Our Blog - SOBX Tech

September 2, 2018 By Nate Forant

Minecraft – Not Just For Kids

Inspired by my son and daughter, I thought this post would be appropriate. They are the biggest Minecraft fans that I know and inspired me to not only write this but start playing too. It’s obvious that I am not as good as they are, but it’s great learning for children and adults alike.

Minecraft

The creative and building aspects of Minecraft enable players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D generated world. Other activities in the game include exploration, resource gathering, crafting, and combat. Survival is where the player must acquire resources to build the world and maintain health. The creative mode where players have unlimited resources to build with and the ability to fly. Adventure mode where players can play custom maps created by other players, and a spectator mode where players can fly around and clip through blocks, but cannot place or destroy any.

Survival Mode

They have both tried to get me to play in this mode, but I just haven’t got the hang out it yet. In this mode, players gather natural resources (such as wood and stone) found in the environment in order to craft certain blocks and items.

Creative Mode

In creative mode, players have access to all of the resources and items in the game through the inventory menu and can place or remove them instantly. Players, who are able to fly freely around the game world.

Buildings created by Nate Forant

Besides the main version, Minecraft Classic and Minecraft 4k for the PC are also available.

Minecraft: Education Edition

The Education Edition gives teachers the tools they need to use on an everyday basis.

There are a few differences between Minecraft and MinecraftEDU. The main concept is the same, an open sandbox world. and MinecraftEDU will be able to retain characteristics. Finally the last large difference is that students can take in-game photos. These online notebooks will be sharable with other students.

My favorite mode is creative so stay tuned as I am sure there will be more great construction coming soon.

September 25, 2016 By Nate Forant

How To Create A Battery Power Plan

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Love “How-to” posts? We’re sharing some of our favorite How To posts to help make it easier for you to work with your laptop or desktop. Our first “How-to” is a step-by-step guide is how to create a power plan for your laptop or desktop. No matter which Windows OS you have, you can create a plan the same way.

Step-by-Step Guide

1 – From the START screen or desktop, right-click the battery

2 – Click Power Options

3 – Click Create Power Plan

You can also set a power plan from the mobility center when you right click on the battery icon or from the start menu.

4 – Click a power plan and then click NEXT

5 – Choose the sleep and display settings that you want to apply

6 – Click Create

If you need help or additional instructions, we provide one-on-one training at SOBXTech. Please don’t hesitate to contact us through Facebook, email or by phone.

About Us

SOBX Tech is Eastern North Carolina’s leader for computer services, computer repair, software installations and software upgrades. SOBX Tech serves the Southern Outer Banks community and surrounding areas. Located in Eastern North Carolina, along North Carolina’s beautiful Crystal Coast, we’re happy to provide on-site service in your home or business, at no extra charge!

July 21, 2016 By Nate Forant

Monthly Meeting – Crystal Coast Geek Breakfast

Our monthly meeting is Friday, July 29, from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM at Southern Bread Bakery & Cafe and you are all invited.

We’re pleased to bring the local tech community together for our Geek Breakfast, right here along North Carolina’s Crystal Coast. If you’re interested in technology, blogging, work in the industry or just want to learn what’s going on in the area, come on out and let’s connect.

What’s a Geek Breakfast?

A Geek Breakfast is a monthly community-driven meeting for local (and visiting) technology-minded people. Each month attendees congregate over breakfast foods and plenty of coffee to discuss topics like social media, blogging, digital marketing, design, programming, and ways to better their communities through technology.

Who Can Participate?

Everyone, attendance is free (excluding food, beverage, and gratuity).

You’ll meet bloggers, tech lovers, and social media enthusiasts like –

Trish, NC Blogger Network’s Chief Blogger in Charge
Allie, our Photojournalist, of AMillerFoto
Ragan, our Campaign and Event Manager
Nate of SOBX Tech
Sherry of Blind. Not Invisible
and a bunch of other locals who have a love for social media, tech, etc.

Can we count on you? Will you be there? It’s fun, informal and a great way to get to know the bloggers and tech-lovers in your community.

Where?

This breakfast will be held at:

Southern Bread Bakery & Cafe
4050 Arendall St
Morehead City, NC 28557

When?

