Laptops Blog

When you are out buying your computer, you will have the option of either a dedicated video card, or an integrated video card. 

If you are into playing computer games, chances are you would opt for a dedicated card.  If you just work, type, surf the Internet and check some emails on your notebook, an integrated card will do fine.

What does a video card have to do with battery life?

Simple.  If you want better battery life, an integrated card will give you the most battery life, whereas a dedicated video card will give you the least battery life.

When you are out shopping for a notebook hard drive, you probably have noticed that they come in different speeds.  The way the notebook drives are rated is by RPM (revolutions per minute).  Typically, you can find either 4,200 RPM, 5,400 RPM, and 7,200 RPM drives.  When making your decision, consider the pros and cons of each drive speed:

4,200 RPM

This drive has the lowest speed out of the bunch.  On the good side, it’s slower rotational speed gives you better battery life.  On the bad side, you get less performance.  The performance on this drive should not affect you if you are doing normal computer tasks such as Internet, email, or typing.  For gaming and video editing, you would see the worst performance out of the bunch.

5,400 RPM

The 5,400 RPM drive is almost 30% faster than the 4,200 RPM drive.  You get better performance with this drive but less battery life.  Out of the three drive options, this drive gives you the best all round performance and battery life.  It is good for the everyday stuff, as well as game playing and video editing.

7,200 RPM

The 7,200 RPM drive is the fastest drive of the bunch.  Expect quicker boot times into your operating system, better game performance and quicker video editing times.  The catch:  this drive has the worst battery life of the bunch.

When you are out shopping, you need to decide if performance is most important to you, or if battery life is the major concern.  If you want the best compromise go with the 5,400 RPM drive - you get good battery life and good performance.

If you have been out shopping for a laptop, you may have notice that some of them come with HDMI interfaces.  A HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) port allows you to hook up your laptop to most of the new LCD, plasma, and projection televisions.  The HDMI port replaces the DVI (digital video input) port found on some older gaming laptops.

I had the opportunity to try out a laptop today with a number of different televisions.  The laptop in question was a gaming laptop, worth about $1599 CDN.  It has a GeForce Go 7600 dedicated card (with 256 Mb), 2 GB of ram, and a 17″ screen.

The televisions that I hooked this notebook up to were a Samsung 40″ LCD TV, a Sanyo 27″ LCD TV, and a Philips 63″ Plasma TV.

The laptop was hooked up to the television with a six foot HDMI cable and I attempted to get a resolution higher than 1024×768.

Not to give specific reviews of the laptop and televisions used in the test (we are not a review site), I was unable to successfully get the screens to display 1920×1080 (the resolution used for HD TV).  I did have some success, but the limitations of the TVs and control panel for the video card, did not allow me to show the whole screen properly.  Specifically the edges of the screen were all cut off.  There were also some issues with respect to the screen refresh rate.  Bear in mind that I didn’t install any drivers for the TVs before testing them out.

Immature drivers for Vista, and rush testing, may have impacted the results.  I will take a look at the HDMI output on laptops at a later date to see if there have been any improvements.

A handy computer like a laptop is easy to use and transport. There are many computer companies which are making their own laptops and asus laptop is very popular and easily available in major markets of the world. More sophisticated hp laptops are a little bit heavy and sensitive to dust. A laptop buying guide can be viewed online so that you have all the information you need before you purchase of one. For student laptop guide websites offer special sections. Like pc computers laptop computers are a favorite now among people around the world for their portability and easy handling.

If you have owned a computer in your life, you may have had to decide between purchasing a notebook or a desktop computer.  If you need some pros and cons to help you make your decision, check the following list out:

Pros of owning a laptop:

• Portability.  You can take your laptop out for coffee, to work and even to your job site.
• Convenience.  You do not have to stay attached to a desk anymore.  If it is a nice day, go outside and take your computer with you.
• Environmentally friendly.  Laptop computers tend to use less power than their desktop counterparts.
• Safe from power outages.  Since your laptop has a battery, if the power goes out your work is not lost.
• Multiple uses when traveling.  Your laptop can work as a GPS, a portable DVD player, a stereo, a tour guide, and many other uses as well.

Cons of owning a notebook:

• Not very upgradeable.  Except for the memory, hard drive, battery and wireless card, most laptops are not upgradeable.  Be sure to buy what you need now and what you will need in the future.
• Theft.  Laptops are easy to conceal and much easier to steal compared to a desktop.  Be sure to have some type of anti-theft device to use with your laptop.
• Multi-tasking ability.  Now this may seem weird, but just last night, I was working on my laptop while watching television.  I was more productive, but something is just wrong doing these two tasks at the same time. 

I am sure some of you have gone out and purchased a mouse for your notebook.  When you were out shopping, you may have noticed that there were regular mice and notebook mice.  Take a look at the following picture:

The mouse on the left is a “regular” size mouse, and the mouse on the right is a notebook mouse.  Now that you can see the visual differences, let us look at the good (pros) and the bad (cons) of using a notebook mouse.

