Laptop Performance Buying Guide

Laptop Performance Considerations Before Purchasing Your Laptop

With so many different applications, features, and specialized computing tasks available today, choosing a laptop has become a little more daunting in recent years. That is, in the world of laptops, the definition of a “good” laptop often depends on the function(s) the end user needs it to perform. Unfortunately, what sometimes happens is that they base their purchasing decisions on the judgment of someone else’s good. This can lead to a person not getting the most computer for their money and/or paying too much for features they don’t need or use.

To that end, this article aims to break down the various parts of a laptop, explain their importance, and compare the options available. While time and space prevent us from dissecting every model from every available component, we will discuss some of the most common options and the difference between them. Finally, we will focus primarily on the performance of the laptop, rather than all the “bells and whistles” out there. This guide will be written in a series, with 1-2 items discussed daily. Be sure to check back in the days to come for the full series.

CPU:

The CPU, or processor, is the “brain” of a laptop or desktop computer and is therefore arguably the most important factor in determining laptop performance. This element drives the processing of the computer. Organize and execute tasks and operations. It is the CPU that is primarily responsible for speed, multitasking ability, and overall function.

How to choose according to CPU:

1. Cores, Cores, Cores. Generally speaking, the more cores in a CPU, the better. So quad cores are usually better than dual cores, which are better than single cores, all things being equal.

2. How fast is your bus going? Another thing that is often overlooked when determining laptop performance is bus speed. In terms of processing, the “front bus” is the main cause for concern. The higher the number, the better (ie 800 MHz is better than 677 MHz)

3. CPU Category: There are many CPU categories/families. Within those families, there are individual CPUs that vary in functionality and performance. Generally speaking, within each family, there are two things to consider. The first is the speed, or MHz of a CPU. However, it is only one piece of the puzzle. The second thing to look at is what number the processor is within the family. In general, the higher the number, the more efficient processor. (ie: Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 is generally a bit (slightly) better than Core 2 Duo T5800. However, this is not always the case. If available, be sure to check the bus speed.

CPU Categories by Ranking (Best to Last)

1. Intel Core i7 – Very few laptops have this, but they do exist. In terms of laptop performance, these are considered the best. However, they are very expensive.
2. Intel Core 2 Quad – Available on select laptops
3. AMD Phenom II (Some of these slightly outperform Core 2 Quad-II 965)
4. Intel Core 2 Duo
5AMD Athlon II
6. AMD Turion Dual Core
7 Intel Pentium
8.AMD Athlon I
9. Intel Celeron

To make decision making easier, I’d suggest breaking it down into:

-Intel Core 2 Duo
-AMD Athlon II (make sure it’s not basic Athlon I)
-AMD Turion
-Intel Pentium

Note that there are variations of each family that perform slightly better than some in the next higher category. Use this box simply as one of the tools you use to narrow down your options. Before you buy, be sure to look up specific processors in terms of their specific performance.

My next article will cover RAM and its function.

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *