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Five Things to Consider When Buying A Laptop-6

by Terrence O'Brien on February 4, 2008 at 11:57 AM


Five Things to Consider When Buying A Laptop-6Five Things to Consider When Buying A Laptop-6

TECH SPECS AND OTHER FEATURES
This is the really techy stuff. AMD or Intel processors? What speed? How much RAM (random access memory)? The most important thing to look for is RAM, which is what will help your computer work faster. Accept no less than 1-gigabyte, but if you've got the cash, spring for 2-gigabytes, just to be safe, especially if you intend to run the resource-hungry Vista. The exception to the rule is Mac, for which we'd recommend getting 2-gigabytes from the get-go. Why? Because upgrading RAM on a Mac is either really complicated or really expensive. If you're determined to save some money on RAM for your Mac, then buy the standard 1-gigabyte and get your technologically inclined nephew to upgrade it for you after the fact. (Hint: Shopping at Newegg.com could save you up to $100 over the Apple memory upgrade.)

When choosing a processor, the decision between AMD and Intel is pretty simple: Unless you plan on only e-mailing or word processing, or if price is a concern, you should go with an Intel processor -- they just tend to be faster and more efficient, which means fewer mysterious freeze-ups during computing and longer battery life. Any Core 2 Duo (logo above) will do -- and aim for the 2-gigahertz and higher models if you plan to do any gaming. If the laptop you like only offers AMD processors, then go with AMD's top-of-the-line Turion 64 X2 mobile processor (logo above).

Intel's standard Pentium line (not Pentium M or Pentium 4, just plain Pentium) is fine for those with only basic computing needs and tight budgets, but avoid anything that has the word Sempron in it. Sempron is the bottom of the barrel, bargain processors from AMD, and it's only single-core, under-powered, and outdated by the time you get it home. We'd also recommend holding-off on Celeron processors until the end of 2008, when the more affordable processor brand from Intel will get a dual-core upgrade. While both Sempron and Celeron processors may do the job for a brief period of time, you'll be wishing you dropped the extra $50 on a processor upgrade when it takes a full three minutes to launch the next version of Internet Explorer or Firefox.

If you really want to future proof your purchase, look for the latest processors from Intel, which are built on the chipmaker's new 45nm process. The technology leads to faster and cooler processors that wont burn your lap under heavy use, and will survive a little longer on a charge. The latest from Intel are still called Core 2, but can be distinguished by their processor numbers that start with "8" or "9" (i.e. T9500 or T8300). The current versions available now are aimed at more demanding users such as gamers and media enthusiasts, but the technology will trickle down to the lower end of the company's processor line in the next couple of years.

When it comes to optical drives, a DVD +/- writer is the standard, and is good enough in most instances since it'll handle the most common disc formats. If you plan to watch HD movies, look for a Blu-ray drive -- it's pricey and only worth it if you're an early-adopter, high-def movie buff (don't pay for a competing HD-DVD drive, since that format is all but dead). Be warned, though, that many ultra-portables, such as the MacBook Air and the Lenovo X61 shed an optical drive to save size and weight, which means an external drive will be needed to watch DVDs, rip and burn CDs, or, in most cases, install software from a CD or DVD.

The last thing to look at is a graphics card. Many laptops use "integrated" graphics, which means they're built into the system and borrow RAM to operate. These graphics chips are good enough for most everyday tasks, but if you plan to do any gaming beyond playing 'Minesweeper' and/or run Vista, then look for a "discrete" graphics solution from either ATI or Nvidia that has its own memory. Look for either an ATI HD 2xxx or an Nvidia GeForce 7xxx or 6xxx series with at least 128-megabytes of memory for Vista, or if you're planning on using your laptop for HD video playback. If you plan on doing any serious gaming or video editing, then spring for the top of the line GeForce 8800 or ATI's HD 3600 series with 512-megabytes of dedicated memory.


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