2017 Guide for Buying a Laptop
There are plenty of top 10 lists out there where you can learn about some of the best laptops available at the moment. However, if you are looking for a laptop for a specific task like just for browsing or a gaming laptop it can be difficult to find all those laptops in one single list. Here we will help you to choose the right laptop for you by discussing about six different types of laptops and the best ones in those types. We will also include our own recommendations among the best laptops of 2017.
1. General Use Laptops
Price range: 2000-4000 AED/SAR/QAR
Features to look for:
- Enough RAM to handle basic multitasking, minimum 4GB of RAM
- Smaller laptops if you are after portability or large ones if you want bigger displays
- Core i3 or better processors starting from 4th generations
This type of laptop is considered as an all-rounder laptop which should be able to handle almost everything but not perfectly. Besides handling tasks like editing documents and other office work, it should be able to handle things like watching movies or playing some of the old games as well if not the new ones. Mid-range laptops should be good enough for this section. If users are not planning to move these laptops often, choosing a bigger display like 15-inch will be a good idea.
General Use Laptops Recommendations by Pricena
This is a category where users have to choose either the laptop with best specs inside or a good looking sleek laptop with slightly less specs. Some of the best series to look out for are: Dell Inspiron 15 (or Inspiron 11 if you prefer smaller laptops) and the Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga series laptops that are available for around 2000 AED/SAR/QAR.
Our Winner: Dell Inspiron 15 3000 Series i3543
Runner up: Lenovo ThinkPad 13
2. Workstations
Price range: 4000 – 10000 AED/SAR/QAR
Features to look for:
- Running the latest generation i5 or i7 processor
- At least 8GB of RAM if not more
- Right graphic card and display if it’s for picture or video editing
This is a category where Ultrabooks or notebooks are definitely not going to be included as these laptops require really great specs. While some of the Ultrabooks does include heavy specs, it’s still difficult for these laptop to be considered as a complete workstation for other reasons. This is definitely not something you would want if it’s a good looking laptop you are after. All the necessary connectivity options are included in these and some of these even include strong technologies for security.
Workstation Recommendations by Pricena
All the laptops in this category are capable of handling heavy tasks like editing videos or performing multiple power hungry apps at the same time. Outstanding performance is not something users have to worry about when purchasing a workstation but battery life is something to definitely worry about. These are not the good looking laptops as well but will definitely get the job done in the best way possible. Two of the best laptops that you can check out are: Dell Precision 15 7000 and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga.
Our Winner: Dell Precision 15 7000
Runner up: HP ZBook Studio G3
3. Chromebooks
Price range: 1000 – 2000 AED/SAR/QAR
Features to look for:
- Whether the necessary apps are there in the Chrome Web Store or not
- Battery life
- Connectivity options
For people who only use their laptop for browsing websites, watching YouTube videos and editing simple documents once in a while, a Chromebook can be a really great option. Chromebooks are inexpensive, comes with a simple operating system and can help users do all these tasks in an easy way. However, there are some limitations to look forward to as well as users have to do all these things using Google Chrome. Looking for specs is not really important in this category as 2GB of RAM and a decent processor should be good enough.
Chromebooks recommendations by Pricena
The number of Android apps are increasing for Chromebooks which makes it a great option for both students and people who are satisfied with the minimalism of these laptops. Saving money shouldn’t be a problem for these laptops either as most of the Chromebooks are available for around 1500 AED. Two of the best Chromebooks that you can check out are: HP Chromebook 14 and Acer Chromebook 14.
Winner: Acer Chromebook 14
Runner up: HP Chromebook 14
4. Ultrabooks
Price range: 3500 – 8000 AED/SAR/QAR
Features to look for:
- Good cooling system
- Minimum Core i3 processor with 8GB of RAM
- SSD drive
It’s difficult to ignore the Ultrabooks even if you are not in the market for one. There was a time when Apple Macbook Air used to rule this market but now there are tons of Ultrabooks to choose from. These ultra-portable laptops are not compromising specs for decreasing its size which is impressive. Some of the latest Ultrabooks in the market are now even thinner than the Macbook Air. These are available in different shapes and sizes and there is one with InfinityEdge Display: Dell XPS 13.
Ultrabooks Recommendations by Pricena
One of the few negative thing about Ultrabooks is its price. It’s possible to avoid this problem if heavy spec is not something you are after. Two of the best laptops in this category are: Dell XPS 13 and Asus ZenBook UX305. Both these laptops are not too pricey and include decent specs.
Winner: Dell XPS 13
Runner up: Asus ZenBook UX305FA
5. Laptop/Tablet Hybrids
Price range: 1500 – 6000 AED/SAR/QAR
Features to look for:
- Connectivity/port options
- Easy transition from laptop to tablet and vice versa
- Core i3 or other processors with similar power
There was a time when 2-in-1 or laptop/tablet hybrids were not really popular. However, things are looking great now for these type of hybrids as a lot of manufacturers are trying to get into this market with new 2-in-1’s. Sometimes the detachable keyboard is not included with the tablet which means users have to include the cost of a keyboard there as well if they want to make the best of it. Another thing to notice is that some of the detachable keyboards include extra battery life and ports which can be really useful.
Laptop/Tablet Hybrids Recommendations by Pricena
A lot of 2-in-1’s showed up at the CES 2017 which means there will be a lot of Microsoft Surface Pro 4 alternatives to look forward to. For now there is the Microsoft Surface Book and Lenovo Yoga 900. These are two great options to look for until we get the Microsoft Surface Pro 5.
Winner: Microsoft Surface Book
Runner up: Lenovo Yoga 900
6. Gaming Laptop
Price range: 2000 – 8000 AED/SAR/QAR
Features to look for:
- Minimum 2GB GPU
- SSD drive
- Good cooling system
While these type of laptops are almost similar to Workstations, there are some features which makes these laptops different. Some of the laptops include overclocked processors while some are packing great cooling features. Most of these laptops are quite heavy and bulky but users can expect to get the best gaming experience out of these.
Gaming Laptops Recommendations by Pricena
If you want to play almost all the latest upcoming games in decent settings if not using highest settings, you have to spend minimum 4000 AED to get a gaming laptop. Desktops are always great for gaming compared to laptops but this is not always an option for some users. Two of the best gaming laptop that you can check out are: HP Omen 17 and Razer Blade. The Razer Blade is surprisingly thin considering the specs you get inside.
Winner: Razer Blade
Runner up: HP Omen 17