As part of our services, we help our clients choose the right computer for their specific needs. In this section, we'll talk about some of the basic components of the computer and what we consider important.
Every Computer will soon be obsolete, but the goal is to choose a computer that will last the longest. Many people focus on the wrong features. For a computer to be future proof, you should spend money on the things that are not upgradable. It's easy to upgrade the RAM (memory), it's reasonably easy to upgrade the hard drive, but it's difficult (and expensive ) to upgrade CPU and it may be impossible to upgrade the graphics card on a laptop computer. Conclusion- buy the best CPU that you can afford (and graphics card on a laptop). RAM and hard drives can always be purchased later (at a lower price than today's prices).
Laptop 6 Line Buyers Guide
For Reliability - Choose Sony, Toshiba, Dell Business or XPS, Asus For Portability – Choose 13” or 14”, and use an external monitor when home For Battery Life – Choose P Series or SU Series CPU, over a T series For Speed – Choose Higher model of CPU, ie P8800 over P8400 For Future-Resistance- Choose 64 bit Windows 7 (and fast CPU) For Usability- Choose a machine with a keyboard and screen that you like
For Reliability Square Trade has recently completed a study showing that on average, 1 in 3 (or 31%) laptops fail in 3 years. Ten percent of the 31 % was due to accidental damage. The study http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf showed the most reliable brands were Asus (15.6 % hardware failures) and Toshiba (15.7 %), followed by Sony (16.8 %), Apple (17.4 %), and Dell (18.3%). The poorest reliability was HP (25.6 %), followed by Gateway (23.5%), Acer (23.3%), and Lenovo (21.5%). (An Apple person will quickly point out that although Apple hardware failures may be as common as PC hardware failures, software failures of the Mac OS are less common, making the Mac more reliable). The study also showed that Netbooks were the least reliable, and premium laptops were more reliable than the entry level laptops.
For Portability Before buying a laptop, think about how you will use it. If you plan on carrying it back and forth to your office daily, or you travel frequently, choose a 13” or 14” laptop. If you plan on leaving the laptop in one place or travel with it infrequently, a 15”, or 17” will work well. Rather than trying to carry a large monitor with you, a better solution is to connect a large monitor to your laptop when you’re home or in your office. Surprisingly, even most Netbooks are able to ‘drive’ huge monitors (up to 27”). Laptops 12” or smaller are recommended only as second laptops, since working on a small monitor for more than a couple of hours can be tiring.
For Longest Battery Life Choose the newer more efficient CPU’s (Central Processing Unit or effectively the brain of the computer). For best overall performance choose a 25 Watt P series processor (such as the P7450, P7550, P8700, or P8800). These P series processors are just about as fast as the older style 35 Watt T series (T6600, T6670, T9600), yet consume less power and generate less heat. The fact that less heat is generated means the computer is likely to run cooler and probably last longer. Another option is the 10 watt SU series (SU7300, SU4100). These CPU’s use less than half the power of even the P series, yet perform quite well (see the Passmark speed scores below).
For Speed An accurate measure of the actual speed requires ‘benchmark’ software that will measure how fast a computer completes a task or how many tasks it completes in a set amount of time. Passmark has a benchmark test that tests the actual speed of various components of the computer. Shown below are the Passmark scores (speed) for the various CPU’s to help one make an informed decision.
I7-720 3600 I7-820 4000 45 Watts I7-920 4700 Q and I series Q9000 3100 Q9100 3700
T4300 1500 T6600: 1700 35 Watts T6670 1700 T Series T9550: 2200 T9600 2300 T9900 2500
P7450 1700 P7550 1800 P8400 1800 25 Watts P8700 2000 P Series P8800 2200 P9600 2300 P9700 2400
17 Watts SL9400 1550 SL Series SL9600 1650
SU2700 521 10 Watts SU4100 1050 SU7300 1100 SU Series SU9400 1200
2.5 Watts Atom N270 300 Atom Series Atom N280 300
For a ‘Future-Resistant’ Computer Speed, reasonably good graphics, and Windows 7 64-bit are the components of a future-resistant computer. You may ask, “do I really need speed if I only do basic computer operations like email and web browsing?” Yes, because even though a machine is fast enough today, most machines slow down with time. For this reason, it’s recommended that you counter the speed decrease by buying somewhat faster CPU that you need today. And since faster machines tend to have a longer usable life, they are in fact greener than their soon to be obsolete ‘bargain’ computers.
For Usability The final, yet most important feature is the look and feel of the laptop. Is the keyboard comfortable to use? Do you want or need a high resolution display? High resolution means everything appears smaller, which is exactly what many people do not want. Also decide if you want a glossy or a matte screen. Matte screens or screens with glare free coatings tend to be the most usable and ergonomic. Glossy screens may be best for watching movies where the higher contrast is desirable. That is all.
FAQ: I want a reliable 14” laptop, that’s fast, about 5 lbs, runs reasonably cool, and has a good battery life.
Comment: Fast and cool implies a P series processor (preferably with a Passmark score of 1700) or above (P processors cost a bit more then T). Five pounds is quite lightweight for a 14” machine, so choices will be limited (and prices higher).
