Computer Buying Guide for Laptop

Meaningful differences in speed between desktops and laptops have largely disappeared. But each design has its own advantages and trade-offs. We give you the essential information to find the computer that's right for you.

1. Feature
The key components of a computer are the processor, memory, operating system, hard drive, graphics adapter (with video RAM), optical drive, and display (monitor). Laptop computers have additional features and considerations that are important. Where applicable, we've noted feature information that is important and distinctive to the type of computers.

2. Processor
This is the computer's "brains." Clock speed, measured in gigahertz (GHz), and the chip's design, termed "architecture," determine how quickly it can process information. Within a processor family, the higher the clock speed, the faster the computer. But different processor families reach different efficiencies.
For laptops: Laptops generally come with a dual-core processor. If you're on a budget, an Intel Pentium Dual-Core or AMD Turion 64 X2 is fine. For greater power or battery life, get an Intel Core 2 Duo.

3. Random Access Memory (RAM)
Most brand-name computers sold today have at least 1GB of RAM, the memory the computer uses while in operation. For laptops: We recommend at least 2GB of RAM (random-access memory).

4. Graphic Adapter
A computer's graphics adapter is either integrated onto the motherboard or on a separate internal plug-in card. In addition to feeding the computer's display with an analog (VGA) or a digital (DVI) signal, a graphics adapter might have an output such as an S-video or HDMI port to feed video to an external TV (common), or accept video from an external analog source (rare). But an adapter can always display video from sources such as a file, a DVD, an external analog feed, or a TV tuner. All desktops and laptops come with a minimum of integrated graphics capability for watching DVDs or playing casual games such as solitaire. Video RAM, or VRAM, is secondary RAM that works with the graphics processor to provide smooth video imaging and game play. To run Windows Vista's 3D interface or play 3D-intensive games, we recommend at least 256 MB or more.

5. Hard Disk
This is your computer's long-term data storage. Given the requirements of today's games, digital photos, and video files, bigger is better. Sizes commonly range from 160GB to 750GB. You'll even see drives of 1 terabyte (1,000GB). For added security, you could opt for a RAID array (redundant array of identical disks), which includes two identical drives set up so that data is written to both drives simultaneously. That way if one crashes, all your data is safe on the other one.
You might also see the term serial ATA, or SATA, applied to hard drives. SATA provides a faster form of data transfer than the older parallel ATA disk drive interface. For laptops: Most laptops come with a traditional 60- to 320-gigabyte hard drive, which is where all your files and programs are stored. Pay attention to a hard drive's speed. 4,200 RPM, while rare, is considered fairly slow. 5,400 RPM is common. 7,200 RPM is fastest, but costs more. Some laptops can be equipped with two hard drives for improved performance or backup

6. Optical Drive
DVD writers are standard gear on today's computers. A DVD burner provides removable storage for home-video footage or digital photos. With the HD disc format wars over, Blu-ray disc (BD) drives are the standard to look for. BD is capable of playing the growing list of Blu-ray movies and can store 50GB, almost six times the capacity of a double-layer DVD. On some systems, you might find Blu-Ray/HD DVD combo drives, which can also play whatever HD DVD movies are still out there. There are also three older competing, incompatible DVD formats-DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM. Some drives can write in more than one format, but all can create a disc that will play on stand-alone DVD players.