Laptops Buying Guide
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Laptops Buying Guide


Whether you want a small, sleek notebook computer for travelling or a powerful desktop-substitute, you’ll find your ideal laptop on eBay.

Anatomy of a Laptop Computer


Anatomy of a Laptop Computer

You may not know your Centrino from your Bluetooth, but understanding these terms are crucial in helping you decide which laptop is right for you and how much to pay.

Here’s an overview of the important features that make up a laptop computer. If a listing doesn’t provide this information, click “Ask seller a question” to find out more.

Processor

A laptop’s processor, or Central Processing Unit (CPU), is its brain. The faster the processor, the better your laptop will perform. However there are a number of things to consider when looking at laptop processor speed:

Centrino: If you’re a regular Internet user who likes to be on the move, look out for “Centrino” in a laptop item listing. Centrino is Intel's mobile processor technology that allows you to use wireless networking, and it comes as standard on many new high-end laptops.

Performance vs battery: With a laptop, there’s a trade-off between performance and battery life. AMD and Intel make several processors typically found in laptops. Some optimise laptop battery life while others concentrate on performance. Mobile processors, with the word “mobile” or just the letter M in their names, are a good choice – for example Mobile Intel Pentium 4 or Athlon XP Mobile. These use less power and generate less heat than processors designed for desktops.

Unless you need a powerful desktop replacement, get a mobile processor to extend battery life and prevent overheating. Most users should start with a 2GHz Pentium 4-M, 1.7GHz Celeron-M or 2200+ Athlon XP Mobile and work their way up. Laptops featuring Intel’s wireless processor technology Centrino, such as the Dell Latitude, Sony Vaio X505, Toshiba Tecra A2, Acer Aspire, Dell D505 and IBM ThinkPad R40, provide the best balance of battery power and processor speed.

MHz and GHz: Processor speed (also called CPU frequency) is measured in MHz and GHz (gigahertz and megahertz; 1GHz equals 1,000 MHz). Processor speeds of 1.4GHz to 1.6GHz are fast enough for most laptop users. Popular laptops with processors around this speed include the Sony Vaio and Dell Latitude D600. However you will find many high-end “desktop replacement” laptops on eBay with processor speeds of 3GHz or more. Examples include the Fujitsu-Siemens LifeBook N6010, Dell Inspiron 6000 and HP Pavilion zd range.

Popular laptop processors:

  • Pentium-M: Battery-efficient but relatively fast, with speeds up to 2.1GHz. Part of Intel's Centrino technology with built-in wireless (Wi-Fi). Found in laptops including the IBM ThinkPad, Toshiba Qosmio and Dell Inspiron.

  • Celeron-M: Budget predecessor to Pentium-M, with speeds up to 1.5GHz and low battery usage. Ideal if you just want your laptop for email, internet access and word processing. Found in laptops including the Fujitsu-Siemens V2010 and Compaq Presario.

  • Celeron: Intel’s lowest-price processor with speeds up to 2.5GHz. More battery-draining than Celeron-M. Found in popular affordable laptops including Dell Latitude and Toshiba Satellite.

  • Pentium 4: Designed for desktops but good for laptop owners who love multimedia. Speeds up to 3.33GHz mean they get hot and drain the battery. Best for desktop replacements that you intend to leave plugged in. Found in laptops including the HP Pavilion zd series, Samsung P10, Acer Aspire and Sony Vaio.

  • Mobile AMD Athlon 64: Comparable to Pentium-M: fast, wireless-compatible and good for battery life. Found in Compaq Presario and Acer Ferrari series.

  • AMD Athlon 64: Fast and popular among computer gamers; usually found in desktop replacements. Drains the battery. Also found in Compaq Presario and Acer Ferrari series.

Note: On eBay you’ll find similar laptops containing different processors. For example the hugely popular Dell Latitude and Sony Vaio laptops are available on eBay with Pentium-M, Celeron-M or Pentium 4 processors. Make sure you know the processor type and speed before you bid.

Hard Drive

Your computer’s operating system and all your files and documents are stored on the hard drive (also known as hard disk). You only need a 20GB to 40GB hard drive for basic word processing and a few digital photos, but for high-resolution images, video or your entire music collection you’ll need at least 80GB. Some laptops can work with hard drives up to 100GB and even 120GB; examples include the Dell Latitude, Toshiba Qosmio and Acer Aspire.

