Back to school is upon us! Are you thinking about purchasing a new laptop? Before you do, think about getting an SSD to upgrade your current laptop's performance. This upgrade could extend its life by a year or two.

If you really need a new laptop, here are some things to consider:

• Battery life: Some models claim up to 20 hours.
• Screen size: What will you be using it for? Will it fit in a bag? The bigger the screen, the easier the keyboard will be to work on.
• RAM: 8GB is probably the minimum, but it's worth going up to 12GB or 16GB if you can afford it.
• Touchscreen: This is a personal preference, but it can be very useful.