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Laptop PCs: Choosing, Using, Upgrading, Fixing Problems and Repairing Laptop / Notebook / Netbook /Tablet PCs/Computers - Page 1

If you read through this entire article, you will have all of the information you need to make a sensible decision involving the purchase of a laptop or netbook computer and you will know how it can be looked after, serviced, repaired and upgraded. Moreover, the Laptop Problems pages of this website, in the form of Q&As, address a wide range of laptop-PC problems. At the moment, tablet computers are dealt with incidentally here! on this page. Now that there are some decent alternatives to the iPad, I will create a separate page devoted to them soon.

This article currently consists of four long pages, because I prefer information on webpages to be on long scrollable pages instead of many short pages and I am sure that most people feel the same way. I have not created a contents menu because there is far too much information provided on each page, but the contents are displayed in such a way that makes it is a simple matter to scroll down and read the headings to find out what is offered. Moreover, if you want to save the information you can do so relatively quickly without having to save 20+ short pages.

How to choose a laptop/notebook/netbook computer

Another name for a laptop PC/computer is notebook computer.

There are two main species of laptop/notebook computers - the PC laptop that runs Windows (the latest officially-released version of which is Windows 7) and Windows software, and the Apple Mac that runs its own operating system called Mac OS X (the latest version is called Lion), which has software specially written for it. Apple calls it "the world's most advanced operating system". Laptops running Google's Chrome operating system were available from June 2011, but you should read the reviews, especially purchaser reviews, before deciding to use it instead of Windows 7.

Before you read about laptop PCs in this article, you should read this article that shows what can happen to your laptop in a repair shop.

Exposed: Repair Shops Hack Your Laptops (Opens in a new tab) -

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/...

2012 will see the arrival of Ultrabooks - very light, very thin, high-specification Windows laptops, similar to Apple's Macbook Air, that adhere to a specification created by Intel, use a wholly electronic solid state drive (SSD) instead of a mechanical hard disk drive, provide 8+ hours of battery life and introduce other technological advances. Due to the much higher cost of the flash memory that SSDs use, the storage capacity, usually 128GB, is much less than laptops that use a hard disk drive. (Being made of flash RAM, SSD drives come in the same capacities as RAM modules - 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, etc.) HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo, Asus and Toshiba are expected to make their Ultrabooks available this year. As soon as more information is made available on them, I will provide it here. Here is a review of the first Ultrabook from HP:

HP Envy 14 Spectre review: first-look -

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2012/01/10/hp-envy-14-spectre-review-first-look/

Intel showed off its upcoming Ultrabooks at the CES technological show that convert into a tablet computers with touch screens, voice control and gesture recognition. For more information read the following article that also provides a video:

Intel shows off hybrids: Ultrabooks that turn into tablets [Jan 9, 2012] -

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223279/...

The pages of this article deal mainly with PC laptops, which when bought new now usually run a version of the Windows 7 operating system. Click here! to view a recent video review of the Toshiba Satellite C660 laptop that comes in two models - the C660-120 (priced at around £280 in April 2011) and the C660-155 (£400).

There is a £120 difference in the price of the two models, which can be accounted for mainly by the superior processor of the C660-155 (first-generation Intel Core i3 380M vrs Intel Celeron T3500 of the C660-120, both dual-core processors), double the amount of RAM memory (4GB vrs 2GB), and longer battery life (4 hours vrs 5.3 hours). Both laptops have a graphics chip built into the motherboard instead of a dedicated graphics card with its own graphics memory. An integrated graphics chip is the cheaper option and shares system memory, thereby leaving the system with less memory at its disposal. A laptop PC with a graphics card would be more expensive than £400.

Note that the Toshiba C660-155 has a first-generation Intel Core i3 380M processor, which might suit your processing needs perfectly, but you should be aware that the second-generation, Sandy Bridge, Core i3 processors are superior products that provide better performance and battery life and the latops running them, if more expensive, are not significantly more expensive. Searching intel.com for 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors should bring up a page listing them. Excellent budget laptops with a second-generation Sandy Bridge processor, such as the Acer Aspire 5749 with an i3 -2330M processor, can be purchased for around £400 (December 2011).

It is also now possible to buy an ultra-portable laptop that uses an external graphics card to supplement the onboard graphics provided by a second-generation Intel (Sandy Bridge) dual-core processor. The external graphics card can only be used when the laptop is connected to the mains power supply. An example of such a laptop is the very expensive Sony Vaio Z21M9E, at around £2400 in August 2011, rocketing to just under £4,000 if configured as high as it can be, which has a dual-core Intel Core i5-2410m processor and an external base unit housing a 1GB AMD Radeon 6650M graphics card, which uses Intel's LightPeek technology. Also included is a 128GB flash-memory SSD drive instead of a mechanical hard disk drive, which can be upgraded to a 512GB SSD drive for around £1200.

That said, if you are only going to use the laptop for running office applications, watching movies, emailing and perhaps using the free Skype to video call (you can see the other person and he/she can see you in real time if both computers are running Skype), the lower-priced model would do just as well as the higher-priced model, because both have a webcam camera.

Skype - http://www.skype.com/

Note that machine specifications often don't tell you if the processor is single-core, dual core, quad-core, etc., or that the graphics is integrated instead of provided by a dedicated graphics card. If not, you have to conduct a websearch of the technical spec yourself. Desktop and laptop PCs now have processors that have two, four or six identical processing cores housed in a single case. Having a dual-core processor in a computer means that it has two identical processors in a single unit that is installed on the computer's motherboard. Eight-core processors will be available soon. Here is a webpage that lists all of the available processors for mobile computers (laptops, netbooks):

Comparison of Mobile Processors -

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

Laptop (mobile) processors (CPUs) can overheat easily if the processing demand is high, such as watching a video/movie on the web or from a DVD. The processor's temperature shouldn't exceed 80 degrees centigrade. Fortunately, a good free utility can monitor a laptop's battery usage, etc., and tell you what the current temperature of the processor (CPU) and the hard disk drive (HDD) is. When it is installed, just hold the mouse pointer over the utility's icon in the Notification Area (bottom left corner) to be provided with the temperatures.

BatteryCare - http://batterycare.net/en/index.html

If the CPU temperature reaches 80 degrees Centigrade, you should reduce running programs, including a browser playing, say a video, to bring the temperature down. My laptop has on occasions suddenly frozen during the playing of a video on a hot day and had to be rebooted. This was no doubt due to the processor getting too hot. The system then freezes to prevent damage to the processor. The methods that can be used to keep a laptop PC cool are discussed futher down in this article. These include using a laptop stand or fitting an external cooling unit.

