Q&A for How to Choose a Computer

First, take a look at the battery if you can. Make sure that it's holding its charge relatively well. Then, search the model and year of the computer up online to see if there have been any recalls. If there have, you probably want to look somewhere else if the problem hasn't actively been addressed.

Mac computers typically resell for much higher than Windows computers. You won't get much for a used PC, but you can still get a fair bit of cash for a used Mac.

They're both good. It really just depends on what you're looking to get out of your computer.

Not usually. Most laptop CPUs are soldered in place on the motherboard. In a desktop, the CPU fits into a slot and can be removed and upgraded, but for the sake of thinness, this is not the case in laptops. Usually the only things that are upgradeable in a laptop are the hard drive/solid state drive and RAM.

You can check public reviews on online shopping sites, those are the best and true. There are also plenty of advisory web pages available on Google.

As long as your laptop is connected to a scanner, then yes.

Microsoft, because you can use more widely available applications, some software doesn't support Mac OS.

You can't really find an inexpensive Intel i5 processor with any other parts. but it's worth the money.

Always read online reviews. For starters, the i5 line of Intel processors are recommended for gaming, but the i7 is said to be better for more intensive work, such as making a 3D movie.

Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro is good. It is kind of pricey but it's very nice for office usage and it has a pretty big screen.

I think in your situation, you should buy a Windows PC over a Mac. I would suggest a Lenovo with a middle-ish spec (I5,256GB SSD, 4GB of RAM if it’s mainly browsing you’re doing. With a Microsoft Surface, go with a similar spec.

Lenovo is a good laptop to have. It has a word processor already installed in it, and it's affordable.

From my experience, Linux is a good place to start, especially for languages such as Python and Ruby. Windows has plenty of text editors for all coding languages. If you’re planning to stick to the base text editors (IDLE, etc.), then Linux, otherwise go with Windows.

The best video cards are the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and the AMD Radeon RX 580.

Generally a desktop. Laptops usually have onboard graphics as part of the processor, which is okay for some games (think League of Legends) but will not be capable of high end games at good FPS. Laptops that do have a dedicated GPU are often much pricier than a desktop equivalent and do not let you upgrade the GPU. A desktop will allow more RAM as well as a variety of GPU's that can be upgraded at anytime so long as the motherboard supports it. You can build a very decent gaming PC for a fraction of the cost of a pre-built gaming laptop.

Try a normal-sized PC over an all-in-one. As the manufacturer doesn't have to cram all the parts into a smaller space, they tend to be much cheaper. Alternatively, you might get an all-in-one if you particularly like a minimalistic aesthetic.

It depends if you're doing gaming. If you're just doing stuff like watching YouTube and things like that, definitely get a laptop. Get a Windows laptop with either Acer or HP. If for gaming, you'll need a laptop with plenty of power and that'll set you back thousands. Otherwise, a desktop is better for that purpose.

Find a computer/laptop that fits your needs. If you want to run multiple things at once, find a PC. But if you're using it for working purposes, find a laptop because it can handle that. Make sure you're always looking at the size and the GB of the computer to find one that will fit your needs.