Pros

• Small, easy to carry around
• Convenient.  Some wireless notebook mice also double as a wireless presenter
• Requires less counter space to function

Cons

• Smaller than a regular mouse
• Extended use can cause hand strain and pain
• Easier to lose because of size
• Hard to use if you have large hands

If you do decide to buy a notebook mouse, purchase it from a place where it can be easily returned.  If you do find that it does cause problems, take it back and get a regular sized mouse.

If you are like many entrepreneurs, bookkeepers, accountants and business owners, you keep track of your books on your laptop.  If you have a laptop that has a screen smaller than 17 inches, you will notice something missing compared to a traditional keyboard: the number pad.

A sample of a keyboard laptop on a 15″ notebook.

Usually it is easier to use a number pad to do accounting - if you are familiar with a 10-key calculator, it makes life quicker and easier.  So, instead of using the numbers along the top of the keyboard, you can get a USB powered number pad.

An example of a USB number pad.

You can find a USB number pad at any computer store, with prices ranging from about $20 and up.  If you need to lighten your load in your notebook bag, consider purchasing the USB calculator by Canon - it works just as a ten key calculator, with the benefit of being able to plug into your notebook as well.

When you first boot up your laptop, chances are that you will get a notification that you should make a set of recovery disks.  You should get a screen similar to the following:

The above example is from an HP computer. 

The reason you want to create a set of recovery disks is that they allow you to restore your computer to what it was like when you purchased it from the store.  Now, there is a recovery partition on your hard drive, but if the hard drive fails, you would have no way to recover your computer.  That is why you need to make the recovery disks. 

In most cases you will need either a couple of DVDs (provided your notebook has a DVD-burner), or ten CDs (varies per computer).  It takes some time for the computer to collect all the files it needs to copy to the disks.  What I would suggest is to start it, go do something else, and check on your notebook from time to time.  You can expect the process to take an hour or two depending on the speed of your computer and the speed of your burner.

Be sure to label each disk as you remove them from the computer.  Typically, the program will ask to check the disks you have created after it has finished making the recovery set.  If there are any errors on any of the disks, you will have to do this process again.  Just make sure that when you are done, that you put the disks somewhere that you can find them should you ever need them.  It doesn’t help you to have some recovery disks if you cannot find them.

So, make sure that you make your recovery disks BEFORE you hook up to the Internet.  Should your computer ever be infected by viruses to the point where it is un-fixable, at least you will have an option that is cheaper than calling in a professional - using your recovery disks.

With the number of questions I get from people regarding what they need to do when they get a new laptop, I have decided to create this multi-part section detailing everything you need to know about your new laptop.  The parts will be organized as follows:

1. First things first- The single most important thing to do BEFORE you hook up to the Internet
2. Protect your computer - Anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware and more
3. Productivity software - word processing, spreadsheets and more

So, check out these topics to learn what you should do, how you can get quality software for no cash investment, and how to protect your new laptop.

I get a lot of questions as to whether or not you should leave you batter in your laptop when you have it plugged in.  If you remove the batter while the computer is plugged in, you get the following benefits:

1. Slow down the batter aging process

   The life of your lithium battery decreases with higher temperatures.  When you have the notebook plugged in, the battery heats up as some power is sent to it to keep it charged up.  By removing the battery, you extend the life of the battery by keeping it away from the heat experienced while installed in the laptop.

2. Preserves charge cycles

   Lithium ion batteries slowly discharge over time.  By leaving your battery in the notebook, the laptop will top-up the battery on a continuous basis, losing some of your charge cycles.  By removing the battery, you will save some of your charge cycles (typically a battery will have 300 to 800 charge cycles during its’ lifetime).

Along with the benefits, there are some negatives to having your battery out of your laptop.  Examples are:

1. Lose battery backup

   The battery in the laptop serves as a UPS (uninterruptible power supply.)  When you remove the battery, you no longer get the benefits that it has to offer such as protection from power outages and voltage drops.

2. Data loss

   If the power does go out while you are using your laptop due to a power outage, you run the risk of lost or corrupt data.  You need to be certain to save your work often to reduce the chance of lost data.

3. Need a UPS for backup power

   To help avoid data loss with your battery removed, consider plugging the laptop into a UPS (uninterruptible power supply.)  A good quality UPS can cost $100 or more, whereas you can buy a laptop battery for $50+.

With the introduction of Windows Vista, you no longer need to look at five different applications to keep your notebook under control.  Now you can use Windows Mobility Center to have access to the common controls you would use with your laptop in one place.

As you can see from the picture above, you have access to your volume, battery control, wireless, display, Bluetooth, etc.  Depending on the manufacturer, you may have additional options available.

How do you access the mobility center?

Hold down the Windows Key + X.