Most laptops on eBay have hard drives made by a handful of large companies including Samsung and IBM, though Fujitsu-Siemens make specialist laptop drives.

You can access your laptop’s hard drive and transfer data to and from it via various types of port (“bus”), including USB and the faster FireWire/IEEE 1394. You can use these ports to expand your hard drive capacity with an external hard drive.

Hard drives are now found in all sorts of gadgets as well as laptops. They’re in MP3 players, PDAs, digital cameras and personal video recorders (PVRs, like Sky+). Samsung and Nokia produced the first hard drive mobile phones.

RAM Memory

Random Access Memory (RAM) is your computer’s short-term memory. The more RAM a desktop has, the more efficiently it runs. For example Windows XP requires at least 128MB RAM to run, though you’ll probably need 256MB. Most laptops come with a standard 256MB of RAM, but 512MB is better if you plan to use your laptop for digital video or downloading music. Check the laptop’s RAM capacity to see how much room you have for upgrades.

If you’re on a budget or just looking for a laptop word processor, models in the Toshiba Satellite and Compaq Armada series come with less than 64MB or RAM but are very budget-friendly. At the other end of the scale, gamers and video editors should invest in a laptop with 2GB RAM or more, such as a Dell Inspiron or Fujitsu-Siemens LifeBook.

Screen Size

Most laptops have LCD (liquid crystal display) screens that come in a range of sizes from 12- 17-inches, measured diagonally. The most common size is 15-inches, but if you’re planning to work on your laptop a lot or use it for video editing or gaming, look for a bigger screen size with a decent resolution of around 1024/768 pixels.

You may see the acronym TFT in a laptop listing along with screen size. This stands for “thin film transistor” (also called active matrix) and means the screen is designed to perform better in bright light and can produce clearer images – handy if you fancy working next to the window. TFT LCD screens, found on high-end laptops such as the Dell Inspiron 9300, give excellent displays for more money than standard screens.

Weight

Portability may be an important factor in choosing a laptop, but remember that lighter and smaller laptops tend to be less powerful. However, it can depend on what you pay. The most expensive laptops are small and light-weight but relatively powerful; the cheapest laptops are relatively heavy but not very powerful.

The cheapest laptops you’ll see on eBay weigh around 3kg (more than 6lb) – not ideal for carrying around, especially when you’ve added the weight of a case, spare battery, cables and external drives.

Not all heavy laptops are budget choices. Some desktop replacement laptops, such as Dell Inspiron 9200, Toshiba Qosmio G20-108, Toshiba Satellite P20-801 and Sony Vaio B100, have all the features you’d want from a full-sized desktop PC, and they tend to cost more than equivalent desktops. However they are too heavy for most people to carry around for very long. Fine for occasional trips, but not for very regular travellers.

Laptops described as “ultraportable” or “thin-and-light”, such as the light-weight Sony Vaio VGN-U750P, Averatec 4265, Apple PowerBook G4 and Toshiba’s Portege series, can be very powerful (and expensive) but are much easier to carry for long periods.

Ultraportable Thin & Light Bargain Desktop Replacement

Weight:

< 4lb

4-6lb

6-8lb

> 7lb

Thickness:

< 0.5”

< 1”

> 1”

> 1”

Display Size:

12”

12-14.1”

14.1”

15-17”

Connection Ports

Ports allow you to connect external devices to your laptop – for example a large monitor, printer, scanner, digital camera or MP3 player. Many people who work on desktop replacements connect a standard keyboard and mouse to the laptop, because laptop keyboards can often be too small for comfort, and touch-sensitive mouse-substitute pads can be tricky to use.

Most new laptops have one or more high-speed USB 2.0 or Firewire/IEEE 1394 ports, but ensure that your laptop has enough ports of the right type for the devices you intend to plug in.

Drives and Burners

On old laptops you may only find a floppy disk drive – if that. Most recent laptops have more sophisticated fixed internal CD and DVD drives and burners that let you transfer huge amounts of data to and from CD-ROMs and DVDs. Here are some of the drives and burners you’ll find mentioned in laptop listing:

  • CD-ROM (read-only memory): Standard on most laptops, and is fine for installing software from CD or playing music CDs.

