Laptop Myths

When you head into a store to look at a cheap laptop or search online, you may read some comments and reviews that just don’t sound right to you.  These laptop myths are often believed, but a smart laptop buyer (i.e., you) will know better.

1.    Laptops are always more expensive than the desktops.  While this is often the case, it’s not always true.  Many laptops are inexpensive these days, and while buying a top of the range laptop is going to be expensive, buying one that has been on the market for a year or so should be well within your budget.

2.    Laptops have very short battery lives.  With older models (ten years older or more), this is probably true—those laptops often needed to be charged every few hours.  However, some modern laptops can last as long as six hours or more.  Most of them now include power-saver settings.  If you dim your screen, for example, your laptop will be able to run longer.

3.    Laptops cannot be upgraded.  This one is somewhat true.  It is more difficult to upgrade your laptop’s processor and graphics card, but it’s not that hard to add more RAM.  Many laptops’ CD/DVD drives can be easily removed and swapped out for a new drive, too.

4.    Laptops don’t feature everything a desktop does.  On the contrary—some laptops actually feature more.  Laptops today are as fast as desktops and feature large hard drives.  You can get DVD burners and Blue Ray drives for laptops, plus most now include built-in microphones and web cams, two things many desktops don’t come with.