We are less than two weeks away from Black Friday and I’m also in the market for a laptop for my wife.  That being the case, I’ve been looking at what is out there in terms of computers and just wanted to talk about some things “under the hood.”

Name Brands - name brands dictate what the outside of a computer will look like, but the guts of computers are basically the same.  Computer companies like Dell buy parts in bulk so HP and Dell could be putting the same parts in their computers.

Hard Drive - they are actually putting 500GB hard drives in laptops now - that is huge compared to 5 years ago.  The thing to look at when deciding on hard drives is rotations per minute (RPM).  The faster a hard drive spins, the better it will perform and more power it will use.  So a 5400rpm hard drive theoretically will not perform as good as a 7200rpm hard drive.  Solid State Drives (SSD) are another type of hard drive with no moving parts.  The lack of moving parts reduces power consumption, heat and most importantly increases speed.  SSDs are still on the expensive and small side though.  Prices will come down in the coming months/years.

RAM - the more the better.  RAM (random access memory) is where your computer gets and stores temporary instructions.  Additionally, some systems have built-in video cards meaning your video (the speed you see) could use some of your RAM.  4GB on consumer systems is not out of the ordinary now - 512MB used to be more than enough.  If possible, max out the RAM when you buy and go for a video card with dedicated memory (512MB is still good for video cards).  There are so many different types of RAM, I wouldn’t even try to cover each one.  Matching RAM speed with bus speed is the main goal.

Processor - of course this plays an integral role in how fast a computer operates.  Processors go from Intel Celeron (slow/budget) to dual core (the most common processor at this time) to quad core (think 4 processors in one) models.  All these processors come in various speeds - 2.0GHz or so seems to be the sweet spot right now for a performance/price balance.

Bus - think of the bus as a street that connects all your components.  Would you rather have a street (667MHz bus), a road (800MHz bus) or a highway (1066MHz bus)?  A computer with a front-side bus running at 800MHz and RAM running at 667MHz would kind of defeat the purpose right?

Like always, some readers already know all this information and more, but some don’t.  Wal-Mart has already sold a laptop for $300 and similar deals will be all over the place this holiday season.  Matching budget, future usage and the actual hardware is what the goal should be, but sometimes cheap prices trump all.  Most people don’t need, or will never use, the expensive systems, but will not be totally be happy with the cheapest computer either.  Since there are so many computer configurations out there, it is helpful to know what is really being sold.

Happy shopping!

I guess the first thing that should be asked is, does everyone know what a netbook is?  Just in case you don’t, this is what Wikipedia says:

The term netbook was re-introduced by Intel in February 2008 to describe a category of small-sized, low-cost, light weight, lean function subnotebooks optimized for Internet access and core computing functions (e.g., word processing) — either directly from applications installed on the netbook itself or indirectly, via cloud computing. More than 50 million Netbooks are expected to be in widespread circulation by 2011. Netbooks (or sub-notebooks as they may be known) typically come with a 7-inch to 10-inch screen.

When I think netbook I think about a device somewhere between my laptop, a Macbook Pro, and my iPhone.  Basically something I can take anywhere without weighing me down too much.  This is not a desktop replacement or something I would use as a primary machine.  I would use this as a change-of-pace laptop or something I would take on the road.

Of course something else has to be attractive about these small laptops and that something is price.  Two examples of this category is the MSI Wind and Asus Eee PC.  Both these systems can be had for $500.  That isn’t chump change, but it isn’t much more than a gaming console.  Be quiet and don’t tell my wife, but I’m eyeing the Eee PC and I have a birthday and Christmas coming up.

These machines may not hold all of your music, movies and other files - some actually do have a lot of space - but it will allow you to surf the internet, write a document and check email, all in a small easy to transport package.

Is this a fad or are is there value in this category?

You no doubt invested a relatively large sum of money for your computer and I’m sure you want it to run as fast as possible - within reason of course.  Today, let’s discuss what many may be familiar with while others don’t understand: RAM.

Random Access Memory (RAM) provides space for your computer to read and write data to be accesseed by your computer - actually the central processing unit (CPU), but that is another discussion.  When computer memory is mentioned, RAM is specifically what it being talked about.

A computer hard disk/drive spins on a platter and it takes time for your computer to read this - a hard drive is actually one of the bottlenecks that slow a computer down, but at this time it is not cost effective to do anything about this.  Adding RAM to a computer reduces the number of times a CPU must read data from the hard drive - information is stored temporarily in RAM - which results in a faster computing experience.  RAM is volatile meaning data stored in RAM is erased when computer power is turned off.

