Nowadays, many people can afford to buy laptops. But facing so many options on the computer market, what kind of laptop can best meet your demand? How can you use your limited budget to buy the best quality one? 

China Drive features correspondent Michael Lee is here to offer you some tips you can use. 

(Audio available for download)

Different people have different needs for using a laptop. Whatever these needs are, there are some general tips you can use to select a laptop that will suit your needs and budget.

The budget is always a decisive factor. Suppose your budget is fixed. You can only choose one or at most two considerations from the following items: size, reliability, additional functions, appearance and processor speed. What do you choose?

Mu Yu, a salesman, loves computers. He learned a lot of related knowledge by himself. He just bought a laptop not long ago. Mu Yu takes his computer to work every day. "If you need to take your notebook computer to work every day, of course the lighter, the thinner, the better. But it is also not a good choice if the laptop is too small because the advantage in size will sacrifice the performance of your laptop."

Processor speed is a vital capability of a laptop. But Mu Yu says unless you are a super power user, it actually doesn't matter whether or not you get the latest available processor. When selecting the processor, choose a recent model and not the latest model unless your budget fits the bill. Otherwise, it's all right to choose a slightly slower processor since you will not notice a visible difference in the processing speed. You can spend your money on more RAM or storage space.

Some other fashionable accessories or additional functions like a webcam, WAP, SXGA display or DVD multi-format writer drive can provide the user conveniences to a certain extent, but you will find these functions are either rarely used or specious.

Li Xin bought her notebook computer about two years ago. She didn't care for those advanced functions, but she thinks she forgot to take the heat reduction system into consideration when she bought her laptop. "I never thought about the heat. In hot weather, even with an air conditioner, the low-efficiency heat reduction system will affect the processing speed of a laptop."

In conclusion, if you want to buy a laptop, focus on what you really need. 

China Drive is one of CRI's radio programs aired from Monday to Friday. We pick the most interesting life reports from China Drive. Stay tuned.