Notebook Computers

Buying a Notebook Computers is something you have to research every time you want to buy one, because the technologies are always changing. If you leave it for more than a few months then something new will definitely change your buying choices. Often you will see buyer’s guides that start from what you want to do with a laptop and then tell you the specifications you need. However, often life isn’t that well organised and with so many notebooks available with so many different features and prices the only way of making a decision is to choose how important particular specifications are to you. Then you can weigh up the different opportunities for buying the Notebook Computers whenever they appear to you against your own expectations.

Processor

This determines generally how quickly the notebook will do its job, the later and faster the processor the quicker it will run a task. At the moment they are measured in speeds of Gigahertz (GHz) and currently we are seeing speeds around 2GHz. There is certainly a dizzying array of different processors available to you but at the moment they belong either to AMD or Intel. Most of these CPU’s now are dual-core, which means they actually have two processors working together side-by-side instead of just one. Buying the fastest processor essentially means that your notebook will be useful for longer as processors are in constant evolution. The processor is one of the biggest factors in how fast your Notebook Computers will run, so you need to work out whether you need the power against the prices of the faster processor. If you must have a number of powerful applications on your notebook then get the best speed possible within your budget.

Memory

This is known also as RAM (Random Access Memory) and is your notebook computer’s immediate and quick memory storage. Currently you will see this measured in Gigabytes (GB) where 2GB is a comfortable minimum where you are running a recent operating system like Windows 7. Again, with the processor, if you intend to run a number of powerful programs then getting as much RAM as budget will allow is a wise move. The downside of not having enough RAM is that each of the operations of a program gets slower as space runs out. It doesn’t fail because there isn’t enough memory because a lot of information gets stored on the slower hard disk, but this is much slower than having the space in RAM.

Hard Drive

This is the space for all of your programs, files and media that stays on your machine when it is turned off. Video is the biggest user of space usually, followed by music, then documents, so if you want multimedia stored on your notebook go as high as your budget allows. This is currently measured in Gigabytes (GB) but we are going to see Terabytes (TB) very soon for hard disk sizes. One Terabyte is the same as 1000 Gigabytes. Normal usage tends be above 250GB for current users. Remember this is only for immediate programs and documents you want stored on your Notebook Computers, many large files and library can be stored on DVDs, but this tends to slow down access to them. We are beginning to see the introduction of SSDs (Solid State Drives) which use less power and can withstand more rough treatment than a hard disk but they are quite limited at present for typical uses.

Another factor in the hard drive is the quoted speed of the drive, measured in RPM (revolution per minute). The faster the RPM the quicker data can be stored or retrieved off the disk and 7,200 rpm is the standard on the faster drives.

Optical Drive

This is the semi-permanent storage of your netbook that are either CDs or DVDs. A DVD burner on the notebook seems to be an acceptable standard now with variations in speed and whether you want Blu-ray for watching high definition films. If you are likely to want to transfer files to and from your notebook often then choose a faster DVD drive. If the files are likely to change often then get a rewriteable DVD (DVD-RW and/or DVD+RW) so you can update them on the DVD itself.

Operating System

Choose an operating system that you are familiar with if you can. There are Windows, MAC and even Linux systems; if you do not know which operating system to choose then the default is Windows 7 which tends to be the most popular. Those that are aware of other operating systems that they prefer will find specialist notebook installations that include these systems and this will be their biggest deciding factor of which one to buy. The truth is however, that any popular operating system can be installed on any modern Notebook Computers without too much trouble by someone who is familiar with them.

Display and Graphics Card

How much is the size of the display important to you? Editors in video and images or games players may consider this an important factor. This is simply one that can be balanced against your budget. The size of the display can be a small 12 inch screen up to 17 inches for regular dimensions but there are larger ones for a price. The screen sizes of 14 inches to 16 inches tend to be the most popular at the moment.

The graphics card is usually one that will tell you the resolution that can be displayed on your notebook screen, again the higher the resolution the more clarity the screen and more powerful the card has to be. For a games enthusiast then another processor may be used just for the graphics (GPU) but these tend to be costly.

Camera and Microphone

As the notebook tends to be used connected to the Internet using video calling programs then many notebooks will have a webcam fixed into the top of the screen. Whether the image quality of resolution is important to you decides what notebook camera to go for. They all tend to be of good quality for video programs however and the power of these cameras is increasing quickly.

Connectivity

This means connecting up your Notebook Computers to the outside world either through phone-line, network cable, Bluetooth, USB or Wi-Fi. The current standard in Wi-Fi is the 802.11g but if you want to ensure you get the maximum speed when available there is 802.11n which is faster. The phone line modems still tend to be standard in a notebook with a 56Kbps (Kilo baud per second) modem using a RJ-11 connection. Also for network cables there is usually a RJ-45 connector for Ethernet. Bluetooth is handy for talking to other devices like phones, headphones, for example.

There are a number of connectivity methods here and the most useful for roaming around is Wi-Fi. If you are in a home office or at work then you are likely also to have a number of the other methods available to you. It is worth considering what connectivity will be important to you.

Keyboard and Mouse

Not one that you meet often in the buyer’s guide for notebooks because not many consider it important. But for speed and ease of use this is something that you only really know once you have tried out the different styles of keyboard and mouse that are available to you. Often the other factors override this one and you tend to go with whatever the style of user input is available on the notebook.