Guides on How to Find the Right Notebook

Most of the people nowadays already have computers or notebook PC on their possession. However, there are also several people who wanted to buy new ones, but not knowing what to choose or what to look for. As I have told you before, in this post I’ll provide several tips for finding or selecting the right notebook for every possible situation (that I might think of, actually). I know that there are already several tips on this matter, but I’ll also give the tips that might be overlooked. For the record, I also have a notebook that I bought about 1.5 years ago. So my notebook specs is not up to date. However, I can still use it because I know what to look for in a notebook.

As a rule of thumb, size does matters…
This however, only applies when choosing for notebook PC. Nowadays, notebook PC tend to have smaller size. I don’t say that it is bad, but it is better to take size into account when choosing for notebook PC. The smaller the size, then the features would be more limited. I would say 12-inch notebook is the minimum size you can get for your daily needs. I have seen smaller notebooks, about 8 or 9-inch display, but it only had 4GB of hard drive. Besides, the smaller the size, the more heat the notebook have to withstand. If the manufacturer is not trustworthy, then it is better to choose a larger size notebook. I myself have a 14-inch notebook. The workspace (or in other words, the desktop screen) is neither too small nor too big for any tasks.

And also the processor speed…
If you are a developer or professional users, that means someone who uses PC not only for daily activities, but also for developing websites or program or even using programs like AutoCAD or 3ds Max that takes a lot of calculation and time, then I suggest you buy a high speed processor or select a notebook PC that have one. If you’re not a developer and just a home user that uses PC for daily activities like using word processor or spreadsheet, then you can breathe easy. Most of notebook PC and desktop PC today have the standard 2GHz of processor (that means it can do up to 2 billions of calculation per second), whether it is Intel or AMD or any other. And they are also usually dual core or core duo, which means you have two processors that can work simultaneously. And for desktop PC users, you can opt for the quad core. My notebook has two processors of 1.66GHz each. As you might have guessed, it’s Core 2 Duo. Please note that for home users, the processor speed is not a very crucial thing.

Then it comes to the hard drive capacity…
It is not official, but today’s normal capacity for a notebook PC is from 120GB to 160GB and for desktop PC is from 200GB to 250GB. This will extend in a year, so next year’s normal capacity could be 1.5 to 2 times of today’s capacity. Why is it so important? Because for notebook PC user, the manufacturer will load your hard drive with many (and I do mean it) applications and programs that we probably won’t need or probably won’t use it. My friend recently buys a notebook with 160GB capacity (it’s normal nowadays), but the manufacturer installed so many programs that takes about almost 80GB. Fortunately he is a ICT student (in the same class as me) and I also have notebook from the same manufacturer, so I can tell him which one is important, which one is not. I bought it last year, so I only have 80GB of hard drive space (which was the standard a year ago), that’s why it is very important to me to choose which one is useful or not.

And the available memory…
The amount of available memory, or in other words RAM (Random Access Memory) also plays an important role, particularly when you’re having many programs to run. The standard memory nowadays is 1GB and usually people prefer to expand it to 2GB. If you’re a notebook PC user, it is a very crucial thing because you have limitations when upgrading your memory. Usually, a notebook’s memory can be expanded up to twice it’s normal memory (that means, twice the memory that you got from the manufacturer), while a desktop PC usually had no limitations (except for the processor). If you have the tendency to run multiple programs in the same time, such as listening to iTunes and using your browser together, then you have to get at least the standard memory nowadays. Most of the programs nowadays require about 256MB to 512MB of memory, so having a larger one wouldn’t be a loss. My notebook’s normal memory is 1GB (that was a large amount already in a year ago) and I expanded it to 2GB after I buy it (and that was a huge amount back then). However, if you are planning to expand your memory without voiding your warranty, please contact or ask your manufacturer when you first buy it. That’s what I did last year.
Note: I know some of you will notice that I don’t put the cache memory, but nowadays, most of notebook PCs have about 2MB cache and with DDR2 method. So it’s not quite important yet to discuss.

