You should still expect to pay more for a laptop than for a comparable desktop computer. You really are paying a premium for the added flexibility a laptop offers. Something else to bear in mind is that laptops are much harder to upgrade than desktops, so you should look for a laptop that meets all of your needs from the start, as the ability to upgrade components later on is much more expensive.

Expect to pay more for a laptop than a desktop

While the big attraction of laptops is that they offer the freedom to use your computer anywhere, remember that this is not strictly the case. Take special care to note the average battery life of your laptop. Some machines can only manage around 2 hours before you need to find a wall socket to plug them in to. If you will be running your laptop from the batteries a lot look for a long battery life, and be prepared to carry around 2 or maybe even 3 spare batteries.

The screen of your laptop is the main interface that you will use to interact with, so it is important that you get the right type of screen for you. Make sure that your laptop features a TFT screen; these screens give a brighter display which can be viewed from an angle. Non-TFT displays seem dim and have to be viewed from straight on. The downside to being so portable is that most laptops have smaller screens than desktop systems. If you are used to a large display then you will be able to get this in a laptop, but it will add to the overall cost and weight of the laptop.

More or less all laptops offer the same connectivity options today, but if you have any special requirements you should be sure to make sure your laptop can meet these needs. For example, it would be very embarrassing to turn up to an important business presentation and discover that your laptop doesn't actually have the correct type of port to allow it to connect to your company network.

As with desktop computers, you will have to pay more for a faster processor, or for a large amount of memory. Be sure that your new laptop can meet the system requirements of all of the software you want to run on it. It really is worth buying the best you can afford when it comes to power, as you will want your laptop to last for years to come. Remember it is harder to upgrade a laptop, so make sure you have enough power for the foreseeable future.