Buying Guides:

Laptops

Notebook computers free us from the chains of a desk or primary workspace. Whether you want to work or surf from your kitchen table, on an airplane, or at the beach, notebooks make it possible. Plus with today’s wireless networking capabilities, roaming notebook users are no longer limited to dial-up modem speeds, enabling all kinds of uses.

To begin, you need to decide how you want to use your notebook. Do you want to use it to replace your desktop PC, and occasionally for travel? Or are you a pleasure or business traveler that needs an ultraportable notebook to compliment an existing desktop workstation at home or work and can live with less computing power?

Some considerations to keep in mind:

Computing Power, RAM, and Storage

The most popular processors offered are the Celeron, Pentium-M, and Pentium 4. Generally speaking, casual users with email/web use are fine with the

Celeron, power users and desktop replacements should consider the Pentium 4, and battery life conscious travelers should consider the Pentium-M.

Notebook PC hard drive capacities generally range from 20GB to 80GB, and very importantly, hard drive rotational speeds (which determine how fast your notebook can read and write data) range are most often 4200rpm or 5400rpm. Personally, I find 4200rpm drives to be annoying – all users should opt for 5400rpm wherever possible.

Most Notebook PC’s ship with anywhere from 128MB to 1GB of RAM. At 128MB, you’re giving up some performance but this level is generally adequate for casual use. Business users should not accept less than 256MB, and power users should look to 512MB or even 1GB (though some may believe that 1GB is overkill).

Weight

Frequent travelers should consider notebooks under 5 lbs. Anything heavier than this will get very annoying very quickly. For the occasional traveler or home/office user, don’t bother with anything over 8 lbs as there are many quality notebooks at or under this weight.

Screen Size

Gamers or graphics professionals will want a 14.1” or 15” screen with XGA (1024x768) SXGA (1400x1050), or UXGA (1600x1200). Frequent travelers will likely be fine with a 12.1” or 10” screen, which makes for a smaller overall device that is easier to travel with and that fits in smaller places (such as a coach airplane food tray).

Wireless Networking Features

If you plan to use your notebook in wireless hotspots such as airport terminals, hotels, coffee shops, or a wireless network at work, you may want to opt for a built-in 802.11b or 802.11g wireless card. Note that two options are available: internal cards, and PCMCIA cards. An internal card is preferred because it does not require a precious external PCMCIA slot.

Battery Life

Most notebook PC’s average about 2-3 hours of battery life. Intel’s new Pentium-M based processors offer power saving technology to improve battery life, and many notebooks offer a second battery option for double power capacity. If battery life is very important to you, look into IBM Thinkpad notebooks, as the Thinkpad X31 offers 5+ hours of battery life or 10+ hours with a second battery, which is exceptional.

Operating System

Microsoft Windows XP, both Home and Professional, is a reasonably reliable and stable operating system and both are recommended. Windows 2000 is a bit more clumsy in terms of detecting new hardware and overall use, and is generally only recommended for business users who have tech skills or an IT staff. If you don’t need the Windows Remote Desktop or the Encrypting File System features of Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home is likely fine for you but we personally prefer Windows XP Professional. If you’re thinking about using Windows 98 or Windows 95, if at all possible, don’t go there.

Recommended Notebooks

For those wanting a fast machine with a good screen size and are not too concerned about weight, we recommend the very reasonably priced Dell Inspiron 1100 (Celeron 2.3GHz, 7.22 lbs), or the slightly more expensive but much more powerful Dell Inspiron 5100 (P4-2.8GHz, 7.22 lbs).

For travelers requiring ultra portability, we recommend the IBM Thinkpad X31. At 3.7lbs and with 5+ hours of battery life, the X31 is a luxury that no traveler should be without.

For those wanting a top of the line desktop replacement notebook with good portability, we recommend the IBM Thinkpad T40p (Pentium-M 1.6GHz, 60GB, ATI Mobility FIRE GL 9000, CD-RW/DVD-ROM, 4.5-5.35 lbs).

Find out how to shop smart by using one of our helpful guides.

- Digital Photography
- Plasma TV's
- Mobile telecom
- Desktops
- Laptops
- Motherboards
- Wireless Networking
- Flat panel monitors
- Graphics cards
- Tivo DVR

- Back to main page

Most Popular Products: