Tutorial 1: Short guide to understanding spec sheet before purchasing a laptop.

OK, so most college students aren't "techys" and know what the specification sheets mean when purchasing your laptop for college. This is a quick blog on how not to spend $1,400.00 (half of a semester tuition at Univ. of Florida) dollars on a laptop, like I did. That's right, I paid that much for this beautiful machine (kudos to www.notebookreview.com for writing such a good review, I wish I would of read it before purchasing). During this post I'll give a small review over the important specifications that we must look at before over paying for the aesthetics of a machine.

Processors (speed of): This is often hinted as the "brains" of the computer, and is measured in Gigahertz (2-3 GHz). A processor basically dictates a few things like: price (faster, more expensive), how fast it will execute commands, how many processors the device will run at the same time (nowadays we have from Dual-Core to Quad-Core) and last but not least, how hot your laptop will get on your lap/hands (this is pretty important for us students). Terminology you might want to know when shopping for your machine:

1. Gigahertz (GHz): The speed of the processor. Mine is a 2 GHz, it can run multiple programs easily and after 3 years of heavy usage is still as fast as ever.
2. Dual-Core: Two processors running at once on in your machine, which ultimately makes it faster, noisier and hot.
3. Quad-Core: Same as the definition above except that, it will run 4 processors in your machine.
4. 32/64-Bit: This means the obvious, 32 bit will be able to process a smaller amount of numbers (slower). If you're not planning on running more than a few programs at a time you may not need a 64 bit. 32 or 64-Bit versions of software are not compatible, which means that if you have a 32-bit program you CAN NOT  run a 64-Bit software version on your machine. Make sure you know what you want/need to run and plan accordingly...

Memory: There is basically two types of ways that a machine can store data: Hard Drive and RAM.

1. Hard-Drives: "Permanent" Memory, of any machine, which is measured in Gigabytes (GB). Most common amounts of GBs are: 40/80/160/320 GBs. There are many types of Hard-Drives for Laptops IDE and SATA being the most popular. This WILL, I repeat WILL, run up the price on what you're shopping for. My machine is a 160GB SATA HDD and has been in used for over 3 years and still has plenty of memory to spare.
2. RAM (Random Access Memory): This is your temporary memory which takes permanent memory from your Hard-Drive as you work on it. RAM does not hold any data overtime, when the computer is shut off it will loose all the data. It is measured in Gigabytes (GB), it can range from 2-4GBs (this also may run up the price tag of a machine). I did not need a 4 GB laptop because my usage would ultimately be web-browsing, Microsoft-word, e-mail, watching lectures but, once again...know what you need to do and shop accordingly.

Weight & Size:  If money isn't an issue when purchasing your personal computer than you might want to buy a performance laptop that will last you years without trouble (my situation except I overpaid). HOWEVER, everyone's concern is the weight and size of the product, you do not want a big/bulky laptop to carry around campus.

1. Weight: Mine weighs a little over 4lbs, and I still think twice before bringing it with me to go to class/study. This, weight and size guide classifies my laptop in the "ultra-portable" section which ranges from 2-5lbs. However, if you can help finding a machine lighter than 4lbs and it meets all your needs, buy it, you won't regret it.
2. Size: While the thought process behind a purchase of a 17" laptop is: "I want a big screen so I can watch movies" is not necessarily wrong, but, it's not right. That was exactly what I said, with my previous computer and I could not take it anywhere I needed to. This current  DELL XPS is a 13.3" screen and is more than perfect, so I advice you that you go with something around that range.

That, concludes my short guide on how to better understand the MOST important sections of a spec sheet. Remember, know the needs that the product should meet, do your research and compare products/brands, don't buy simply for aesthetics and DON'T over pay. Hope I helped!