Laptop Buyer’s Guide Summer 2010 Edition!

Posted by ttblogger on 05/09 at 01:23 PM Permalink
image

Are you in the market for a new laptop but don’t know where to start? Well check out our laptop buyer’s guide and let us help you decide!

First, you’ll want to figure out what you’ll use your new laptop for. This will help you in deciding how big or small the laptop itself should be.

Read Full Article Click Here
    Posted by Bryan  on  05/09  at  02:17 PM

  1. Interesting article...but you forget the OTHER reasons for wanting a larger screen: If you’re using your laptop for extended periods and/or you’re over 40, it’s NICE to have the extra screen real estate to expand print.  Personally, I don’t ever look at anything with less than a 15” screen (I’m both over 40 and sometimes work for 8-16 hours a day on my laptop).

    -- Bryan

    2. Posted by John Stuart Fischer  on  05/09  at  04:26 PM

  2. I do wonder about completely ignoring laptops with AMD processors.

    Athlons and other AMD chips often provide the best “bang for the buck,” and are often found in the very usable “value” units from Compaq and others.  These laptops work wonderfully well, and are usually significantly less expensive than a comparably configured unit with an Intel chip.

    3. Posted by Bruce Epper  on  05/09  at  04:57 PM

  3. Regarding SSDs, you included a couple of the postive aspects, but neglected to state the drawbacks of these drives.  Granted no moving parts & faster program launches (read-access) are good reasons to look at them.  But write times are much slower than the read times on these drives (normally about the same as a mechanical drive, sometimes even a little slower) and there is a finite number of times that the memory locations in the drive can be reused before it fails.  Also, these drives are much more expensive than their mechanical cousins.

    When addressing a column such as this, you really need to balance the material by pointing out both the good and the bad of what you are looking at.

    4. Posted by boogieshoes  on  05/09  at  08:55 PM

  4. Intel schill much?

    5. Posted by Mark T  on  05/10  at  01:04 PM

  5. Bryan - Good call on that.  Forgot to mention that many people like larger screens as they don’t like to squint (myself included lol) grin

    Bruce - You do bring up good point about AMD CPU’s inside laptops. I wanted to bring up what new & innovative things are coming out CPU-wise but take a look at this article I found about AMD’s future plans in the laptop market:

    http://www.tomshardware.com/news/CPU-Laptops-mobile-Chipset-Reuters,10372.html

    BoogieShoes - You’re correct about the drawbacks of SSD hard drives.  Thank you for the heads-up and will go for more balance in future articles! grin

    6. Posted by Steven S  on  05/10  at  07:05 PM

  6. I have been in the market for a new computer for a while now. This has been a great read. Thank you very much for this information. I may be able to make a decision now.

    7. Posted by Adam  on  05/16  at  12:29 PM

  7. I tend to opt for the Acer laptops because they always last me a long time and are ususally reasonably priced.

    8. Posted by R  on  05/18  at  12:49 AM

  8. Here are some issues with the guide:

    There’s no discussion of price or cost, which is important for most buyers. Some of the recommendations are cost prohibitive for most users, for example the ‘enhanced netbook experience.’ Your recommendation is an hdmi port. How expensive would a netbook be to feature such a port and how many netbooks are equipped with one?

    There’s also no discussion of reliability. Netbooks are generally less reliable, so for someone who’s doesn’t mind a few extra pounds and an extra $100-200, a notebook is a better buying decision.

    A core i7 processor is not necessary to ‘write school papers’, use facebook, youtube, aim, and msn chat.

    Agree with you on the gaming/desktop replacement. The more, the merrier. And totally agree that the ipad is not a laptop/notebook replacement.

    Next time discuss more about cost/price and reliability.

    9. Posted by Lary1047  on  06/14  at  10:13 PM

  9. Hi everyone!!!

    I am new at this so excuse me if I ask to many
    DUMB questions!!!! I want to buy a portable computer. I am still trying to figure out which type either a notebook or a laptop (whats the difference)?? Then which one to purchase,consdering speed,quality of products ie (repair problems)there are so many to choose from and which Manufaturer to believe. I hear, the bigger in size less problems overall. If that is the case, I am not looking for something small then. I am up for suggestions and comments!!!!

    Thanks Lary

    10. Posted by furnished office south delhi  on  06/28  at  10:09 PM

  10. Thanks for your comments. Let me know if I am missing things here…

    11. Posted by Smith Chaple  on  02/04  at  09:08 AM

  11. Getting a Mini Laptop is a great birthday, anniversary or Christmas gift idea. The development of these computers varies depending on what purpose they will serve. Here are a few things you might want to consider when choosing a Mini Laptop.

    12. Page 1 of 1 pages

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Smileys

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below:


Next entry: Serial ATA 6Gb/s - The Third Generation

Previous entry: "Late to the Party" Must-Have iPhone Games

<< Back to main