Laptop Parts Guide

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If you are tired of wasting your money on laptop parts that you don’t need, you will want to understand which laptop parts are actually useful and which are not. Putting more money on what really matters to you is the key to buying a cheap and practical laptop.

Here are some of the laptop parts you will need to understand :

» Processor (also CPU or central processing unit)

The most important part in a laptop is the CPU. Someone once said that the CPU is like the brains of your laptop. Different laptops use a different processor types depending on their focus. See more about processors at laptop processor guide.

You need a high performing processor if :

You want to play games
You’ve planned to use scientific or complex programs, e.g. AutoCAD, SPSS, and Mathematica
You’re a creative professional

If you’re an average user, you don’t need to spend a lot of money on a fast processor. It actually ends up using more battery power than you can afford to spend.

» Memory

RAM(random-access memory) or stored memory is what laptops use to store currently running applications and data. More RAM means your laptop will run applications faster, but how much memory do you need exactly?

• Basic office applications	At least 256 MB
• Complex, business, scientific, or basic multimedia applications	At least 512 MB
• Video or graphic editing or demanding 3D games	At least 1 GB

However, I recommend getting 512MB or more memory because Windows XP performs too slowly with just 256MB of RAM.

» Hard Drive

The hard drive provides you with space to save your programs and your files. You generally need at least 20GB, but, in my opinion, 40GB or more is more appropriate for current games and applications. If you intend to use a hard drive for your photo albums and as a music center, 80GB or more is a great idea.

» CD and DVD Drives

Drives	Features
CD-ROM	Read CD-ROM (CD-Read-only)
CD-R	Has all features of CD-ROM; can also create (burn) CD-ROMs
CD-RW	Has all features of CD-R; can also write data to CD-RW disc (CD-Rewriteable)
DVD-ROM	Has all features of CD-RW; can also read DVD-ROMs
DVD-R	Has all features of DVD-ROM; can also burn DVD-ROMs
DVD-RW	A format that has all features of DVD-R; can also write data to rewriteable DVD
DVD+RW	A format that has all features of DVD-R; can also write data to rewriteable DVD
DVD±RW	Support both DVD-RW and DVD+RW formats

The standard of today’s laptops is a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, which can read CDs and DVDs, and write data to CD-ROMs and CD-RW - don’t settle for anything less than this.

If you want to store huge files, such as movies and songs, you may need DVD±RW to write those data to DVD, which can store up to 4.7GB on only one disk.

» Display

Unlike desktop CRT (cathode-ray tube) monitors, laptops come with LCDs (liquid-crystal displays). Laptop display size ranges 12.1 inches to 17 inches (diagonal). For comfortable viewing, 14-inch or larger is preferred.

» Modems and Ethernet ports

56Kbps-modem (RJ-11) and Ethernet (RJ-45) connections are standard in all of today’s laptops.

» Wireless antennae

Nearly every laptop has built-in antennae for wireless networking (802.11, or Wi-Fi) to the Internet, so you need only add a PC Card to enable this feature. However, some laptops come with this networking feature built in (i.e. they will come with an internal mini-PCI, Wi-Fi radio, or network-interface cards), such as Intel Centrino technology.

You will need to check to see if your laptop supports one of the following networking standards: 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11a

» Video Cards

The video card is that part of a laptop that gives you the picture that you’re looking at – and this is very important if you want to actually do anything with your laptop. By transferring data, you are able to see graphics as well as text. Newer graphics cards today have 3D capabilities which allow you to play games, but they really aren’t necessary for day to day uses.

They might also be called a video display board which also converts video data into electronic signals for you to see the images on the screen.

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