Friday, July 29, from 8:30 am to 9:30 am.

What’s the Hashtag?

Our official hashtag for this event is #GeekBreakfastSOBX if you can’t make it but would like to follow along online. Pictures, audio and video are licensed under Creative Commons and tagged using “CrystalCoastGeekBreakfast” and “GeekBreakfast” and we encourage you to add them to the Geek Breakfast Flickr Group.

What’s Next?

Though registration isn’t required, please take a moment to RSVP the Facebook Page at: Crystal Coast Geek Breakfast – May so we can get a good idea of how many people to expect.

Questions?

For more information, call Trish at (252) 226-0885 or you can post your questions on the Facebook page. We’re looking forward to meeting you, March 25, 2016 and getting some great conversations started!

About Us

May 24, 2016 By Nate Forant

XBox 360 Consoles Hard Drive – How To

There are over 84 million XBox 360 consoles worldwide. Someone asked the other day, “Why would my son’s XBox say it needs a hard drive? Well, there is an explanation for that and the reason is, not all the consoles came installed with hard drives. There are consoles that have internal memory, so when something needs saving then it would be saved internally. We are also going to discuss how to install or replace a hard drive in your console.

Original model XBox 360 Premium (2005)

The original model XBox 360 was first released in 2005. Various hard disk drives were produced that included options of 20, 60, 120, 250, or 320 GB. Inside, the console uses the triple-core IBM designed Xenon as its CPU, with each core capable of simultaneously processing two threads, and can, therefore, operate on up to six threads at once.

Here is a look at my personal XBox and how to remove the hard drive and replace it.

Original XBox 360 Hard Drive Removal

Steps to remove the hard drive

Turn off the console
Locate the hard drive on the top of the console.

3. Press the release button on the hard drive

4. Lift the hard drive off of the console.

To replace the hard drive, position the hard drive against the back of the hard drive bay and push the front end of the hard drive down until it clicks in place.

Replacing the hard drive

The other two consoles different than the original 360 console.

XBox 360 E console

The XBox 360 E 250 gigabyte (GB) console has an internal hard drive, which is removable and replaceable. The XBox 360 E 4 GB console has internal flash memory, which is not removable. An internal hard drive for the XBox 360 E 4 gigabyte (GB) console is sold separately.

Insert a hard drive in the XBox 360 E console

Turn off the console.
Position the console horizontally.
On the right side of the console, locate the hard drive cover release near the back of the console.
Slide the release diagonally (down and toward the front of the console) while pulling the hard drive door open.

An illustration of a hand opening the hard drive cover on an Xbox 360 E console

Insert the hard drive into the slot, and press firmly until you hear it click.

An illustration of a hand inserting a hard drive into the hard drive slot on an Xbox 360 E console

Replace the hard disk drive cover.
Turn on the console.

Remove a hard drive from an XBox 360 E console

Turn off the console.
Position the console horizontally.
On the right side of the console, locate the hard drive cover release. It is close to the back of the console.
Slide the release diagonally (down and toward the front of the console) while pulling the hard drive door open.

A hand opening the hard drive cover on an Xbox 360 E console

Pull the tab to remove the hard drive.

A hand pulling the tab on an Xbox 360 Hard Drive to remove it from the hard drive slot on an Xbox 360 E console

Replace the hard drive cover before turning the console back on.

XBox 360 S console

The XBox 360 S 250 gigabyte (GB) console has an internal hard drive, which is removable and replaceable. The XBox 360 S 4 GB console has internal flash memory, which is not removable. The internal hard drive is sold separately.

Insert a hard drive in the XBox 360 S console

Turn off the console.
Position the console horizontally.
On the right side of the console, locate the hard drive cover release near the back of the console.
Slide the release toward the front of the console, while pulling the hard drive door open.

A hand opening the hard drive cover on an Xbox 360 S console

Insert the hard drive into the slot, and press firmly until you hear it click.

A hand inserting a hard drive into the hard drive slot on an Xbox 360 S console

Replace the hard disk drive cover.
Turn on the console.

Remove a hard drive from an XBox 360 S console

Turn off the console.
Position the console horizontally.
On the right side of the console, locate the hard drive cover release. It is close to the back of the console.
Slide the release toward the front of the console, while pulling the hard drive door open.

