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How to Buy a Laptop
The most highly evolved
species of computer, the laptop computer allows you to work
without being tethered to an office. Portability and good
performance make notebook PCs an essential part of the daily
lives of millions of people, from college students to
business travelers. Even the least-expensive of today's
laptops are better equipped than they have ever been, and
may be all you need for everyday work.
The Big Picture There are more laptop choices than ever.
We'll identify and discuss the available options--including
screen size, weight, battery life, and communications ports.
more
The Specs Explained Do you need a superfast CPU? Or a huge
hard drive? We'll guide you through the choices and tell you
which features are most critical. more
Notebook Shopping Tips Looking for a powerful, versatile
notebook at a reasonable price? Our advice will help you
find the right laptop. more
The Big Picture
If you've ever shopped for a laptop, you know that the
factors to consider go far beyond performance and
connections. Laptop buyers have to mull such additional
variables as size, weight, screen dimensions, battery life,
and keyboard quality--plus options such as built-in
wireless.
Key Features
Processor: Intel's
Core Duo and Core 2 Duo processors have helped laptop gain
ground in the power department. In our tests, laptop using
these dual-core processors performed considerably faster
than laptop using single-core processors, particularly when
multitasking.
Some laptop use AMD's Athlon Turion 64 X2 dual-core
processor, which also supports for improved performance. The
Turion 64 X2 and the Core 2 Duo both provide 64-bit support,
which will become increasingly useful as more 64-bit
applications reach the market.
Low-end laptop offer Intel's Celeron M processor, which is
generally not as speedy as the Core Duo processors.
System memory: Unless
you're buying on the cheap, a new notebook generally
includes 512MB of system memory. Many laptop today are
available with 1GB of RAM. Equipping your laptop with 1GB of
RAM at the time you buy it will help extend its useful
lifetime.
Graphics memory:
You'll want 128MB of dedicated video RAM. Make sure that the
memory is dedicated for graphics use, rather than being
pulled from main memory (the latter arrangement is usually
referred to as shared memory or as dynamic video memory
technology). Gamers should look for advanced 3D graphics
chips, such as nVidia's GeForce Go 7900 GTX, along with
256MB to 512MB of dedicated graphics memory.
Some laptop now are available with Scalable Link Interface (SLI),
which provides a means to use multiple graphics chips in one
machine. Laptops that use this technology tend to be more
expensive.
Screen: Laptop screens
continue to get bigger--and most have gone wide, enabling
you to view spreadsheets or movies with ease. Even budget
shoppers can afford the luxury of high-resolution color:
Portables with 14.1-inch and 15.4-inch wide screens now cost
as little as $1000. Most laptop manufacturers offer laptops
with 17-inch wide screens, too. Frequent business fliers can
choose from among the many laptops with screen sizes of 12.1
or 13.3 inches--some of which are wide-screen models, as
well.
Laptops with standard-aspect 14.1- or 15-inch screens remain
available, but they're not as plentiful as wide-screen
models.
Battery: Laptop
battery life has continued to improve. In our tests,
notebooks using a Core Duo or Core 2 Duo processor have
averaged roughly 3.5 hours of life on one battery. Some
laptop can run for up to 7 hours. Many vendors offer
supplemental batteries to boost battery life.
Keyboard and pointing device:
Though you can get accustomed to almost any notebook
keyboard, it's best to try before you buy. Thin-and-light
notebooks usually have smaller-than-average keys spaced more
closely than the keys on a desktop replacement model, and
their layouts may differ from a standard keyboard's. You
probably won't be invited to choose between eraserhead and
trackpad pointing devices; if you have a preference, look
for manufacturers that use the pointing device you prefer on
most of their products.
Optical and other drives:
Most manufacturers offer notebooks with rewritable DVD
drives. It's still possible to get a laptop with a
combination DVD-ROM and CD-RW drive, but few machines
feature just a DVD-ROM or a CD-RW drive. If you really need
a floppy drive, you can buy a USB add-on drive for less than
$100.
Hard drive: You may
not need the space, but notebook hard drives will continue
to grow. Cheaper laptop with 40GB hard drives are getting
scarce, but you can still save money by opting for a 60GB
model. A top-of-the-line (100GB, 7200RPM or 120GB, 5400RPM)
SATA hard drive will set you back a few hundred dollars if
you purchase it when you order your laptop. You can easily
remove most laptop hard drives if you decide to upgrade or
just want to keep your data safe.
Weight and bay design:
Laptops range from 17-pound desktop replacements, to 8- or
10-pound all-in-one models with the optical drive built in,
to 3-pound ultraportables that rely on external drives.
One-bay laptops have become more prevalent because of their
appealing balance of features and weight.
Many laptops offer the optical drive as a modular device, so
you can swap it out for a second hard drive or a second
battery.
When making a purchase, you should consider the weight not
only of the laptop, but of the AC adapter, any external
modules, and their cables. Ultraportable notebooks have
lightweight adapters but they can weigh almost as much as a
full-size notebook if you have to carry an external optical
drive, too.
When you return to your desk, you can snap most notebooks
onto an extra-cost docking station or port replicator
(prices range from $100 to $500). Doing so saves you from
repeatedly having to plug in and unplug an external monitor,
keyboard, mouse, and other desktop peripherals.
Communications: Few
laptops come with a full set of legacy ports anymore. Serial
ports are rare, as are PS/2 ports (for a mouse or keyboard)
and infrared ports. Most laptops still have a parallel port
and one PC Card slot, though many now offer an Express Card
slot as well. Quite a few full-size models now come with a
DVI port for connecting to an external digital display.
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Laptop Buying Guide
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