| You want to buy a laptop do you? And looking at | | | | The hard drive capacity will be in the region of 30 gb |
| the vast choice available you are confused.....not to | | | | and above. Get the maximum bang for your buck - |
| worry....heres some advice. | | | | don't fall into the ''I'll never need that much capacity'' |
| Before I go into details, a quick recap of processors | | | | rut. You will need all the hard drive space you are |
| is essential. Be aware that it is the processor (cpu) | | | | given so get the biggest capacity you can afford. For |
| that governs the price of the laptop (along with the | | | | normal laptop users 40 gb is sufficient. You can easily |
| screen size). The two major companies | | | | increase hard drive space by buying an external USB |
| manufacturing CPUs are Intel and AMD (there's Apple | | | | 2.0 hard drive. |
| too but lets stick to mainstream laptops). Intel makes | | | | Battery life is very important for road warriors. |
| the famous line of Pentium processors (''Intel inside'' | | | | Expect 3-5 hours battery life from most laptops. |
| ting tong ting tong!). For laptops you have three main | | | | Mobile P4 laptop batteries will last much less. Always |
| cpus available - Mobile Pentium 4 (basically a desktop | | | | go in for a lithium ion battery as against a nickel |
| P4 processor), Pentium M (low voltage cpus which | | | | hydride one. |
| enhance battery life and are specially built for laptops) | | | | Most laptops offer optical drives - the best value for |
| and the Mobile Celeron processor (poor man's P4 | | | | money today is DVD-ROM + CD-RW drive. This |
| cpu). Wait a minute, you say, you didnt mention the | | | | means that you can read DVDs and read/write CDs. |
| Centrino processor. That's because Centrino is not a | | | | If you have lots of money to spend, get a laptop |
| processor - it's a technology. Centrino is a | | | | with a rewritable DVD drive. |
| combination of 3 things - Pentium M cpu + 855 | | | | Sound quality on laptops is just about acceptable for |
| chipset + Wireless Pro (802.11b). The other company | | | | movies/songs/games - you cant go wrong with |
| is AMD - they make really good cpus that rival Intel's | | | | Harmon Kardon / Altec Lansing speakers. |
| cpus. Traditionally AMD cpus have had heat | | | | One important factor to consider is weight. You don't |
| generation problems but lately there aren't many | | | | want a dislocated shoulder do you? So ....the lighter |
| complaints. I would advice you to stick to Intel | | | | the laptop, the better it is for your health! The catch |
| processors which have good re-sale value. | | | | is that the lighter the laptop, the more expensive it is |
| The next Q is....what will you use the laptop for? Are | | | | going to be. Don't forget the AC adapter - some |
| you going to use it for simple stuff - spreadsheets | | | | laptops have huge adapters which weigh a ton! |
| word processing / internet browsing? Then go in for | | | | Don't ignore a floppy drive - most laptops don't have |
| a Celeron CPU. If you are going to do more serious | | | | floppy drives any more. But don't worry - USB |
| computing, intend travelling frequently and want to | | | | external floppy drives are cheap. Ask the salesman |
| run the laptop on its battery, go in for a Pentium M | | | | to give you one for free; he will oblige you if he |
| laptop. If you need wireless access go in for a | | | | wants to make the sale. While you are at it, ask him |
| Centrino laptop or a Pentium M laptop (u can add | | | | for a free laptop bag as well. |
| wireless technology using a pcmcia card). If you | | | | Get a laptop with lots of USB ports which will come |
| aren't going to move the laptop around much or you | | | | in handy and will improve the versatility of your |
| want a laptop for games, get a Mobile P4 laptop. But | | | | laptop. Make sure that the USB ports are USB 2 |
| be aware that a Mobile P4 laptop is a desktop | | | | (technology which is much faster than the old USB |
| replacement - it will be heavy and will run hot. | | | | 1.0). An external USB mouse is a must as the inbuilt |
| Now that you have the CPU decided, think about the | | | | pointing devices are really painful to use. |
| size of the screen. 15'' is today's ''sweet spot''. But | | | | All laptops come with built in modems and usually |
| you do get smaller or bigger screens. Choose the size | | | | have LAN connectivity. Some laptops offer card slots |
| that fits your budget. 14'' or less is a bit too small | | | | where you can read/write to memory cards (as used |
| these days unless of course you want a ultra | | | | in cameras). |
| portable (read expensive) laptop. For gamers, the | | | | Most laptop companies offer minimum software - |
| bigger the screen the more fun they will have. Bigger | | | | Windows XP and basic stuff. They won't even give |
| screens are also good for spreadsheet warriors and | | | | you Office software. You will have to add more |
| DTP professionals. | | | | software yourself. To keep prices down, some |
| The next item on your list is RAM (temporary | | | | companies offer Linux operating systems - unless |
| memory). Most laptops come with Windows XP | | | | you are seriously strapped for cash, I would advice |
| which needs at least 256 mb ram to run happily. I | | | | you to stick to windows. As soon as you get your |
| urge you to upgrade to 512 ram for best results. The | | | | new laptop, make copies of the recovery CDs and |
| more RAM you have, the better your laptop will | | | | store the original CDs safely. Carry the copies with |
| behave. It is said that increasing your RAM is the | | | | you when travelling extensively. |
| best and cheapest way of improving performance of | | | | Now, armed with the above knowledge dive into the |
| any computer (i.e. without changing the motherboard | | | | market and choose the best laptop you can afford. |
| cpu). | | | | Compaq and Toshiba make excellent laptops so |
| Another thing to look at is the graphics memory. You | | | | check them out first. Compaq is generally cheaper |
| can either choose dedicated video memory or shared | | | | than Toshiba. I used a Compaq laptop initially but later |
| architecture. Dedicated memory means that your | | | | on moved to Toshiba as I found their laptops better. |
| video card has its own memory and does not have | | | | This is a personal choice so don't read too much into |
| to ''beg'' for memory from the system memory | | | | it. Compaq and Toshiba are well established in most |
| (RAM). A rule of the thumb - dedicated memory = | | | | countries so repairs are not a problem. Find out |
| fast performance. Gamers and DTP guys must insist | | | | where the nearest repair centre is and keep that |
| on dedicated memory. Good graphic chips are ATI | | | | information handy. |
| Mobility Radeon or Nvidia GeForce. The more video | | | | A laptop is usually a long term buy - forget about |
| memory you have, the better it is. Try to get a | | | | upgrading laptops. So choose carefully. Check the |
| laptop with at least 32 mb video memory. Most | | | | warranty - National and International. Remember that |
| laptops use shared architecture these days which is a | | | | some companies will not honour your International |
| cost cutting measure (an example of shared | | | | warranty and will tell you to take the laptop back to |
| architecture is Intel's extreme graphics). If you are | | | | the country where you bought it! Make sure you |
| not going to play serious 3D games or run heavy | | | | clarify this point before you buy the laptop. |
| duty graphic programmes, shared architecture will be | | | | Take good care of your laptop. Invest in a surge |
| just fine. But make sure that you have enough | | | | protector. Don't move the laptop when it is switched |
| system RAM (read 512) because the video memory | | | | on. And remember the golden rule - NEVER drink tea |
| is going to steal part of your RAM. | | | | coffee while working on a laptop! |