Both Intel and AMD now have ranges of laptop (mobile) processors that provide the computer's graphics capability and which can switch to a dedicated graphics card in order to run more demanding software such as the latest games. The onboard graphics chip within AMD's new A-Series Fusion APU mobile processors can run in tandem with a suitable dedicated AMD graphics card to increase 3D performance dramatically. Of course, the latop must already provide a dedicated graphics card or have the capacity to install one in order to be able to switch from onboard graphics to a dedicated card or, in AMD's case, run the graphics card in tandem with the processor's graphics chip. If the laptop can only use the processor's graphics chip, then you're stuck with its onboard graphics provision unless the processor can be upgraded, which is not usually the case with a laptop.

In the US, in mid-June 2011, HP began selling a new range of laptops with AMD processors for the first time, no doubt because the AMD Fusion quad-core laptop processors, which AMD calls Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) because they have an onboard graphics chip, outperform Intel's Core i3, i5 and i7 equivalent processors in 3D graphics by quite a long way and that higher comparative performance can be increased further if you install a suitable dedicated AMD graphics card, because it will use the graphics chip integrated into the processor in tandem with the graphics card in CrossFireX mode.

If I were buying a Windows laptop PC today, I would definitely choose one of these HP models (or any other make/model using these AMD processors), because they are also more upgradable than equivalent laptops with Intel's latest Core processors and they cost significantly less. When HP is using AMD processors instead of its previous policy of Intel-only processors, you know that these AMD chips are now competitive with Intel's.

New AMD 'Llano' [desktop and laptop PC] processors promise graphics 60% faster than Intel - http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/processors/1285285/...

September 2011. - The Toshiba Satellite L755D-12L is the first laptop to be made available in the UK that uses an AMD Fusion Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), combining processor and graphics chip. This laptop provides plenty of RAM memory (6GB) and has a low-end AMD Fusion A6-3400M APU that runs at 1.4Ghz, which when using AMD’s new Turbo Core feature can increase up to 2.4GHz for better performance when running processor- and graphics-intensive applications, such as the latest games. With a bit of tweaking it can run the latest games. To read the excellent reviews it is receiving, use its make/model as a search term in a web search engine.

Almost all new laptop PCs, but not yet netbook computers (dealt with further down this page), have at least a dual-core AMD or Intel processor that have two identical processors that work in conjunction, combined in a single unit. Laptops with a single-core processor are still available, but should not be purchased because far superior dual-core models don't cost much more. If the number of cores is not specified for a particular model, you can find out how many cores it has by visiting the AMD or Intel website and searching for the processor's model, or use the make/model in a seach engine. Now that AMD's inexpensive quad-core Fusion laptop processors are available in laptops it won't be long before laptop with a quad-core (4-core) processors are the standard option.

For example, the Dell Inspiron 1545 was being sold in February 2011 with a choice of several processors, mostly dual-core, but the cheapest option was the Intel Celeron Processor 900, which is a single-core processor, as can be seen in its specification page on Intel's website here: http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=41498.

Laptop PCs are evolving into upgradable computers that have separate, removable graphics cards and processors. The hard disk drives have always been replaceable or upgradable. It is now possible to buy external USB sound cards that are designed mainly for use with laptop PCs, but which can also be used with a desktop PC. This makes upgrading the sound device of a laptop easy. Here is a review of one:

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi 5.1 Pro review - "Verdict: This little [USB] external sound card from Creative is a good buy for laptop users, although it doesn't support maximum DVD sample rates on all surround sound channels." Review Date: 27 Feb 2011 Price when reviewed: £57 Supplier: http://www.amazon.co.uk -

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/gadgets/1282999/creative-sound-blaster-x-fi-5-1-pro

If you only use a laptop for is running office software and accessing email or the web, it will do the job as well as a dual-core model, but why buy something that is inferior when you get a much superior dual-core machine for a little more money? You could run your office applications and access the web at the same time without the deterioration of performance that a single-core machine would suffer, because each activity would have its own processor instead of just one processor for both of them.

Even Intel's latest Sandy Bridge processors, made available for desktop PCs at the beginning of January 2011, are now available in laptops. Example: Sony Vaio VPC-CA1S1E has a dual-core Intel Core i5-2410m processor that runs at 2.3GHz, which can be boosted by its Turbo Boost feature to run at 2.9GHz. Moreover, it supports Hyper-threading technology, which makes a dual-core processor function as if it has four processing cores, making multitasking effortless.

Sony Vaio VPC-CA1S1E review -

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/1282948/sony-vaio-vpc-ca1s1e

Dual-core laptops provide all of the computing power required for most home and office users, especially if it has a Sandy Bridge processor. Quad-core laptops, which have a processor that has four identical processor cores, are available, but are only necessary if the user undertakes work that requires as much processing power as possible, such as editing HD video. However, if you can buy a quad-core laptop for not much more than a dual-core laptop, why not go for it?

A new addition is the 3D laptop, which has a 3D screen that is usually viewed with special 3D shutter glasses, but in July 2011 Toshiba released the Qosmio F750, the first laptop with a screen that doesn't require shutter glasses in order to view the 3D effects.

HP to announce 3D laptop, fastest netbook -

"HP supplies 3D active shutter glasses, which wirelessly communicate with the laptop for users to view 3D content. The laptop can be switched to a 2D mode for users to view normal content." - http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9183100/...

LG launches 3D laptop, monitor, projector - "Despite concerns that 3D technology could leave a not-inconsiderable number of the population cold, LG Electronics is forging ahead with a trio of new 3D products: a gaming laptop, a monitor, and a projector." -

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/projectors/1279138/...

Touchscreen laptops are also available that allow the computer to be controlled by touching the screen instead of using a mouse or touch pad. I have used one for a few weeks and I prefer using a wireless mouse, but that could be just because I have used a mouse for decades.

Touchscreen - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen

Touch Screen Laptops -

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Touchscreen_Laptops/prod.asp

Review: 3 Windows 7 touch-screen laptops -

Reviewed are laptops from Fujitsu, HP and Lenovo which take advantage the touchscreen feature made available by Windows 7. -

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140385/...

You can also buy a laptop that has a backlit keyboard so that you can see the keys in the dark, such as the Sony VAIO Z Series laptops, an example of which is shown in the image below. My WiFi from Intel enables fast, automatic syncing with digital cameras and smartphones, copying of documents and photos to printers and streaming videos to digital projectors.

Tablet PCs/computers

Since the Apple iPad, a tablet personal computer, became available, this form of laptop computer has been selling like hotcakes. A tablet computer is really just a netbook-sized computer, looking like a large Apple iPhone, that has a touchscreen built into the unit. The second-generation iPad 2 is now available, no doubt released because several other manufacturers have their first-generation tablets out. However, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the first second-generation Android-based tablet computer. There are many reviews of it on the web with the general consensus being that it comes a close second to the iPad 2, provides an exceptional display, but lacks the same range apps available for the iPad due to Google's slow development of the Android operating system and should be more competitively priced.

