Laptop PC Buying Guide
January 29, 2008
Like many other things, electronics and computers are shrinking to meet the discriminating demands of computer users from all walks of life.
Whether you are a student doing your school research, a web professional making regular updates to the web accounts you are maintaining, a graphic designer doing print and online ads, or a businessman keeping track of transactions online, choosing a laptop PC should be done carefully to suit the main purpose of buying one.
The main advantage of having a laptop over a desktop is mobility. But laptops, compared to desktops, are significantly higher in price. So you need to know what suits your budget without sacrificing the productivity of your main line of work.
There are pre-packaged laptops which can be bought in minutes from the show window of a computer shop. Then there are laptops which have parts that are mixed and matched by the buyer. The latter can be the better choice – but one must be well-versed with the technical aspects of computers. Here is a guide on choosing the parts of the laptop PC to buy:
Processor:
To put it in layman’s terms, the processor, which is sometimes called the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the computer. It is in this chip that calculations take place with the arithmetic and logic unit. The famous brands for processors include Intel and AMD, and competition among these brands is very stiff. The most significant way to gauge processor power is its clock speed, and today’s processor clock speeds range from 1.4 to 3.0 Gigahertz. When it comes to laptop processors, the processors with the M label like Athlon XP Mobile and Mobile Intel Pentium 4 are top choices of IT professionals because these processors use less power (and therefore give longer battery life) and they also run cooler. Processors under the Centrino
label are also excellent choices especially in wireless connections.
RAM:
RAM stands for Random Access Memory and is one of the most important considerations in buying a laptop PC. In fact, many IT professionals are giving more careful thought in choosing RAM than in choosing CPUs. Computer applications and data are stored in the RAM as they are running, so the less RAM space, the slower the computer runs because it will be forced to use hard disk as the RAM extension and hard disk access and performance is much slower.
Most laptops ship with 256 MB RAM and this is already more than enough if you are using text applications like documents and emails. But if you are using graphics, video and multimedia, or if you do editing, then you might want to consider getting more than 1 Gigabyte of RAM.
Hard Disk:
The hard disk is the storage of all applications and files when they are not used. Laptops usually come with 40 Gigabytes of hard disk space. Photos and videos occupy much larger spaces, so if you are storing lots of them, then you might want to go higher. Some laptops ship with 120 Gigabyte hard drives. But you should not worry much about hard disk space because in case your hard disk runs out of space, you can always buy an external hard drive for back up. Many external hard drives are USB enabled, making it very easy to move files from laptop to the external drive.
Screen Size:
Laptop screens come in liquid crystal display (LCD) and the sizes can range from 12" to 17" measured diagonally. Choosing a screen size can be difficult if you are mobile graphic designer (presumably you are because you are buying a laptop), and because a bigger screen is advised for you, it can be bulky and heavy. For those who are merely doing documents, a smaller screen size may be perfect and the laptop will just fit into your bag like a notebook.
Graphics Card:
It is common in laptops to share display memory with RAM. But if you are a graphic professional or a heavy video gamer, it is strongly advised to get a separate graphics card. A graphics card with at least 128MB capacity is good enough to process your display data so that your computer does not slow down due to RAM sharing.
Wireless technology
For many years, people using laptops were content with plugging their laptops into other networks with wires. However, the introduction of the wireless LAN card, which up until now is still fairly commonly used, connects the laptop via hotspots. The easiest way to use wireless technology in laptops now is through Intel’s Centrino which integrates wireless networking into its circuits. Make sure you get the latest standard in wireless internetworking which is 802.11g, which can give you speeds of up to 54MBPs.
Operating System
Two of the most famous commercial operating systems are Windows and Mac OS. As a general observation, Windows is the better choice for many when it comes to internet applications while the Mac OS is the preferred choice for those doing computer graphics. These operating systems come at a price but for those who want to save money and have technical capabilities, they usually settle for the Linux operating system, which comes free under open source licensing.
Battery Life
Longer battery life is very important to be a truly mobile computer user. Newer batteries include the now ubiquitous Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries. Other kinds include the Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries and the older type Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries.
CD / DVD Reader / Writer
Most laptops have built in CD or DVD drives. A few years ago, DVD writers were exceedingly expensive. But these days, adding a few extra dollars can get you a laptop that has a DVD writer built in. Bear in mind that a regular CD can only contain up to 800 MB of disk space while a regular DVD can have up to several gigabytes.
Mouse
Many laptops have built in finger sensitive pads that can act like a mouse. This is beneficial for those who do not want to add bulk to their load with an external mouse. But this can be difficult to use, especially if you are editing graphics or video where you need precise control for pointing with your software graphical tools. If you really need a mouse badly, you might consider buying a wireless optical mouse. Eliminating yourself from extra cords can help you unload your bulk significantly.
Web Camera
Some laptops have a built in web camera for easy communication. You might want to have this if you need to talk face to face virtually with your clients, boss or loved ones. Remember that there are many free international calls on the internet. There are external web cameras though if your pre-packaged laptop of choice does not include one.
Universal Serial Bus (USB)
While most laptops this have built in, the number of USB ports varies. Some have two ports while some have more.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth allows you to connect many peripheral devices like your cellular phones, head sets and hand held personal digital assistants (PDA) to your laptop wirelessly. Bluetooth is designed for low power consumption so it is perfect for laptops.
Warranty
Of course nobody wants to buy a new laptop after a new purchase breaks down in less than one year. Make sure that you get at least a one year warranty for parts replacement and repair. Make sure that a service centre for the item is near your place, otherwise you would have to ship it and wait for many days before it arrives.
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