More power! That seems to be the cry heard from the computer buying masses. We crave the latest and greatest, we want the fastest possible computer and we want it now! Modern laptops are beastly, capable of keeping up with a desktop PC while measuring less than half an inch thick. Every new laptop release sees more powerful components introduced, promising an even bigger performance increase.
But is our thirst for performance warranted? Is more power really what we want? A five-year-old computer can be had for less than $300 and is more than ready to run most applications with no problems. Why are we paying thousands of dollars for a new computer when all we need is something to browse the internet for memes?
It seems like most of us are happy to fork out big bucks for a computer because we have been convinced we need more power, but what other features are we being sold that we don’t need?
A screen with a resolution higher than 1920×1080
High-resolution screens have always been an arms race between manufacturers. Thinner, lighter, brighter, sharper, bigger, the list goes on. A 4k OLED screen looks stunning sure, but it will drain battery life quicker than a thirty camel drinks water. Most content Is published at 1080p, meaning a 1920×1080 screen will look perfectly sharp and viewable, with no real benefit seen for a higher resolution display.
Any sort of touch screen.
Before you scream and throw Doritos at your monitor, hear me out. Touchscreens have their uses; on a smartphone, a touchscreen makes a lot of sense; you are directly inputting information with your fingers onto the device itself, saving space that would have been used by a keypad. On a laptop, you have a far superior method of typing, the keyboard.
For artists, a high sensitivity touchscreen is a nice addition to a laptop capable of running resource-hungry creativity suites, but for average users, a touch screen is an unnecessary and costly inclusion to a laptop.
Biggest and best performance parts
As we covered earlier, the need for performance parts is a false economy. Laptops like the Asus Chromebook are perfectly suited to everyday computing without breaking the bank or melting a hole in your lap. Machines like the Chromebook are thin and light, making them more comfortable in prolonged use and are frugal on power as they aren’t crammed with ridiculously powerful parts.
If you want a rig capable of playing the latest games at max settings, by all means, buy the most face-melting machine you can afford. If you need 64 gigs of ram to render 4k footage, yep, dig deep in them pockets for a brutish workhorse, but if you are sitting on the couch watching youtube, you are better off saving your money and buying a Chromebook.
Bio-metrics
For some reason, manufacturers are convinced no one can remember a password. Face recognition, fingerprint readers, and even voice recognition, all useless features on a laptop that have somehow become the norm. Yes, they are more secure than a simple password, but levels more complicated and are prone to more complications.
Unless you are carrying nuclear launch codes or have the memory of a goldfish, why not just use a simple password to lock your laptop?
Hopefully, you can take this article with a grain of salt; sometimes it’s just nice to buy the latest and greatest computer. I do not condemn you for buying a powerful PC just because you wanted one, but if you want to save money on your next computer, keep in mind these useless features that you probably don’t need.