Tablets with single-core and dual-core processors are available and in October 2011 Asus released the world's first tablet computer with a quad-core processor - the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime (shown in the image above) - powered by a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, priced at £500/US$499 for a 32GB model and £600/US$599 for a 64GB model. As usual, the price in dollars is what the price will be in UK pounds. In December 2011, this tablet was only available in the UK pre-ordered. Remember that in the US, the price is shown net of sales tax because the different states have different tax rates, which is why electonic devices appear to be cheaper in the US than in the UK. The tablet provides a mobile dock, shown under it in the image above (sold separately for £150/$149) that provides a full QWERTY keyboard and touchpad. When docked it can provide up to 18 hours of battery life. This is an expensive machine given that for the price, including the dock, you can buy a very well-specified laptop or netbook PC. Here are its specifications:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/tegra-asus.html

Android is a customisation by Google of the Linux open-source operating system, customisations of which run everything from supercomputers to smartphones. Being open-sourced, unlike any version of Windows, all of which are closed-source, any develper is free to adapt or customise the code. The latest version in December 2011 was version 4.0 called Ice Cream Sandwich.

Don't forget Amazon's Kindle ebook reader, which is currently available in its fourth non-colour generation and which now has a colour tablet version called the Kindle Fire that is inexpensive (half the price of an iPad), provides access to an abundant range of ebooks, movies, music, apps and has its own web browser called Amazon Silk. The tablet is available in the US, but, by the first week of December 2011, its launch date in the UK is still to be announced.

Although half the price of an iPad, Amazon does not appear to have economised in the construction of the Kindle Fire, because it uses a customised version of the Android operating system, has a dual-core processor, 8GB of storage space and a 7-inch IPS touchscreen display. Apparently, Amazon has no plans to add 3G-mobile-phone capability, so Wi-Fi is its only means of connectivity. This shouldn't be a problem because most home users have wireless web connectivity and iPhones and Anderoid phones can act as a Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing the Kindle Fire to connect to the web via a smartphone.

There are currently two main versions of the non-colour Kindle - touchscreen and non-touchscreen (ueses a keyboard - the Kindle (Fourth Generation) Wi-Fi - £89 - the Kindle Touch Wi-Fi - the Kindle Keyboard (Third Generation) Wi-Fi (both not available in the UK by the end of September 2011). The touchscreen model only differs from the non-touchscreen model by the addition of speakers and the touchscreen itself. The models with Wi-Fi can access the web via an Internet connection (not a 3G mobile phone connection). The battery life of a Kindle is measured in months or weeks, depending on how heavily it is used, and it is evolving into an inexpensive tablet computer that looks as if it will be giving the iPad a very hard run for its money.

When choosing a tablet computer be aware that the next generation follows on pretty quickly and that once you have one it probably can't be upgraded internally with a faster processor or bigger hard disk drive unless you are prepared to spend a bundle paying a very experienced technician to find the parts and install them. You may be able to add more memory fairly easily and no doubt be able to upgrade the operating system, certainly if it runs iOS (iPad) and a version of Android from versions 2.2 to 4.0 (most other tablets) and that's about it. Therefore, before you buy a tablet PC read as many reviews on at as you can find using a web search engine, paying particular attention to components that can be upgraded. Android Market is where you can purchase or obtain free apps. For Android 1.6 and higher, the Android Market application updates itself automatically when new versions become available. Enter the search query updating android market in a search engine to find out how if the latest version is installed.

Note well that if you have a tablet computer, Google, the owner of the Linux-based Android operating system, currently (Nov. 2011) stipulates that to use the Android Market requires having an Android mobile phone linked to the account that he/she uses to access it. Google has a strict set of terms and conditions that a product must meet before it can connect to the Market. When accessing the web version of the Market, an error message about not having a phone will appear. It means that you don't have a compatible phone linked to the account. Fortunately, you can use an alternative app store, such as AppBrain. Apparently, when tablets ship with Android 3.0, which is designed for tablets, they will have full access to the Market.

There are now some decent alternative tablets to the iPad. Expert Reviews reviewed tablet PCs in its November 2011 edition (made available in mid August). It gave the following tablets five-star Best Buy awards - the iPad 2 priced at £499 with a 9.7-inch screen, 32GB of storage and 512MB of memory, the RIM Blackeberry PlayBook (£399, 7-inch screen, 16GB storage, 1GB memory) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab (£399, 10.1-inch screen, 16GB storage, 1GB memory).

The Advent Vega (£230 from pcworld.co.uk only, 10.1-inch screen, 512MB storage, 512MB memory) received a four-star Budget Buy award. Now at half the price of the other recommended tablets, this is an excellent product with plenty of potential worth keeping an eye on if you don't want to commit yourself to buying a tablet just yet. It uses the Android 2.2 operating system, but does not provide access to the Market, Android's online app store. However, here is an article on how to do add access by performing a simple upgrade:

How to upgrade the Advent Vega and get the Android Market -

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/usb-flash-drives/1286617/...

Another tablet of excellent value - the A1CS X220 TABLET 10.2" ANDROID 2.2, WIFI, MIFI, HDMI, 1080P, GPS WITH CAM - from amazon.co.uk, is priced at only £155. It also provides an ebook reader, which means you don't need a Kindle. For an extra £15 you can buy the case which provides a USB keyboard, stylus pen and screen protector. Read the excellent purchaser reviews (currently 125) on amazon.co.uk for some good advice. The vast majority of purchasers love this product. A 16GB memory card costs £13.49.

Tablet PC reviews - http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/tablet-pcs

Here is a review page of the iPad 2 and a good source of tablet PC reviews:

Apple iPad 2: review -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/8404905/Apple-iPad-2-review.html

Unlike laptops, tablet computers are not usually equipped with a keyboard; a screen control changes the screen into a touchscreen keyboard. Much speculation has blossomed about whether or not tablet PCs will replace desktop and laptop PCs. Personally, I think that, due to their limitations, they are likely just to be an additional choice of mobile computer.

Tablet personal computer - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablet_personal_computer

Tablet Vs. Laptop? How About Instant-On Vs. Interminable Boot-Up [Dec. 20, 2011] - "The debate's raging over just how thoroughly the tablet's going to crush the PC. Will one out of three tablets that's bought replace a PC, as Goldman Sachs predicts? Or, when it comes to business, will they replace very few PCs, as IT pros predict in our survey?" -

http://www.informationweek.com/news/global-cio/trends/...

Tablet Wars Heating Up [February 18, 2011] - "Vendors from HP to Samsung, RIM to HTC and others served notice they are serious about competing with Apple and the iPad at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona." -

http://www.informationweek.com/news/personaltech/tablets/...

