If you want to buy a laptop but are not sure how to deal with all the techie stuff, that can be so confusing, then we feel you and understand. Purchasing any brand new laptop computer can easily offer numerous difficulties, particularly if you are not really acquainted with laptop computers. With all the terminology, features and continuous advances in the technology it can all become quite overwhelming.
Irrespective of each one of these extravagant brand new advancements, units as well as laptop technologies, you only have to keep in mind one essential fact and that is that you are investing in a brand new laptop computer for you and you alone. The first and foremost thing to consider is what the laptop will be used for.
What Will The Laptop Be Used For
Before you can consider the question of the features that you need, you must first figure out why you want a laptop and what you will be using it for.
- Is it for email, basic home use and Internet?
- Is it for business?
- Do you need a student model for school?
- Is the model going to be a desktop replacement?
- Is it going to be used for gaming?
- Is it going to be used for entertainment, like movies and music?
- Is it for video editing?
The answers to the type of questions posed above will determine the main uses for the laptop and that will in turn determine which features you will need. This is the best game plan to avoid getting extra features that you don't need and wasting money and to make sure you get all those that you do require for the optimal computing experience.
Features Needed by Uses
Basic Uses – Email, Internet, Simple File Storage
- Size and Weight – Any that you are comfortable with
- Screen – 12 to 16 inches is great.
- RAM – 1 GB is more than sufficient
- Processor – Basic processor is fine, no bells, no whistles are needed; don’t waste money on a high-end processor like the Intel Core 2 Duo because you don’t need it.
- Hard Drive – 40GB is sufficient for basic users and is cheaper than larger drives. If you plan to store a whole lot of family photos, music files or movies, then get a bigger drive, like 60GB and bigger.
- Ports – USB is the most important, get as many as you can.
- Optical Drive – CD, DVD burning and reading is basic, for high def get a Blu Ray drive.
Gaming Laptops
- Graphics - The best laptop for gaming has the latest and best graphics card and graphic chipset. Some of the best graphic chipsets: NVIDIA, ATi Mobility Radeon 9700, Intel's Graphics Media, or ATI's Mobility FireGL V3200.
- RAM - At least 3GB or 4GB for 3D gaming
- VRAM - Laptops also have what is called dedicated video RAM (VRAM) that is memory, which usually comes with a graphics card and has its own memory in MB, which includes 32MB, 64MB, and 128MB.
- CPU - Lots of speed, 7200rpm is best. Intel Core 2 Duo is top of the line and a SATA hard drive.
- Screen - The bigger the better, at least a 17-inch wide screen for the best gaming experience.
- Resolution - WUXGA, is best and stands for Widescreen Ultra eXtended Graphics Array and is a display resolution of 1920×1200 pixels (2,304,000 pixels) with a 16:10 screen aspect ratio.
Business and Student Laptops
- Size – Keep it as portable as possible without sacrificing features.
- Durability – Students and business people will constantly be toting the laptop around, so go for metal over plastic.
- Simplicity – No unnecessary programs or other RAM and CPU consuming stuff.
- CPU – Fast processor to handle multitasking.
- Hard Drive – Bigger means more storage space for file and programs, at least 80GB or larger is best for both students and business.
- RAM – At least 2GB to handle all types of tasks and run various programs at once
- Long battery life – For business trips and mobile working, it’s crucial that the laptop last for the longest time possible without the need for recharge or plug.
- Connectivity – Lots of ports, WI-FI and Bluetooth are essential. Also, a USB port that doubles as an eSATA port for storage expansions is great to have, and even ones that can charge an external peripheral while the laptop is shut down. Also, DisplayPort and HDMI are better equipped to stream high-quality videos and audio for Powerpoint and other presentations.
- High-End Security Features – Don’t risk your sensitive work data being compromised. Biometrics, laptop theft guards and other security measures are essential.
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Entertainment Laptops
- Screen Size – The bigger the better
- Resolution – Full HD is best, where 1680 x 1050, is equal to the standard 1920 x 1080 pixels of high-def.
- Hard Drive – A large amount of storage space on the hard drive is important for the recording and archiving of your favorite shows, movies and videos
- Graphics and VRAM - A high quality graphics card and VRAM, which is video memory is needed to run video editing software, and to make sure graphics and movies display properly and provide optimal performance.
- Optical Drive – The optical drive should burn and read a variety of disk formats. Since Blu Ray is now the standard for high def, the best drive option is Blu Ray optical drive.
- Audio – Media center laptops have great sound quality. Surround sound stereo speakers built in are excellent choices for entertainment laptops.
- Remote Control – No explanation needed.
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General Laptop Features
RAM
RAM or Random Access Memory determines the speed of your laptop. How fast it will process your tasks and graphics. You must make sure you have enough for your needs. You can now find many laptops pre-loaded with 1 GB of RAM and capable of upgrading to 4 GB or more.
It's always wise to buy a model that comes with upgradeable memory, so that you can always add more if and when you need it.
