http://www.computerbuyingguides.com Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:38:01 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Most notebooks use 2.5” sized hard drives, which are smaller in capacity than desktop hard drives. At this time, the largest 2.5” hard drives just coming onto the market were 320 gigabytes. However, for most people, hard drives of 120-160 GB are large enough. The Laptop Buyers Guide thinks it ... http://www.computerbuyingguides.com/laptop-buyers-guide-hard-drive-storage-size-matters/ Memory’s something that you can’t really have too much of. Software programs demand a plethora of memory to run well. Although Windows XP program says it requires 512 MB, this amount of memory will provide just okay performance. The Laptop Buyers guide suggest you buy as much memory as you ... http://www.computerbuyingguides.com/laptop-buyers-guide-memory-just-can%e2%80%99t-get-enough/ It can be frustrating to be halfway through watching a movie on your laptop and then your battery dies and -- whoops -- there’s no outlet. Lithium ion batteries have made this scenario less common, but unfortunately, battery life is still less than desirable due to the new powerful processor ... http://www.computerbuyingguides.com/laptop-buyers-guide-battery-your-laptop%e2%80%99s-lifeline/ There are two main players in the processor industry: Intel and AMD. There two basic categories of processor chips: low-powered ones that give maximum battery life but operate more slowly, and high-powered ones for maximum performance but shorter battery life. As of May 2008, most notebook manufacturers were using Intel ... http://www.computerbuyingguides.com/laptop-buyers-guide-central-processing-unit-cpu/ Buying a name brand laptop will not necessarily mean that you are getting a good computer. Engineering is the key to a quality laptop, which typically can’t be done by lesser known manufacturers or by the brand name company’s budget models. Since all the parts are packed into a very ... http://www.computerbuyingguides.com/laptop-buyers-guide-brand-what%e2%80%99s-in-a-name/ The more you pay the better quality graphics you will get. Both ATI and NVIDIA offer a wide range of graphics chips for laptops so it’s easy to find one that fits your needs. Make sure you actually need that level of graphics as you can spend an extra $500 ... http://www.computerbuyingguides.com/laptop-buyers-guide-graphics-capabilities-the-eye-candy/ The size and weight of the laptop relate directly to what you are going to be using the computer for. For example, if you are an air warrior or Starbucks junkie, you’ll want the smallest 10” to 13’’ ultra lightweight (4 to 6 lbs) laptop. To make these laptops smaller ... http://www.computerbuyingguides.com/laptop-buyers-guide-size-and-weight/ Laptop screens range in size from 13” screens that are built for portability all the way up to gigantic 17” screens that require regular gym workouts to lug around. When shopping for laptops you will see terms like SVGA, WXGA, and UXGA. If you are interested, read the explanations below. ... http://www.computerbuyingguides.com/laptop-buyers-guide-screen-type-and-resolution/ Additional Laptop Drives: Recommendation: The best option for most people is the DVD-RW drive, as it is an affordable component and will provide burning options right up to recordable DVD. Drives capable of burning double layer discs are mostly useful for people wanting to copy DVD movies. Laptop Buyers Guide: Wireless: All notebooks ... http://www.computerbuyingguides.com/laptop-buyers-guide-extras/