Is there any difference between tablets? [Video - February 18, 2011] -

"The Mobile World Congress has always been - unsurprisingly - about one type of device, the mobile phone. But with tablets now making a huge impression in the mobile market, Spencer Kelly works out what differentiates the vast array of rectangular, touch-screen devices on offer." - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/9402137.stm

In November 2010, Dell brought out a netbook that converts into a tablet like the iPad by folding the screen over the keyboard, which becomes the tablet's screen.

Dell Inspiron Duo detailed [Converts from a netbook into a tablet] - "PC builder Dell has confirmed the long-rumoured launch of its convertible Inspiron Duo device - a netbook with a flippable screen that converts into a tablet on demand." -

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/netbooks/1281238/dell-inspiron-duo-detailed

You need to make the correct choice, because if you buy a laptop, netbook or tablet computer that does not provide the features you need, you cannot return it just for that reason. You will only be able to return it if the computer that you received was not the make/model that you ordered, it was missing features or components that you ordered, or it was not working out of the box, or it stopped working at a later date and could not be repaired by the vendor or manufacturer. If it was not working out of the box, you are entitled to a replacement of the same model. In that event, if you discovered that you had made the wrong choice, you could negotiate with the vendor in order to be supplied with a more appropriate choice.

If you are going to use the battery for long periods, you must make sure that any laptop/netbook/tablet computer you buy provides long battery life. Mobile computers have batteries that are made up of cells - usually from 3 to 9 cells. Usually the more cells a battery has, the longer it will last when fully charged. However, a laptop with a 3-cell battery of the same type from a particular manufacturer will not last as long as a 6-cell battery of the same type from the same manufacturer, but a 3-cell battery from another manufacturer of the same type can last longer than a 6-cell battery of the same type made by other manufacturers, etc.

Therefore, before you make a purchase, you must read the reviews of a particular laptop to find out which type of battery is provided and its expected running time, which depends on the kind of use it is being put through. Heavy PC gaming or playing a video uses more power than using office applications. Most brand-name laptop manufacturers that sell online, such as Dell, provide a choice of batteries of the same type (3-cell, 6-cell, 9-cell). However, if you buy a laptop from a retail store, the battery might not be customisable (you have to accept the battery it comes with).

A battery's mAh rating refers its storage capacity. A battery with a capacity rating of 2400 mAh should be able to deliver a current of 2400mA for one hour. Higher mAh ratings for the same battery type almost always means that the battery will provide power for longer. For example, a 6-cell 4800 mAh Dell Vostro 1510 laptop battery won't last as long as a 9-cell 7200 mAh Dell Vostro 1510 laptop battery. The following link provides information on those two batteries for the Dell Vostro 1510 laptop. You should only consider buying a laptop/netbook that has a Li-ion battery, which almost all current laptops have.

http://www.hunt360.co.uk/Dell-laptop-batteries/Dell-Vostro-1510-battery.htm

The batteries shown in the page linked to above are OEM-compatible batteries, not original OEM Dell batteries made by Dell's official manufacturers. Although they are described as "OEM battery for Dell Vostro 1510", this small print on the page: "These Dell Vostro 1510 batteries are 100% OEM compatible with the original Dell Vostro 1510 battery", means that they are only OEM-compatible replacement batteries.

Replacement batteries can be every bit as good or even better than the OEM batteries and if the are good they are almost always much cheaper than the OEM batteries that they can replace. The Dell 9-cell li-ion battery for an Inspiron 1545 laptop was priced at £130 in January 2011, but the 9-cell li-ion replacement battery provided from the page linked to below is a quality product costing less than half that price (ex a £10 delivery charge).

http://www.sales-batteries.co.uk/dell-laptop/451-10534-battery.html

There are always rip-off vendors out there, so make sure that you search the web for any reputable negative comments about any vendor, while remembering that anyone, including a company's competitors or just people being mischievous can post bad reviews.

The best way to search for alternative suppliers is to find what the original Dell battery's part number is from Dell's website, which is 451-10534 in this example, and then use a search engine to search for it.

A Dell battery has the words Dell printed on it. If you purchase an OEM battery there is a good chance that it won't be able to charge using the Dell charger that is built into your Dell laptop because it's part number identification won't be recognised; you will probably have to buy an external battery charger capable of charging it, which is best bought from the same company that sells the OEM-compatible batteries. If you want to avoid any problems, buy OEM laptop batteries from the laptop manuafcturer itself. They will almost always be significantly more expensive than non-official OEM-compatible batteries. You must visit Dell's website to buy OEM batteries and you must only purchase a battery for your model of laptop. A battery made for one particular model is unlikely to work with another model - even a model with the same name, say, Inspiron, but with a different model number.

The following free utility helps you to prolong the life of your laptop's battery and provides the current temperatures in degrees centigrade of the processor (CPU) and hard disk drive (HDD). It is accessed via its icon in the Notification Area of the screen (bottom left corner). Just holding the mouse pointer over the icon provides the temperatures.

BatteryCare - http://batterycare.net/en/index.html

Detailed infomation on laptop batteries is provided further down in this article.

A subspecies is called the netbook, which has become a very popular purchase during the credit crunch. Wikipedia defines it as follows:

"A netbook is a light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient, highly portable laptop that achieves these parameters by offering fewer features, less processing power and reduced ability to run resource-intensive operating systems (e.g., Windows Vista). Suitable for web browsing, email, and general purpose applications, netbooks are targeted increasingly at users accessing web-based applications, also known as Cloud computing, that do not require intensive resources available on the client computer. Although specifications and features of netbooks are highly variable, one report at the end of 2008 suggested the typical netbook featured a 3-lb (1.4 kg) weight, a 9-inch (23 cm) screen, wireless Internet connectivity, Microsoft Windows XP, an Intel chip [processor], and a cost of less than US$400." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netbook

Netbooks are now available with dual-core processors (two processors housed in a single unit).

As a matter of interest, there is now a free version of the Ubuntu Linux operating system (all versions of Ubuntu or any other distribution of Linux are free if downloaded instead of purchased as a packaged product that provides support) that is designed for netbook computers, which can be used instead of Windows XP or Windows 7.

Canonical Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition review - "It certainly makes the most of a netbook screen, but not all parts of the interface are easier to use and there could be some hardware issues." - http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/software/1280353/...

There is a version of Windows 7 called Windows 7 Starter Edition that is available only when preinstalled on a new netbook computer. The desktop wallpaper can't be changed, the screen size is limited to 10.2 inches, Windows Media Center is not available, the multiple monitors feature is not supported, so expanding the desktop to a external monitor from the netbook is not possible, hard disk drive support is limited to disks no bigger than 250GB, the processor has to be single-core below 2.0GHz and fitted RAM memory is limited to 1GB. Otherwise , it is completely usable.

