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Five Things to Consider When Buying A Laptop-2

by Terrence O'Brien on February 4, 2008 at 11:55 AM


Five Things to Consider When Buying A Laptop-2Five Things to Consider When Buying A Laptop-2


SIZE
Perhaps the most important factor when shopping for a laptop is what size you should get. Most often, laptops are divided up into four general size categories: ultra-portable, thin-and-light, mainstream, and desktop replacement, each with its own particular pros and cons.

Ultra-portables are for those who want to carry their laptops everywhere everyday. They weigh less than 4-pounds and have long-lasting batteries (four hours or more on a single charge), but also have tiny screens (12-inches or less) and slightly sluggish processors. Ultra-portables sometimes also lack bulky extras such as DVD drives and extra inputs, which make them ideal for business users who need to have a computer with them at all times for work, but do not care about entertainment, gaming or editing their videos or pictures.

If performance and screen real estate are important, but you still plan to carry your laptop around much of the time, then make the jump to a thin-and-light notebook. Models in this category generally weigh in at about 5-pounds and pack in beefier processors, as well as 13- or 14-inch wide screens. This size category is popular with business users or students who need to carry their computers with them always, but want more power for fun tasks like watching movies or downloading and listening to music. Thin-and-light notebooks also have more regular-sized keyboards, which will be a relief to anyone who has to write TPS reports and/or term papers

So-called mainstream laptops are, more often than not, cheaper and less svelte versions of their thin-and-light cousins. 15-inch wide screens are the norm, as are weights of about 6-pounds. These specs make them portable, but they're a bit big to stick in many backpacks and can be tiring to carry around with you every day. Still, you won't get more bang for your buck in another category, which makes mainstream laptops an ideal choice for those on a budget.

At the top of the heap are desktop replacements. These over-sized monstrosities are good if you want top performance, but are tight on space or want to be able to compute from various locations in your home (since they can be easily moved from room to room). 17-inch screens are the standard, but 19-inchers are available as well. The models in this category contain top-of-the-line components that are far better at handling video editing and gaming than the other types of laptops. They also weigh anywhere from 7 pounds to 10 pounds. But with such big screens and powerful innards, desktop replacements only have an average battery life of about two hours, so don't expect them to last for too long away from an outlet.

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