A comprehensive guide for buying laptop computers

By Christos Demos, C&IT Departmental Computing Services

Also see Basic Guide for Buying Laptop Computers: June 2008 by Christos Demos.

Are you shopping for a new laptop computer to use during your studies at Wayne State University? Do you find the multitudes of configuration choices overwhelming? Here are some important factors to consider.

[Note: In this document laptop / notebook computers are referred to as laptops.]

Overall configuration

You do not have to get the fastest microprocessor (CPU). The amount of RAM is more important.
Get a large amount of system memory (RAM), 3 GB is a good starting point. Your new laptop is going to ship with a modern operating system, like Windows XP or Mac OS X. These work better and faster with larger amounts of RAM. Certain programs (especially multimedia) also will run better.
Hard drive storage capacity can be chosen on a need-basis. Just remember that those (legal) music files and videos can take up a lot of space.
Make sure your laptop comes with a DVD +/- R drive that can record DVDs. Storage demands for ordinary computing tasks have increased exponentially in recent years. Even standard word processing documents can get to be several megabytes if they contain graphs and/or pictures.
Also, it is important that your laptop includes 802.11n wireless networking capability.

System memory and video

Getting a lot of system memory (RAM) for your laptop is the most inexpensive way to dramatically increase your system's performance.

If you are about to place your hand on a stack of Holy Books and swear you will only use your laptop for pure word processing/e-mail/basic Web browsing, then you can probably live with an entry-level video controller. Many of those do not come with their own memory chips but instead share system memory. So if you buy a laptop with 512 MB of system RAM and the inexpensive video controller uses 64 MB, you are left with 448 MB for Windows XP to use. Not the best…

Not to be confused with their processors (Pentium chips), video chips made by Intel generally tend to appear in "value" configurations. A laptop with a strong video sub-system will feature a video controller made by ATI or NVIDIA. C&IT recommends at least 128 MB, or more, of dedicated video memory because you CANNOT upgrade the video on a laptop at a later time.

Keyboard, pointing device, and display

Visit a computer store, even if you intend to buy your laptop online. You'll get a chance to look at the screen and to spend some time trying out the two pointing devices — touchpad and joystick — as well as the different manufacturers' keyboards. These components are personal preference selections. If both pointing devices feel cumbersome for extended use, you can always purchase an external mouse, just like those used with desktop computers.

Laptop keyboards are confined to a very small space; in fact, some of the laptop keyboards can be uncomfortable to type on, especially if you are looking at an "ultra-compact" portable computer. The size and typing comfort of the keyboard need to be one of your most important considerations.

Laptop Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) are made by a small group of suppliers, who sell the screen as a component to the laptop manufacturers. Display quality varies only slightly among top-tier manufacturers (correspondingly, no-name laptops tend to have dimmer, fuzzier screens), so your decision revolves around screen size. When you are in the computer store, get a feel for the size you are comfortable working with. Make sure you are comparing similar resolutions too; common laptop screen resolutions start at 1024x768 (called "XGA") and go higher, rising proportionately with screen size.

USB ports to connect devices

The laptop should have several expansion ports to accommodate devices that you may want to connect. Include at least two USB ports and one or two PC Card expansion slots or the ExpressCard slot. Optimally, look for four USB ports. Many new laptops also come with a built-in FireWire port. In addition, your laptop may have a port for connecting an external monitor: either VGA or the newer DVI standard. Serial, parallel, and keyboard/mouse (PS/2) ports represent technologies decades old. They are becoming increasingly rare in the latest laptop models.

The floppy drive also has become obsolete and is not a part of a standard laptop configuration any more. To carry files around, use a USB Flash drive. They are more reliable, a fraction of the physical size, and hold exponentially more data. USB Flash drives are available in different capacities, commonly between 256 MB and 8 GB.

