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|
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| Laptop
buyers guide |
| Processor
(CPU) speed: |
| Not
as important as many think. Basically it goes from slow to fast:
pentium, pentium pro, PI,PII,PIII,P4. The cheaper & slower
CPU's are called celeron. The fastest chips currently are centrino,
but look for the largest L2 cache. The ghz speed is not always
a good comparison, use it as a rough guide. Mobile chips in
laptops are often slower than their desktop rivals. |
| Operating
system: |
| XP
home is ok for home & students. Only get XP pro if you want
to connect to a network domain eg at your company. Windows 2000
is very similar to XP, windows 98 is still ok, win 95 &
wfw won't fit your needs. |
| Memory
or RAM: |
| Min
RAM on XP 256mb, win2k 128mb, win98 64mb. If you want to use
graphics or photos then 512mb. It is much more expensive to
upgrade Dell RAM, so buy it with the laptop. |
| CD/DVD: |
| A
CD-ROM (read only) is essential. A CD-RW (read/write) is very
useful for creating backups. DVD can play DVD's a DVD-RW can
burn them, but will be slow. Speed indicated by 8x or 48x (times).
|
| USB: |
| These
are rectangular ports used to add accessaries like printers,
mice, etc. If you need more get a powered usb hub. |
| Network: |
| RJ45,
or ethernet port. You need this plug into a network. Also many
broadband routers need an RJ45 port. Students: You may need
this to plug into a network to access the Internet. Many halls
of residence are networked. |
| Wireless
network: |
| This
can be built into the laptop (Dells mini-pci), as a pcmcia card
(credit card size), or usb. They come in different speeds 801.11b
& g, the 'g' is faster, both are ok for internet access.
|
| Modems: |
| Analogue
modems use an RJ11 jack & plug into a BT phone socket. ADSL
& Cable modems use a USB or RJ45 port. |
| Hard
disk: |
| On
XP any over 20gb is loads. Win98 4gb as a min. |
| PS2: |
| Mouse
& keyboard ports. Often USB now. |
| Fire
Wire: |
| IEEE
1394 integrated port. Often used for cameras & video cameras. |
| Mouse: |
| Get
an external mouse, because they are much faster to use. |
| Backups: |
| Use
our online backup
service, to automatically backup your data nightly. Buy
a pen drive
/ usb drive / memory key to easily save data or move it
around. |
| Warranty: |
| Laptops
are very expensive to repair, so get a long warranty. |
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