You should take care when buying a netbook to make sure that it meets your computing needs. For example, the Compaq Mini 702EA PC is a netbook that has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 single-core processor (most laptops have dual-core or quad-core processors; dual-core Atom processors are available, currently only for small desktop PCs, but are soon to be available for netbooks). MSI has marketed netbooks with dual-core processors other than the Atom.

The more cores a processor has the more capable it is - especially if the software the computer is running has been written for multiple cores - because each core can run its own program/application or set of programs/applications. If you click on the make/model link, above, you will be taken to the page providing its specifications. Note that currently none of the Intel Atom single-core processors runs faster than 2.0GHz.

Buyer's guide to netbooks - http://www.pcpro.co.uk/html/buyers-guide-to-netbooks/

Tom's Definitive 10.1" Netbook Buyer's Guide: Fall 2010 -

"We run through an in-depth guide to 10.1" netbooks from Acer, Asus, Dell, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, and MSI. We even coded a special set of benchmarks. If you are in the market for a netbook, this guide gives you the performance and design cues you need." -

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/netbook-10-inch-performance,review-32015.html

Dual-core Atom 330 benchmarked -

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/11/12/dual-core-atom-330-benchmarked/

Intel to launch dual-core Atom processor for netbooks this quarter -

April 14, 2010 - "Otellini was vague on details, and did not specify whether the upcoming dual-core Atom would be for netbooks or small desktops. When asked about the possible launch of a dual-core Atom processor for netbooks this quarter, an Intel spokeswoman declined to comment, only saying a few Atom-related announcements are expected. Intel already offers dual-core chips for small desktops, including the Atom D410 and D510. -

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9175462/...

MSI announces Wind U210 dual-core netbook -

"MSI has become the first company to announce a dual-core netbook, the 12.1in Wind U210. Two models have been announced, both of which will be powered by AMD's 1.6GHz Neo NV-40." -

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/news/267088

Video preview of the dual-core MSI Wind U210 -

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/news/267328/...

You are advised to look carefully at all of the hardware specification of a netbook before you buy it. For example, almost all netbooks do not come with a DVD writer, so you would have to use an external DVD writer for data storage if using a USB flash drive doesn't meet your needs.

The battery of a netbook can last from between two and five hours, with some exceptional netbooks, such as the Samsung N110, lasting up to 9.5 hours. How long the battery lasts depends on how many cells it has or its mAh rating, the power use of hardware specification and what the netbook is used for. If you need to use a netbook on the move, you should choose one that provides the length of battery life between charges that you require.

Compaq Mini 702EA PC netbook has 1024MB (1GB) of RAM memory and no free memory slot, so the memory cannot be upgraded. It has a DVD-RW rewriter and a 60GB SATA hard disk drive, not a Solid State Drive (SSD), which uses flash memory, that works at 4,200 RPM (revolutions per minute), which is very low compared to the 7,200 RPM of most laptop hard drives, so disk-access speeds will be slow. It comes with a 30W AC power adapter and provides 802.11b/g wireless network and Bluetooth wireless-peripheral support (mobile phone, keyboard, mouse, etc.). It has a small 3-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) battery, so battery life will not be long. Reports on the web say battery life is under two hours. However, a web report (not an HP/Compaq report) said that a 6-cell battery that has up to five hours of battery life will soon be available for around £100 - more than a third of the price of the netbook itself.

I have seen the Compaq Mini 702EA PC advertised in different sources as coming with Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista Home Premium. It should work best with Windows XP because it can run nicely on its hardware, but with Windows Vista Home Premium, the processing power of the Atom processor, only 1GB of memory and an integrated graphics chip (not a separate graphics card), it will be slow. Vista should run on a minimum of 2GB of memory and a 2GHz processor.

That said, the latest versions of Windows - Windows 7 - officially released on October 22, 2009, has much lower processing and memory requirements than Windows Vista, so you should only buy a laptop with Windows 7 preinstalled. Windows 7 Home Premium is the best and cheapest version to buy

Click here! to go to the section of this website on the versions of Windows 7. The best version for ordinary home use is Windows 7 Home Premium.

Windows 7 vs Windows XP on netbooks -

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=115552

Here are some a good reviews of a netbook that provides most of what a user could require of one. They all provide information that the others miss:

MSI Wind U100-641US 10-Inch Netbook Review -

http://www.uttamah.com/2009/msi-wind-u100-641us-10-inch-netbook-review/

You can read purchaser reviews here:

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-U100-432US-10-Inch-Netbook-Processor/dp/...

Most netbooks use a conventional laptop hard disk drive or a solid-state drive (SSD), which uses flash memory, but MSI has launched the first hybrid netbook that has both types of drive.

MSI launches hybrid netbook -

"MSI claims to have launched the world's first hybrid netbook, sporting both a solid-state disk [should be drive, because an SSD does not use disks] and a conventional hard disk [drive]. The MSI Wind U115 has the operating system installed on the SSD, leaving the hard disk for file storage." -

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/244645/msi-launches-hybrid-netbook.html

Here is a video review of the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook computer:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7uAGe3N7PgM

Another subspecies is called the sub-notebook, which is smaller and lighter than full-notebook-sized laptops. They are smaller than the ultra-portable 'mobility' netbook laptops sold by the major manufacturers such as Dell and HP. In fact, at the time of writing (March 2008), there were no sub-notebooks being sold by those two manufacturers. Sub-notebooks are not as popular as full-sized models and are usually made by less-well-known manufacturers such as Vye.

Here is link to an updated table showing images and the main specifications - screen size, processor, RAM memory, storage, operating system connectivity (e.g., 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, USB ports, VGA/DVI graphics/video output, SD card reader), battery, webcam, dimensions, weight, colours, availability - and prices in US$ of a wide range of sub-notebook computers (43 models at the time of writing this in August 2008):

http://creator.zoho.com/showViewLinkAlone.do?...

Here is a review of a Vye sub-notebook PC that has a 7" screen in a 10" case:

Vye mini-V S37 Review -

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/vye-mini-v-s37,review-1068.html

The alternative type of computer are desktop PCs, which are dealt with in the Desktop PCs section of this site. Here is a link to an article that compares the two types.

What to Buy, a Notebook or Desktop PC? -

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/desktop-vs-notebook,review-30954.html

Most new laptop/notebook PCs now come with a version of Windows 7 pre-installed, but they are still available new with a version of Windows Vista pre-installed, and they will be available second-hand with a version Windows XP for many years to come.

The vast majority of new desktop an laptop computers now come with Windows 7 preinstalled and operate some kind of recovery system, be it via access to a genuine Windows 7 DVD, a Recovery Disc that usually restores the system to its factory state, or a recovery partition on the PC's hard disk drive that the recovery system uses from within Windows.

