Laptop, as known as notebook, has highly evolved in the past few years. It has become part of the daily life of millions of people, thanks to its portability and performance. Shopping for a laptop requires more research as there are many powerful laptops at a reasonable price.
Before you start, think about what you will use it for. If your main tasks are doing word processing, surfing the internet, and using the spreadsheet, then a basic laptop without high processing power or big screen will be sufficient and saves you significant amount of money.
Processor
The processor determines how quickly the laptop runs applications. For speedy processing, consider
laptops with Intel's Core Duo and Core 2 Duo processors.
Memory
If you typically run multiple applications simultaneously, consider buying more memory as it will really help the performance of the laptop. Unless you are buying a very basic model, consider a laptop with at least 2GB of RAM.
Screen
The screen size is the diagonal measurement of the screen. Although a bigger screen adds to the
price and weight of a laptop, it offers high maximum resolution and allows you to have more
workspace.
Hard Drive
The hard drive size affects how much data you can store on the laptop. If your work involves
large-scale databases and photo and video file editing, you probably need 80GB or more.
Keyboard and Pointing Device
Keyboard size may vary, based on the size of the laptop. Some light weight laptops may have
smaller keyboards. With regard to pointing device, there are two options: touchpad and pointing
stick. While some laptops offer both, others typically have a touchpad.
Weight
Most laptops weight several pounds. If the weight is important to you, make sure you check the
weight of laptop as well as AC adaptor, any external modules and their cables.