Need to buy a new laptop – so many choices; cheap laptops, new and used laptops, laptops for business, for students, for gaming and always new sales promotions and deals on offer everywhere!

Let SP Computers help you find the right laptop for you.

Here at SP Computers we have a full range of laptops from leading manufacturers for all types of uses; business laptops, educational laptops, laptops for gaming and home use. In our extensive Laptop centre showroom you can see our full laptop range on display and you can check out the quality of the screens and physically test the laptops on offer.

Choosing the right laptop is more than simply getting the right specification for the right price because unlike a desktop PC, adding a new screen or upgrading the keyboard isn’t a cost effective option. This means that you need to choose a laptop that suits all your requirements from the start.

At SP Computers we are often asked “What ‘s the right laptop for me?” In our opinion it’s the combination of quality components and well thought out design in a machine which meets your specific requirements.

To help you with your laptop decision making process we have listed below a few things that you might want to consider. The best thing to do next is to come in and see us in our laptop centre showroom and discuss your requirements with our friendly and well informed staff and try out a few of the laptops on display. We would be happy to help you to select the best laptop to meet your needs and your budget.

And don’t forget – one of the best reasons for buying your laptop from SP Computers is that we are based in Swindon and we really look after our customers. We depend on our reputation for quality laptops and excellent customer service.

Laptop Screens

These days you have a wide choice of laptop screens. The laptop’s screen must to be large enough for you to use comfortably, think about what your laptop is going to be used for – if it’s a business laptop used for presentations you’ll need a decent sized screen but if it’s primarily for writing documents and checking e-mails and weight is an issue, consider opting for a smaller display panel. If you want to watch DVDs or use it for gaming, opt for a Super-TFT screen, which has a glossy coating, as this is much better for movies

Laptop Keyboard

Remember that the keys on a laptop aren’t going to be as big as those on a desktop PC and, with smaller laptops, you may find the keyboard is too cramped for your liking. Ideally the keys should be well spaced and if they rattle when you type, this is a sign of a poor quality keyboard.

Quick access buttons

Most laptops have an array of buttons above the keyboard that allow you to instantly start your favourite applications, such as email or internet. You can configure them to your own needs. These can be great time saving features.

Laptop Touchpads

Laptops don’t use a mouse (although you can add one if you really want to); instead they use either a touchpad or a mini Joy Stick (also called Pointing Stick), which is a rubber nipple set into the keyboard. Both can be tricky to use so we’d recommend trying them out. Bear in mind that a key advantage of your laptop is that you can use it “on the move” in on a train or in a cab – but if the keypad or joystick on the laptop is overly sensitive you may not be too productive on the train or in the cab!

The inside of a laptop is made up of different components, each working together to run a program, load a web page or play a game. You’ll need a basic idea of what each one is in order to choose the right one for you. On the following pages we’ll go a little deeper into what you want and why. For now, you need to be aware of a few terms:

Laptop Hard Drives:

This is a disk that physically holds all your data whether it be files, photos, videos and obviously the larger the capacity the more you can store. Hard drive capacities start at 80GB and can go up to 500GB at present. Larger laptops often hold two hard drives.Give some thought as to what you will be usine your laptop for and choose accordingly – but remember you’ll always want more than you think you’ll need!

Laptop Processors:

This is the heart of any laptop and processes the data on your laptop. Basically it is a chip capable of calculating millions of operations a second. You don’t necessarily have to have the fastest chip available but getting the latest technology means you’ll be able to run tasks faster as the newer chips are more efficient.

Laptop Memory:

The amount of memory in your laptop will determine how quickly the processor (your laptop) will run because while the hard drive stores your data, it’s rather slow, so when the CPU needs anything, the data will be loaded into memory. In our opinion you should aim to have at least 1024MB and, if your budget will allow, go for more as you’ll really see the difference especially if you are using your laptop for gaming purposes. Laptop Graphics: two types of laptop graphics are available – integrated and dedicated – and getting the right one when you buy your laptop is vital, as you can’t upgrade later. Integrated is the cheapest and is intended for running basic functions, so if you want to play games make certain your laptop has a dedicated graphics card.