Tech Speak: Guide To Laptop For University

This post is dedicated to all my friends who are entering university this year. This post is meant for tech idiots who know nuts about technology. PC Show is coming soon from 10 to 13 June and its a good time to buy your university laptop.

How to buy a laptop:
1) Ask yourself the questions listed below in the "Things to ask yourself before you choose a laptop"
2) Read the list of "Laptop Components and Features to Look Out For" to get a better understanding of what you're buying.
3) Research on laptops by reading reviews and forums. Reading reviews are not enough as they are often biased or they do not reflect usage in reality as reviewers often only use them for a while.
4) Research on the pricing.
5) Do the things listed in "What to do before you actually buy the laptop"

http://forum.notebookreview.com
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg 

Things to ask yourself before you choose a laptop:

1) Purpose. What are you using the laptop for? Are you into intensive gaming (strong graphics card)? Are you into light gaming (moderate graphics card)? Are you doing lots of graphics/video editing (graphics speciality cards)? Are you using processing intensive programs (strong processor)?

2) Portability. Will you be bringing your laptop to many places (small and light, long battery life)? Are you weak (light weight)?

3) Screen Size. Do you have an external monitor (probably smaller screen size will do)? Do you not want to use an external monitor (bigger screens)?

4) OS. Are you stuck up about Apple and their gorgeous interface (Macs)? Are you a mainstream user who prefers to not deal with compatibility issues (Windows)?

5) Durability. Are you someone who throws his laptop around (try getting military grade Toughbooks)? Are you okay with changing your laptop once a year or two years (get more value for money Acer or nice looking Sony but both spoils easily)?

6) Location. Are you going to work mainly indoors or outdoors (Matt screens vs glossy screens)?


A laptop's components and features to look out for:

1) Processor. The central processing unit CPU is the heart of all computers. The current series for Intel goes by Core i3, i5 and i7. These are mainly dual core processors which should all serve your needs. The higher the number, the more powerful they are but they will also consume more power. Core 2 Duo processors and Core 2 Quad processors are last generation's processors but they should be okay as well if you're not too
picky. If you are gaming or doing processor intensive work, then you should be looking at a minimum of an i5 processor. (sorry, I don't have much knowledge on AMD processors, only knowing that they are quite value for money)

2) Graphics card. The graphics processing unit GPU is the second most important part of a laptop that is if you wish to play games or watch High Definition (HD) content such as movies. There are 2 graphic cards maker, namely ATI Radeon and Nvidia. Radeon cards go by 2000 series, 3000 series, 4000 series and 5000 series. Nvidia goes by 100 series, 200 series, 300 series and 400 series. Radeon cards are usually more value for money while Nvidia cards are usually more for the hard core players. If you want to play HD content, an integration graphics processor is usually not enough. You can tell if you see words like Intel Graphics Processor or GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) HD. While they claim that these integrated processors can handle HD content, the reality is it usually can't. As for games, you should go with a 5650 and above for Radeon (5850 is for the hardcore), and 335 and above for Nvidia (360, 385 for the hardcore). 5850 and 385 are usually very expensive, so take note there. However 5650 and 335 can only play most games at medium settings at best. With a laptop size screen and with the intention of studying for university (not playing games), you might consider them since your screen is not big in the first place.

3) Optical drive. Most laptops will come with at least a DVD multi drive these days unless your laptop is a ultra portable one (think Macbook Air). However if you're rich or you buy a lot of games, you might want to think about a Blu Ray drive. Blu Ray optical disk are Sony's (old) technology which allows lots of HD content to be put in. Blu Ray drives are however way more expensive (about 100 to 200 bucks more).

4) Random Access Memory (RAM). The RAM is used to store data temporarily when you work. Think of it as a temporary storeroom to hold the materials which you are using. The storeroom is very accessible to you are able to reach and use your materials easily. The bigger the RAM the storeroom to store your data. There are 2 types of RAM. DDR2 and DDR3. DDR3 is the newer RAM and the newer RAMs have higher speed (think of it as how fast you pull data from your warehouse into your storeroom and how fast you pull data out of your storeroom to your workplace). Frankly for laptops the speed of the RAM is not so important. However you'll want to have at least 2GB of RAM these days. A lot of laptops offer 4GB nowadays but take note that if your Windows or OS X is the 32 bit version then it can only utilise up to 4GB RAM. Any higher is useless. Windows 7 comes with 64 bit version nowadays so if you are using programs that are processor and RAM hungry then 64 bit Windows 7 with 6 to 8 GB RAM may suit you well. Take note that DDR3 RAMs are very expensive so you should not go with higher RAMs unless you really need it.

5) Hard Disk Drive (HDD). The HDD is where you store your data. Mainstream HDD size ranges from 320GB to 500GB nowadays. While you think that you don't need that much size, be rest assured that with the rise of HD content, more data are becoming much larger than you think. HDD comes in 2 speeds, 5400 rpm (revolutions per minute) and 7200rpm. Naturally the higher the better. Some HDDs come with 4000rpm but these are usually for netbooks. There's a (not really) new variant of data storage called the Solid State Drive (SSD). These do not have disks spinning inside them like the HDD, making them very low powered, extremely fast and durable (as in dropping won't make them lose data). However they are EXTREMELY expensive. A 80GB SSD can cost way more than a 750GB HDD. Only buy it if you are filthy rich.