Pull the tab to remove the hard drive.

A hand pulling the tab on an Xbox 360 Hard Drive to remove it from the hard drive slot on an Xbox 360 S console

Replace the hard drive cover before turning the console back on.

We don’t work on game systems, but can point you in the right direction to someone who does. This article is a great guide to replacing your hard drive.

About Us

May 16, 2016 By Nate Forant

Meetup – Crystal Coast Geek Breakfast – May

Our monthly meetup is Friday, May 27, from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM at Southern Bread Bakery & Cafe and you are all invited.

What’s a Geek Breakfast?

Who Can Participate?

Everyone, attendance is free (excluding food, beverage and gratuity).

You’ll meet bloggers, tech lovers, and social media enthusiasts like –

Trish, NC Blogger Network’s Chief Blogger in Charge
Allie, our Photojournalist, of AMillerFoto
Ragan, our Campaign and Event Manager
Nate of SOBX Tech
Sherry of Blind. Not Invisible
and a bunch of other locals who have a love for social media, tech, etc.

Can we count on you? Will you be there? It’s fun, informal and a great way to get to know the bloggers and tech-lovers in your community.

Where?

This breakfast will be held at:

Southern Bread Bakery & Cafe
4050 Arendall St
Morehead City, NC 28557

When?

Friday, May 27, from 8:30 am to 9:30 am.

What’s the Hashtag?

The official hashtag for this event is #GeekBreakfastSOBX if you can’t make it but would like to follow along online. Pictures, audio and video are licensed under Creative Commons and tagged using “CrystalCoastGeekBreakfast” and “GeekBreakfast” and we encourage you to add them to the Geek Breakfast Flickr Group.

What’s Next?

Though registration isn’t required, please take a moment to RSVP the Facebook Page at: Crystal Coast Geek Breakfast – May so we can get a good idea of how many people to expect.

Questions?

About Us

April 20, 2016 By Nate Forant

Creation Crate: Project In A Box – Mood Lamp

This is a sponsored post. Creation Crate sent us this great project to try and review.

Creation Crate includes both the hardware and the programming. This box is the “Mood Lamp”. Each month they deliver a box with a different project wrapped in bubble wrap. The components have been wrapped since it is electronics. Because there is programming, you will also need a desktop or laptop to download the Arduino software. The intended age range for Creation Crate is 12 and older. The projects start out simple and get harder as you go through the boxes.

Safely wrapped in bubble wrap to prevent damage

Inside the box you will find the instruction manual that will guide you through the steps of the hardware setup, programming, common errors and exercises. You can also access their support page on their website. The box also comes with some extra parts for that just in case moment, if something breaks.

Everything needed to complete this project

The Creation Crate that we received was a “Mood Lamp”. The project was for part of homeschooling for my children. The children ages 10 and 11 did most of the assembling, and I ended up doing the code for them. It was the first time that I programmed any electronics, but it was a great way to learn. The next box, the kids will sit in front of the computer and type of the program.

The hardware is partially complete

After working on the programming for a bit, we decided to go ahead it give it our first try which ended up in getting errors. The second time we got errors, but they were different errors within the programming. The third and final time that we tried was when we had success. A mood lamp, with LEDs that change from red to green to blue. Pretty awesome to see the smiles on the face of a child that just made a lamp.

The Review

The kit says that no experience is necessary, but I found that it was helpful to a have a little. The instruction booklet that comes in the box is pretty small as far as the text goes, but workable. Having never taken electrical engineering classes, I didn’t even know what a breadboard was. It was fun for both of my children and myself to learn something new and work on it together. I definitely will recommend this subscription to family, friends and business contacts.

The subscription box is a great gift or project for both kids and adults wanting to learn more about electrical engineering and electronics. No one is ever too old to learn.

If you have children interested in learning more about technology and electronics, Creation Crate has several subscription options:

Four different subscription options

Get 10% off your first box when you use the code “SOBXTECH”

About Us

April 14, 2016 By Nate Forant

Grand Opening of Sheetz – Conover, NC

Tomorrow I will be traveling to the Grand Opening Celebration of the new Sheetz location in Conover, NC. As a blogger and a member of the NC Blogger Network I have the opportunity as they open to be there. Being a veteran, Local Heroes day is the perfect day to be there. Not only will I be there for the Grand Opening, but I will be there honoring Fire Fighters, police officers, EMT’s and all of our military. Local Heroes Day is tomorrow, so come out and celebrate with us from 12 am Friday morning until Midnight and honor local heroes.