  • CD-RW (re-writeable): Read and also record data to CDs. Good if you want to “rip” songs from music CDs and create your own music compilation CDs.

  • DVD-ROM: This DVD drive reads DVDs as well as CDs, so you can watch movies on your laptop.

  • Combination drive: The most sophisticated DVD drive is the DVD+RW/+R with CD-RW, which lets you write data to DVDs as well.Very handy if you want to save lots of data on a DVD, which has seven times the capacity of a CD

  • Hot swap bay: These bays let you insert and remove a CD drive, DVD drive or combination drive. With hot-swap bays you can always upgrade to a different drive later, and you can sometimes use them to attach an extra battery.

Laptop Upgrades

Upgrading means replacing an older system with more recent hardware or software to bring the computer up to date. A laptop’s size makes it more difficult to upgrade than a desktop, but it’s easy once you know how, and you will find all the necessary hardware and software on eBay:

  • Extra RAM: You may want to buy a 1GB RAM stick to increase your computer’s memory. To run Windows XP Home, Microsoft recommends you have 128MB RAM, but it performs much better with 512MB RAM.

  • New hot swap drive: Make sure your laptop is suitable – check with the seller.

  • New Ethernet card: Some laptops have an Ethernet or modem card in the PCI or PCMCIA slot (inside the computer), but if you have an open card slot you can quickly add USB 2.0, Firewire, an Ethernet port or wireless (Wi-Fi).

When upgrading hardware such as RAM, make sure your laptop can be upgraded and that the hardware is compatible. Before you bid, check that the seller can include the laptop’s instruction manual.

Tip: We’ve put together a Computers & Networking Buying Guide Glossary to help you understand the terms that appear in eBay listings.


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Looking for Added Extras


Looking for Added Extras

Lots of laptops come “bundled” with extra features and accessories, but don’t be put off if your favoured accessory isn’t included – many of these extra components can be found in eBay’s Laptop Accessories category.

Removable Media

Most new laptops have slots for removal media storage devices such as CompactFlash cards, Microdrives, Secure Digital cards and Memory Sticks. They’re an easy way to transfer data to and from a desktop or gadgets like cameras, camcorders and PDAs, but they should not be used for permanent storage – CDs and DVDs are more suitable.

Docking Station

If you’re using your laptop as desktop replacement, then a docking (dock or port replicator) can help you manage your peripherals such as a standard keyboard, mouse, monitor and printer. The docking station connects to all the peripherals, and the laptop connects to the docking station rather than the individual peripherals. The docking station also stays plugged in and powers your laptop so you conserve battery power.

Networking

Wireless networking gives you true portability, because you can access the Internet wherever there’s a signal – in your home or at a “Wi-Fi hotspot”, for example in a Wi-Fi enabled café.

To go online wirelessly, look out for new laptops that have Centrino – Intel's mobile processor technology with built-in Wi-Fi capability. These include new models of the Dell Latitude, Sony Vaio, Acer Aspire, Toshiba Tecra, IMB Thinkpad and Toshiba Portege. Alternatively, get a laptop with built-in Ethernet support, a PCMCIA network interface card and/or wireless support (the latest wireless standard is 802.11g; many laptops have the older 802.11b standard).

If none of this technology is built into your laptop, don’t worry. Go to eBay’s Laptop Accessories category, buy an Ethernet or Wi-Fi card and turn your laptop into a Wi-Fi computer.

For more information on wireless networking, visit eBay's Networking Buying Guide.

Bluetooth

Some laptops support a short-range wireless technology called Bluetooth. If you have a Bluetooth-enabled PDA or mobile phone, you may want a laptop that can access your other gadgets wirelessly.

Software

Many laptops come pre-loaded with a full operating system such as Windows XP and other software such as an internet browser (usually Microsoft Internet Explorer) and an email client such as Microsoft Outlook. Many laptops are sold pre-installed with trial versions of anti-virus software from major brands like McAfee or Symantec.

Extra Battery

Most laptops use Lithium Ion batteries with a life of 2-5 hours, depending on the number of applications you’re running on your laptop. Most laptop batteries take around 75 minutes to recharge fully, so it’s worth buying a spare battery if you intend to be out and about with your laptop.

Graphics card

If you plan to do lots of presentation work, video editing or gaming on your laptop, invest in a good graphics card with 32MB or 64MB of dedicated memory.

