25 tips to buy the perfect notebook
By Joshua Goldman
25/07/2007
As notebook components keep improving, today's powerful laptops
can go keyboard to keyboard with many full-size desktops. This may be
good news for buyers, but it complicates the selection process.
Sure, you want bleeding-edge technology, but what about price? How big
a screen can you get without giving up on portability? What types of
ports do you need, and how many are enough? And what about RAM?
These are just some of the questions you'll need to answer before you
start shopping. To help, we've assembled this buyer's guide of things
you need to consider when choosing a mobile PC.
1: Choose your form factor
Notebooks are broken down into four categories by weight, with some overlap: ultraportables (less than 2kg), thin-and-lights (2 to 4kg), mainstream models (3 to 5kg), and desktop replacements (more than 5kg).
Ultraportables excel for frequent fliers who need just the essentials while on the road. Screen sizes are small -- usually 10 or 12 inches -- and their keyboards petite. Also, to make these machines so small, features such as internal optical drives, large and fast hard drives, and extra ports are frequently absent.
Their batteries also need to be small and often yield as
little as 2 hours of juice. New processor technologies, however, can
extend battery life to beyond 4 hours. Finally, tiny tech comes at a
higher cost compared with larger laptops.
A balance between size, battery life, and power, thin-and-light
laptops are a perfect fit for both students and business users. Their
larger screens -- 14 to 15 inches -- and roomier keyboards make them
more comfortable than ultraportables for longer computing sessions.
Depending on usage, you can expect about 4 hours of battery life.
Mainstream laptops are like budget desktops: They're good for
general tasks but won't win any contests for their performance or
features. Though they don't qualify as thin or light, they still offer
some portability. With 14-inch or larger screens, a standard selection
of ports, and big keyboards, they're suitable for everyday use.
If you want desktop power, you need a desktop replacement.
With screen sizes of 15 to 17 inches, travel weights as heavy as six
kilos, and average battery life of less than three hours, these
behemoths are not for people on the go. They can accommodate a wide
range of performance parts, however, and are just right for power users
of all kinds.
2: The CPU and you
When it comes to processors, go with the fastest you can afford,
regardless of the notebook's form factor. You have a lot of options, so
here are the basics.
Intel's Centrino line offers speed while enabling great battery
life. These chips, combined with Intel's wireless LAN electronics and
either the 965 Express, 945 Express, 915 Express or 855 chipset, make up Intel's Centrino mobile
technology.
AMD's mobile processors are more affordable than Intel's, but they
generally lag behind Intel's on our MobileMark tests. AMD's Turion 64
X2 processors may change that, though initial reports say its performance is still behind the new Core 2 Duo chips.
You could also go with a desktop processor from either Intel or AMD.
Desktop CPUs come in a broad range of speeds and prices, but they
aren't designed for mobility, so they run hotter and guzzle battery
juice. Intel's Celeron processors, which come in both mobile and
desktop variants, are another choice, but not a good one, because they
deliver subpar performance. If you're short on dough, though, they'll
suffice for basic needs.
3: A word about wide-screens
Wide-screen
notebooks, which have an aspect ratio of 16:9, offer larger, sharper,
and all-around better images than their 4:3 standard-screen cousins.
They're great for watching DVDs, of course, but they also allow you to
have two documents or Web pages open side-by-side. A spacious 17-inch
wide-screen laptop is a nice luxury if you're not planning on traveling
with it.
4: The (not-so) great outdoors
Sunlight is not
ideal for computing -- specifically, for seeing the screen. If you want
to work outdoors, you have options, but most consumer models have what
are known as transmissive screens. These screens are lit from behind,
and despite what you've seen in the commercials, they're virtually
invisible on a bright, sunny day. Reflective LCDs, which light the
screen's pixels from the front and reflect polarised light from the
environment, are much better for outdoor work, but their screens look
dim indoors. What's more, they're mostly reserved for vertical-market
notebook models and are pretty tough to come by.
5: Mind your memory
Having
enough memory is vital to system performance, and lots of RAM lets you
run more applications simultaneously. Sufficient RAM is also necessary
for graphics work, image editing, and video editing, and crucial for 3D
gaming. This is especially true in notebooks, because notebook graphics
processors frequently have little or no memory of their own and share
the main system RAM.
Adding RAM is an easy way to boost performance, but first make sure the
notebook's memory sockets are accessible. (They're usually under a
panel on the bottom of the system.) Here's an easy way to determine how
much you need:
1GB: Good for basic office apps, running one at a time.
1.5GB: Adequate for running several programs at once, photo editing, and basic 3D gaming.
2GB or more: Recommended for high-performance 3D gaming, demanding graphics work, and video editing.
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