Visit the Using Windows Vista section of this site and Install, Use, Restore, Recover and Repair Windows 7 - Win7: How It Differs from Windows XP and Vista for detailed information on those versions of Windows.

Microsoft stopped selling licences for Windows XP after 30 June 2008, but paid-for and free support for it will continue up to 2014. Support for Windows XP has to be paid for now, but security updates will be free until 2014. Visit the Windows Support section of this site for pages that deal with Windows XP.

Microsoft: June 30 not end of Windows XP support -

"Windows XP will remain in what Microsoft calls "mainstream support" to April 14, 2009, and continue in "extended support" though April 8, 2014..." -

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?...

The comparative specifications of laptop/notebook computers

The table a little further down this page provides the typical specifications for budget, midrange and ultra-portable notebook/laptop computers.

Note that the size of the hard disk drive has been determined by using the size of a gigabyte (GB) that is used by hard disk drive manufacturers, not the size of a gigabyte used software developers. 1GB is 1,000MB, not the 1024MB used by software developers. If the latter measurement is used, the drive size is smaller because the size of a gigabyte of disk space is larger.

All of the notebook computers listed below use Li-ion (Lithium Ion) batteries. Alternatives are the cheaper, inferior Ni-MH (Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries that have a shorter battery life.

The screen size and the type of screen is important. As you can see in the table below, the bigger the screen, the higher its native screen resolution is and the more information it can display at once without having to use scroll bars. Most current laptops have a 15" screen, but it is possible to buy laptops with 17" screens, however, the larger the screen, the less mobile the computer becomes.

Note that some laptops are now coming out with internal Blu-ray optical drives. A BD-ROM drive is a Blu-ray drive that can only read Blu-ray discs. Blu-ray Disc (BD) is Sony's optical disc format designed to replace the current DVD format that beat its competitor, Toshiba's HD DVD. Toshiba is no longer developing HD DVD, soyou should not buy an HD DVD drive or player. A Blu-ray writer uses BD-R (record-once) and BD-RW (record multiple times) discs. Visit the following site for the latest information on Blu-ray.

"Welcome to Blu-ray.com, your source for everything related to Blu-ray Disc (BD). We offer Blu-ray reviews, releases, news, guides and forums covering Blu-ray movies, players, recorders, drives, media, software and much more. For more information about Blu-ray, see What is Blu-ray? or the Blu-ray FAQ."

The table below is provided to show you what types of laptop and the specifications to look for in a laptop.

Laptop/notebooks/netbooks as reviewed and rated by Expert Reviews

The full reviews of the latest laptop/notebook/netbook computers can be found on the following page:

Laptop/notebook computer reviews - http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops

Here is a review of an interesting laptop with both a graphics chip integrated on the motherboard and a dedicated graphics card. It can use the less power-hungry integrated graphics chip when running on battery power, making it possible to play most of the latest games for the PC. Given a five-star Best Buy rating.

Acer Aspire Ethos 8943G review - "The 8943G has everything: great performance in both Windows and games, a Full HD display and Blu-ray drive. Even battery life is good... You can switch between the Core i5 450Ms built-in graphics chip and the dedicated ATI HD 5650 chip depending on whether you need the 3D power or you want to conserve power, which is an odd choice for a gigantic 18.3in laptop that weighs 4.6kg. Incredibly, its battery will last for up to five and a half hours if you do want to be disconnected from the mains." -

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/1280497/acer-aspire-ethos-8943g

Price when reviewed: £1000.00 - Review Date: 25 November 2010

Supplier: http://www.amazon. co.uk... - £950.00 (29/11/10)

Here are some recent examples of laptops rated as five-star products:

1. - Dell XPS L502X laptop - "Verdict: Fast in games and applications, a good battery life, a fantastic Full HD screen, powerful speakers plus USB3 ports. This is the best laptop you can buy." Review Date - 19 Mar 2011 - Review - http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/1283692/dell-xps-l502x - Price when reviewed - £929 - Supplier - http://www.dell.co.uk/

2. - MSI CX623-203UK review [Five-stars - Budget Buy award] - "Verdict: The CX623 isn't the prettiest, but it's a great all-rounder and has an excellent screen." - http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/1281505/msi-cx623-203uk - Review Date: 25 Dec 2010 - Price when reviewed: £515.00 - Supplier: http://www.scan.co.uk/

3. - Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG (4820TG-5454G50Mnks) review - "Verdict: Acer's outstanding Aspire TimelineX 4820TG outclasses many more expensive laptops and has an excellent specification for the price." - http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/... - Review Date: 4 Oct 2010 - Price when reviewed: £798 - Supplier: http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/

Note that you can make use of a search engine to locate sellers by entering the make/model as the search query.

Note that a laptop/notebook computer that has a graphics card (that has its own dedicated RAM memory) is a superior option to one that has a graphics chip built into (integrated into) the computer's motherboard that shares the system RAM memory. Very few laptops that use system memory are able to play the latest PC games. Also note that most new laptop PCs come with Windows Vista preinstalled, which requires a recommended minimum of 1GB of RAM memory to run, but you should not buy a Vista laptop PC with less than 2GB, especially if its graphics engine shares system memory, unless it has one or more spare memory slots for a memory upgrade. The laptops listed below all come with the 32-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium preinstalled unless otherwise stated. Note well that a 64-bit version of Windows XP / Windows Vista / Windows 7 requires twice as much memory to run as a 32-bit version. Most current laptops run a 32-bit version of Windows Vista and come with 2GB of RAM. However, economy models can come with 1GB, which runs Windows 7 (released on October 22, 2009) much better than Windows Vista. So, if you want an economy laptop or a netbook computer and it only has 1GB of RAM memory, it would be best to buy one with Windows 7 preinstalled on it. Note that the 64-bit versions of Windows 7 require 2GB or more of memory.

Microsoft stopped selling Windows XP after 30 June 2008. You can make use of the UK or the US Crucial Memory Selectors lower down on this page to find memory on a brand-name PC or motherboard basis that is guaranteed to be compatible or your money back. Shipping is free. All laptop PCs come with a DVD writer, but not many come with a Blu-ray writer, because they add considerably to the cost, so I will indicate here if that is the case. If there is no such information provided, assume that the laptop has a DVD writer. Some laptops are now coming with DVD writers than can read Blu-ray read-only BD-ROM discs - that is can play Blu-ray movies.

Laptop PCs: The technical details

If you want to find out about the technical details involved in laptop/notebook computers, the article called, How Laptops Work, is a good place to start.

Laptop/notebook sound

All laptop/notebook computers come with inbuilt speakers for sound. The quality of sound that is delivered varies from one make/model to another. The speakers are usually situated on the top left and right hand corners of the main body of the machine. Some laptops, such as the MSI EX620 laptop, comes with two high-quality Hi Fi speakers that deliver Second Generation Dolby Surround Sound - and even a subwoofer on the bottom of the case.

