There is an ongoing discussion on forums and other messaging boards on the Internet about buying laptop replacement batteries vs. original equipment manufacturer or a branded product. For me both has their own pros and cons and knowing which one works best for you can help you decide which one to get. Today, you can buy aftermarket batteries for different electronics equipments and gadgets like cameras, camcorders, cell phones, and more.

Advantage of getting an aftermarket product includes saving money, increased battery life span, better customer service, and product warranty. Aside from that when you follow their advices and other guidelines in using their product you can surely prolong the lifespan of their product. You can find a lot of place to buy an aftermarket laptop batteries and researching for a good shop is advisable. Always make sure that you make background check and check the shop’s reviews on after sales support before you buy anything from any specific store. It is also advisable to look for long-time and well-established companies if you want to shop online. This is to ensure that the company has been there long enough and have history of giving good services to their clients.

Remember to always check the shop’s history or track record when you are buying from a non-OEM battery manufacturer or retailer. Aside from that compare their performance against other companies and see if they offer other kind of freebies. All these tips help you ensure that you are buying from a trustworthy company and will fall as a victim to internet fraud or buying a substandard laptop/ computer batteries.

Another thing that you should check is the power information of the product that the company or shop is offering. You should make sure that it matches your laptop requirements because you do not want to purchase an inferior battery that doesn’t offer the same power charge that your laptop needs. Keep in mind to always check the battery information that the manufacturer advertises like the battery voltage and mAh capacity. While surge protection technology, thermal-cut-off, and short-circuit protection are some of the other extra features that you should also check. These added features can greatly improve your batteries life and performance and making sure that it runs effectively and properly.

Replacement batteries can either have a memory effect or no memory effect. Older batteries are susceptible to having a “memory effect,” which means that when you charge the battery and didn’t reach the max charging capacity, it will be its new maximum output range. While no memory effect batteries can be charged anytime without the risk of lowering your laptop battery’s lifespan. With new batteries today, you no longer have to worry about “memory effect”.

In conclusion, with proper research you can save a lot of money on computer and laptop batteries when you buy from non-OEM manufacturers. This option is best for those who are on a tight budget but needs the same performance of an original battery from OEM manufacturers. Even for other electronics and gadgets, aftermarket batteries are an excellent substitute to OEM batteries and a lot cheaper too.

A laptop backpack is one of the best alternatives if you no longer want to use a laptop briefcase or the standard laptop bag that comes with your laptop when you bought it. People will usually not think that you are carrying an expensive laptop when you use a laptop backpack compare to the briefcase type of bag. Another great advantage of choosing a laptop backpack is it equally distributes the weight not only of your laptop but also the other heavy items that you are carrying. If you have been using laptop briefcase for some time now, you have already experienced sore shoulder muscles several times. This usually happens when you need to bring your laptop daily, walk from one place to another or just traveling somewhere or even commuting to work on public transport and carrying a bag around for hours a day has a long term effect on your health. Over the time, prolong subjecting your body to this kind of stress can develop real problems with you back and shoulders.

Different styles, brands and sizes of computer backpack are available on stores but what’s important is to choose a product that can protect your laptop and also secure your other items in it. Laptops are not cheap so you may want to buy a laptop backpack that can protect, secure and has a well padded insides. Paying a little extra is worth it especially for good quality bags that will surely last much longer compare to cheaper one that is usually poorly made.

Here are some things you should check before buying a backpack bag for your laptop.

1.    Make sure that it is comfortable for carrying around your heavy items.
2.    Always check the stitching and seams. Ideally double stitched is a better choice. This is to ensure that the backpack bag will last and won’t fall apart easily when you accidentally put too much things in it. Double stitched bags are sturdier even when you are carrying your laptop and other items at the same time.
3.    Choose a design that you like or will make you feel happy because you are going to use that laptop backpack for a very long time.

You will find a lot of Laptop computer buying tips on the internet. Some of those resources that you will find can really help you and most of them will just waste your time. Some buying tips that you will find on the internet fails to include hardware related details that a buyer should also consider before they buy a laptop or a notebook computer. This post aims to give you a simple notebook buying guide written on layman’s language and not written to sell you anything.

Notebook AC Adapter

When buying a new laptop, you should always make sure to check the size of the AC adapter included in the package before paying for it. When you are in a shop you can ask someone to assist you or ask them to check the AC adapter. But if you buy it online, you do not see the AC adapter before you buy the laptop and open the box at home. You’ll be very surprised to see that the AC adapter included in the package is half-size of your computer. The AC adapter wasn’t designed for a portable computer at all which can be problematic especially when you need your laptop immediately.

Physical Volume Control

If you are fond of listening to music a lot then you should buy a laptop with a physical sound volume control. Laptops with sound volume buttons or sound volume wheel located on the laptop are a good choice. You can easily adjust the sound level of your laptop without the need of adjusting it in the sound volume menu of your system.

Sound System

This is for music and movie lovers. Look for laptops with a good sound system. Some forums advices to get a laptop with Harman/Kardon system because it is one of the best like those on HP Pavilion zv5430us.

Laptop Memory Location

The motherboard of your laptop is one of the most important and expensive part of your notebook computer. You can save a lot of money and get an advantage if you know what kind of the system board is installed into your laptop. There are laptops that have memory integrated on the mother board and offer only one extra memory slot for memory expansion in the future. When the onboard memory fails you need to replace the entire system board. You don’t need to worry if your laptop is still under warranty but this will surely give you a big head ache when the memory of your laptop goes bad and it is no longer under warranty. There are also mother boards that offer two memory slots and don’t have any onboard memory. You will only have to replace the memory stick when it fails. Mother board with 2 memory slots can accept up 1GB memory stick in each slot and expand it. Do not hesitate to ask the sales person for any details especially if you plan to upgrade your laptop in the future

USB Port Location

For those who usually use USB devices such as wireless mouse, flash drive and other external devices, you should always check how USB ports are located on your laptop. It is preferable to have couple of USB ports on the side of your laptop and not only on the back. There are some laptops that do not have USB ports on sides and you need to turn the laptop first before you will be able to connect an USB device.

You should also check if the USB ports if it is placed too close to each other. Older USB devices usually has USB ports placed too close with each other which makes it unusable when you plug or use one of the USB ports for your device.

Laptop Keyboard

If your work requires a lot of networking like a network administrator then you probably want a keyboard that has Window key located in the lower left corner. Network Administrator usually uses the (Window Key + R button) shortcut for their tasks and they can easily do it easily using one hand. Some laptops this key is located in the upper right corner and you need your two hands to start the run box application. Window Key position might not be a big thing for some people but what if you need to use this shortcut many times a day?

Laptop Parallel Port

One laptop parts that is often overlooked. If you plan to use your laptop and print documents then you will need to connect a printer to your laptop via a parallel port. There are many laptops today that are designed for modern USB printers and they do not have the parallel port at all.

Laptop Warranty

There are some stores that offer extended warranty for their product. If I were you I will grab it because it can surely save you a lot of money in the future. A $300 for 3 years extended warranty can save you more money for future repairs when your laptop fails. A mother board repair will usually cost $400 for the part plus around $60/hr for the labor while LCD usually cost around $550 for the part. When your laptop fails after the 1 year warranty then you need to shoulder both the part cost and repair fee.

These are just few of the things that you should consider when you buy a laptop and to some this maybe not a big problem at all but for those who want to spend their hard earned money wisely this can surely help them a lot in making the right decisions.