Computer Shopping Tips

General Tips

Set a budget (yes, computers are expensive, often hundreds of dollars, I wish they were not). Shop from that budget, maybe allowing yourself to go up or down by $50. Then look for the lightest-weight laptops in that price range, and narrow it down by the technical features (detailed below).

Tax Free Weekend

South Carolina's Tax-Free Weekend is August 2-4, 2024. Make sure to take advantage of this benefit!

Computer Components

While computers are inherently technical, shopping for computers feels 10x more technical. Shopping for a computer is a learning experience. You want a computer that will last, but not one you'll have to pay too much for. So here's my computer components buying guide:

• CPU, the primary part that determines the computer's overall speed
  • Choose Intel or AMD which are both great. Avoid MediaTek, Qualcomm, or ARM processors
  • For Intel, avoid the old Pentium and Celeron, go with i3, i5, i7 (respectively: slow, medium, fast; also: cheap, medium, expensive). Model numbers start with the generation, and the current generation is 14 - e.g. i3-14100F. Anything down to 10th gen is still a good choice.
  • For AMD CPUs, go with the Ryzen 3, 5, and 7 lineup. AMD CPUs have 4-digit numbers (then usually some letters), and the first number denotes the generation. You don't want to go older than the 5000 series (5th generation), e.g. 5300U.
• RAM (Memory), determines how many things the computer can do at the same time
  • 8 GB is the bare minimum, but hasn't been a good amount for a few years.
  • 16 GB is good, the normal amount for 2024.
  • Higher than 16 GB is fairly rare and usually pretty extreme.
• Storage, larger sizes hold more programs (typically small) and games (typically large), as well as photos and videos
  • On a laptop, the speed matters far more than the size of the disk. Traditional spinning hard drives (HDDs) are extremely slow in comparison to much faster solid state drives (SSDs), however a SSD won't hold nearly as much data as a HDD. The speed boost is far worth the trade - choose SSD over HDD! It's the difference between the computer starting in 5 seconds vs 5 minutes.
  • 256 GB SSD is the minimum amount that will work.
  • I recommend a 512 GB SSD (1/2 TB).
  • It's rare to see a laptop SSD over 1 TB (very large), so watch out that you don't accidentally buy a HDD.
• GPU (video card), determines how well the computer can render pixels in a game
  • This isn't significant for our class, so any built-in GPU that comes with the CPU ("Intel HD" series or "AMD Raden E" series) is good enough.
  • GPUs are a significant cost center for PCs, but if you want the computer to play games, get a Nvidia RTX or Radeon RX series GPU.
• Accessories, Mouse, Keyboard, Monitor
  • Laptops have all of these built-in, so they aren't required for the class.
  • A wireless mouse can often help get things done faster, and you can bring it to class if you want.
• Manufacturer, what computers are good?
  • Most PC manufacturers are good, given they use genuine parts from known parts manufacturers (Intel, etc.).
  • The top manufacturers are Lenovo, HP, Dell, Asus, and Acer. Of those, HP and Dell are American.
  • A few others I recommend are Microsoft (surface laptops) and Framework (DIY).