If you are looking to upgrade your laptop or starting your career as a “digital nomad”, chances are you are looking for a laptop for freelancers. There are many options available in the market, and it would be understandable if you have some concerns. The options can be overwhelming.
The process itself is exciting. You’re making a big investment that you see would pay off in the future. But it can also be stressful. There’s your concerns over the budget plus you don’t really understand what all of the specifications mean.
Luckily, you can find a Microsoft Windows laptop that would it within a budget of P20,000 pesos or below. With these specifications in mind, you can easily find the perfect laptop for you as a freelancer at your local EMCOR store.
RAM
RAM stands for Random Access Memory. It goes hand-in-hand with your CPU or Central Processing Unit. The CPU determines how fast your laptop would run and RAM is how much your laptop can do while it’s running. For a laptop to work at optimum speed, you need to consider how fast you need your laptop to operate and how much work you need to do.
2GB RAM is usually enough, but a minimum of 4GB is recommended for basic freelance work. With this amount of RAM, you would barely notice your unit slowing down even as you take on big tasks.
CPU
As a rule of thumb, laptops for freelancers should have a CPU made within the past three years. Newer is better, but you wouldn’t really need anything super fast unless you’re doing heavy video editing work or you would want to use your laptop for gaming on the side. In that case, you might need a bigger budget.
Some good choices include the Intel Atom, Celeron, i3, i5, and i7.
Keyboard and Touchpad
All freelancers take on work that involves typing. Your number one priority should be to find a keyboard that allows you to type comfortably. When looking around, feel free to do a test type. A comfortable keyboard would reduce risk of wrist strains which can stop you from working.
The standard recommendation is a laptop with a screen size of at least 11 inches. Most laptops this size have a keyboard that matches its width. Anything smaller than that can be painful to use after a while.
On the subject of touchpads, most laptops at this budget will have ones of low quality. It’s better for you to get an external mouse than to suffer with a cheap touchpad.
Size and Portability
As mentioned above, your ideal laptop would have a screen size of at least 11 inches. You could get one as big as 13 or 15 inches for an optimum screen size, but you might have to sacrifice portability as well. Bigger laptops can be heavier. If you want something big and light, chances are it will be out of your budget. If something is big and cheap, it’s probably an older model.
The best laptops for freelancers are ones with a screen size of 11 inches.
Disk Space
In this day and age, disk space is much less important. With the widespread use of Cloud Storage apps like OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox, most of your storage would be online. Disk space would be important if you need to use big files or programs that require more storage.
Between SSD and HDD hard drives, SSDs are faster and better for your work. Try to find a disk drive with a minimum of 32GB, but preferably 128GB or more if you want to save a lot of music, photos, and videos.
Choosing laptops for freelancers can be complicated, but it’s definitely possible. Ask for help at your local EMCOR store. Our sales agents will be more than eager to help you choose from an assortment of brands, including Acer. You can also shop online on EMCOR’s official website!