Laptop Buying GuideEven though laptops have significantly fallen in price in the last few months, buying a laptop is still an expensive decision, and you want to buy the best laptop for your needs. This laptop buying guide will walk you through the main decision factors you need to consider when buying a laptop computer.

What is the best laptop for me?

To choose the right notebook–one with the right set of features at the right price–you’ll need to figure out how you’ll want to use your machine. Is the laptop for business use? Are you a college student? Is portability (battery life, weight) the main factor? Are you looking for a gaming machine? Do you need a large screen for giving presentations? Start by writing down a list of your top 5 requirements in a laptop.

The smallest laptops are made for frequent fliers or others who spend a lot of time traveling and need an extra-portable computer. They will efficiently run most office programs and Web browsers, as well as media players and basic photo programs. Some of the smallest laptops are also tablet PCs. Tablet screens rotate 180 degrees and fold back over the keyboard. The user can then make selections and take notes with a stylus pen. These handy computers are great for those who do a lot of work standing up or who need a more versatile laptop for note taking.

Most laptop users will want something in the middle — a laptop that can be used for doing a little bit of everything while remaining small enough to easily take to class or work. With most mid-size laptops, you can burn and play DVDs, surf the Web, handle digital photos and maybe even edit a little video.

Multi-media professionals and gamers need something bigger and more powerful — a laptop that can replace a desktop computer. Large laptops will have bigger screens, larger hard drives and more space for lots of other cool accessories.

Laptop elements:

Processor:
The processor, or “central processing unit” (CPU). It’s the most important chip in a notebook, and it has power-management features that extend battery life. Notebooks use a variety of processor types depending on their focus like AMD Turion 64,AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual Core. Intel Celeron M, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core Duo, Intel Core Solo,Intel Pentium M, Mobile AMD Athlon 64, Mobile AMD Sempron. A really fast computer will be 2.0GHz or faster. Most range from 1.4GHz to 1.8GHz.

Laptop processors employ special battery-saving measures. Intel laptop processors will be designated with an M (for “mobile”) or “core.” AMD notebook processors are usually designated with the “Turion” name. Most laptops will have these mobile processors, but some of the larger, desktop replacement notebook computers will have desktop processors that run faster (and hotter).

Hard drive:
The hard drive is the memory storage of a laptop. A big hard drive allows you to install more, larger programs and save more files. Today’s high performance laptop computers feature more than 120GB of storage space or even two high-capacity hard drives. For most people a 60GB or 80GB will be much more practical. The hard disk’s rotational speed also makes a big difference; a 7,200rpm notebook disk delivers significantly faster performance than a 5,400rpm model. The faster the disk spins, the better your notebook will perform overall. At the same time, though, it will use more battery power.

System memory:
Every computer comes with a certain amount of physical memory, usually referred to as main memory or RAM (random-access memory), is one of the main components that will make your laptop run fast or slow. A lot of RAM, which today equals 1GB or more, will allow your computer to run more programs simultaneously, as well as work with larger multi-media files. A general rule of thumb: You’ll want 1GB for Windows Vista or 512MB for Mac OS X

Display Size:
Laptop screens are thin liquid crystal display (LCD) screens that in the past have been difficult to see. This has changed, however, and most laptop screens are now much brighter and sharper. Some are even backlit with LEDs that keep the screen bright while using less energy.

The screens on notebook computers are measured diagonally Notebook LCDs range in size from 10.6 inches (diagonal) to 20 inches. For comfortable viewing at the preferred Windows resolution of 1,024 x 768, most people like 14.1-inch or larger LCDs.

Battery:
Most notebook batteries on the market are lithium-ion batteries. That’s a good thing, by the way, because you don’t need to worry about “memory effect” with these laptop batteries. This occurs when non-lithium-ion batteries are recharged before being completely run down, diminishing their overall charging capacity. Lithium-ion laptop batteries can be recharged at any time without affecting the capacity. Of course, over time, all rechargeable batteries begin to loose their charge, but a lithium-ion laptop battery will keep it much longer.

CD & DVD drives:
Most notebooks, even budget systems, now include a DVD/CDRW combo drive (either built in to the laptop or external and connected via USB) for burning discs and watching movies on the road. Unless you’re going budget, don’t settle for anything less than a CDRW drive.

External ports:
The number of external ports varies from laptop to laptop. All will have at least a couple of universal serial bus (USB) ports. You will probably want as many of these as you can get, however, since most computer accessories connect through USB these days. Some new laptops also feature media ports, which read flash memory cards from digital cameras and other devices.

Virtually all laptops also feature PC card (also known as PCMCIA card or cardbus) slots, where you can insert network cards, memory expansion and a whole lot more.

Video card:
Also called graphics cards, video cards generate graphics in the laptop display. All laptop CPUs have a graphics controller, which allows the computer to display basic video and graphics. A video card, however, is an extra device that takes the load off of the processor, allowing the laptop to run smoothly and quickly when playing movies or working with photos. Some video cards have their own system memory, which makes for faster, more seamless performance.

Touchpad:
Most laptops today feature a touchpad, which allows you to move the pointer with your finger. Some also feature small rubber joysticks, or “pointing sticks,” in the middle of the keyboard that respond to the direction in which you push or pull your fingertip. Most touchpads can be adjusted for sensitivity. Look for laptops that feature a touchpad with a designated scroll area. These allow you to easily scroll up or down in a window without having to hold down a button at the same time.

Cool accessories:
It seems like almost everyone has a laptop these days, so if you want to make yours stand out from the crowd, you need to connect it to some of the latest accessories. allindiadeals.com’s everyday laptop deals include deals on sleek, colorful web cams that clip to your laptop’s screen. Put it all together with a pair of laptop speakers and a computer microphone for the ultimate portable video chatting machine!

For all the gadgets and gizmos you want, visit allindiadeals.com’s laptop accessories section.

We hope that this information, although partial, will assist in planning your next purchase of a laptop. You should now have a better idea of features, functionality and prices.

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