First Choices (14.1”)
1a.Sony CW series - VPCCW14FX/B, T6600, 5.3 lbs, GT 230M, $799 Newegg (not bb) 1b.Sony CW series- VPCCW18FX/B, P7450, 5.3 lbs, GT 230 M, $899 Newegg (1b runs about the same speed (fast) but has a 25 watt P series CPU, which uses less power, runs cooler, and results in longer battery life.) (Both have Passmark speed = 1700) 2. TOSHIBA Satellite M505-S4980, P7450, 5.18 lbs, $849 Newegg (Passmark =1700) 3a. Asus N81Vp-X1, P8700, 5.5 lbs $949 Newegg (Passmark speed = 2000) A superb machine with great sound and graphics. 2 yr warranty. 3b. Asus N81Vp-D2, T9600, 5.5 lbs $1099 Newegg (Passmark = 2300) 15% faster, with a higher wattage CPU (35 watts instead of 25 watts), runs warm. 4. Dell Latitude E6400, P8800, 4.3 lbs, 3 yr war, 64-bit, $898 (2200)
Comment: The best computer of the bunch is the Asus N81Vp-X1, although it is a little on the high end in weight, and may run quite warm.
Slightly Smaller Screen (13.3”)
5a. Sony SR Series VGN-SR540G, P8700, 4.3 lbs, $1129 (2000) Newegg 5b. Sony SR Series VGN-SR510G/B, T6670, 4.3 lbs, $999 (1700) Newegg 6. Toshiba U505-S2960, T6600, 4.7 lbs $799 (1700) Newegg 7. Dell Studio XPS 13, P8700, 4.85 lbs, $1099 (2000) Dell
Not Quite as Fast (14”)
8. Asus UL80Vt-A1, 14”, SU7300, 4.8 lbs $849 (1100) Newegg
Not Quite as Fast (15.6, but still about 5 lbs)
9. Asus UL50AG-RBBBK05, 15.6”, SU7300, 5.1 lbs $679 (1100) BB
FAQ: I want an inexpensive (less than $599) reliable laptop, not ridiculously heavy, with decent speed.
Comment: The least expensive laptops are usually 15” simply because people will pay more for the smaller more portable 13” and 14” laptops. Since weight, battery life, and heat are not issues, the inexpensive T series Core 2 Duos and dual cores, such as T6600 or T4300 are good options. Some people may look at AMD options, but be sure to check the Passmark ratings on those CPU’s to make sure you’re getting a decent speed.
For the most reliable computer – choose a Dell Workstation For the fastest computer – choose an i7 computer For a very fast, yet affordable - choose Core 2 Quad machines For the most affordable and yet fast -choose Core 2 Duo
The effective speed (Passmark Benchmark Score) of the CPU is shown in parentheses:
1. Dell T3500 Workstation -W3520- Windows 7 Prof/XP, 3 Yr War $1069 (5849) Why? Workstation reliability, ecc RAM, Dedicated Tech, i7 speed. 2. Dell Studio XPS 8000 – i7-860, Windows 7 Prem, 1 Yr War. $798 (5985) Why? Best deal overall, i7 speed. 3. Apple iMac 27” – i7-860, Apple Snow Leopard, 1 Yr War. $2199 (5985) Why? It’s a Mac. Gorgeous display. i7.
4. Dell Studio Slim Desktop- Q8300, Windows 7 Prem, 1 Yr War $499 (3952) Why? Excellent price for Quad core, good build quality. 5. Asus - Essentio Desktop – Q8300-Windows 7 Prem 64-bit $649 (4177) Why? Asus quality, available at local store, excellent speed.
Core 2 Duo Desktops – Great Price, Good Performance, Duo ( 2 CPU’s built in)
6. Dell T3400 Workstation – E7400 - XP/Windows 7 Pro, 3 Year War. $649 (2456) Why? Workstation Reliability, ECC RAM, Dedicated Tech Support, 3 yr. 7. Dell Studio Slim Desktop- E5300, Windows 7 Prem, 1 Yr War $399 (2078) Why? Affordable, good performance, G45 Express chipset. 8. Asus - Essentio Desktop - E5300-Windows 7 Prem 64-bit $449 (2165) Why? Asus quality, available in local store, good speed. 9. Mac Mini – P7550 Core 2 Duo, 1 yr War. $599 (1635) Why? Least expensive machine to get into the Mac world. Good speed. 10. Dell Inspiron Desktp I545S-1476NBK, E5300 Wind 7 Prem 64-bit $479 (2100) Why? Inexpensive, locally available, good speed.
Should I get a Mac? Many Mac-users will insist that Macs are better in every way imaginable, but in reality Macs are very good machines but PC's at the same price are also very good.Windows XP is an excellent operating system that works with just about everything in the world. The same cannot be said about Macs. Macs have a limited number of programs that do everything that most people want to do, but it's not everything. Macs have less potential functionality, but have more out of the box functionality than PC's. Some programs simply do not exist for the Mac (ie Adobe Framemaker, the best program to create a long document with figures, such as book or thesis) or take years before they reach the Mac (slingbox viewer). These omissions seem to be insignificant until you need the program. Here's a couple of links concerning Macs vs. PC's
