Factors to consider when buying a PC or laptop for my course

There are many import factors to consider when buying a PC or laptop for our course. The first one being, quite obviously, whether to buy a PC or a laptop. I would imagine most students would agree with me that a laptop would be the more convenient option as it is portable, smaller and more than likely quicker to use depending on the specificaitons. All of these reasons would make it easier and more suitable when doing the many assignments and research that students must do while they are studying in 3rd level education.

The second factor I would consider is the price. While researching on the Dell website I found various prices for both. For example. a desktop cost €429 as opposed to a laptop which cost €399. However, it depends on the various sellers and specifications (space and speed) of the laptops and computers and it is not easy to compare the two since there are many deals out at the moment. It is much more popular at the moment for students to buy laptops rather than desktops and I think the main reason is that they are portable so you can work anywhere on the laptop rather than be confined with a desktop.

Another important consideration when buying a laptop is the battery life. For example, when buying this dell laptop I ordered a 9c battery so this lasts three times longer than a normal battery. Once the battery is charged I can work on the laptop without being connected to a socket for approximately 3 hours. This is important as if the battery runs out in the middle of an important assignment or while working on a group project in college it would be devestating as all the hard work can be lost in seconds!

The other factor is whether the programmes which are necessary for a student's course are on the computer or not. Usually Microsoft Office is not included but you can buy a student edition which is much cheaper. The other programmes which are necessary for the course I am doing are Photoshop and Illustrator. These are all extras.

All the above are the factors which I consider very important when deciding what laptop or computer a student should buy for their course. I hope it is useful reading.