Dell produces excellent service and user manuals for its laptop PCs and you can find YouTube videos on how to add a new hard drive, keyboard, optical drive, upgrade memory, etc. to Dell laptops.

You won't know what the sound quality is unless you test it out for yourself in a showroom. However, most laptops deliver an acceptable quality of sound considering the size of the speakers. Of course, you can add you own external set of portable speakers. All new laptops come with input and output sound ports, and many come with an inbuilt microphone. You can find vendors for portable speakers by entering a search term such as laptop speakers in a search engine.

The sound chip will usually provide a sound-configuration tool in the Control Panel in Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7 that allows you to choose sound schemes. In my current laptop it is the Realtek HD Sound Effect Manager.

A very nice set of portable speakers (August, 2010) are the Logitech Z205 USB speakers. "A clip-on, laptop-powered, USB stereo speaker that’s as portable as your laptop — with better sound." -

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/notebook-products/speakers/devices/6527

Review: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/pc-speakers/1279276/logitech-z205

Apple Mac desktop and laptop computers used to have their own processors, but Apple has recently reluctantly relented and allowed its computers to run the latest processors made by Intel. The latest models are called the Macbook and the Macbook Pro. Only Apple makes Macs, but, as is the case with desktop PCs, PC laptops are made by several major manufacturers, such as Sony, HP, Dell, Toshiba, and Acer. Dell used to sell all of its computers directly, but the demands of the marketplace have recently made the company decide to sell them via retail stores.

Most of hardware information that applies to PC laptops also applies to Apple Mac laptops, so I don't need to distinguish between them in that regard. The following links provide articles that cover that current state of play in the PC versus Mac story.

Mac vs. PC cost analysis: How does it all add up? - Everybody knows PCs are cheaper than Macs, right? Wrong! (At least sometimes.) -

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?...

Ding! Mac vs. PC cost analysis, Round II -

"Whose software, reliability is better? Our findings might surprise you. Plus: Figuring in the Mac's fun factor." - http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?...

Note, however, that RAM memory for Apple desktop and laptop computers is much more expensive than standard PC/laptop memory, and can often be ridiculously much more expensive. To find out how much Apple charges for memory for any of its desktop/laptop models, visit http://www.apple.com/, click on Store, and look for Memory down the left-hand side of the page.

Apparently, it is possible to use third-party memory in Macs that is cheaper than memory bought from Apple, but I don't understand why the company charges so much for the memory it sells for its computers. At the time of writing (July, 2007), Apple was selling 4GB of ECC (error- correction) memory for its G5 computer for $2,600, and $1,200 for 4GB of standard non-ECC memory.

Since laptop/notebook computers can easily be damaged by dropping them or spilling liquids on them, etc., you are advised to take care when buying one second-hand. Refurbished laptops offer the reliability and performance of a new unit with the
savings of a used model. If you want a second-hand machine that has a good specification, you can buy refurbished models with warranties directly from manufacturers such as Dell and Apple.

Two very good tips to bear in mind when buying a laptop are:

1. - Don't be tempted to buy the cheapest model, because it is likely to have a low specification, which means that it probably won't be able to run Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (the most popular version of Vista) and the latest software comfortably or for long (will drain an ecomomy 6-cell battery) when not connected to the mains, and it won't be able to play the latest PC games.

By current standards, this is a low-specification model:

Acer Gemstone AS5315 laptop PC for just £299.98 - Intel Celeron M 530 single-core processor - 80GB hard drive - 1GB RAM memory - Dual layer DVD writer - WiFi ready - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Edition

Note that if the specifications for the processor (CPU) don't state that it is a dual-core or a quad-core processor, which have two and four processing cores respectively, then it will be a single-core processor, which is inferior to a dual-core and quad-core processor.

However, note that if you are only going to use the laptop PC for accessing the Internet and running office applications, such as MS Office or OpenOffice (still free), a machine with the specification listed above will do just fine.

You should not consider buying an expensive new laptop unless it has an Intel or AMD dual-core processor, 1GB RAM memory (preferably 2GB), and Windows 7 Home Premium as the operating system. The more memory it has the better. If it has a 64-bit edition of Windows 7, it should have a minimum of 2GB of memory.

2. - It is often possible to buy the same make/model cheaper online from a reputable vendor than it is to buy it from a retail shop. Just make sure that you buy online using a credit card, because you will be able to reclaim your money from your credit-card company should the online store go bankrupt. Debit cards do not provide any cover.

To see images of the latest laptop/notebook PCs, visit the Acer site at http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/. Use your browser's Back button to return to this page.

You can also download the user manual for a particular model from the manufacturer's website. It provides the machine's specification (the hardware that it provides - the type and amount of memory, the size and type of the hard disk drive, etc.), and how to use it. Having read all of the information provided on these pages, you will then be able to make sense of the information in a user manual for a particular laptop computer and use it to help you make up your mind whether or not to make a purchase. The user manuals are usually in the PDF format that requires a PDF reader, such as the free Foxit.

If you need to get a good idea of the components that are used in current desktop and notebook computers all you need to do is read the reviews of the latest machines on the market. Then you can read the detailed information provided about those components on these pages. Here are two links to get you started:

Reviews of desktop PCs - http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/pcs

Reviews of laptop/notebook PCs - http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops

Bundled software and trialware

Some of the software that is preloaded in many new desktop and laptop PC's is very useful, but much of it is not. Indeed, there can be so much trial and junk software installed that it can slow the system down considerably. Therefore, it is a good idea to remove it by making use of a particular program's own uninstall option, or by using Add or Remove Programs in Windows XP in the Control Panel. In Windows Vista and Window 7 that feature is now found under the Programs and Features category in the Control Panel.

****

The versions of Windows Vista for the home user were made available on January 30, 2007 and the equivalent versions of Windows 7 were made available on 22 october 2009

Note well that the versions of Windows Vista for the home user were officially made available on January 20, 2007. The versions that most home users opt for are Vista Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, and Vista Ultimate. Since then, the versions of Windows 7 have been made available. Win7 is a better operating system than Windows Vista, so you should choose a desktop or laptop computer that runs it in preference to one that runs Windows Vista.

Both of those versions of Windows XP will be supported for some time to come. Visit http://support.microsoft.com/ for more information on the support that Microsoft is currently providing for the versions of Windows XP.

That said, if you plan on using Windows 7, it is not advisable to buy a new desktop or laptop computer that has a version of Windows Vista installed on it, even if it comes with a free upgrade to a version of Windows 7, because it is always best to have a new version of Windows clean-installed instead of having an outgoing version upgraded to the latest version.