All the information is in the press release. Any questions about the event, please contact Laura Hager at 410-456-9771 (Cell).

SHEETZ ANNOUNCES THREE NEW LOCATIONS COMING TO HICKORY AND CONOVER, NC
Family-owned convenience store chain to host week long community celebrations for new store openings

Altoona, PA (March 24, 2016) – Sheetz, one of America’s fastest growing family-owned convenience store chains, continues its expansion in North Carolina this spring with the opening of three new locations in North West Catawba County. Each store will hold a week long community celebration full of family activities, charitable giving, prizes and M•T•O® (Made-To-Order) food sampling.

So, what exactly is a Sheetz?

Open 24/7, 365 days a year, Sheetz’s menu of fresh, made-to-order food rivals any quick serve restaurant, using only the highest quality ingredients. Orders are prepared exactly the way you want it, when you want it. And all menu items are completely customizable using the easy-to-use in-store touchscreens or online ordering. The new North Carolina stores will also feature MTGo! (made-to-go) and Shweetz Bakery items along with Sheetz Bros. Coffeez®, a full-service espresso and smoothie bar staffed by a trained barista.

Event Details

The celebration begins Monday, March 28 at the new Sheetz in Hickory, NC, located at 2191 13th Avenue Drive SE Hickory, NC 28602, with different events held each day of the week as follows:

FAMILY DAY (Monday): Bring the kidz for an afternoon jam-packed with family-fun activities, including make-your-own-sundaes, face painting, caricatures and prize giveaways. Kidz ages 12 and under eat free, ends at 8 p.m.

COMMUNITY CONNECT DAY (Tuesday): Come out to support the community as Sheetz hosts an M•T•O® sandwich fundraiser to benefit local schools. Members of the Sheetz family will be on site for a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 am, and Sheetz will make a donation to the Special Olympics.

EAT SHMART (Wednesday): Introduces Hickory to healthy MTO options for any meal of the day; focusing on tasty, customizable, healthy breakfast demonstrations throughout the morning. Enjoy eat shmart samples, MTGo! offerings and $2 off salads throughout the day.

GET A KICK IN THE BEANZ (Thursday): Fuel up all day with Sheetz Bros. Coffeez®. Indulge in free specialty beverage samples from Sheetz baristas, free self-serve coffee and $1 off ANY full-service SBC Specialty Drinks throughout the day.

SHEETZ THANKS LOCAL HEROS (Friday): Sheetz would like to thank local first responders with free M•T•O® sandwiches all day from 12:00 am (Friday morning) to 12:00 am (Saturday). Simply show up in uniform or with a service ID. And there’s something for everyone with free fryz for all guests with every M•T•O® purchase.

Two additional week long store opening celebrations are slated to follow, starting April 11 at 1819 Fairgrove Church Road, Conover, NC 28613 and in early June at 2387 Springs Road NE Hickory, NC 28601.

Making History in Hickory

Sheetz opens the three new locations on the heels of being named to Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For®. Focusing the majority of its 2016 store growth in North Carolina, the one-of-a-kind convenience store chain plans to open more than 10 new stores and hire more than 300 employees in the state this year.

“Sheetz has a great base of loyal customers here in North Carolina and we are thrilled to be a part of the Hickory community,” said Ryan Sheetz AVP of Brand Development. “Our brand is about providing our customers with what they want, how they want it and when they want it, 24/7. We’re excited to invite Hickory to experience this first-hand during our weeklong celebrations and beyond.”

Hickory and Conover will also feel the love through Sheetz’s deep commitment to the communities its stores serve. Annually since 1992, Sheetz For the Kidz® events have provided more than 85,000 underprivileged children with new toys, clothes and necessities during the holiday season. Sheetz also partners with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, sending over 40 families of seriously ill children on dream vacations to Disney World each year. In addition, every Sheetz location supports the Special Olympics and a local food bank in its area by donating time, food and funds.

