Tips: Choosing your Suitable Notebook/ Laptop

Hey, all readers. Wanna buy a new notebook/ laptop…??? See the tips below and you’ll get the suitable one for you. Check this out! :)

1: Choosing notebook based on your mobility
Do you guys often use the notebook in everywhere? Are you the person who has high mobility? So, you need to choose the notebook which is suitable for you. It can based on it size, weight, etc. You know? There are four categories of notebook by weight, with some overlap. They are:

- Ultraportable

It can be used where you are on the road/ in mobiling.It’s screen sizes is so small, usually 10 to 12 inches, and the keyboards petite. Also, to make these machines so small, some features such as: internal optical drives, large and fast hard drives, and extra ports mostly are not provided. Beside that, the batteries also so small and often yield as little as 2 hours of using. The newer processor technologies maybe can extend battery life to beyond 4 hours. But remember, that the tiny tech comes at a higher cost compared with larger notebooks. So, think it twice! :)

- Thin and Light

A balance between size, battery life, and power, this type of notebook is very suitable, especially for the students and business users who has high mobility. It is more portable. Mostly, it has a large screen, about 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

Notebooks are like budget desktops: They're good for general tasks, but it won't win any contests for the performance or features. However they don't qualify as thin or light, they still offer some portability. With 14-inch or the larger screen, a standard selection of ports, and big keyboard, they're suitable for everyday use.

- Desktop Replacement

If you want a notebook with a desktop power, you need a desktop replacement. With screen sizes is about 15 to 17 inches, the weights as heavy as six kilos, and the average battery life of less than three hours. This kind of notebook is not made for them who often go out. They can accommodate a wide range of performance parts, however, and are just right for power users of all kinds.

2: Choosing the Processor

Talking about the processor, we’ll gonna talk about the “brain” of PC. You have a lot of options, so here are the basics. As you know that we know 2 kind of processor which are popular in this era: INTEL and AMD.

Intel or Intel's Centrino line offers speed while also has a 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 mobile processors are much more affordable than Intel's, but actually they generally lag behind Intel's on our MobileMark tests. AMD's Turion 64 X2 processors maybe can change that because the initial reports say its performance is still behind the new Core 2 Duo chips.

3: Choosing the Screen/ Monitor

Wide-screen notebook, which has an aspect ratio of 16:9, will offer you a larger, sharper, and all-around better images than the 4:3 standard-screen one. Its good for watching video, but they also allow you to have two documents or Web pages open side-by-side. A spacious 17-inch wide-screen notebook is a nice luxury if you're not planning on traveling with it and use often use it at your home.

Beside that, the VGA type is so important. What will you do with your notebook then? For you who often use it for typing or doing office program, its not a problem about the VGA. But, its very important for the gamers and the the users of 3D applications, photo/ video editing, etc. Choose the high performance monitor with 512 MB to 1 GB dedicated memory. Higher is better for the picture quality. My suggestion is choosing the ATI-RADEON or NVIDIA of VGA type.

4: Choosing RAM (Random Access Memory)

RAM is the important factor that you should think because it will influence your notebook speed. Choose it based on your using, for gaming, 3D application or just another office program. Each of them has different necessary, of course.

Adding RAM is an easy way to boost your notebook performance, but firstly, you have to make sure the notebook memory sockets are accessible/ compatible. (It's usually under a panel on the bottom of the system.) Here, I have a suggestion of RAM type based on the using:

- 1GB: Good for basic office apps, running one at a time.

- 1.5GB: Adequate for running several programs at once, photo editing, and simple 3D gaming.

- 2GB or more: Recommended for high-performance 3D gaming, demanding graphics work, and video editing.

5: Choosing Keyboard

Small notebook, so do the keyboards. So, choosing keyboard based on your activities (its for typing, gaming, etc...) is so important. If its possible, try some simple typing exercises before you buy. The smaller the keyboard, the more creative the vendor may have gotten with key size and placement. Some keyboard may has different button size (such as ENTER, button). Also pay attention to the Spacebar, Shift, Ctrl, and Backspace/ Delete keys. Make sure that its in a good location for your hand size and typing style.

6: Choosing the Number of Slot's

Like a PCI slot in a desktop, a PC Card (or PCMCIA) slot in a notebook may provides you an expansion opportunities. Additional USB and FireWire ports, wired and wireless modems, and wireless LAN radios are all available in PC Card form. PC Cards and slots come in three sizes: Type I, II, and III. Type I cards are normally used for memory, Type II for input/output devices, and Type III for mass storage and firewalls. The very latest notebooks include the ExpressCard slot which is set to replace the PCMCIA card format in the long run.

7: Choosing the Speaker

You need to know, that notebook is notorious for having terrible speakers. I suggest you all to get a good set of headphones, or a stereo or three-piece speaker set.

Notebook generally lack the sound-processing abilities to use surround-sound speakers, but you can add it. Creative's Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook slides into a PC Card slot, providing support for up to eight-channel surround sound.

8: Choosing Hard Drive's Memory

Notebook hard drive is start at 80GB. I suggest you to use at least 120GB or 160GB if you will save a lot of image, music, or video files. As you know, capacity isn't the only issue. If you have many choice, select a drive with a rotational speed of at least 5,400rpm. The faster it spins, the faster you'll get your files.

9: Choosing the Model

Well, in spite of modern era, the model of notebook that you will use also important, too. But, remember, choose the suitable model but it also has suitable design for you too. Here, you should consider about what it made from, and etc. So, take yourself appetite.. :)

10: PRICE

The last one, of course, THE PRICE. Choose your notebook based on your budget, and put as priority for the activities that you will often do with it. Choose the most influencing factor, if you gamer, choose a good VGA monitor type. If you use more for 3D application, use the good VGA type and choose a high RAM. If you are an officer, priority is your comfortable.


Well, now it's time to choose your Own Notebook... :)

AND... NOW, I KNOW...!!!


(c) Written by: Nanda Firsta
Source: Own Experience