And of course the operating system editions…
I know that most of the people tend to buy a notebook, then suddenly they feel like being conned because they choose the wrong edition or the wrong operating system. Please note that I haven’t tried the Mac OS or Linux yet, so I cannot say much about them. However, I know much about Windows. Again, if you are an enthusiast developer or professional users, I suggest that you choose notebooks that have the Windows XP Professional or at least Windows Vista Business. You have to be careful because most of the notebook in the market is installed with Windows Vista Home Premium. My friend, a fellow ICT student (different from the one I mentioned above) bought a notebook PC with Windows Vista Home Premium installed about a year ago, and now he regrets it because it lacks many advanced features such as IIS. If you are an animator or CG enthusiast (or just someone who is curious about trying new operating system), you can opt for Mac OS X. However, if you are a multimedia or home user, then your best bet is Windows XP Home (or Media Center) or Windows Vista Home Premium. And also, please do note that there is no (or almost no) notebook that has Windows Vista Ultimate installed. My notebook have genuine Windows Vista Business installed and I’ve upgraded it to SP1.
Note: Most of the notebook will come pre-installed with genuine operating systems. Do not attempt to change it because it will void your warranty and your genuine operating system.

There are also several another features…
Most of the notebook nowadays have these features, so don’t be surprised if you got these features.

• Built-in webcam, usually located at the top of the display and usually 1.3MP in quality
• Built-in speaker and microphone
• Wireless router with the compliance standard of 802.11b/g for Wi-Fi
• 2 or more USB ports
• Built-in DVD drive which is usually a DVD-RW (read and write)
• May or may not have a fingerprint sensor
• May or may not have a built-in card reader
• May or may not have a built-in slot for PCMCIA card (used for connecting through 3G networks)

And last but not least, the price…
Many notebook PCs nowadays ranged between US$1400 to more than US$2000 to a whopping US$2800. If you are a home user or a student trying to suit the budget, I’d say that around US$1500 is quite decent for your daily needs, while a professional user might spend about US$1800 to US$2500 for his or her daily needs. And enthusiast or dedicated users, who relies heavily on the notebook probably spend more than US$2800 for the needs. If you are a dedicated or professional user but cannot afford such prices, you can always opt to wait several months (about 1 or 2 months) to check the price again. Or you can ask the manufacturer whether it is possible to upgrade your selected notebook’s hardware. I spent about  US$1900 to buy my notebook, and a year later, my friend bought a notebook with the same price as mine (a different model, of course), but almost twice the specs (that is almost twice the processor speed, twice the hard drive capacity, twice the available memory) that I have.

And that concludes my guide for finding the right notebook for your needs. You probably notice that I haven’t talk about graphic card. The reason is because the advancement and development of graphic card is not very crucial for notebook PCs. For example, the standard of graphic card nowadays is still 256MB and it haven’t changed for about 3-4 years. So, unless you are a very enthusiast gamer, please feel rest assured.

So bringing it all down, what you have to do when choosing the right notebook:

1. Categorize yourself, whether you are a home user or student, a developer or professional user, or a dedicated user (such as gamer)
2. Set your price range and limitations
3. Find a trustworthy manufacturer
4. Consider the right screen size for you, the standard sizes nowadays are 14-inch, 13-inch and 12-inch
5. Consider the processor speed, the standard speed nowadays is beyond 2.0GHz
6. Consider the available memory, the standard memory nowadays is 1GB
7. Consider the hard drive capacity, the standard capacities nowadays are 160GB to 250GB (for desktop PC)
8. Consider the right edition of operating system, the standard operating system nowadays is Windows Vista Home Premium, but you can ask your manufacturer for details about downgrading or upgrading
9. You pretty much cannot do anything about the feature though, instead, ask your manufacturer if the listed features is not installed in your notebook

So that’s it for my first post in the Tips and Tricks category. Well, it’s a bit long, isn’t it? I guess that’s how a guide’s supposed to be, eh? Anyway, thank you for visiting my sanctuary, and please, leave a comment if you want to. I’d love to know about you and what do you think about me or my sanctuary. Until next time, see you next post..!

jovee~