Top 7 Computers for Blogging

What Do You Need for A Blogging Computer?

Before we run down the top ten examples of a blogging computer, we will first consider the different elements you need to look out for when selecting a computer for your blogging needs. 

Bear each of these in mind when you look at the computers we have selected as top products, and that should help you figure out which of them will suit your needs best.

Without further ado, here are the things you need to consider when buying a blogging computer. 

Battery Life

This element is not a concern for desktop PC users. However, if your blogging needs require portability, then battery life will be a perennial concern.

You want to look for a computer that has a long battery life and a fast-charging time. Combining the above two elements transforms the blogging experience, ensuring that you will not have to stop and charge your computer every 30 minutes when you are in your ideal blogging zone, perhaps even outside!

Ergonomics 

This is the real lynchpin. For me, the single most crucial element when blogging is how comfortable I feel typing. 

It is the reason that despite being a laptop user, I always invest in an extra keyboard peripheral, one that has a better slope for ergonomic typing. I use this one whenever possible.

You want at minimum a 3.5-degree elevation slope in any typing mechanism. This will allow for the most optimized typing interface, increasing both speed and comfort exponentially.

RAM

As any blogger will know, one of the core things that slows your day down is the impact a browser like Google Chrome has on your computer’s performance.

Random Access Memory, or RAM, is the amount of computing memory that your computer can assign to different tasks. The more RAM you have, the more tasks you can undertake at once. 

Or, if you look at it another way: the more RAM you have, the more Chrome tabs you can have open for research without slowing down your computer so much that your word processor has. 

While 4GB of RAM used to be the industry standard, if you are using any operating system other than Linux, you will be running a whole host of latent background processes any time you use your computer. 

So, to ensure the minimum amount of impact on your computer, I would recommend aiming for at least 8GB of RAM for your blogging needs. Go for more if you are live streaming or working with video.

The type of RAM is also necessary, so look at what that is listed as. For the most modern RAM type, look for the phrase “DDR4” in the product’s description. This may seem like a small detail, but it will impact your blogging device’s futureproofing.

Processor

Another critical component linking to your RAM is the processor. The RAM governs how many processes can be run at once, and a more powerful processor allows these processes to be run more efficiently.

Think of it like this, your RAM is how big the doctor’s waiting room is, and the processor is how many specialist doctors can see your patients at once. 

For a standard computer, you want to be looking at an Intel i5 processor (or the AMD equivalent) of a 7th generation or up. 

If you can afford a bit more, then an i7 or the equivalent will positively impact your performance.

Bear in mind that the more powerful your processor is, the less battery life you are likely to have as more processes are being run quickly. 

Hard Drive

If you are writing a lot of blog content, the hard drive is something you need to consider. Larger hard drives will be able to store more content. 

On the other hand, there are smaller, more expensive hard drive options that are called “solid-state drives”. 

These drives are smaller, but they run a lot quicker.

This means faster boot-up times, more immediate access to your documents, and if you are just using your computer for blogging, the files you have probably will not be too big. 

Further to that, you can always supplement your storage space with cloud solutions, so the hard drive size is not too much of a concern.

If you want to store lots of large files, a terabyte or more of hard drive space might be what you want. If you are mainly keeping data online, a smaller solid-state drive will last you longer and run faster.

What Kind of Blogging Are You Doing?

This is another vital concern that needs to underpin every other matter when choosing a computer solution. 

Are you purely writing opinion columns online? Are you trawling through data to inform your posts? Or are you a video blogger, looking for a powerful video solution? Perhaps you have a podcast supplementing your blog that needs working on. 

Establishing your use case is the most critical focus for the canny buyer. If you are only thinking of writing online and require nothing else other than a light google for your content, then consider a cheaper solution: for example, a netbook, notebook, or Chromebook. 

If you’re blogging also involves more intensive processes, like audio or video production and editing, you might need a dedicated desktop PC or an Apple Mac or MacBook. 