About Sheetz, Inc.

Established in 1952 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Sheetz, Inc. is one of America’s fastest growing family-owned and operated convenience store chains, with more than $6.9 billion in revenue and more than 17,000 employees. The company operates over 500 store locations throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina. Sheetz provides an award-winning menu of M•T•O® sandwiches and salads, which are ordered through unique touch-screen order point terminals. All Sheetz convenience stores are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

For more information, visit www.sheetz.com or follow them on Twitter (@sheetz), Facebook (www.facebook.com/sheetz) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/sheetz).

March 31, 2016 By Nate Forant

How to Backup Your Data and Why You Should

What is a Computer Backup?

It’s World Back Up Day. A backup is a second copy of all your important files — for example, your family photos, home videos, documents and emails.

Instead of storing it all in one place (like your computer), you keep another copy of everything somewhere safe.

The easiest way to explain it is, a backup is the digital copy of your data saved somewhere that’s not your internal hard drive. So, if you save your pictures to an USB flash drive, that’s a backup. Save your entire collection of funny cat videos to an external hard drive, that’s a backup. Using an online company’s software and servers to save your entire computer, that’s really good backup.

Backing Up Online

The correct question to ask is, why shouldn’t you backup? Fact is, files are precious and we need them on hand for a lot of things. Whether it’s baby’s first steps or a work portfolio template, certain information needs to be secured against loss and damage.

Which is why it exists. So use it, and feel free to kick back knowing even if someone accidentally smashes a hammer into your laptop, the backup is keeping the data all safe and secure.

Sounds like common sense right? Turns out common sense isn’t as common as its namesake. Check out these statistics:

113 phone are stolen every minute of everyday—costing consumers 30 billion every year.
29% of all electronic losses happen by accident
1-in-10 PCs are currently infected with a virus
Over 30% of people never backup

To help prevent anything listed above from happening to you, please backup.

Women Backup Up Better Than Men

According to a survey conducted by Airbackup, the fairer sex are fairly better at keeping backups compared to men. The study also concluded that women are better at not losing their electronics, however the survey reviews were taken from personal statements, so take that as you will.

Chromosomes aside, there are things we should all do to ensure there is always an available copy of our data.

We should always endeavor to kick laziness in the butt and regularly backup our files, avoid using smartphones to process our data, and do so on an established routine. Because facts are facts, machines will fail, and when they do, there is usually no bringing them back. Human error is also lurking around the corner, backed up by cronies such as natural disaster, theft and sometimes plain bad luck.

But, it’s not just private citizens that need a way to secure their data, some would say businesses have the real raw and important data, and that stuff needs to be backed up proper before companies start losing customers and respect.

Here is a link to the best online backup services from 2016 by PC mag

So, how do you backup your files? Most people backup their files in one of two ways: to an external hard drive, usb drive, or somewhere on the internet.

Backing Up Online

A simple way to start saving your files to the internet is by using OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon Cloud Drive to save the most important things you’re working on right now.

You can save certain files or you can backup the entire computer, which is what I recommend doing.

Different Operating Systems have different ways of backing up your data. Below is the way you would complete this task.

Windows 7

Click the Start button
Type “backup” into the search box
Click on Backup and Restore.
Choose “Setup Backup”.
When Windows has finished preparing, select your external hard drive and click Next.
Click “Let Windows Choose”and press Next.
Click on “Save settings and run.”

Windows 8

Windows 8 is a little bit different than windows 7.

Open your start screen and start typing “file history settings”.
In the search results panel, tap or click “File History Settings”.
Tap or click “Select a drive”.
Choose your external hard drive from the list.
Click “Turn on”.

Windows will automatically save your files from now on. Make sure you leave your hard drive plugged in – or plug it in often.

MAC OS

Open the  menu (in the top left of your screen) and choose System Preferences.
Click on “Time Machine”.
Click “Select Disk”.
Choose your USB hard drive from the list and select “Use Disk”.

Linux

Open the HUD (click the Ubuntu button in the Dash) and type“Backup”.
Click on the search result “Backup”.
Click on “Just show my backup settings”.
Activate “Automatic backups”.
Choose the location to store your backup on the tab “Storage” (your external drive).
Choose how often to backup on the tab “Schedule”. The more often, the
better!
Click on “Back Up Now” on the tab “Overview” to start backing up.

