Little by little, portable computers have been displacing desktop computers. Not only for its mobility, but also for its prices. Especially ultrabooks, computers that are extremely thin, light, and with a high autonomy so that you can use them wherever you want. Additionally, new advances in efficient technology make performance no longer a problem for most heavy duty applications.
These qualities have achieved that, since their appearance on the market in 2011, they have conquered this segment, being the teams best selling laptops currently. And if you are wanting to renew your hardware and try the benefits of these ultrabooks, here is everything you need to know so as not to make a mistake in the choice ...
What you need to know to choose the best ultrabooks
For your future laptop to be classified within ultrabooks, it needs meet a series of basic characteristics. That happens because it is thin, light, has a high autonomy, and good performance. For this to be the case, you must set yourself a series of requirements such as the following ...
These marvels of mobile technology they don't have to be overpriced. Although there are more expensive models, you can also find some products from very good brands, such as those you find in infocomputer. A store that provides guarantees on all its products and among which you find cheap, second-hand and reconditioned equipment. Great bargains in technology that you should not underestimate so as not to invest a penny more than you owe.
Hardware
For choose good ultrabook modelsYou simply have to focus on the same technical characteristics that you would look at for any other type of equipment. Namely:
- CPU: the microprocessor is a very important element. It should be one of the U-Series versions (very low consumption) from Intel or AMD, that is, those with a U after the chip model numbering. For example, the Intel Core i7-7700U. That will ensure good performance with the lowest possible battery consumption.
- RAM- RAM should be DDR4 or LPDDR4. The difference between one and the other is that the second has better energy efficiency, making the battery last a little longer, but it will be soldered to the board and you will not be able to expand it. In terms of capacity, it should be at least 8GB.
- GPUUltrabooks tend to have an integrated GPU, and it's rare to see one with a dedicated one. Most Intel chips have reasonably powerful onboard GPUs, although AMD APUs may be better graphically in this regard.
- Display: generally they tend to have screens that go from 10 to 13 ″. That makes them more compact and saves battery by not having to power such a large panel. However, if you want something more than that, you can find them 14 ″ or 15 ″ if you want something larger. For example, Huawei's latest release is a clear example of those wonders in which you can find the best of ultrabooks with large screens so that you can better enjoy visual content. Specifically, the MateBook D 15 has a 15 ″ screen, with the extreme performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 3500U, ultra-fast SSD, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a very powerful Radeon Vega 8 GPU that will leave you speechless.
- Storage- Modern ultrabooks often have solid state hard drives, such as SSDs. However, there are still some that have mechanical HDDs. Keep in mind that SSDs are much faster, allowing a very fast startup and launch of apps. As for the capacity, I recommend that it be at least 256 GB. Otherwise it will quickly become too small for you ...
- OthersSome of the ultrabooks are convertible or transformable, that is, computers whose screen can be detached from the keyboard to use it in touch mode like a tablet. A feature that might be helpful if you want to work without a keyboard in some situations.
Brands
All the ultrabook brands they are important to get a quality product. Among the best brands are HP, Acer, ASUS, Dell, Huawei, Xiaomi, and Lenovo. With these brands you will not be wrong, since they are a guarantee that you have a decenet product.
Autonomy and mobility
It is a very important section in laptops, but even more so in ultrabooks. These teams are characterized by having a high mobility and excellent autonomy. That's because they are thin, light weight, and their battery lasts for many hours. Make sure that this is the case when choosing your team.
Regarding autonomy, it should be at least 8 hours. That figure is already considered good for an ultrabook. Keep in mind that it will depend a lot on the screen size, the hardware performance you have chosen in your configuration, and the battery capacity (mAh). A battery of, for example, 4000 mAh, indicates that it can supply power to the hardware of 4A for one hour, or 8A for 30 min, or 2A for 2 hours, and so on.
Be careful, as some manufacturers often specify the battery capacity using Wh, that is, watts per hour. This measure is similar, but indicates the work you can do per unit of time. For example, 40Wh means that it can supply a power of 40w for one hour, therefore, if your hardware consumes 5w, it could last 8 hours.
En regarding weight and dimensionsYou shouldn't get too obsessed either, but keep in mind that so that they don't give you a cat for free, the ultrabook should weigh less than 1.5 Kg.
Connectivity
Don't ask the elm for pears. Not everything can be had. If you are looking for a laptop with slim dimensions and light, then it is not going to have great connectivity. The reason is that their flanks are so thin and small that they will not be able to accommodate a large number of ports like other larger notebooks.
However, this not usually a problem for most users. With the ports that these ultrabooks have it is more than enough, and some bad ones you could use an adapter to multiply the capacity of certain ports such as USB ...
Purchase options
All the possibilities when buying ultrabooks equipment there are several. And since you can choose between different options, you should have them clear to dispel all doubts. I personally recommend the following:
- New: if you decide on a new ultrabook, you guarantee that it is not being used, it is in perfect condition, with its original full warranty and that it is a modern model with the latest technology.
- Used / Second handIt may not always pay off to buy a new ultrabook. For example, if you want it to fight and you don't want to risk spoiling a new one, or if you want a powerful team at a better price, etc.
- Reconditioned: it is an intermediate option between the two previous ones. They are usually new or pre-owned products that have been repaired in some cases or repackaged and put up for sale again, whether due to factory defects, buyer returns, products displayed in store displays, small damages that have been generated during transport. , etc. These equipment are guaranteed and do not usually show signs of use. In these cases you can find good bargains.