01.Introduction

Laptops are a portable and energy-efficient alternative to the bulky home desktop.

Our report explains all you need to know about processors, memory, hard drives and more, and helps you match your needs with certain specifications. It also includes a guide to connections and ports and explains technical terms.

Laptop or desktop?

The first thing to consider is whether a laptop or desktop will best meet your needs:

Why buy a laptop?

• Portability: They're light, portable, and take up less space than a desktop.
• Energy use: Laptops typically use less than 20 percent of the power of a desktop.
• Performance: Laptops used to perform much slower than desktops for most applications, but are now usually only slightly slower. The current range of modern dual-core processors means that most are more than fast enough for all but the most demanding applications.

Why buy a desktop?

• Price: Desktops offer better performance at a lower price.
• Power: If you're into gaming or media applications using complex graphics, desktops usually have more power to handle them.
• Upgrading: If you want to improve the memory, graphics card, or other components, it's far easier (and cheaper) with a desktop.
• Ergonomics: Spending hours typing on smaller laptops can be a painful experience. A desktop computer, with full-size keyboard and large monitor, offers far more comfortable computing for hands, arms, backs, and eyes.
• If you decide a desktop meets your needs better than a laptop, see our separate Desktop buying guide.

Buying advice

• Start by setting a budget.
• List the tasks you need a laptop for, and where you will be using it. Compare this with our user profiles to determine the components, features, size and battery life you'll need.
• Try before you buy. The keyboard size, layout, mouse type and key pitch (the distance from the centre of one key to the next) vary between models, and you'll find some more comfortable than others.
• Ask the salesperson if the warranty is based locally. What's the turnaround time for repairs? Will you be able to get service while travelling? If your notebook has to be sent away for repairs, will they provide you with a temporary replacement?
• Consider buying from smaller retailers rather than national chain stores. Big doesn't always mean better and some smaller stores may have good deals.
• Be wary of buying extended warranties — they offer little extra protection over your consumer rights.
• And finally ... bear in mind that laptops are more susceptible to damage than desktops, so safeguard your investment with a protective carry case.

If you have problems after the warranty expires, remember that the Trade Practices Act offers some protection. Products should last for a reasonable time, regardless of the warranty period.