Here are a couple of our posts relating to your data and securing your files.

Data Back-Up

Laptop and PC Protection

Recovering From A Virus or Trojan Horse

Will you take the pledge with us.

Today is World Back Up Day 2016 and we challenge everyone to take the pledge.

THE WORLD BACKUP DAY PLEDGE

“I solemnly swear to backup my important documents and precious memories on March 31st.”

We are here to help so don’t hesitate to give us a call at 252-285-9592.

March 22, 2016 By Nate Forant

Crystal Coast Geek Breakfast – March

You’re invited to join us for a monthly Geek Breakfast, Friday, March 25, from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM at Southern Bread Bakery & Cafe.

We’re pleased to bring the local tech community together, right here along North Carolina’s Crystal Coast. If you’re interested in technology, blogging, work in the industry or just want to learn what’s going on in the area, come on out and let’s connect.

What’s a Geek Breakfast?

Who Can Participate?

Everyone, attendance is free (excluding food, beverage and gratuity).

You’ll meet bloggers, tech lovers, and social media enthusiasts like –

Trish, NC Blogger Network’s Chief Blogger in Charge
Allie, our Photojournalist, of AMillerFoto
Ragan, our Campaign and Event Manager
Nate of SOBX Tech
Sherry of Blind. Not Invisible
and a bunch of other locals who have a love for social media, tech, etc.

Can we count on you to be there too? It’s fun, informal and a great way to get to know the bloggers and tech-lovers in your community.

Where?

This breakfast will be held at:

Southern Bread Bakery & Cafe
4050 Arendall St
Morehead City, NC 28557

When?

Friday, March 25, from 8:30 am to 9:30 am.

What’s the Hashtag?

The official hashtag for this event is #GeekBreakfastSOBX if you can’t make it but would like to follow along online. Pictures, audio and video should be licensed under Creative Commons and tagged using “CrystalCoastGeekBreakfast” and “GeekBreakfast” and we encourage you to add them to the Geek Breakfast Flickr Group.

What’s Next?

Though registration isn’t required, please take a moment to RSVP the Facebook Page at: Crystal Coast Geek Breakfast – March so we can get a good idea of how many people to expect.

Questions?

March 18, 2016 By Nate Forant

Laptop Comparison For The Consumer

Are you looking for the perfect laptop? Have you been looking for a comparison chart? The market has gone through some major changes in the past few years. The models today encompass everything from featherweight, business-savvy ultra-portables that barely weigh 2 lbs, to the behemoth gaming option that could weigh 10 pounds or more.

When people ask us which laptop is best for their needs, the first thing we tell them is that there is no clear answer. There are too many different types of laptops, and different price categories to suit them. However, we do give people a checklist that they should consider before splurging on a new device.

1. Size: If portability is your main concern, then you need to consider a notebook that has a small-ish screen and a light weight. Any laptop marketed as a Ultrabook should fit your bill here, designed to be slim and light. More to the point, though, look for a laptop with a screen that’s 12.5-13.3 inches in size, and a weight that is from 1-1.5kg.

2. Screen quality: You’ll be staring at your laptop for many hours every day, so you want to make sure you get a screen that is comfortable to look at. Many laptops these days also have touchscreens, which means they are glossy. Glossy screens lead to reflections, so consider a laptop that doesn’t have a touchscreen.

Next, look at the resolution. A 1920×1080-pixel resolution (aka Full HD) if you want plenty of space to line up windows and keep things in view. Finally, the viewing angles are extremely important. A laptop screen that touts IPS (in-plane switching) technology offers the widest viewing angles and the best user comfort.

3. Keyboard quality: For long typing sessions, you must get a laptop that has a comfortable keyboard. You don’t want to get a keyboard that packs in every key under the sun (think keyboards that have squished in number pads) because that can translate to a poor overall user experience when hunting for keys like the arrows.

You want a keyboard that has a comfortable layout with full-sized keys and some space around the arrow keys. The keys should have adequate travel on the downstroke and snappy responsiveness when you let them go. Make sure the keyboard is also backlit, so that you can type with an easier view on the keys in dimly lit environments.

