Asking which notebook will leave most of us
unsure of what we really need

In most cases we will usually end up with the best notebook for the sales person’s commission and not our needs.

Today there really are so many good notebooks on the market that you should not need to compromise on what you need simply through not being able to find what you are looking for.

This leads us to the next question, how to decide which notebook?

1. Size/Weight
2. Battery life
3. Graphics
4. Processor
5. Make/Model
6. Durability
7. Screen type
8. USB Ports
9. Expansion options
10. Warranty/Support

1. The first choice when deciding which notebook is size, this is very important due to the weight, so if you are going to travel frequently a smaller notebook will be a blessing.

   If on the other hand you are going to use it as a desktop replacement and will not be travelling around with it go for the largest possible, especially if you are going to be sitting in front of it for long periods of time.

   Tip
   If you want the best of both worlds, such as a very portable notebook and yet usable as a desktop replacement consider the smaller option and then use an external screen to give you the extra viewing space.

2. Battery life, How long will the battery last between charges? Components which have the highest battery consumption include the hard drive, processor, CD/DVD drives and the screen.

   For longer battery life consider a smaller screen, and either a less powerful processor or one that offers very good power saving.

   Tip
   Consider replacing the standard hard drive for an SSD or Solid state drive, this will not only require less power than a standard drive, but is also much faster, quieter and durable.

3. Graphics What a difference a video card can make in terms of graphical performance, if you’re into gaming or any other high end graphics ensure it has a dedicated memory type of graphics card as this will offer better performance than most shared memory types.

   If you’re into basic gaming, email, office docs then a standard shared memory graphics card will suffice.

   Tip
   Make sure you choose the right type of graphics card from day one when choosing which notebook as graphics cards as a rule cannot be upgraded.

4. Processor type generally the more powerful the processor the more the financial cost and the heavier the drain on the processor, unless you really need the most powerful notebook possible consider a mid range Core 2 or i5 processor which will still offer good performance but with good overall battery life.

   Tip
   When deciding which notebook if you’re in the market for a small machine for general tasks such as Internet, general applications, email, music etc consider a Netbook, they are both cheap and offer much longer battery life than most notebooks .

5. Make & Model Not all notebooks are created equal. This is what many notebook manufacturers would have us believe.

   Many notebook manufacturers do not actually make any of the components their notebooks; this means many notebooks have identical components, so apart from the case why should one notebook cost 50% more than another? The simple answer is the brand, you decide if it’s worth paying extra for a badge.

6. Durability Some makes of notebook seem to come in much cheaper than others why is this when many have the same components? As we said above the badge can make a difference, but another factor which can make a difference is the build quality and durability.

   In my experience when deciding which notebook manufacturers such as IBM, HP/Compaq and Acer offer some of the most durable machines around.

   Tip
   Durability can come at a $$$ cost, choosing lesser known brands such as Acer makes good sense, or even second user machines.

7. Screen types There are many screen types on the market and generally the higher the resolution the clearer the image, screen types are WVGA – 800×480, SVGA – 800×600, WSVGA – 1024×600, XGA – 1024×768, WXGA – 1366×768 or 1280×800, SXGA – 1280×1024, SXGA+ – 1400×1050, WXGA+ – 1440×900, WSXGA+ – 1680×900 or 1680×1050, UXGA – 1600×1200, WUXGA – 1920×1080 or 1920×1200.

   The screen type usually has a lot to do with the size of the notebook screen itself, for example you won’t find WUXGA on a 10 inch screen, or alternatively SVGA on a 17 inch screen.

   Tip
   Look out for bright technology, this gives the screen a shiny silky effect.

8. USB ports As a rule of thumb you can never have enough USB ports, just about every device uses USB today so you should really have a minimum of 3.
9. Expansion options Can the notebook accept more than one simm? Is there a docking station or port replicator available for it? Does it have a heavy duty battery option?
10. Warranty/Support, If your notebook ever has a problem what kind of support would you need? If you ever encounter a hardware problem can you do without your notebook for a few weeks while it’s repaired, or would you prefer an onsite warranty that will involve an engineer coming to you and fixing the notebook?

    There are lots of support options all at various extra prices, but if you need your notebook fixed in a hurry it’s money well spent.

    Tip
    Which notebook warranty Don’t just think your notebook manufacturer’s warranty is the only choice, lots of maintenance companies also offer third party warranties.

Notes
Two things we purposely omitted were RAM, as most notebooks come with 2gb as standard and can easily be upgraded. Hard drives as again it’s easy to replace a notebook hard drive if you want a larger drive or an SSD.

Read more on deciding which Notebook is right for you

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