Communications

This is the area you need to pay the most attention to. It is 100% certain that you will connect your laptop to a network for e-mail, Web access, or file transfers. Get your laptop with:

Built-in 802.11n wireless networking capability. Wireless networks are available in all classrooms, libraries, and student gathering places. The rapid spread of Wireless Access Points in homes and businesses everywhere makes wireless networking increasingly useful. If you get a laptop that has built-in 802.11n wireless networking capability now, you won't have to add it later.
10/100 Ethernet port. This type of port lets you connect to the WSU campus wired network at various public locations, such as the Adamany Undergraduate Library or inside the WSU office or lab where you may work.
Modem. This capability is now optional because dial-up networking is fast becoming obsolete. However, there are some niche cases where a modem can be your only connection to the Internet (e.g. rural areas).
Bluetooth is another wireless standard used for short-range data transfers. It usually is a relatively inexpensive add-on option and might prove useful during the lifetime of the laptop to enable use of a wireless external keyboard or mouse, syncing with your mobile phone, music player, or even for wireless printing.

If your laptop is lacking one or more of these communication capabilities, you can compensate by adding a PC Card or ExpressCard card or a USB adapter.

Do you want a "boat anchor"?

Recently, laptop manufacturers have been very successful at packing an amazing quantity of features into a relatively small package. However, be cautious when comparing specification sheets: some smaller laptops use bulky external components (e.g., AC adapter, optical drive). The spec sheet sometimes excludes the weight of these components from the base laptop weight.

Major manufacturers offer models of laptops that essentially have all the features you need in a very portable form. These laptops come with 14" screens. Dell calls their laptop line "Balanced Mobility," and it includes a broad range of products. Lenovo offers their "T" series of Thinkpads in that category. Some shoppers choose to sacrifice a few features for ultra-portability — usually laptops with 12" screens. Just make sure you are not hampered by the smaller keyboard.

Laptops with screen sizes larger than 15'' become quite cumbersome to carry around due to their size and weight. They may not be an appropriate choice for a laptop you intend to carry around most of the time.

Battery life

Here's another spec sheet item that you need to treat with skepticism. Battery life claims made by manufacturers vary, so a comparison based on spec sheets may not be valid. In general, expect not more than two hours of useful battery life per session. As batteries get older, their capacity decreases, and they run empty sooner. After about 1000 charge/discharge cycles, which works out to about 3 years of normal use, laptop batteries just will not hold a charge anymore. Even if you do not use your laptop that often, changes in the internal chemistry of the batteries will render them useless in 3 to 4 years anyway.

There has been a lot of progress made in making laptops more energy efficient, thus enabling them to run longer on a single charge. At the same time, power-hungry new technologies get incorporated that erode these gains. Examples are larger brighter screens, wireless networking, and faster hard drives. An extra "extended" battery will give you longer runtimes. However, as the name suggests, it extends from the rest of the laptop thereby increasing its size and weight.

Brands and warranty

Some brand names that we like are Dell, Toshiba, Sony, HP, Gateway, and Apple. When shopping for a laptop, be extra inquisitive if you have not heard of the manufacturer before. You will pay a little bit more for a brand name, but a few dollars saved up-front could become a boomerang if you're stuck with a dead machine just out of warranty.

Manufacturers typically handle laptop repairs on mail-in or carry-in terms; some, however, offer "on-site" warranty, which may appeal to you. Find out the exact terms and conditions for warranty repairs before you buy, or you could be waiting 3 to 5 days for a repair during finals week!

A one-year warranty is not sufficient for laptops because they are a lot more fragile than desktop computers. They are also a lot more expensive to fix if something goes wrong, owing to their proprietary architecture. Consider purchasing a two-year warranty extension when you buy your laptop. Several laptop manufacturers also offer accidental damage coverage. Dell calls this warranty "Complete Care." It adds a couple of hundred dollars to the price, but it buys you peace of mind for those times when you might drop your laptop, trip over it, spill your nonfat vanilla latte on it — the list goes on.

Accessories

If your laptop does not come with built-in wireless networking, and you choose to get a wireless network card, make sure it is compliant with the 802.11n standard. See the wireless@wayne Web page for recommendations.
Buy a second battery if you are going to be away from a power outlet for long periods of time. (Perhaps an "extended" battery.)
Protect your investment with a laptop case, or make sure that your backpack has a padded compartment to hold it securely.
Remember that laptops are the most-often stolen technology devices. Make sure you get a security cable, as it frequently discourages the opportunist thief. However, no security measure is foolproof or a substitute for an alert owner.

Caveat Emptor!