Furthermore, perhaps your blogging needs involve running software or hardware on your computer, in which case a desktop PC is what you need.

Perhaps you are blogging about something like video games – in which case you need to make sure you have a computer that is powerful enough to run contemporary titles at a decent framerate.

Before carrying on with this post – establish your use case. Then read on, as we break down the top ten computers you can get for blogging. 

The Best Tablets for Blogging

Here is a perhaps unexpected solution for your blogging needs. 

If you are only interested in lightweight, resource-light blogging, then a tablet might be perfect for you. For word processing of documents and articles, a tablet can often cover the spaces that you might expect to need a computer for.

Microsoft Surface Go 2 (Academic)

Often used as a business solution due to its incredible flexibility, the Surface Pro is the perfect tablet for the on-the-go blogger. 

More portable, light, and configurable than a regular laptop, the Surface Pro 2 boasts a relatively impressive 4GB of RAM, and a sophisticated Pentium Gold 4425Y processor.

It is loaded with 64GB eMMC storage. This type of flash storage is common to tablets and mobiles that mimics a type of Solid-State Drive. It is not as fast as a traditional SSD and is embedded within the tablet (limiting upgradability) – but it is much cheaper than a full-blown SSD.

Bear in mind that this tablet comes unfurnished, and it is worth considering one of Microsoft’s Surface keyboards for the device. The smart thing about these accessories is that the way the keyboards clip into the Surface Pro means it generates a 3.5-degree slope, perfect for ergonomic typing.

Wi-Fi comes as standard, and you also have an option to buy a 4G add-on to ensure you are always connected, no matter where you are. This is complemented by a ten-hour battery life. 

iPad 10.2″ 2020

Coming in a wide range of colors, iPads are the classic tablet blogging solution. Compact, aesthetically pleasing, and incredibly well optimized, this closed system OS works great for blogging needs.

You get automatic cloud storage for your documents thanks to the iCloud and Pages integration. 

The resolution stacks up better than the Surface Pro before it, with the iPad offering native 2160x1620p as opposed to the 1080p resolution of Microsoft’s tablet. 

Apple’s iPad offers a basic 32GB eMMC, and for an extra 100 dollars or so this can be upgraded to 128GB. This basic eMMC is at the same price point as the Surface Pro, however. 

The tablet’s processor offers 64 architecture, which makes it compatible with high-performing versions of different apps. 

Further to that, it uses Apple’s cutting edge A12 Bionic chip, which uses eight cores operating at 2.49GHZ. This number is competitive with a lot of regular processors in laptops and desktop PCs. 

Best Laptops for Blogging

Tablets can get a touch pricey for what is offered, unfortunately. Laptops provide a particularly portable personal computer solution with a touch more power. Here are some great laptops for blogging that do not break the bank for the value offered. 

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook (11″, 05)

Chromebooks were all the rage several years ago and still rate as one of the best budget computer solutions for work and typing. 

This product was chosen due to its diminutive price and size. The 11.6″ display is smaller than an A4 sheet of paper. 

On top of this, the laptop clocks in at just under 200 dollars as standard, making it unparalleled as a cheap solution for a blogging computer. 

Like the laptops above, the computer comes with 64GB eMMC internal storage and an Intel Celeron processor. This is all on board with an all-new Chrome OS, one dedicated to fast access and performance when performing easy tasks like typing.

Do not rely on this laptop for more than that, as its processor and internal power will not be able to manage super intensive tasks. 

For simple tasks like basic blogging, however, and an unrivaled size and portability, the Chromebook might be the way to go.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5

This compact little 14″ laptop fits in perfectly wherever you need it. 

It can also be configured for multiple different setups, meaning it is perfectly adaptable to other Lenovo products like the Chromebook above. 

It comes with a full 10-hour battery life, integrated Intel Ultra HD Graphics, and a 4GB DDR4 RAM standard. As you spend more in this series, the RAM can increase up to 8GB of DDR4. 