6) Size of screen. If you are looking for ultra portables, your screen size should be 13.3 size and below. Otherwise, you should choose a 14inch laptop. Some people consider 15inch laptops to be quite big. I do agree, considering how my brother has a 15.6inch laptop so I could see how bulky it is. If you are all for gaming, you might want to go for 16inch or 17inch laptops. But be warned they are very heavy. Also remember to take the glossy-ness or matt finish into consideration.

7) Weight. A laptop should not weigh more than 2.5kg unless you are into gaming. For ladies, you should try to get a laptop that weighs less than 2kg. Gentlemen, if you think 2.5kg is nothing because you carried a 15kg load during army for a few days, you are wrong. I carried that weight for army and I carried my friend's 2kg laptop for half a day. It was really tiring.

8) Keyboard. Chiclet keyboards are the in thing now, since Apple invented it. Chiclet keyboards are keyboards with keys that seems to be floating. They are rather nice to type on but frankly you can't type that fast on it. One should always test the keyboard on the spot to see whether he likes it or not. Also smaller laptops tend to have crammed up keys. So do take a look before buying. If you prefer the keyboard to have a number pad, then you should consider getting a bigger laptop.

9) Connectivity. This is a no brainer but you should still check to see if the wireless LAN has 802.11n standards. This is the newest wireless standards and though not many household has started using it, you should still get a laptop with wireless n to prepare for the future. Unlike USB 3.0 which is the newest standard of USB (universial serial bus) interface, wireless n has become affordable and prevalent. You should also check that there is Bluetooth 2.1 and there is a decent number of USB ports (about 3). Other connectivity options that you might want to look at is e-SATA/USB combo port. I'm not going to explain what e-SATA is but combo ports are quite common now. USB 3.0 is not very common but still good to have. As of present, only a handful of devices uses USB 3.0 though so it's not important. You should also have HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) port which is the replacement for VGA ports to connect your laptop to monitors or Televisions. Firewire ports (IEEE 1394) are not common and are not needed by normal people. Express cardslots are used to expand functions on a laptop for eg. to add sound cards. However most users do not utilise this. So it is as good as useless.

10) Speakers. If you don't intend to get external speakers, it is wise to check if your laptop's speakers are up to standard. If they aren't, then you'll be very disappointed when you listen to music or watch movies. Some speakers can be so bad that pumping the volume up to medium distorts the sounds completely.

11) Battery size and battery life. Batteries come in the form of cells. They are usually 4 cell, 6 cell or 8 cell batteries. Naturally the more cells the better. Even laptops with the exact same specification and same battery can perform differently and use up battery faster or slower. Some laptops allow you to switch between Intel Graphics processor and discrete Radeon or Nvidia graphics card so when you are on the go and need to conserve battery, this will help a lot.

12) Brand. Some laptop brands are reputable, some are not. With experiences of my friends, I realised that Acer and Sony are not very reliable brands. Some recommended brands are Lenovo, HP, Dell, and for gaming, ASUS, MSI and Alienware.

13) Heatsink. The heatsink are vent like structures on your laptop that cools it. Gaming laptops or laptops with powerful processors such as i7 720QM causes your laptop to heat up. It is good to research on whether your laptop will heat up too much or you'll need a laptop cooler everywhere you go.

Accessories that you might want to get:

1) Speakers
2) Mouse
3) Keyboard
4) Laptop cooler
5) Laptop stand
6) External monitor
7) External sound card
8) USB Hub
9) Thumbdrive (at least 4GB to 8GB)

What to do before you actually buy the laptop:

1) Check the warranty period. It should be at least 2 years local. Buy more if you need more. Check the terms and conditions as well.
2) Touch the laptop, feel it, control it, type it. You have to like a laptop before you buy it.
3) Ask for hidden cost. Ask them "so at the end of the day, I only need to pay this price to get this laptop with 2 years warranty and this and that right? any other stuff? confirm only this price?"
4) Ask how to apply for warranty.
5) Check the hardware settings to check if the specifications are correct.
6) Ask if the hardware are upgradable and if that will void the warranty.
7) Ask about the free gifts. Ask if you can reject the free gifts but get a lower price or change the free gifts to some other stuff.
8) HAGGLE! If you're good at it, you might get more free gifts or a lower price. Contrary to what some people think, some free gifts such as anti virus programs are actually quite useful.
9) Check the build quality. Make sure the material is not too plastic-ty. Make sure the hinges don't creak or are loose.
10) After you buy your laptop, immediately check if you got all your stuff and free gifts. Open up your laptop to check for bright dots (aka spoilt pixels on your screen) and if a Windows 7 upgrade is available, check if the disc is inside.

Disclaimer: This guide is written by a geek who thinks he's has decent knowledge on computers. Please do not take this guide seriously or flame me for being a noob if I left something out. If you need more advice or more help, please approach me directly.