Top 5 Best Laptops for Traveling

Introduction:   

Hello everyone, I hope you're having a great labor day. One thing I have been doing recently is travelling. I work from home so I carry my laptop with me wherever I go so that I can work, and it got me thinking. What laptop could I use to provide myself with the best possible work experience while on the go.

There are a few categories I am looking for in my search.

1. Performance

I do a lot of work with high powered software, so I want a laptop that can keep up with the performance I need.

2. Size

Ideally I want my laptop to be incredibly portable. Nothing is more infuriating than having to carry around a big heavy laptop with you all day.

3. Battery Life

I want to be able to get work done while traveling without having to worry about where I can get my next charge. Being able to work for a few hours without having access to a charging station is critical.

So, lets get started.

Top 5 laptops for traveling:

1. 

2021 Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop

The Acer Aspire 5 Slim is a 15.6 inch laptop that comes in around 5lbs. While definitely portable, it is a little under powered compared to the other laptops on this list, what really caught my eye with this laptop is the price. It meets my basic qualifications while only costing $699. 16GB of ram with a huge 1TB SSD means that this laptop will run quickly and give you the storage space you need for on the go data management. The biggest downside is the CPU and graphics. It uses a Ryzen 3 dual core CPU that runs at 2.6GHz. While this won't affect performance much, it is still worth taking into account.

2.

HP Pavilion 15

The HP Pavilion 15 is a 15.6 inch laptop that weighs close to 4lbs. While lighter than the Acer Aspire 5, it has close to the same specs; However, it comes with a 10th Gen quad core Intel i5 CPU that runs at 3.5GHz. It also has 16GB of ram, but only 515GB of SSD storage space. This is definitely a tradeoff worth making for the higher powered CPU. Coming in at $899, you get a lot of bang for your buck here.

3.

MSI Creator 15

By far the most powerful laptop on this list, the MSI Creator 15 is perfect in all measures except for price. I would love to put this laptop at the top of the list, but I can't due to the incredibly high price tag. Sitting at $2,199, the MSI Creator 15 comes fully equipped with 32GB of ram, 1TB of SSD storage, an intel i7 processor, and an incredible GeForce RTX 2070 Super graphics card. This laptop is by all means a beast. All of this power packed into a 15.6 inch laptop weighing only 4.5lbs. It is incredible, but due to the price, it ranks #3.

2.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7

By far the smallest laptop on this list, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is a 12.3 inch laptop/tablet that only weighs 1.7lbs! It is incredibly portable while also having the specs to provide great performance. Equipped with an Intel i7 processor, 256GB SSD storage, and 16GB of ram, it seems the only major compromise is the storage space. It is an excellent laptop for travel considering it can last 11 hours on one charge and would be #1 on this list if I did not have a few concerns. First, the size is incredibly portable, but I feel like the screen may be too small and will cause eye strain if you work for long periods of time. Secondly, you have to buy the attachable keyboard separately. 

1.

Dell Inspiron 15 3000 Series

Coming in at #1 is the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 Series. An all around great laptop for travel. Equipped with a Ryzen 5 quad core processor, an amazing 32GB of ram, and 1TB of SSD storage, this laptop is amazing. What really surprised me here is the price being only $859. Nearly a third of the cost of the MSI creator, this laptop is an incredibly good deal for the power you're getting. In addition to this, it is very portable being a 15.6 inch laptop and weighing around 4lbs

Conclusion:

All of these laptops are great and would be wonderful laptops for working on the go. If price wasn't an issue, then the list may be rearranged; However, I know budget is nearly always a factor, so that is why I took it into account while making this list. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at blog.techmustang@gmail.com

 

How To Choose The Best Laptop To Fit Your Needs: Part 4 Storage

 

Introduction:   

There is nothing that causes more dread when making a new laptop purchase than the fear of making the wrong choice. With laptops often costing upwards of $1000, it is easy to experience hesitation when buying. This post will hopefully alleviate some of the stress by providing you with some useful information to look out for when making your next big laptop purchase. Since there is too much information to go in depth on in one blog post. Today I will be focusing on storage.

 

Storage: 

Storage is a fairly basic category when it comes to buying a new laptop. It really all comes down to how much you plan on storing on your system. Now, there are two types of storage you will find when you buy a new laptop. Hard drives, and SSDs. A hard drive uses a disk to read and write data. It works similarly to a vinyl record. The disk spins and a head reads data stored on the disk. This makes it slower and more fragile than an SSD; However, they are much more cost effective. An SSD stores data on flash memory, this allows it to write and retrieve data incredibly quickly.

Most new laptops have begun transitioning from large hard drives to smaller SSDs. An inexpensive laptop which may have had a 1 terabyte hard drive (1024GB), would now have a 256GB or even 128GB SSD. Though you can find options for a combination of the two. 

So, which should you pick?

Examples:

1. I am a student who has access to cloud storage through my school. I use my laptop to take notes as well as completing online assignments and essays. In this case, I would buy a laptop with minimal storage. Preferably 256GB, though 128 would suffice. I would  just have to be careful with my storage management.

2. I am a stay at home mom who loves photography. I have thousands of pictures that I want to store on my laptop. In addition to this, I want to be able to keep movies and games on it to entertain my children while traveling. In this case, I would recommend at least a 512GB SSD, or a 1TB hard drive.

