What To Look For When Buying Laptop Computers


When it comes to home entertainment and laptop computers, connectivity is an important element. How easily the laptop can interact with your other multimedia gadgets such as the TV or stereo equipment is everything. HDMI, Bluetooth, and other video and audio out ports are all potentially vital features for a well functioning entertainment laptop. But there’s more to be considered with multimedia laptop computers.

To be able to play and edit media files a proper multimedia laptop should not compromise on performance. Using such as the Core 2 Duo will give your laptop good prospects for delivering the best entertainment experience. Dual core AMD Turion processors are slightly slower, but more than adequate in most circumstances.

Memory - Make sure to get at least 2 GB of RAM with your new laptop. A decent amount of memory is required to run multiple programs at once without experiencing slowdowns. This is especially true with Windows Vista, the most common operating system on new laptop computers.

With a fast processor and 2 GB memory you will easily be able to watch HD video files, import, store, and edit images and listen to music. Now, if you want to do all those things at the same time, so called multitasking, lots of RAM is required. Video encoders and converters like Premiere Pro and image editors like Photoshop can use copious amounts of RAM - don't hesitate to upgrade when possible.

Storing lots of music, videos, and high resolution photos will quickly use up your laptop computers hard drive space. If this is what you plan on doing there's no upper limit for how large a hard drive you will need. However, you can always expand the storage space with external storage such as a USB hard drive, so it's not as critical as other components that can't be upgraded later

Entertainment laptop computers are often used as a media player while connected to a projector or the home TV set. However, if you are planning to use the laptop as main screen, the bigger the better. If you plan to do any gaming on the laptop, you need a dedicated graphics card from Nvidia or ATI - these will also assist in HD video playback.

HDMI, VGA, S/PDIF, WiFi and other acronyms for output/input ports may be important for entertainment laptop computers, depending on where you want to plug it in.

Check your current equipment for reference before buying a new laptop. If you want to plug in your computer to your brand new HDTV set, for example, it's advisable to look for a laptop with an HDMI port .The bottom line: Connect to the home theater setup via HDMI. FireWire or USB lets you import your own camcorder videos. DVI and VGA video are primarily meant for hooking up computer monitors, but may also be connected to a High Definition TV.



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Advantages Common To All Laptop Computers

Portability is usually the first feature mentioned in any comparison of laptops versus desktop PCs. Portability means that all laptop computers can be used in many different places not only at home and at the office, but also during commuting and flights, in coffee shops, in lecture halls and libraries, at clients' location or at a meeting room, etc.

The portability feature offers several distinct advantages:

Getting more work done – Using a laptop in places where a desktop PC can't be used, and at times that would otherwise be wasted. For example, an office worker managing their e-mails during an hour-long commute by train, or a student doing his/her homework at the university coffee shop during a break between lectures.

Immediacy – All laptop computers can be carried to important meetings at various locations and means having instant access to various information, personal and work files. Immediacy allows better collaboration between coworkers or students, as a laptop can be flipped open to present a problem or a solution anytime, anywhere.

Up-to-date information – If a person has more than one desktop PC, a problem of synchronization arises: changes made on one computer are not automatically propagated to the others. There are ways to resolve this problem, including physical transfer of updated files (using a USB flash memory stick or CDRs) or using synchronization software over the Internet. However, this does not happen with a laptop as the computer is with you at both locations which avoids the problem entirely, as the files exist in a single transportable location and are always up to date.

Connectivity – A proliferation of Wi-Fi wireless networks and cellular broadband data services (HSDPA, EVDO and others) combined with a near ubiquitous support by laptops means that virtually all laptop computers have easy Internet and local network connectivity while remaining mobile. Wi-Fi networks and laptop programs are especially widespread at university campuses

Other advantages of laptops include:

Size – Laptops are smaller than standard PCs. This is beneficial when space is at a premium, for example in small apartments and student dorms. When not in use, a laptop can be closed and put away.

