Laptops

By Joshua Erdman
Digital Foundation, inc.

I have searched far an wide for the ultimate laptop. After putting many hours of research and thought I have found the ultimate portable machine.

My Requirements

First I need to layout a few guidelines. First I wanted it to be fast, at least 2.6GHz (since laptops are never really upgradable), I also wanted it to be unique to my clients (you know, create some type of wow factor). I also wanted it to play DVDs and burn CDs. Since I wanted the ultimate I knew there would be a price to pay, but I was determiend to find out what would give me the best deal.

Resolution and Screen Size

The typical laptop has either a 14" or 15" screen, although sizes vary from 12.1" to 17.1". 15.1" is considered the standard. Since I wanted some type of wow factor I decided on at least a 15" screen. After looking around I saw one laptop with a wide screen for a total of 17.4"! (The Toshiba Satellite P25-S509. This of course was way too big and heavy (It comes with a large screen but the keyboard is small and does not take advange of all the extra real estate). But that got me into considering a 15.4" wide scren as a possibility, then of course, if I go with a large screen I wanted a high-end video card (an nVidia or ATI Raedeon) which adds to the cost.

Storage and Media

Since this laptop is litterally going to be my mobile office I need a lot of storage space. Most laptops come with 40GB of storage cpacity (I would not get anything smaller), but I had my eyes on 60GB. You need to be careful when looking into larger laptop drives. Many larger drives run at a much slower RPM so you may have a lot of space, but you find yourself tapping your fingers on bootup. I definitely did not want this to happen (especially when loading a presentation).

If I was going to take this laptop everywhere I needed it to be able to interface with as many mediums as possible, reading DVDs and burning CDs is a requirement. I would consider it icing on the cake if I coulde find one with a DVD burner as well, but at this point I have no idea how I would keep my ultimate laptop under $3000 with all these features.

Battery Life

The first lesson on battery life is to realize that the fastest CPUs on the market immediately qualify them as power hungry. If you want a laptop that will last a long time, you should go for the Pentium M processors (many of them are marked with the alternate label of Centrino). A Pentium M or Centrino laptop only comes in speed of 1.8Ghz or slower and I was willing to sacrifice the battery life. I honestly cannot play my best on Halo or HalfLife while driving at the same time anyway.

Accessories

The primary accessories to consider are an extra battery, a docking station, and wireless capability. I had no need for a docking station since I travel so much. Each place I work at will have power so an extra battery was not a necessity either, but wireless can definitely come in handy. Many of my clients have wireless networks and I would definitely like to spend a few relaxful moments at a coffee shop where I can sip my java and ponder over the latest news.

The problem is that as wireless became available it diverged into two standard or protocols. Originally there was 802.11b which is widespread but slow. 802.11a was released about a year later with speeds 5 times faster. Most recently 802.11g has been released and it is backwards compatible with 802.11b but has the speed advantages of 802.11a. With all that said, if you can afford it get an 802.11a/g combo card. If not, then make sure you ahve the 802.11g. This will ensure access to the majority of wireless networks.

The Purchase

HP Sells some very good laptops and I was about to buy the HP Compaq Business nx9010 Notebook for about $1500. It has the 15" screen, wireless 802.11a/g with a 40GB hard drive, 512MB RAM, and a DVD reader with CD burning. All my minumum requirements at a great price. The HP NX 9010 ranges in price from $1000 to $1800 depending on the amount of RAM, HD size, CPU speed and accessories. Even though this laptop meets all my needs, I was willing to spend a little bit more and still looking for that WOW factor.

Then I came across the Toshiba P15-S479. This was a dream come true! For $2200 I got a 15.4" widescreen, nVidia GeForce go5200 with 64MB RAM, 60GB Hard Drive, 512 MB RAM, 2.8GHz Pentium 4 processor (with hyperthreading!), and DVD/CD burner combo. This machine was also equipped with Windows XP Media Center addition, a TV tuner, remote control, and video capture. This machine surpassed all my requirements and has the WOW factor. It was a no-brainer and I have yet to regret my purchase.

Cost

Expect to pay $1500 for a decent laptop.

Manufacturer	Average Price
Toshiba Satellite P15-S479	$2150
Toshiba Satellite P25-S509	$2050
HP nx9010 Notebook	$1500

Click the links above for more information.

You might want to read: Purchasing a Laptop: the Sequel..

You might want to read:
Purchasing considerations for the Businessman

Article last reviewed: 12/16/2003

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Created by: Digital Foundation, inc.

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