Laptop Buying Guide (Derek Style)

Today I am going to provide some insight into the world of laptops. There are a few basic criteria that I look for when I am deciding whether or not to recommend a laptop to a friend. First and foremost, is the processor. The processor is, in my opinion, the most important component of any computer. For any laptop the first thing I look for is does it have a Core2 Duo processor? If it does not it is almost immediately disqualified. Why? Because in my opinion any computer bought in this day and age needs to have a dual core cpu, but not just any dual core. Intel has a budget dual core line known as the 'Pentium Dual Core'. I do NOT like these processors at all. In my experience with them they have always seemed slow. To bring the price down Intel cut some corners on some crucial specs like Front Side Bus, and architecture. I would say for nine out of ten people a Core2 Duo CPU will serve them great. The Core2 Duo runs like a champ and is relatively power efficient. Intel did not cut any corners on the Core2 Duo, and thus it will lead to a happy laptop owner. The next major thing I look at on a laptop is the screen size. Personally I prefer a screen size of 16" or greater. This subject is really a matter of opinion, some people want an even bigger screen, some don't mind a smaller one. The next critical spec to look at on your next laptop purchase is the amount of RAM. RAM is Random Access Memory and it is the next most important internal component after the CPU. For any computer running Vista, laptop or desktop, I believe that you should get no less than 2 GB of RAM. 4 GB would be optimal, but 2 will suffice. Beyond 4 GB I don't believe that it makes much difference at the time being, but in the future more will be necessary. For the operating system, I would say that one should get no less than Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate. If you are an anti-Vista person then XP Professional is also fine, but make sure that no matter what OS you get, you must get the 64 bit edition if you have 4 GB or more of RAM. If you get the standard 32 bit with 4 GB of RAM, the computer will not be able to use all of the RAM and some will be wasted. You paid for 4 GB you might as well get the full benefit of 4 GB. As far as hard drive goes it really depends on what you plan to use the computer for. If you are only going online and reading e-mails then even something as small as 80 GB will be just fine for you, but if you plan to install a lot of games or store lots of video on your computer you may want to consider something in the neighborhood of 500 GB to 1 TB. A Terabyte (TB) is 1024 Gigabytes (GB). Other than what has been listed here, everything else is just personal opinion, I would prefer a laptop with a full number pad and a webcam, but neither of those are completely necessary to have a good computer. I hope this guide helps someone, thanks for reading.

The Intel Core i7

I think that a processor review is an appropriate place to start off my new blog. I have always been amazed by the growing power of computer processors and the i7 is no exception. The i7 is the most amazing processor to ever grace this earth. With four cores and two hardware threads per core, the i7 is capable of processing 8 instructions at the same time. The i7 comes in three different models, the 920, the 950, and the 975. The 920 runs at a core frequency of 2.66 ghz while the 975 extreme edition operates at a blazing 3.33 ghz. Rather than using a front side bus to communicate with the rest of the computer, the Core i7's use a QPI or QuickPath Interconnect. Both the 920 and the 950 have a QPI speed of 4.8 GT/s. GT/s is gigatransfers per second. The 975 Extreme edition has a QPI of 6.4 GT/s. All of these CPUs use the new LGA 1366 CPU slot so any motherboard you buy for them is built specifically with them in mind. All in all I am quite impressed with the computing power of these three new processors. Unfortunately the price tag on these monsters is quite hefty. (The 920 is the most reasonable retailing for $280, while the 975 retails for $1000). Once the price on these CPUs comes down, I will be converting to one of them at the first chance. Thanks for reading.