Notebook buying advice: How to find a notebook for surfing on the couch
10.8.2020
Translation: machine translated
Do you spend your free time on the couch? Then you need the right notebook to go with it. After all, you don't want to burn your thighs or sink into the sofa under the weight of your notebook.
Our notebook buying guides are all about finding the right laptop for you. I give you basic tips and assessments for different areas of application and show you some examples of notebooks. My aim is to use filters so that you only have to decide between a small selection of devices in the end.
What you won't find here is an assessment of individual laptop models or recommendations for different equipment variants. The notebook market is too fast-moving for that and I refer you to the individual tests from our editorial team.
Couchbook: A notebook for the sofa
Are you looking for a notebook that you can mainly use to sit on the sofa and shop online, write emails, surf the internet, occasionally write a text and watch series and films via streaming?
First of all, the price. There are usable devices from around 500 euros or francs. I wouldn't spend more than 800 euros or francs. If it absolutely has to be a MacBook, it will unfortunately be more expensive. You'll only get a notebook with macOS for 800 euros or less if you're very lucky. That's why most of the available models run Windows, which you're probably also familiar with. Chrome OS - the Chrome browser that you can supplement with Android apps - is also perfectly adequate for this purpose and very easy to use. This now also applies to Linux versions, but you need to be confident enough to install them yourself or know someone who can do it for you.
It should be cosy on the sofa. That's why the laptop shouldn't be too big and heavy. The display doesn't need to be larger than 13 or 14 inches. The screen is still not tiny, but the laptop is more compact and lighter compared to larger models. The typical resolution in this area is Full HD. You should not be satisfied with less than 1920×1080 pixels. There's nothing wrong with more, but you won't get a 4K display in the price range you're aiming for - and even if you did, it wouldn't have any added value given the display size.
When it comes to internal storage, I recommend an SSD. It's more expensive per gigabyte than a conventional hard drive, but it's also faster, quieter, doesn't vibrate and doesn't produce any waste heat. The last three points are particularly relevant on the sofa. You also benefit from the fact that the computer itself and programmes on it start faster - provided the processor is not too slow. If you don't store photos, videos etc. on the notebook, 128 GB of memory is sufficient. However, I recommend at least 256 gigabytes. You should be fine with that. If you know that you need a lot of storage space, you should choose a larger memory or consider an external hard drive/SSD.
Performance is not the most important criterion for a couchbook. Nevertheless, you don't want a lame box. Here's a brief explanation of the Intel and AMD processor system. The higher the first number after "Ryzen" or "Core i", the more powerful the chipset. For our purposes, the Ryzen 3 and 5 as well as the Core i3 and i5 are completely sufficient. More powerful chips are not worthwhile, as notebooks in this price range are generally unable to cool them properly. The four or five-digit number provides information about the generation. In summer 2020, the latest chips from Intel have a 10 in front and those from AMD have a 4. There are other differences, but this knowledge is enough to filter out older models. Not only do the new chipsets potentially offer more performance, they also generally consume less power. Speaking of the battery: since you mainly want to use the computer at home, you will always have a power socket nearby and the battery life plays a secondary role.
If I feed our filters with these specifications (maximum price of 800 euros, up to 14 inches and full HD as well as at least 128 GB SSD and new chipsets), these are currently the most popular models.
If you attach importance to certain connections or other features, you can search in you can still customise our filters and expand or narrow down the selection.
When I was but a young student, I'd sit in my friend's living room with all my classmates and play on his SuperNES. Since then I've had the opportunity to test out all the newest technology for you. I've done reviews at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, and have now arrived at Galaxus.de.