced to Australian public. Laptops also vary in size, colour, processing power, storage space and other features dependent on manufacturer brand.
So, if you are not sure about which device to buy, you are in the right place. Together, we’ll talk about the basics that will enlighten you on buying the right laptop and upstart your university life with a flare. Here are some key points on what to watch for your new laptop purchase.
Break Not Your Back Nor The Bank
In fact, one of the best parts of Uni life is that you no longer need to carry that heavy school bag because there is no longer a need for it. Thank goodness for that. But then again, size matters when you are searching for a new laptop. Students should consider buying laptops that are lightweight and smaller in size. This ease of portability of a laptop is what you want to enjoy in the first place. You don’t want to carry a large bag around the campus all the time, do you? Not cool nor healthy nor needed.
Laptops with a screen size of 13 inch or 15 inches are ideal. Usually the weight for new laptops are around 1 kg to 1.5 kg. Small and light lappy is a plus for students who also like to carry notebooks and other study materials in their bags. The downside is that smaller devices can often sacrifice performance, bigger screen resolution and keyboard area.
Now, you may be a student who likes watching movies on Netflix or Prime, or even dive in gaming on your spare time, if this is the case, then, 17′ inch laptop should be considered for better visuals.
Power to the Battery
You heard it from us The Electronic Fix laptop specialists in Brisbane Australia that whatever you do, make sure you understand the importance of battery capacity. That is the power rating of a device as in how long you can use it before needing a charge.
But how do you decide on which power capacity the laptop battery should have? Consider how you’ll be using your laptop and what subjects you are studying. For example: if you are enrolled in Bachelor of Arts studying Philosophy or History, then, you won’t use your laptop heavily. Whereas, if you are enrolled in Bachelor of Digital Media then you may need to use your laptop for graphics-related tasks, image editing or video production for example.
Basically if you are working creating documents, your processor is usually idle for 98% of the time and do not eat up much battery life. You can even opt for laptops with slower processor and battery capacity of 2,000 mAh.
Keep in mind, the typical notebook battery has between 2,000 and 6,000 milliamp hours (mAh) of capacity. Choosing a higher number capacity usually means longer usage and stand-by time.
Is The Storage Capacity Enough
Perhaps this is not an issue in 2022 for most brand new laptops already come with plenty of storage options. But its wise to double check what you are actually getting inside the laptop.
Keeping multiple documents and files is common for Uni students, although most choose to buy laptop devices with default storage space capacity (in the year 2022 its either 256GB or 512GB Solid State Drive), such sizes are enough, but you may actually need more. If do you need more, you can either use an External Drive or opt for higher storage capacity such as 1TB.
At the end of the day, know what type of files you would be dealing with for your studies. Word files are never more than 32 MB while some 4K or 1080HD video files can be at least 3GB each. If you are not tight on budget and can spend couple of hundred dollars more, consider a laptop with higher capacity storage space.
The Checklist
Shopping for a brand new laptop is easily one of the most thrilling and at the same time nerve-wracking experiences.
Much depends of your budget, unless you’re filthy-rich, which most of us Aussie are not, you want a laptop that will be future-proof, a portable device that will remain serviceable several years into the future. Although it wouldn’t be wise for us to tell you how much to spend on your new laptop computer, do consider that you can shop around and find a great one even if you are on a tight budget.
The Electronic Fix Recommendation
As we’ve said previously, first consider your current laptop as to if its still good for your studies (you’d be surprised to know that it may be with affordable upgrades). Then, be willing to spend around $1000 to $1500 for your new budget to mid-range laptop that will easily have good specs without any performance issues. Having said that, if you do intend to use your new laptop for demanding processes, then, consider $2000+ range or even consider gaming laptops which almost always include highest specs.
Current Laptop Specs for Australian Market
- 11th Gen Intel Core processors (or AMD Ryzen GEN 3 CPUs which are almost always cheaper compared to their INTEL CPU counterparts).
- 512GB Solid State Drive
- 16GB Ram
- 15′ inch screen resolution size
Now, when you shop around, these are the usual specs you’ll come across in a laptop, although all looks good so far, do not be fooled with any of these specs. What you really want is higher clock speed.
Let us simplify. Let’s imagine a 16GB RAM module, a laptop may have installed RAM at 2933mHz or another laptop may have RAM running to 3200mHz. Same is true for the CPU. You may have a laptop with Intel CPU running at 2.9GHz OR 4.2GHz. These are the specs that you should definitely consider. Higher the clock speed, higher the price but better is the performance.
Living in Brisbane Australia? Need professional advice and assistance when upgrading or buying a laptop? For a small fee we can do the hard work of hunting the right one choosing the best for you (or for your young adult son or daughter). Simply
Contact The Electronic FixBrisbane’s Trusted Laptop Specialists
The Electronic Fix in Brisbane and surrounding suburbs offering laptop computer repairs, upgrades and part replacement as well as fixes game consoles. To learn more visit: Alderley, Arana Hills, Ashgrove, Aspley, Enoggera, Everton Hills, Everton Park, Ascot Brisbane, Bridgeman Downs, Carseldine, Clayfield and Services section.
