Laptop/netbook General Info

[filingaccount]

Hi,

Every so often there is a topic popping up about "Which Laptop and/or Netbook should I get?"

I will try and answer it as detailed as I can, without actually saying that "this is what you need, period". This is an incomplete guide. I make no warranties of the accuracy of the information. I am probably completely wrong and this info should not be used in a real life scenario anyway... but it might help you get started in a direction.

First, consider the 3 most important things on any computer. Keyboard, Monitor and Mouse.

These are the 3 things you will always use. Always. Every single time.

Keyboard.

How does it feel when you type on it? (I suggest trying several different keyboards in quick succession. Try to type the same short message.)

Are the keys solid? Does the keyboard "flex" when you press down on any key? (Try pressing "G" and "H" and see if there is any "give"). Is there any "cracking or creaking" noises when you put a little more pressure on the keys from normal typing?

Do the keys seem "loose"? eg. They rattle when you type. Put your finger on a key and without pressing it down, move your finger left to right a few times. Is the key moving a lot with your movement? If it is, you might want to think about the extra wear this puts on the keys over time. (yes, you will always have sideways movement even though you think you press straight down when typing).

Traditionally IBM and now Lenovo keyboards have been the best. This has changed with Netbooks though and they are more or less on par with others.

Monitor. (LED backlit LCD's use less power, and are thinner.)

There are 2 main types of screens and they are easily identifiable. Glossy and Matte.

A glossy screen will always reflect a varying amount of the "scenery" around you. This is particularly noticeable with darker colors on screen.

A Matte screen will not reflect much of anything at all.

Some people do not mind the glossy screens as they like the little extra color vibrancy/contrast given. Drawback is that in Thailand, during daytime, the ambient luminance (eg. sun light) is very high, and so you have about a 50/50 chance of seeing whats on screen and whats behind you.

Matte screens seem "dull" when presented side-by-side with a glossy screen. Don't be fooled, the Matte screens are in no way inferior and in fact might be considered far superior to glossy screens due to the simple fact you will never have to worry about reflections, and thus you will actually see what's on screen...

Mostly sold today are glossy screens for some reason.

Mouse.

Oh-boy. There are as many touchpads as there are laptop/netbook models. I suggest looking for a touchpad that allows your finger to move effortlessly and without you having to press down or other wise make an effort to move the cursor. How does it react when your finger is a little damp? Cursor not moving or moving slowly? Are the mouse keys easy to press? Does it have the features you need (eg. scroll bar)?

It should not be a pain or an effort when you use any of the 3 above. In a good scenario you should not even recall how it was to use the keyboard and mouse. It should be automatic. If it is not, try another. You should not have to strain your eyes trying to read whats on screen because of a blurry screen, reflections, glare or any other issue. If it's difficult to read now, imagine how it will be when you really use it 3-4 hours at your home/office.

Ok, so now the very basics are cleared.

On to the specs.

Nowadays you can get a hold of almost any sort of performance in a laptop/netbook. From the painfully slow, to the ridiculously fast.

The first question you should ask yourself is "What am I going to use it for?". If you know how to answer this, you already are 90% of the way to the correct purchase.

There are way too many variables for me to even begin to explore what would be good for what purpose. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to programs, all of which have different requirements.

I can offer you a few guidelines though.

Longevity comes from 2 things mainly. CPU speed and amount of RAM. The more, the better. But more power comes with a big drawback, less battery time. It also means it will run hotter, and quite likely noisier.

Batteries generally last 1 year with 80-90% of full capacity, then they tend to decline rapidly. Few batteries make it past 3 years and are still usable. Take any manufacturers claim of battery time and cut it in half. Yes, half. That's what you are going to get in a real life scenario. A good practice is to try and keep the battery fully charged as much as possible. This reduces wear.

Do you want to take advantage of the Windows 7 fancy Aero effects? Then you need to purchase a laptop with a more powerful GPU (aka VGA card). Currently (end 2009) this means you'll end up spending a few thousand Baht more.

Do you absolutely need an optical drive? Can you switch to USB flash memory?

Does it have a media card reader (eg. SD card reader)?

Make sure it has all the USB/firewire/pc card/other expansion port that you need.

Does it offer Gigabit (1000 Mbit) LAN and 802.11n WiFi? (traditionally LAN's are 100 Mbit and WiFi 802.11g).

802.11n WiFi is backwards compatible with .11 b/g. To fully take advantage of .11n you need a .11n WiFi router. The benefit is higher speeds, up to 300 Mbps, instead of 54 Mpbs with .11g. Practically it means you get about 4-5 times the transfer speed. This is particularly beneficial if you transfer large files over your WiFi network between PC's.

Sound generally is quite bad on a laptop. The hardware might be decent, but most speakers are bad.

Make sure it has good headphone/external speaker jacks if you need to use the sound for any media/communication.

Warranty.

Most cheaper laptops/netbooks offer a limited 1 year local warranty.

If you need anything different please ask if they have an extended warranty program or an alternative laptop/netbook with longer and/or international warranty.

Buy from a reputable dealer. If the shop seems shoddy, it probably is.

Good luck.

[grahamhc]

Thanks for the guidance notes. I have just spent a day at the Commart Fair at Si Racha and more time looking around Tukcom Pattaya, and was getting as confused as it is possible to be.

Now I have logical things to consider, to help sort the wheat from the chaff - currently they all look good enough to make the choice through a toss of the coin...

I want a small netbook to replace the Asus 900 series Netbook that was stolen recently, which can pack in my flight bag easily

AMDT: Typo

Edited December 5, 2009 by grahamhc