Dual Core Processors
The CPU or Central Processing Unit is the heart of the laptop. The best one now is the Intel Centrino Duo, though; the AMD is giving Intel some real competition with its Athlon(TM) 64 X2 dual core processor. For basic users such high-end processors are often unnecessary and a waste of money. Most of the time any Intel processor model, even some of the older are ones are sufficient for basic users.
Hard Drive
The hard drive determines the space available for storage of anything on the computer. The amount of space or size of laptop hard drives are ever increasing, a 100 Gig laptop is now common. If you don't want a lot of storage, buying a smaller size hard drive will save you money. A SATA hard drive with a high 5400 or 7200 RPM is always a good choice.
Needs for Bigger Hard Drives – Business, gaming, storage of mass photos, video editing, movie and mass music file storage. Aside from those don’t pay more for a super big drive, for basic users a smaller hard drive is sufficient and will save money.
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Video/Graphics
For laptops video/graphics options are essential with regard to playing as well as editing movies, gaming, entertainment and some business functions.
VRAM or dedicated video memory usually comes with a graphics card and has its own memory in MB, which includes 32MB, 64MB, and 128MB. If video/gaming is important to you pick the largest one you can afford.
All-in-one Design
If you do not truly have to have a light laptop computer, choose one that has an internal bay for the optical drive. This is a very useful drive, as it allows you to switch out other devices, such as an extra hard drive, or another battery.
Screen Size
The screen size measurement involving laptop computers is actually measured diagonally across the screen. When purchasing any laptop computer you wouldn't want to sacrifice viewing ease and comfort so that you can obtain mobility. A screen bigger than 14 inches wide is better in order to avoid stress for the eyes. Larger displays as well as wide screens end in heavier laptops and therefore are more bulky but they do give a much more comfortable experience for movies, web surfing and other tasks.
Weight and Size
Probably the main reason you are thinking about purchasing a laptop computer is actually its size or perhaps weight as well as its mobility. Because a notebook is actually portable, it can go everywhere. Laptop computers are available in several sizes as well as types having varying weight as well as screen size.
When purchasing a laptop think about a weight of 5 pounds or even more. If you purchase an ultra-light notebook, its overall performance might be so sacrificed that after all the add-ons you might need in the long run, you will realize that you should have just gotten the bigger model instead. In general, the smaller the notebook the more you will have to sacrifice in usability, comfort and features, since the smaller the model, the less room there is for features.
Laptop Size Categories
- Desktop Replacements
Screen Sizes - 15.4", (16"), 17", (18")
Weight – 8 pounds and up
- Standard
Screen Sizes - 13.3", 14.1", 15.4"
Weight – 6 to 8 pounds
- Thin and Light
Screen Sizes - 12.1", 13.3", 14.1", 15.4"
Weight – 4 to 6 pounds
- Ultra Portable
Screen Sizes - 11", 12.1
Weight - 2.4-3.5 lbs.
- Netbook or Mini
Screen Sizes - 7", 8.9", 10.1"
Weight - 2.2-3.2 lbs. - Shop Cheap Mini Laptop and Netbooks
- Tablet PC (smallest)
Weight - 2-4 pounds, like the new Apple iPad.
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Laptop Battery
Watt-hours establish the life span of a laptop battery on a full charge. Lithium batteries utilize cells to ascertain life where more cells will equal more life. Often a pc requires a brand new battery every 1 to 5 years.
How you figure out battery consumption will depend on the way you use the laptop. The majority of battery ratings are provided for a unit that is running minimum processes, that doesn't include online use, graphics, power-save mode etc. An external laptop battery is a great option to add more life when needed. If you would like a lot more freedom from the electric outlet purchase a laptop computer, which has a modular bay that is able to hold a supplementary battery pack.
Keyboard
When purchasing any laptop computer the keyboard ought to be full-sized or it may need a while to adjust. Search for the % of full size whenever exploring the keyboard options that come with any notebook.
Mouse Options
- Touch screen, which is controlled with finger movements on a pad.
- Knob feature that enables you to manage the mouse by moving the finger in just one spot. This particular element is more difficult to adjust to and unless you have a preference get the touch panel.
Most effective strategy would be to obtain both a touch screen as well as knob. Furthermore, you can connect a standard computer mouse using a laptop USB port for stationary use.
Ports
A port is a specialized outlet to which a plug or cable connects. The more ports you've got the greater variety you'll have. Make certain the laptop has at least…
- 3 plus USB ports, used for a variety of purposes
- VGA for video connections
- Ethernet Port for wired Internet connection
- Headphone and microphone ports.
- S-video port for video output
- FireWire port for iPod connections
- Printer port for printers. Most modern printers can be connected with USB.
- PC card slots (card bus) provide a large variety of functions. You can usually buy a PC card to replace any type of port.
Audio
Media centers have higher quality speakers built-in. Laptops that save weight and space will have smaller speakers. If you are buying a laptop for entertainment, the audio quality will be important.
Warranties
Don't overlook this factor; if you're buying an expensive laptop, you might want to check out these extended warranties. If you do a lot of traveling, you might need to purchase insurance against thief and loss.