As with the screen, it helps to try before you buy, especially if your main task will be typing.

4. CPU: It’s hard to go past any of Intel’s Core-based CPUs when buying a new laptop. Think Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7. These CPUs offer the best performance when it comes to multitasking and multimedia tasks. Core i3-based notebooks are generally found in entry-level systems, while Core i5 makes up the majority of mainstream computers.

Core i7-based systems are for those of you who want the best performance from your laptop. However, note that with a Core i7-based system, heat coming through the base of the laptop can be cause for concern, especially if you plan to actually use the laptop on your lap a lot of the time.

5. RAM: You need 4GB of RAM or more to get the best out of your system. More RAM allows for more applications to run at the same time, and for more data to quickly accessible by the system at any one time, which comes in handy for tasks such as editing photos.

6. Storage: Hard drives used were all the rage, but these days they are mostly out of favour, especially for thin and light laptops. This is because they were slow, somewhat bulky, and produce noticeable heat and noise. A solid state drive (SSD), on the other hand, offers a lot more speed than a hard drive, runs silently, and is installed in a form factor that doesn’t add too much to the weight and bulk of a laptop.

The only problem is that SSDs don’t offer as much capacity. You’ll be stuck with a drive that’s either 128GB or 256GB in size, and even then, laptops with 256GB SSDs are pretty expensive. Stick to a 128GB SSD for your new laptop, and you’ll love the speed with which it can load programs, access your data, and how quickly it can boot up your system (it takes under 7 seconds for some Windows 8 systems).

7. Battery life: Manufacturer-quoted battery life is often not indicative of what a laptop can do, and is based on the many variables that affect battery life. These are the screen brightness, the screen resolution, and the tasks that you run. If you run programs that need lots of processing, or if you stream lots of online video, or if you transfer lots of files over your wireless network, then your battery will drain a lot sooner than what the vendor has quoted.

Look at the rating of the battery in Watt-hours (Wh) or milliamp-hours (mAh). The larger these figures are, the longer the battery can last. For a 13.3in Ultrabook, for example, a battery with a rating from 44Wh to 50Wh will give you the best results.

8. Wireless networking and Bluetooth: This is something that is often overlooked when buying a laptop, but considering that most laptops rely on an Internet connection for the majority of their tasks, it’s an extremely important feature. At the very least, you need a laptop that has a dual-band Wi-Fi adapter. This will allow you to use the laptop with a dual-band router’s 5GHz network, allowing it to work quicker and perhaps segregating it from other devices on your network that use the 2.4GHz network.

For those of you who want the fastest networking, get a laptop with an 802.11ac wireless adapter (some laptops come with an Intel Wireless-AC 7260), which can work with the latest range of 802.11ac routers that have hit the market recently. Using 802.11ac, your file transfer rates will be able to hit speeds over 30 megabytes per second (MBps), and in some cases even approach 40MBs. This is beneficial when you want to transfer video files to your laptop before going on a trip, for example.

Also look for Bluetooth 4.0. Bluetooth isn’t only handy for connecting to wireless mice and keyboards, it’s also awesome for connecting to a Hi-Fi system wirelessly. We use Bluetooth all the time to play music through a stereo system from our laptop. This is music that’s either stored locally or streamed from Google Play Music or online radio stations while we work.

9. Full-sized SD card: Why would you want a full-sized SD card? Well, if you’re a photographer and you quickly want to get photos off the camera and to your laptop, the SD card slot is the best way to do so. Many modern cameras come with Wi-Fi to facilitate transfers from the camera, but that’s still a fiddly process. Some SD card slots are better than others, too. Look for one in which the card can sit all the way in, rather than a slot that makes the card stick halfway out.

10. USB 3.0: You shouldn’t get a laptop without a USB 3.0 port, and you should look for a laptop that has at least a couple of these ports. This is for obvious reasons such as plugging in an external hard drive to back up your laptop’s data, or for when you want to connect a conventional mouse or a fancy keyboard.

Of course, always want to make sure that you meet your budget.

Laptop Comparison Chart

This is a great comparison to what is out there. Depending on what you need and want. There are a lot of factors that go into choosing the right laptop.

If you need help or just have a question, just give us a call at 252-285-9592.