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Smart Shopping: Laptops

Team CHIP | 31 December 2008

Brands available: Apple, Acer, ACi, Asus, BenQ, Dell, Fujitsu, HP Compaq, HCL, Intex, iBall, LG, Lenovo, MSI, Sony, Toshiba, Wipro, Zenith

Which is a good laptop to buy for under Rs 30,000? What features should one look out for in a mainstream laptop? Which is a good brand to pick up? I’m looking out for a laptop that exudes class and style. These are some of the questions that buyers generally have in mind when shopping for a laptop. Here’s our take on how to pick the right laptop that will serve most of your needs and fit within your budget as well.

First things first

 First and foremost, note the applications that you will be running on your laptop. For instance you might want a laptop strictly for basic home computing and office tasks such as surfing the Internet, sending and receiving e-mails, watching movies and listening to music. Or you might want something that’s not too bulky for crunching numbers while you’re on the move. You don’t want to end up with something that doesn’t live up to your expectations, right? The next step is to set a realistic budget for your precious investment based on your needs. If you need more features and better performance, be ready to spend! Next, look out for as many and a good blend of features. Unless you’re on a tight budget, look out for at least a dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB hard disk, memory card reader and DVD writer. Features such as Wi-fi, Ethernet and modem are integrated in most laptops, except in some entry-level ones.

Features

There are certain features you need to focus on depending on the type of user you are. If you’re a frequent traveler look out for something that weighs less than 2 Kg and offers a good battery life. Bluetooth would come in handy for exchanging data wirelessly with phones, laptops and other mobile devices. If you’re a power user, make sure your laptop has at least a 2 GHz dual-core processor, discrete graphics, eSATA port, Wi-fi 802.11n and a large screen. Blu-ray drive and HDMI output would be a boon if you’re a movie buff.

How to choose

Don’t ignore the build quality and ergonomics for they are very important parameters. Check the quality of the screen frame, chassis, keyboard, optical drive tray, buttons and hinges. If you find anything flimsy or of poor quality, choose a different model or brand that’s better off. Also pay attention to the size and tactility of keys and mouse buttons, accessibility of ports (USB, FireWire, eSATA, and so on). Poor ergonomics ruin user comfort and can lead to repetitive strain injuries.

 Jargon Buster

Centrino: Centrino isn’t just a processor. It’s a mobile computing platform by Intel which comprises the motherboard chipset and wireless network interface as well. The new Centrino 2 platform combines the second generation Core 2 Duo mobile processor, Intel Mobile 4 Express series chipset, Intel Wi-fi Link 5100/5300 and support for WiMAX.

Wi-fi 802.11n: 802.11n is an improvement over the previous 802.11a/b/g standards by adding Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) antennas. As a result it can deliver better throughput (more than 100 MB/s as compared to 56 MB/s of 802.11g) and twice the range.

Discrete graphics: The graphics processor is an integrated component of the mobile chipset and uses a portion of the system memory (RAM) as video memory. Such graphics processors are called integrated graphics processors or IGP. As opposed to an IGP, a discrete graphics processor is a separate component and doesn’t belong to the chipset’s specification. Discrete GPUs are much more powerful than IGPs.

Dual-core: A dual-core processor has two execution cores in a single package. It is basically two processors residing side-by-side in a single unit. These processors are more efficient than single-core processors in terms of compute power, multi-tasking capability and power consumption.