Ease of Access – Nearly all laptop computers have doors on the underside that allow the user to access the memory, hard drive and other components, by simply flipping the laptop to access the doors. For desktops the user must usually access the backside of the computer, which is harder if it's in an area with little space.

Low power consumption – Virtually all laptop computers nowdays are more power efficient than desktops. A typical laptop uses 20-90 W, compared to 100-800 W for desktops. This could be particularly beneficial for businesses (which run hundreds of personal computers, multiplying the potential savings) and homes where there is a computer running 24/7 (such as a home media server, print server, etc.)

Quiet – Laptops are often quieter than desktops, due both to the components (quieter, slower 2.5-inch hard drives) and to less heat production leading to use of fewer and slower cooling fans.

Battery – All laptop computers come with a rechargeable battery which when fully charged can run the laptop for several hours in case of a power outage and is it not affected by short power interruptions and blackouts. A desktop PC needs a UPS to handle short interruptions, blackouts and spikes; achieving on-battery time of more than 20–30 minutes for a desktop PC requires a large and expensive UPS.

All-in-One - designed to be portable, laptops have everything integrated in to the chassis. For desktops (excluding all-in-ones) this is divided into the desktop, keyboard, mouse, display, and optional peripherals such as speakers, and a webcam. This leads to lots of wiring. It can also lead to massive power consumption.

Extras - in comparison to low-end desktops, nearly all laptop computers,even low end laptops include many features such as integrated Wi-Fi, and Express Card slot, and a memory card reader.

Some laptop components (optical drives, hard drives, memory and internal expansion cards) are relatively standardized and it is possible to upgrade or replace them in many laptops as long as the new part is of the same type .Depending on the manufacturer and model, a laptop may range from having several standard, easily customizable and upgradeable parts to a proprietary design that cannot be reconfigured at all.

In general, with nearly all laptop computers the components other than the four categories listed above are not intended to be replaceable, and thus rarely follow a standard. In particular, motherboards, locations of ports, and design and placement of internal components are usually make and model specific. Those parts are neither interchangeable with parts from other manufacturers nor upgradeable. If broken or damaged, they must be substituted with an exact replacement part.

Those users uneducated in the relevant fields are those the most affected by incompatibilities, especially if they attempt to connect their laptops with incompatible hardware or power adapters.

Intel, Asus, Compal, Quanta and other laptop manufacturers have created the Common Building Block standard for laptop parts to address some of the inefficiencies caused by the lack of standards.



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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

PC Laptop Computers

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are excellent for business and personal use.  PC laptops are easy to transport and carry with you.  This makes them a much more versatile tool than desktop computers, and the price of a laptop is now about the same as a desktop.  Unless you are positive that you will never leave your computer room, I recommend getting a laptop.

Shopping for a PC laptop computer is easy thanks to the internet.  Make a list of the most imporant features that you want in a computer.  The size of the hard drive, the amount of RAM, screen size, weight, and DVD drive are some of the most important features.  I suggest making a chart and entering information about different laptops into it so you can compare them easily.

Retailers frequently offer sales over the internet, so keep an eye out for price discounts.  Also, laptop computers frequently come with free accessories such as an external mouse, printer, microphone, or headset.  Take your time when shopping and be patient.  Check several online computer stores frequently, and you will eventually find a great buying opportunity!

The variety of software and applications that support, the size of their hard drives and memory, as well as their easy transportability all make them convenient and useful computers.

When choosing a PC laptop computer, you should consider several things.  First of all, how will you use the computer?  Do you travel every week, or do you typically use your computer when you are home sitting on the couch?  This may seem like a relatively insignificant thing, but the weight of a laptop computer is an important factor for someone who travels a lot with it.

Consider the software that you use most often.  If you use spreadsheets such as Excel to keep track of numbers and perform calculations, you want to make sure that your laptop has enough memory to handle your largest spreadsheets.  If you plan to play video games on your PC laptop computer, then you will want to make sure that the hard drive is large enough to accommodate all of your games as well as other files.

The great thing about is the tremendous variety of brands and options available.  Make a checklist of the most important features that you are looking for, and you will be on your way to buying your next computer.

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