So RAM is faster than a hard drive and since information is temporarily stored on RAM, having more RAM would improve the computing experience.  Now I mentioned computing experience previously and I want to explain.  Looking at raw horsepower in one area doesn’t necessarily equate to a computer seeming faster to the user overall.  Certain bottlenecks will cause a fast processor or fast-spinning hard drive to be a waste.  As a user you are interested in how fast your computer seems to you right?  That is why I like to talk about the computing experience.  Video cards play a role too, but right now we are talking about RAM.

How much RAM is enough?

I knew you would ask that and this is where I let technology take over.  There are far too many types of RAM, but crucial.com is a site that will do the work for you.  After navigating to the site there is a icon called “Scan My System” that will tell you exactly how much RAM your computer will take, an idea of how it will improve your performance (think improved computing experience) and even how much it will cost if you choose to purchase it from Crucial.  If you don’t want to purchase from Crucial be sure to write down what type of RAM they are recommending. 

Installing the RAM

First and foremost, don’t be intimidated.  It is not above your skill level to install RAM in your desktop and surprisingly even easier for your laptop.  He most important thing is not to have a static charge - you remember dragging your feet on shaq carpet and zapping someone - on your body.  Oh, and disconnect the computer from power too.  Keep in mind, there is no way I can guarantee you will not mess something up, but what I’m telling you is simple and will save yourself some money in the long run.  Businesses will charge you more for memory than you can purchase it online and they will charge you a good amount to install it.  The primary difference between them doing it and you is they are more comfortable doing it because it is something they do on a regular basis.  Hey, I’m uncomfortable in the kitchen, but that doesn’ t mean it is hard to cook everything.  Go for it!

I have included a video and I will say up front some things about this video (only worry about DIMM modules) are outdated, but I chose this video because it is short and there is no way to cover every case and manufacturer out there.  The important thing is opening your computer and installing the memory (on the motherboard) in the right place.

I think I’m going to be talking about re-installing operating systems next week.  Again, something businesses charge way too much for.

Don’t you think it is about time you get control of your computer? If you are fully aware of what is going on with your computer then this isn’t for you, but it would be nice if you gave any nuggets of advice you have to share. Also, and I just have to say this, if you are using a Mac you probably don’t have this problem.

The problem I speak of, the control you should have, is the software that is running on your computer right now. It is your computer and it is only right for you to know what is running - background applications too. We are living in a time where we have an application for so many things that computer companies and those with malicious intent will slip something extra in without you knowing. I’m talking about crapware.

Crapware is software that you don’t want on your computer. There is some debate concerning what is and isn’t crapware because a piece of software that one person wants might be something that another person doesn’t. Some software will fall in the grey area where people need - or they think they need - certain features of the software but it causes them grief by causing system slowdown or instability. Yes, there it is right there! What I’m talking about could be causing your computer to slow down right now. If that doesn’t get your attention this is either old hat to you or you are using a Mac. Otherwise, you need to know about crapware and what you can do about it.

For the most part crapware makes its way to your system courtesy of the manufacturer (Dell, HP, Sony, etc.) or is included as a bonus (yeah right) when you install other software. Think about it, you may enjoy playing all those demo games and like the fact that you have a 60-day trial of Norton Security Suite, but what happens later? One thing that will happen is you will keep getting bugged when those trials run out. Do you think those programs just start to ask you to upgrade or they are running in the background all the time? Yep, there is a good change those programs are quietly and almost transparently robbing your computer of precious resources. Don’t worry, there is hope.

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it’s fast and contains NO Spyware or Adware! I have used this one personally and it seems to work.

AutoRuns is a utlility I haven’t used personally, but I would hope it is safe and works since it is from Microsoft.  AutoRuns shows what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login and shows the entries in the order Windows processes them.  Good information to know if you think a dubious program could be bogging your system down.

One of the downfalls of Microsoft’s operating systems (Windows XP and Vista) is the need to routinely clean things up to keep the system running optimally.  This is something we should know, but it isn’t really verbalized as much as it should be.  Honestly, there are people who make money performing routine maintenance on computers.  This is what they love to hear: “Yes, my name is John Doe and my system is running slower than when I first got it.  Is there anything you can do to speed it up?”  Can you say cha-ching?