Things to consider when buying a Laptop.

Buying a Laptop can be stressful and daunting. There's just so many to choose from, all with different features and programmes that I don't even understand. Here's just a few things to consider when buying one.

Size: Size is of extreme importance when purchasing a laptop. Our course requires spending alot of time on the computer and lugging around a huge, bulky, heavy laptop in and out of college is quite simply just not ideal, especially for those who commute. A good up to date laptop with a large screen would be of great benefit in our course for modules such as ICT and Meltimedia design as well as others as there is alot of time spent on laptops required in these modules.

Battery Life: A long battery life is a necessity. The main appeal of a laptop is that its portable so battery life will play an important factor in choosing which computer you buy. Our course contains modules that are very computer orientated and therefore require alot of work on the computer. The college does not house many available plugs for your laptop so a long battery life is essential. All note and assignment briefs are posted on Blackboard.ie and so a computer is essential for the course. Most laptops will last 3 to 4 hours but there are some ultra-portables available that can often offer seven hours although these are quite expensive.

Processor: When it comes to the processor the faster the better. Intel's Pentium M CPU line offers speed while enabling great battery life and therefore a great choice for our course.

Video RAM: Lots of RAM lets you run more applications simultaneously, which is great for our course as I tend to find myself with numerous different applications open, such as Blackboard, Photoshop and Microsoft Powerpoint etc. Sufficient RAM is also necessary for graphics work and image editing which we use in our Multimedia Design module. RAM is not essential for our course although it is useful.

Ports: It is assumed that any modern laptop computer has numerous USB ports, as well as VGA, DVI, serial, and parallel ports.Unfortunatly this is not the case as some budget notebook computers may not have any of these. These are hugely important for our course as work done on your own laptop is required to be brought into class and onto the college computers. The handiest way to do this is through use of a USB key.

AntiVirus Software: Antivirus software is a must have for all computers and laptops. If it's not included in the price of the laptop make sure you get it. Norton and McAfee are two companies that sell this software but you can also download ones for free off the internet such as Avast and AVG. Antivirus software is an essential for this course as you are always on the internet and required to plug in your USB key into many different computers where a virus could easily get onto your key and then into your laptop when you plug it in.

These are just a few key factors to consider when buying a laptop for our course.