Note that desktop or laptop/notebook computers that can run Windows Vista but which might not be able to use the Media Center or the new Aero graphics feature, are labelled by Microsoft as being Vista Capable. Computers that can run all of Vista's new features are labelled as being Vista Ready. For example, you might purchase a laptop computer that come with Windows XP Professional Edition pre-installed There will be a label on it saying: Designed for Windows XP:Windows Vista Capable, or Designed for Windows XP: Windows Vista Ready.

The Capable and Ready designations are not applicable to Windows 7, probably because Microsoft had many problems with them in regard to Vista and because Windows 7 can run on lower-specification hardware than Vista.

Visit the Using Windows Vista section of this site and Install, Use, Restore, Recover and Repair Windows 7 - Win7: How It Differs from Windows XP and Vista for detailed information on those versions of Windows.

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Desktop PCs are still the most numerous type, but laptop/notebook PCs are quickly gaining ground on them in popularity due to improved technology that is almost as good as desktop technology, and improved battery life.

Note well that power notebooks that can be used as alternatives to desktop PCs don't usually have good battery life. However, there are exceptions to the rule. A good example of such an exception is the HP Pavilion dv8135EA. It has a 17" widescreen, two 100GB hard drives, and 1GB of RAM, yet its battery can last as long as three hours, which is regarded as good. Four hours of battery life is regarded as excellent.

Power Options in the Windows 7 Control Panel provides three power plans - Balanced, which increases the power when required and decreases it when it is not rquired - Power Saver, which dims the screen, slows the processor down and halts unnecessary services to save battery power - High Performance, which allows all of the components to draw as much power as they need. When you open Power Options, the Balanced plan will be enabled by default and the Power Saver plan is provided as an alternative option. Clicking on Show additional plans reveals the High Performance plan. The settings for any power plan can be changed. The other power settings, such as Choose when to turn off the display ... when the computer sleeps, etc., can be explored. Power Options is also provided in the Control Panel in Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Most new laptop PCs now have their displays in the widescreen format. Standard screens have a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is the ratio of the screen's width to its height. This makes them almost square. However, widescreen displays have an aspect ratio of 16.10 or 16:9, (the later matches the aspect ratio of widescreen movies) which makes them rectangular, with the width of the screen being almost twice its height. Widescreen displays are ideally suited for watching widescreen movies, and using them feels more comfortable when working with panoramic photos and expansive spreadsheets.

Visit the Monitors section of the site for information on aspect ratios.

There is no such thing as a minimum or ideal specification to aim for when purchasing a new or used notebook (laptop) computer. To find out which product to buy requires identifying what you intend to do with the machine and then looking for a make and model that meets those needs as closely as possible. This requires knowing what the specification of the machine is in detail. Click here! to read examples of the specifications of budget, midrange, and ultra-portable notebook/laptop computers further up (not down) this page.

Although laptops/notebooks are still being sold with a single-core processors (at the time of writing in December 2009, Dell was still selling laptops with single-core Intel Celeron processors), the models with much faster dual-core and quad-core processors don't cost much more, so, in order to future-proof your investment as much as possible, a laptop with an Intel or AMD dual-core or quad-core processor is the best choice.

Mobile CPU [Processor] Chart Update and Forecast -

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/cpu-notebook-laptop,review-30865.html

The graphics of a laptop PC can be powered by a graphics chip integrated on the motherboard, which usualy uses system RAM memory or by a separate graphics card that can often be upgraded and which has its own video RAM memory. Here is two lists of all of the current (and past) laptop graphics solutions:

Comparison of Laptop PC Graphics Cards -

"In the following we will briefly list all graphics cards which are available for notebooks at the market today. The GPUs are sorted by performance and classified in different classes. To get a better overview on current laptop graphic cards, older cards can be greyed out." - http://www.notebookcheck.net/Comparison-of-Graphic-Cards.130.0.html

The Mobile GPU Comparison Guide -

http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=98&pgno=0

You should also buy one with a hard disk drive with as much data-storage capacity as possible. Have a look at the Dell site where the specifications for the various models in a range of laptops are easy to view all at once. You can find out what the data-capacity specifications measured in gigabytes (GBs) are for the hard drives used in expensive and budget models. Currently (February 2007), a laptop computer with a 120GB hard disk drive is a good buy if the rest of the hardware is just as up-to-date.

If you want to use a PC Card to add a feature to a laptop/notebook computer, such as wireless networking, or a wireless broadband Internet connection, you should make sure that the slot that it provides supports the type of expansion card. For example, your laptop may have a slot for a PC Card (PCMCIA card), but not an ExpressCard slot , which is the latest standard for laptop adapters that almost all of the laptop computers have. Very few Dell laptops now provide a PCMCIA card slot. Unfortunately, the specifications provided by laptop manufacturers or vendors often don't say which type of slot is supported. There is more information on this subject on Page 2 of this article. Note the most mobile broadband providers now provide a wireless USB dongle instead of an adapter card for mobile Internet access.

If you want to connect a laptop computer to a mobile phone, the phone and the laptop must be able to be connected together via either a USB cable or by a Bluetooth wireless connection. Therefore, the phone must support a USB cable connection (all current desktop and laptop computers support USB 2.0), and the laptop and the phone must support Bluetooth.

If you have an erratic power supply, you can protect your laptop computer with a surge protector, or an Uninterruptible Power Supply, (UPS) that provides surge protection and continuous power to the computer in the event of a power failure. You can buy an UPS for less than £50 from reputable computer stores or online that provides power backup and can shut down the computer in your absence. It is best not to buy an UPS that can only provide a power backup. Some UPS provide insurance that covers your losses if your equipment is destroyed by a power surge or failure.

To locate further sources of information on Uninterruptible Power Supplies or suppliers, try entering a search term such as uninterruptible power supply in a search engine.

Visit the Windows 7 section of this site for more information of the latest versions of Windows.

Visit the Media Center PCs page on this site for more information about them and how to build one of your own. Use your browser's Back button to return to this page.

Note well that brand-name and generic (unbranded) components are very easy to obtain for desktop computers. Unfortunately, with the exception of hard disk drives, this is not usually true of laptop/notebook computers, the parts for which are rarely interchangeable, including the RAM modules. For that reason alone, it's advisable to buy a laptop/notebook computer from the major brand-name manufacturers. There are other reasons to follow that policy, such as the availability of device drivers and BIOS updates. You often have to update the video chip's drivers in order to be able to use updated software such as DirectX and OpenGL, and a BIOS update is often required to run a new operating system or to fix bugs in the original BIOS setup program.

The major manufacturers of laptop computers are companies such as IBM, Dell, HP, Acer, Toshiba, Asus, Samsung, Hi-Grade, Fujitsu-Siemens, and Sony.

PC Buyer Beware! Copyright © Eric Legge 2004-2011. All rights reserved.