Configuring a new notebook

Jan 22, 2010, 8:00 GMT

Washington - Despite the rise in popularity of netbooks, many people still use the slightly larger notebook computers to get the bulk of their daily work done.

But if you're in the market for a new notebook today - whether because Windows 7 is out or simply because you need a faster machine - prepare to be confused.

There may never have been a time when notebook purchasers have had more choices to sort through, more micro-decisions to make, before settling on a model.

By far, though, the most perplexing choices when configuring a notebook today must be made in the areas of processors, screens, and memory. Here's a rundown of what you'll encounter - and some tips on how to decide.

--- Processors

Notebook chips these days are both powerful and perplexing. Intel offers a seemingly endless array of processor choices and naming schemes. Available are Corel 2 Duo T-series and P-series processors, Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 chips - and an array of speeds within each model.

The Core 2 Duo T-series of chips have a 677-800mhz front side bus (FSB), while the P-series sports a 1066-mhz FSB. A 'front side bus' is the path that carries data between the processor and a motherboard's primary chipset, which in turn feeds data to other internal components.

A higher FSB typically translates into faster overall performance. The P series, which uses 25 watts of power, is more power efficient than the T series by about 10 watts.

In short, the T series is older technology than the P series but is still widely available. In real-world use, you're unlikely to notice a great deal of difference between T-series and P-series Core 2 Duo chips, so if price is critical, you could opt for the cheaper T series and spend your money elsewhere.

You'll also find notebooks today built around Intel's latest Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 chips. These processors do away with the front side bus altogether, thereby eliminating a significant bottleneck of older designs.

The chips also can automatically 'overclock' themselves, meaning they can deliver more performance when required and throttle back performance in order to conserve battery life.

The higher you go in the i-series chips, the more features and performance you'll get. i7 chips, in other words, are more powerful than i5 chips, which are more powerful than i3 chips.

Within each series, though, you'll find processors of different clock speeds. As always, higher clock speeds translate into faster performance.

If Intel's array of processors doesn't have your head spinning, then you can also look at notebooks built around AMD's Athlon II notebook processors.

The Athlon II chips are dual core units built to compete with Intel's Core 2 Duo line. The Athlon's, though, tend to be less expensive, and their focus on power efficiency and cool operation makes them attractive to those who value 'cool and quiet' notebooks over those from Intel, which tend to offer a bit better performance.

The bottom line among all these processors is this: virtually any Core 2 Duo, i-series, or Athlon chip will give you acceptable performance with any recent version of Windows if you mainly use conventional office applications or surf the web.

Think AMD if budget is your primary concern; think Core 2 Duo if you want solid mainstream performance from the market leader; and think i-series if you want cutting-edge technology and value performance over low price.

--- Screens

Notebook screens these days come in more sizes than ever before. You'll find models with 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, and even 18 inch screens - in both widescreen format and the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio.

You'll also find resolutions noted inconsistently, which makes choosing a screen that much more difficult. Some manufacturers, when listing resolution, provide the number of horizontal and vertical pixels that make up a display - using the format 1440x900, for example.

Others, like Dell, now list only the last of these numbers, in the form of '900p,' for instance. In all cases, the higher the numbers, the finer the resolution.

Note that a fine or high resolution, however, does not necessarily translate into a screen you will enjoy viewing. A high resolution on a small notebook monitor will make text and objects appear smaller than a coarser resolution on the same size screen.

If your eyesight isn't the best, you may actually prefer a coarser resolution on a large notebook screen. That's why screen size and resolution cannot be judged on paper alone. You really need to visit a local computer store to determine which size display and resolution are most pleasing to your eye.

Another decision you'll need to make is whether to select a notebook with a widescreen display or one with the more traditional 4:3 aspect ratio. There are more widescreens on the market than traditional 4:3 notebooks these days, but that doesn't mean wide screens are better.

They're well suited to video and movie playback, and they allow you more horizontal room to organise programs side by side. But to get the wide aspect ratio, they sacrifice some vertical space. If you spend most of your time on a notebook scrolling through web pages, you may actually prefer a screen with a traditional 4:3 aspect ratio.

Glossy vs. matte is another critical decision you'll need to make. Glossy screens are everywhere. While these tend to make movies look great, the reflections caused by bright lights on glossy screens can make them poorly suited to doing typical office work.

Unfortunately, to get a non-glossy screen today, you may need to look at notebooks intended for business users, which tend to cost more but, on the upside, are built to withstand rougher handling.

--- Memory

You'll see all types of memory sizes in notebooks today. Configurations of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 gigabytes (GB) of memory (RAM) are common. If you intend to run Windows 7, go for 2 - 4 GB of RAM. If you want to run the 64-bit version, you can go beyond 4 GB of RAM.

Whichever amount you use, it's preferable to ensure that the memory is in matched pairs - two or four identical sticks of RAM in order to achieve the desired amount - so that you can benefit from the memory running in a 'dual channel' configuration, which yields maximum performance.

--- Final thoughts

Understand the choices available in processors, screens, and memory, and you'll be well on your way to finding the perfect notebook for you. Other configuration decisions tend to be less difficult to make.

With hard drives, for example, faster is better - and solid state disks (SSDs) are best, if you can afford them. Video card options are easy as well. Go for dedicated graphics versus integrated if you can afford to.

Any recent version of Windows will feel snappier with a faster graphics card, and these are not easy to upgrade after you purchase your notebook.