The processor is an 11th generation i3 processor. 

This will not be able to deal with a huge number of different tasks at a time, but it should be able to do the tasks it does very efficiently. 

One of the great things about the different configurations you can set the IdeaPad and its keyboard in is you can figure out how to set it up best for your typing. 

MacBook Air

Although still exceptionally expensive, the Air is the cheaper of Apple’s current MacBook offerings. It is so called due to being the lightest Mac Apple has ever offered, packed with a cutting edge M1 Apple 8 core processor that can handle any task you put it to.

The MacBook runs on the latest Apple OS and bears the benefits and downsides of this. Apple is notorious for its particularly closed-off operating system and hardware. 

This makes it particularly virus resistant and particularly well optimized for its central foci.

In relation to your blogging needs, any kind of Mac will be perfect for multimedia editing and blogging. If video and audio production is on the list of your blogging needs, then a MacBook is the perfect portable solution for that. 

The M1 processor allows for transcoding of media using Apple programs like Final Cut Pro nearly 4 times faster than other Apple products. 

MacBook Airs come with 16GB of a RAM equivalent (called “Unified Memory”) and 2 terabytes of SSD storage. While expensive, if you have the cash and need to make media for your blogs, the MacBook Air is a great choice. 

The Best Desktops PCs for Blogging

Custom Built PCs

While the process of creating a custom-built PC can seem incredibly daunting, there are loads of different websites that can help you out, like PCPartPicker. 

As well as being less difficult than you might expect, building your own computer (or selecting the parts yourself and having them built for you at a cost) can end up much cheaper than the other options on this list. 

When considering the relative power, you get in a laptop, a custom-built PC can often eke out more resources from its hardware and will not accrue the premium a laptop has for having all this tech built in.

For blogging, I would recommend aiming for an HDD and SSD storage hybrid (maybe a 250GB SSD and a terabyte HDD). This will give you some swift boot speeds and the quick running of essential processes but will give you plenty of storage space of documents without breaking the bank.

An Intel i5 processor will be able to manage most everyday blogging needs you throw at it, although you can probably drop down to an i3 if you are really worried about breaking the bank.

While 4GB of RAM will probably get the job done, 8GB will ensure you will be able to manage lots of programs at once running while you research your posts. 

Do not worry too much about graphics cards, as your processor’s internal graphics will likely cover your immediate needs, and this element will probably be the priciest. 

However, suppose you are looking to run editing programs and games. In that case, you might want to consider something from the AMD range, which will be significantly cheaper for the equivalent power of a NVidia product. 

The Mac Mini

The Apple Mac is often viewed as the definitive, aesthetically pleasing all-in-one desktop solution for premium consumers who want to meld media seamlessly with their computer usage. 

Recently, Apple have released the Mac Mini, a more compact solution for your desktop multimedia needs. This little computer contains the same M1 processor as the MacBook Air earlier in this very article, with 8 cores dedicated to maximum power. 

This chip is combined with the Mac Big Sur OS, which maximizes boot speed and program running. The M1 contains Apple’s most powerful integrated graphics, which are brilliant for playing certain games and running powerful editing software.

Coupled with some beautifully ergonomic typing solutions, a Mac Mini would be a great blogging solution for someone who does not need to be massively mobile and wants a solid discount compared to a MacBook.

Conclusion

So, now you have a full, comprehensive breakdown of the best kinds of computers you can use if you are blogging. 

What then, is the best computer for blogging in 2021? While there is no doubt that Macbooks and the like have places in this market for a reason, I would always be partial to Lenovo’s laptop range, especially the IdeaPad 5. The flexibility offered here is superb, at a much lower price than some of its competitors. 

Despite that discount, it can still outperform the lower tier Chromebooks also mentioned here, with some nifty little options for its setup that suit the most comprehensive number of bloggers.