salmanfaris

Credits: Macworld

The struggle is real, laptop is officially essential bila di alam universiti nanti.

I'm doing this post because it's without doubt the most asked question of all. So before I start off, let me give you some description of the abbreviations or terms that will be used.

This post will be conducted in both English and Malay; do note that the English version is a formal way of describing it while the Malay version is a simpler, less complex and senang-nak-faham punya.

Skip the English part and directly read the Malay version if you want the fastest route to understanding it.

Terms

1. CPU (Central Processing Unit)

This is the brains of a laptop. Heard of something called 'cores' before? Cores are kind-of-a shrunken-down CPU with that being said, More Cores, More Brains. So what happens when there are more brains? Faster thinking. So in a laptop perspective, more brains would lead to faster processing.

CPU = Otak komputer
Banyak core = banyak otak, lagi laju komputer

2. RAM (Random Access Memory)

RAM is not the amount of music, pictures and files you can store on your laptop. But instead, it's the working space of your kitchen, on a laptop. So imagine a smaller working space, you can do only lesser things. You can fry using one pan instead of two at a time. Understand?

RAM = bukan ruang simpan, tapi ruang kerja dilaksanakan
Lagi kecil ruang kerja, lagi sikit benda boleh buat, betul?
Lagi besar ruang kerja, lagi banyak kerja boleh buat.

3. GPU (Graphic Processing Unit) / Graphics

Most laptops have this thing called integrated graphics which is a graphic's chip that had already been built into a CPU. Usually, you will hear graphics namely 'Intel Graphics' and so on - those are integrated graphics. Integrated graphics is already enough except for hardcore gamers.

GPU = graphic processing unit, tak perlu faham lebih, faham tu dah cukup
Dah jangan risau lebih, laptop biasanya dah confirm ada integrated graphics.
Takyah pikir banyak bab ni melainkan kau nak gaming atau buat kerja berat (photoshop, AI dll)

4. ROM (Read-only Memory) - HDD (Hard Disk Drive) / SSD (Solid State Drive)

ROM simply said is the refrigerator of your house. You store things there even for a few weeks, or maybe months and they won't go rotten (if it's a freezer). You close it's door, it will still be running. So ROM, will be the storage space of your laptop, it's where you keep your pictures, music, videos, movies and etc.

They come in two forms HDD and SSD. Since this is not a tech website, let me just say SSD is faster than HDD. Then why not just buy SSD? Because it's darn expensive.

ROM = tempat simpang barang, ruang simpan.
Ada dua = HDD dan SSD
HDD murah banyak daripada SSD
Beli HDD je, SSD kalau nak render video atau hardcore gaming berat.

5. Specifications (Specs.)

What the laptop are made of revolving around CPU, ROM, RAM and GPU

Senang cerita isi laptop tu diperbuat daripada apa.

Low-end specification laptop = Laptop yang mempunyai nilai CPU, ROM, RAM dan GPU  yang rendah
High-specification laptop = Laptop yang mempunyai nilai CPU, ROM, RAM dan GPU yang tinggi

Examples:

Low-end specs:

CPU : Intel Pentium
ROM : 250GB HDD
RAM : 2GB RAM
GPU : 2GB Intel Graphics

Mid-end specs:

CPU : Intel Core i3
ROM : 1TB HDD
RAM : 4GB RAM
GPU : 2GB Intel Graphics + 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT520M

High-end specs:

CPU : Intel Core i7
ROM : 1024GB SSHD
RAM : 16GB RAM
GPU : 4GB DDR5 GTX860 NVIDIA + 12GB NVIDIA SHARED GRAPHICS + 2GB Intel Graphics

Alright, so the briefing part for the terms now come to an end. So let's move on towards the brand because this is also one of the most famous questions.

Brands

Source: Laptopmag

This is laptopmag's 2016 Laptop Brand Ratings,

Salman Faris's 2015/2016 Laptop Brand Ratings would be:

1. Definitely Apple
2. Asus
3. Lenovo
4. Dell
5. MSI

and the rest you could just refer back to the list because it's pretty much almost the same. Do note, that this post is for University Students who have no idea macam mana nak beli laptop.

Okay, let me give my advice on this.

1. Apple

Without doubt the first because of these reasons:

1. Lightweight
2. Running on SSD's
3. Awesome tech-support
4. Very, very, very long battery life

The only drawback for Apple or the Macbook is, if you're usually a PC user, you need to take some time to learn through it. Plus, it's damn expensive.

2. Asus & Lenovo

My second and third choice because:

1. Very rugged and solid built
2. Battery life is decent
3. Still survive long-months after the warranty went bye-bye
4. Relatively affordable
5. Good for mid-end spec laptops

Drawback? Unless it's an ultrabook, it's holy heavy.

3. Dell

The good thing about Dell is:

1. Their low-end spec laptops tend to last (bertahan maksudnya)
2. Low-end = cheap
3. If you want a mid-end go buy Asus or Lenovo

4. MSI

Don't buy MSI, or jangan belilah. This laptop is built for gaming purposes. Same goes for the brand Razer. Jangan beli. Buat bazir duit je.

Lagi satu jangan terpengaruh dengan yang ada Beats Audio ke, or maybe Dolby Digital ke,  special LED ke, tak banyak effect pun kat performance.

Kalau nak audio sedap, beli speaker atau headphone. Kalau nak movie nampak HD, beli tv bukan laptop.

Kesimpulannya, beli laptop low-specs if you are just into simple university works, tak pakai software berat dan sebagainya.

Beli laptop mid-specs if you are into light gaming and works involve videos, graphic designing, adobe, autocad dan sewaktu dengannya while at the same time nak buat university works.

Mid-specs laptop are highly recommended for Architecture and Engineering students.