When you take Classics 1010, you'll find out that Caveat Emptor means "let the buyer beware." Or you may know that already.

In the past few years, laptop manufacturers have been advertising decreasing laptop prices. There is room for a philosophical discussion behind some of the reasons, but others are more clear:

Standard warranty has become ONE year, oftentimes less. It used to be three.
Even today you see laptops offered with a default 512 MB of RAM or even less. It works, for even less, but it is not sufficient for Windows XP or Mac OS X.
An optical drive that cannot write to a DVD is not as useful; opt for a dual layer DVD writer.
Underpowered video controller chip — you can upgrade to an ATI or NVIDIA-based controller at an additional cost. Make sure your choice is adequate for your needs because you will not be able to upgrade video at a later time.

By the time you are done compensating for these deficiencies, the cost of your new laptop increases by several hundred dollars.

Got software?

Software is expensive to buy if you buy retail. Did you know that students and employees at WSU can take advantage of some drastic discounts through the C&IT Software Clearinghouse? Products by Microsoft, Adobe, SPSS, and others are available. If you are a student you can buy a copy of Microsoft Office (with Word, Power Point, Excel, and more) at low cost. Try to get a deal like that by walking into any computer store.

Note that the full-featured Symantec Endpoint Protection and EndNote bibliography management software also are available to WSU students and employees free of charge at the Software Clearinghouse.

If you buy your laptop online, avoid configuring it with "evaluation software" that will expire 30–90 days later anyway. Anti-virus software makers and some Internet service providers try to push their products this way, usually. If you buy your laptop at a store, uninstall all of these evaluation versions first, then install Symantec Endpoint Protection.

Other details

Some manufacturers, notably Dell, will let you fine-tune your configuration even more:

Hard drives are measured in terms of capacity (up to 320 GB these days), but their performance is influenced by other specs. The faster a drive spins, the faster data can be read off of it. Laptops normally come with 4200 rpm or 5400 rpm drives. Most models have options to upgrade to 7200 rpm. Drives also have onboard RAM (called "cache") to store frequently accessed information. 2 MB is the default. Faster drives with 8 MB are increasingly common, and some models have 16 MB. The 4200 rpm drives are slow and nowadays usually found only in ultra-portable laptops. Opt for a 5400 or 7200 rpm drive with at least 8 MB cache instead.
Laptop rechargeable batteries consist of individual cells packaged together in a larger module. In general, more cells means higher battery capacity. The MAh (milli amp-hour) rating may be of help too. A battery with more MAhs has higher power density, hence it runs longer on a single charge.
Power adapters with a higher watt rating will charge your laptop faster.

New vs. refurbished

An alternative to a new laptop can be a refurbished one.

One category of refurbished laptops is recently sold laptops that have been returned or repaired at the factory and cannot be resold as new.
Another category is former corporate laptops that have just come off lease after a period of about three years. While they are not top of the line, they work well to serve word processing, e-mail, and basic Web browsing needs.

Try to buy from a larger establishment, use your credit card, and ask for disclosure of any problems ahead of time. Other cautions apply: No off-lease laptop will come with a battery that is covered even by the basic 90-day warranty, with good reason. It is highly likely that a 3-year old laptop will have a battery that is about to fail—or has already. Batteries are the first laptop components to fail, and they can cost up to $150 to replace.

You also may need to perform minor upgrades by adding components, like memory, a modem, or a network card, depending on the original configuration of the refurbished laptop. You need to factor in these costs to the purchase price of an off-lease laptop. Unless you are getting your used laptop for a very low price it is probably not worth it. These days you can find a new laptop on sale at local electronics chains for as low as $500. The specs are not all optimal but these are decent computers from known manufacturers that will serve someone on a tight budget well.

Configuration Summary

Memory	3 GB recommended
Video	Intel X 3100 or higher; ATI; NVIDIA. 128 MB of video RAM recommended.
Disk Drive	At least 5400 rpm, 8 MB cache; Storage capacity depends on needs.
Optical Drive	DVD+-RW.
Ports/Expansion	At least two USB 2.0. PC Card/the newer ExpressCard slot.
Communications	802.11n wireless networking; 10/100 wired Ethernet port; Bluetooth recommended.

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