Cable lock

Most laptops have a security slot, but not all of them come with a lock. Look for listings in eBay’s Laptops category that mention a cable lock, or buy one separately from the Laptop Accessories category.

Carrying case

You’ll find new laptop carrying cases and special laptop backpacks on eBay at bargain prices. Essential for carrying and protecting your laptop while on the move.


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How to Find Your Perfect Laptop


How to Find Your Perfect Laptop

Now that you know what’s inside a laptop and have an idea of which features are important to you, think about how you plan to use it. It should meet your personal needs – and your Internet Service Provider’s system requirements.

Home Users

If you want a second computer to take from room to room for emailing, surfing the Internet and doing basic photo editing, look for a bargain laptop or desktop replacement with at least 800MHz processor and 256MB RAM. If you have a wireless home network, make sure the laptop includes built-in Wi-Fi.

Home user recommendations: Dell Latitude, Toshiba Satellite or Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo.

Home Office

If you work from home and travel regularly to meetings, you’ll want a laptop with performance and portability. Look for a fast processor (at least 1.7GHz Pentium-M), 512MB RAM, 60GB hard drive, high-resolution 15-inch screen, combination DVD drive and a weight of less than 3kg. Also look for an office suite like MS Office pre-installed.

Home office recommendations: Fujitsu-Siemens Lifebook, Dell Inspiron 5150 (Office 2003 pre-installed) or a widescreen laptop such as the Toshiba Satellite Pro M30 or 17-inch Apple PowerBook.

Frequent Travellers

You want a light-weight laptop to use at the airport and in meetings. Look at thin-and-light or ultraportable laptops with Ethernet cards or Centrino for Wi-Fi; Pentium-M processor, 256MB RAM or more and software such as Microsoft Office or Microsoft Works. Apple PowerBooks with AirPort Extreme provide similar wireless capability as Centrino laptop PCs. Also look for security features to keep your laptop and data safe – Windows XP Professional has file encryption features to safeguard your data, and you’ll find locks and alarms for laptop cases in eBay’s Laptop Accessories category.

Traveller recommendations: Sony Vaio TR1MP, Toshiba Portege R100-P-M, IBM Thinkpad X31 or Apple PowerBook with 12” screen size.

Budget Buyers and Students

Students may want a budget laptop for word processing, Internet research and email – there are plenty of budget choices on eBay. Look for a good 14.1-15-inch screen, a 30GB hard drive, a cheap consumer processor such as Celeron, 256MB RAM, plus features like an Ethernet card to connect to the college network and a dial-up modem for use at home. You can get these features in a budget desktop replacement, but your laptop won’t be very light-weight.

Budget recommendations: IBM Thinkpad T23, Dell Latitude D505, HP Pavilion ze5602EA, Sony Vaio FR415B, Toshiba Satellite or Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo. Macs are more expensive than PCs, but you can get an iBook with lots of consumer software for reasonable prices.

Multimedia Enthusiasts and Gamers

You want a laptop that’ll let you edit video, burn and manage your whole music collection, edit photos with processor-intensive applications such as Photoshop or play games with amazing sound and graphics. Look for a desktop replacement with at least 512MB RAM (1GB if you’re a gamer), a 2GHz or faster processor, and at least 80GB hard drive space. Gamers should also invest in a 256MB 3D graphics card.

Firewire/IEEE 1394 or USB 2.0 comes in handy when transferring data from devices such as your DV camcorder, digital camera or MP3 player. If you want to burn DVD movies, buy a DVD+R/RW drive. All these extras can be found in Laptop Accessories category.

Multimedia and gaming recommendations: Acer Aspire 9100, Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo, Sony Vaio A200 series.


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Mac Laptops: iBook and PowerBook


Mac Laptops: iBook and PowerBook

Apple makes laptops as well as desktops and iPods. The two varieties are the iBook and PowerBook, both of which are available on eBay with older (and cheaper) G3 processors as well as newer G4 processors.

PowerBook: The more powerful type of Mac is also the more expensive. The PowerBook is loaded with consumer software and features – especially the latest G4 models, which have SuperDrive DVD-R/CD-RW drives with iDVD software, iTunes, Bluetooth and AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi built-in. All PowerBooks have relatively large screen sizes, making them a better choice than the iBook if you’re planning to edit video, play games or work with high-res images. However some models can be very bulky.

iBook: Less expensive, smaller and less powerful than the PowerBook, the iBook also meets all your Internet access, word processing and basic digital music needs, but its lighter weight makes it a better choice if you’re moving around a lot and don’t need a powerful multimedia machine.