In this example there is a large gap between the amount of storage I recommend for an SSD or HDD. This is primarily due to the availability of  smaller HDDs. Many laptop producers don't make laptops with a HDD smaller than a TB anymore. In addition to this, you won't see much of a price difference between a laptop with a 512GB SSD or a 1TB HDD. 

3. I am a working professional who works remotely for a company. In my work, I access a remote desktop. While I have a lot of data to store, it is handled by my companies servers. In this case I would also recommend a 256GB SSD.

Conclusion:

Storage is an important aspect when it comes to a laptop. It may not factor into the cost much until you start looking at larger SSDs, but we all know the pain of having a lot to store and too little space. One thing I highly encourage is looking for a laptop with an expansion slot. Look for the number of M.2 slots available on your laptop. This would allow you to potentially expand the storage on your laptop by just purchasing an additional SSD. While the process can sometimes be a bit complex. I will release a blog post explaining how to do it. I hope this has been helpful in narrowing down the laptop you will purchase. Soon I will begin making lists of my laptop recommendations for various roles. As always, feel free to email me with any questions you may have at blog.techmustang@gmail.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How To Choose The Best Laptop To Fit Your Needs: Part 3 Graphics

 

Introduction:   

There is nothing that causes more dread when making a new laptop purchase than the fear of making the wrong choice. With laptops often costing upwards of $1000, it is easy to experience hesitation when buying. This post will hopefully alleviate some of the stress by providing you with some useful information to look out for when making your next big laptop purchase. Since there is too much information to go in depth on in one blog post. Today I will be focusing on graphics.

 

Graphics:

Graphics are in important part of the laptop buying process. By determining whether or not you should buy a laptop with a graphics card or one with onboard graphics, you can easily narrow down your search criteria. 

A standalone graphics card is not something that the everyday laptop buyer needs. It provides the graphical power needed to process more complex applications. This could be anything from gaming to applications you use for work. If you decide that you don't need a graphics card in your new laptop, you can save a large amount of money; However, if you do need one, the higher price is always a sacrifice worth making. 

The graphics card works with the CPU as a team to process the image on your screen. This means that it allows you to run more complex graphical applications. Without a graphics card, the CPU uses built in graphics to process images on its own.

Now I will go over some examples of when you may need to consider buying a laptop with a graphics card.

Examples:

1. I am an engineering student studying computer-aided design (CAD). I use very high tech software to design and process the models I make. In this case, I need a stand-alone graphics card for my new laptop.

2. I am a stay-at-home parent who runs an online store. The items I sell don't require a computer to make, and I don't plan on using my laptop to run any graphics heavy applications. Therefore, I don't need to worry about spending the extra money on a laptop with a graphics card. 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, deciding whether or not you need to buy a laptop with a graphics card is a quick way to help you stay within your budget. Why spend the extra money for hardware you don't need? However, if you do need a graphics card, it will likely require you to spend quite a bit more money. If you ever have any questions, feel free to send me an email to blog.techmustang@gmail.com

Check out part 1 and part 2 of this series to learn more about CPUs and RAM! 

 

 

 

 

How To Choose The Best Laptop To Fit Your Needs: Part 2 RAM

 

Introduction:   

There is nothing that causes more dread when making a new laptop purchase than the fear of making the wrong choice. With laptops often costing upwards of $1000, it is easy to experience hesitation when buying. This post will hopefully alleviate some of the stress by providing you with some useful information to look out for when making your next big laptop purchase. Since there is too much information to go in depth on in one blog post. Today I will be focusing on RAM.

RAM:

RAM is what I would consider to be the next most important component to look for when buying a new laptop. RAM, or random-access-memory, is essentially your computer's short term memory. It stores the information that your computer is actively using so that it can be accessed quickly and efficiently. 

RAM is measured in Giga-bytes, though it was not long ago we measured it in Mega-bytes, or 1/1024th of a Giga-byte. While it varies among laptops, 8GB seems to be the industry standard for a lower end laptop. This is plenty if you are using your laptop casually and in some cases for basic gaming. However, if you are using your laptop for more arduous tasks, it is essential to buy a laptop with an adequate amount of RAM.

So, how do you decide just how much RAM you need?

Well, the answer is fairly simple. The more complicated an app or program seems, the more RAM you will need. This is definitely not always true, but it is a solid starting point. Now, let's delve into some examples. 

Examples:

1. I am looking to buy a laptop that I will use to run a blog in addition to everyday use. Therefore, I will only look for laptops that have 8 GB of RAM. This will allow me to conserve my budget for components which may be more vital for running my blog.

2. I am looking for a laptop that will allow me to play mid-range video games. While I could probably get away with 8 GB of RAM, this will likely cause performance issues and cause the game to lag. So, I will be looking for a laptop that has at least 16 GB of RAM. 

3. I am in school to become a Dentist. I don't plan on playing any games, but the software I will be using is incredibly taxing on a laptop. Well, in this case I will be looking for a high-end laptop with at least 32 GB of RAM.

While there are a plethora of reasons you could be buying a new laptop that I didn't include. These examples should allow you to narrow down your search criteria.

Conclusion:

I hope that this blog post can help you make the best decision when it comes time to buy. RAM is important, so I don't want you to end up making a mistake and spending a large chunk of money on a laptop that doesn't work for you. Hopefully, I can even help you save some money!

If you have any questions, always feel free to reach out to me via email at blog.techmustang.com

Check out Part: 1 if you want tips on picking the perfect CPU!