Some newbie questions about computer specs lol
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Sorry i know this is really basic but may i ask,
1) what's the different between intel pentium and duo core?
2) what's GHz? example would be 1.73 ghz. i know the higher it is the better i will be. What is it for actually?
3) Graphic cards. what are the top few graphic cards now. Mine is ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700 with 128MB, is it very old already? How to see a good one?
4) 60 GB HDD. I think i know this one. The higher it is, the more storage for files
5) 512MB DDR2 533 also known as ram i think. I know the higher it is the better it is too. But what is it for? Why the higher it is the better it is?
Also, i'm thinking of getting a laptop that is fast enough for me to open 20 firefox tabs without lagging. The above specs, which is my current laptop, lags badly when i try to open multiple windows or tabs. The screen will get stuck even when i sign in msn. Went to shop for laptops today and got all the brochures for different brands. Would like to know how to see the specs inorder for me to get the most suitable notebook. Thanks!
p.s Do tell me if there are still other important factor/specs to look for when purchasing notebook if you know of any! really appreciate it thanks!
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GHz refers to the number of operations a processor can process in a second. The processor will process things faster when it can do a higher number of operations per second.
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wtf... 20 tab...
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Originally posted by forfun_cash:
Sorry i know this is really basic but may i ask,
1) what's the different between intel pentium and duo core? meaning no of processor its running on...
2) what's GHz? example would be 1.73 ghz. i know the higher it is the better i will be. What is it for actually? processing speed...
3) Graphic cards. what are the top few graphic cards now. Mine is ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700 with 128MB, is it very old already? How to see a good one? no idea u go hardwarezone n check out...
4) 60 GB HDD. I think i know this one. The higher it is, the more storage for files Yes storage...
5) 512MB DDR2 533 also known as ram i think. I know the higher it is the better it is too. But what is it for? Why the higher it is the better it is? its to store data temporary...
Also, i'm thinking of getting a laptop that is fast enough for me to open 20 firefox tabs without lagging. The above specs, which is my current laptop, lags badly when i try to open multiple windows or tabs. The screen will get stuck even when i sign in msn. Went to shop for laptops today and got all the brochures for different brands. Would like to know how to see the specs inorder for me to get the most suitable notebook. Thanks!
p.s Do tell me if there are still other important factor/specs to look for when purchasing notebook if you know of any! really appreciate it thanks!
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Originally posted by forfun_cash:
Do tell me if there are still other important factor/specs to look for when purchasing notebook if you know of any!
brand of the laptop (nv buy acer)weight (as light as possible)
battery life (as long as possible)
warranty (as long as possible)
price (as low as possible)
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Originally posted by forfun_cash:
Sorry i know this is really basic but may i ask,
1) what's the different between intel pentium and duo core?
Processors from the Pentium series have one processor core while those from Core 2 Duo has two.
2) what's GHz? example would be 1.73 ghz. i know the higher it is the better i will be. What is it for actually?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertz#Computing
My interpretation would be that it's the theoratical maximum number of calculations that the processor can do in one second, though that number doesn't really has much meaning other than to be used for comparison among processors of the same series.
3) Graphic cards. what are the top few graphic cards now. Mine is ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700 with 128MB, is it very old already? How to see a good one?
I use the list below for reference whenever I need to compare between graphics cards. That card should do fine as long you don't run the latest FPS games on it.
http://www.overclock.net/graphics-cards-general/270292-graphics-card-ranking-3rd-time-s.html
4) 60 GB HDD. I think i know this one. The higher it is, the more storage for files
5) 512MB DDR2 533 also known as ram i think. I know the higher it is the better it is too. But what is it for? Why the higher it is the better it is?
Like the HDD, it's also a form of storage or memory (RAM stands for Random Access Memory), but much faster than it. Think of RAM as short-term memory and a HDD as long-term memory. It's easier to study on the day right before an exam and dump all those text into your "RAM", and simply vomit them out on the papers on the next day, than to spend days committing them into your "HDD". The downside is, in comparison to a HDD, that all those information start disappearing from that "RAM" once you "switch off" from exam mode.
Anyway, if you want to do something like opening 20 tabs in Firefox without lag, get Windows XP and 2 GB of RAM.
Also, i'm thinking of getting a laptop that is fast enough for me to open 20 firefox tabs without lagging. The above specs, which is my current laptop, lags badly when i try to open multiple windows or tabs. The screen will get stuck even when i sign in msn. Went to shop for laptops today and got all the brochures for different brands. Would like to know how to see the specs inorder for me to get the most suitable notebook. Thanks!
p.s Do tell me if there are still other important factor/specs to look for when purchasing notebook if you know of any! really appreciate it thanks!
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Hey thanks guys. You guys rock!
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Originally posted by forfun_cash:
Do tell me if there are still other important factor/specs to look for when purchasing notebook if you know of any! really appreciate it thanks!
Since latercomer did most of explained most of the terms to you. I shall answer this unanswered question.
Price factor:
THe cost of an higher-lower end laptop nowadays is about $1600 to about $1800. Although there are a few exceptions from certain brands selling it at a lower cost of $1.2k to 1.3k. The lower end ones are normally selling for sub $1000 prices. Before committing to one, it's best to check the specs carefully. Do also check the freebies given, the dealer and the brand reliability, opinions, how long has the product been on the market. These few factors decide the pricings of the laptop. There is a tendacy for an average consumer to go "woo ah" over freebies given from buying of the laptop. Things like a free printer, 8gb thumb drive ect.
Free gifts
From a harvey norman dealer: " These factors are countered in the selling price of the laptop, and the price of laptop is marked up due to the FREE gifts. so you are actually buying the free gifts indirectly
Brand reliability
This factor is quite hard to tell. However information is easily available on the net
A few notebook brands to name:
- Fujitsu
- HP
- Toshiba
- Nec
- Sony
Specs:
Average spec ($999 to $1400)
Core2 duo, 1.6ghz / Amd Turion 64x2 TL58
512mb to 1.5gb or 2gb ram 667 mhz
802.11a/b/g/ 802.11a/b/g/n
80gb to 100gb hdd 5400rpm
Card reader (most laptops of this spec has them)
Bluetooth (most laptops do have them too)
Intel integrated x3100 graphics card
Os: vista home basic/ business
Higher-lower end spec
Core 2 duo 1.8ghz to 2.0ghz/ Turion 64x2 Tl62
2gb to 4gb ram 667mhz
802.11a/b/g/n
120gb to 160gb hdd 5400rpm
card reader
bluetooth
Dedicated graphics from ATI/ Nividia. At least 128mb
Os: vista home premium/ business
Higher end spec
Core 2 duo 2.2ghz to 2.6ghz/
3gb to 4gb ram 667mhz
802.11a/b/g/n
120gb to 160gb hdd 5400rpm
card reader
bluetooth
Dedicated graphics from ATI/ Nividia. above128mb
Os: vista home premium/ business/ultimate
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The specs of the Average line might seem impressive. ( i agree it does)
However, vista requires a higher spec pc for it to run smoothly. Thus you can see the variations of operating systems offered in different ends
Acer (an exception) offers a lower higher end variant of it's laptops at cheap and attractive prices. if you are constrained budget wise, you can go for that however it is not reccommended
This is created by kenneth.
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vista needs 2gb to run smoothly i think...
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I'd personally stick with 4GB and a high end graphics processor for VIsta
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Originally posted by wishboy:
brand of the laptop (nv buy acer)weight (as light as possible)
battery life (as long as possible)
warranty (as long as possible)
price (as low as possible)
agreed. but what are the brands available to fulfill such personal requirements? lol. -
Almost all brands offe these requirements.