Tip: If you want to run Apple’s latest operating system OS X and the latest software, make sure your PowerBook or iBook meets the minimum system requirements. For example, to run iDVD 5, you need a 733 MHz (or faster) G4.


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How to Find Laptops on eBay


How to Find Laptops on eBay

There are lots of ways to find your ideal laptop on eBay. Here are a few tips:

Basic Search
If you know what you’re looking for, use the Search box on the homepage. Type in your keywords and select Computing from the drop-down box. For example if you’re looking for a Dell Latitude with Centrino and Windows XP, type in “Dell Latitude Centrino XP” and select Computing, then click Laptops in the left-hand list of Computing sub-categories.

Narrow your search
Just above the listings you’ll see a short list of popular brands matching your search. For searches in the Laptops category, these links may include Dell, Sony, Toshiba, Acer, Centrino, Intel Pentium, IBM Thinkpad, Compaq and Fujitsu-Siemens. Click on a brand to see matching items currently for sale. The list may also include popular search terms such as AMD, GHz, infrared, Ethernet and notebook. You can also narrow your search with the Categories list of brand names on the listings page. For the Computing category, the list includes Acer, Compaq, Dell, Fujitsu-Siemens, IBM, Sony and Toshiba.

Browse the categories
Start from the Computing Overview page and look at the list of links below the Laptops and Laptop Accessories headings. Click the categories that interest you to browse all matching items currently for sale. These categories include brand names such as Acer, Dell, Sony and Toshiba and accessories such as Anti-Theft/Locks, Batteries, Docking Stations/Port Replicat, PCMCIA Cards and Screens/LCD Panels. For example if you want an infrared webcam for your laptop, click the Webcams link to see a huge range of USB infrared webcams.

Use the PC Laptops Finder
Click the Laptops category link on the Computing Overview page and use the PC Laptops Finder on the left to find your ideal notebook computer. This tool allows you to choose your ideal brand (Acer, Dell, Sony, Compaq, Fujitsu-Siemens and so on); processor speed (from less than 400MHz up to 4GHz or more); RAM memory (less than 64MB up to 2GB or more); hard drive capacity (less than 5GB up to 120GB or more), screen size (less than 13” up to 16” or more) and condition (new or used). You can also enter a keyword in the PC Laptops Finder, such as Centrino, Ethernet card, Windows XP included, DVD drive or light-weight.

Want It Now
Desperately seeking a Dell Latitude laptop with Windows XP and Centrino, or an infrared webcam for your Toshiba notebook? Post a message on Want It Now and tell millions of sellers exactly what you want. Post your message in the Computing category for the widest audience, or target specialists by posting in Laptops or Laptop Accessories.

Go to eBay Shops
eBay Shops are run by experienced eBay sellers who sell hundreds of items each day. They tend to specialise in one area such as Centrino technology, Ethernet cards or system parts from brands such as Sony, Dell, Compaq or Acer. Click the eBay Shops link on the eBay homepage, then click Computing to explore items for sale by Centrino specialists, PowerBook experts, Acer specialists and so on. To search just within eBay Shops, go to the eBay Shops homepage and enter your search term, such as “3GHz Centrino”. The results will look similar to any other listings page, but the sellers are all Shops sellers.


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Buy With Confidence


Buy With Confidence

You may find the laptop of your dreams and want to bid on it. But before you do, here are some tips:

Work out the postage and insurance: Include the cost of delivery in your calculations when deciding how much to bid. If you spend a lot of money on a laptop, make sure the seller will insure it for delivery.

Check the seller’s feedback: Avoid buying from a seller who doesn’t have a good feedback score. Click on their User ID to read comments left by other buyers.

Read the item description carefully: This is particularly important with expensive items like laptop PCs, high-end software and high-spec components and accessories. Check whether full instructions are included. If the listing doesn’t say so, click “Ask seller a question” to find out before you bid.

Is it under guarantee? If so, what are the terms?

Check the return policy: Email for clarification if you need it.

If in doubt, ask. Important information about operating systems, processor speed and number of USB ports are crucial to your decision to bid.


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