LAPTOP BATTERY TIPS

Tip 1:

One for sure way to have spare power during times of need is to purchase a spare battery regardless of your laptops rated battery life. Spare batteries can be a life saver when the need does arise.

When shopping keep an eye out for batteries with more cells for some laptops have this as an option. They give you additional power for your on the go lifestyle.

I know a lot of us sometimes forget or simply don’t have the time to fully charge our primary battery before we jam out the door to face another hectic day, so having a spare will spare you potential agony.

Some people I know are cheap, and others simply don’t want to carry the extra weight, but honestly if you do run out of the juice, and we’re not talking about OJ here, you will be happy you invested a little.

Tip 2:

Before spending your hard earned cash on the latest and greatest laptop, keep in mind bigger isn’t always better. While today’s laptop computer batteries work very well along with the advanced power saving technologies built into today’s laptop computer systems, picking the right balance between screen size and processing power is your best bet. Smaller notebooks plain and simple have lower power requirements. A typical 17-inch laptop for example can use 40 to even 50 percent more juice than a small compact 12-inch laptop. Much of this extra energy demand comes from the screen itself which you will learn about in tip 5.




Tip 3:

Maximize your laptop computer batteries by adjusting the Windows power settings. You can find your power options in the Windows Control Panel. One way to get the most juice from modern day processors with power saving technologies is to force the laptop to run in max battery mode. This can make a big difference in battery life but keep in mind this forces the CPU to run at a lower speed so be sure to change it back to it's original setting when not on the go. If you are browsing the web or performing basic word processing tasks this loss of processing power doesn't impact performance too much.

Here at Laptop-Computer-Comparison.com we also like to set the screen to go off after 5-10 minutes of inactivity, the hard disk around 20 minutes, and additionally we like to put the computer into standby or hibernation around 45 minutes. Adjust each setting to your own usage, for obviously 5 minutes isn’t going to be enough time to read a web page for a lot of people, and a screen that keeps shutting off while reading gets annoying quick. By fine tuning these settings you can dramatically improve a laptop computer batteries life.





Tip 4:

Here’s an easy but important tip, every so often check the remaining battery power via the battery power icon located on the bottom right near the clock. Simply position your mouse cursor over or double click on it for information, but do keep in mind that what is displayed is only an estimate for battery life is impacted by usage. So what you see is not exactly what you will get out of your battery. For example, watching a DVD or playing a 3D game consumes more battery power than typing in a word processing program or browsing the web.

Regardless of laptop usage, best practices like this will help you stay in control of the battery and not the battery in control of you. Feel free to also try one of the many 3rd party battery monitoring software out there such as BatteryMon if you'd like even more control.





Tip 5:

One major factor that reduces a laptop computer batteries runtime is the brightness level of the LCD screen. We always recommend dimming the screen as low as possible but just make sure it’s not causing your eyes to strain. You will see a nice increase in battery life by doing this. This is performed pretty much the same way on most laptops. Simply hold down the function (Fn) key on your laptop’s keyboard and press the key with the brightness up and down icon on it till you reach your desired level.





Tip 6:

Turn off your wireless card or other hardware device if you don’t need it at the moment. Most laptops have a switch somewhere so you can turn your wireless card on and off. If you have a wireless or other card plugged into the PC Card slot it is a good idea to remove it also. By not using a mouse you can also spare a little energy and listening to a music CD or watching a DVD will drain your battery big time.





Tip 7:

One of best tips and best practices for anyone with a laptop is to simply charge it whenever possible so when you do go mobile it is just as ready as you are to go to work. Charge it before leaving your home, when you get home, at a friends house, at work, or anywhere else if the opportunity arises. If you are a busy always on the go person a car inverter is a sweet thing to have. Auto inverters convert your cars 12v DC power into an AC power source that laptops or other devices use.

Purchasing an additional AC adapter or a docking station if your laptop supports one to keep at home makes plugging in the laptop not seem like a chore anymore. I personally keep a second AC adapter plugged in at home so I don’t have to unravel my adapter and reach under my desk to plug it in every time. I noticed after purchasing the second adapter that I often plug my laptop in first thing then when I step in the door even if I don't plan on using it.

LAPTOP BUYING GUIDE

In days of yore the first stop for cheap laptop hunters used to be the high streets and malls, however this strategy is nigh on useless if you haven't already formed an opinion and researched the specs you really need.....Why? Because then you leave yourself open to one of the most dangerous predators in the laptop jungle - the oily sales assistant. These folks often display a remarkable talent for over-selling. Indeed, 3 minutes after sidling up to you and asking innocuously - "Can I help you sir/madam", you could be standing outside the store clutching a smoldering MasterCard, a Josh Groban DVD deal sweetener in your back pocket, and the latest 3-grand multimedia monster stuffed under your arm.

What Kind of Laptop User Are You?

That's fine if cheesy baritone crooners and cutting edge quad-core gaming are on your wish list, but useless if you were just looking to run Excel and play Manic Miner on a ZX Spectrum 48k emulator. That's not to say stores have no part to play in the deal hunting process, but in my humble opinion they're certainly not the first port of call. First visit sites like Laptopical.com - read up on reviews and guides and find out what you really need and what to look out for. Then it's off to do some comparison shopping to find the best laptop deals out there. Just for the sake of generalizing, Laptopical has put together a few guidelines depending on what you plan to do with your laptop.

• Home User
• Student
• Ultraportable
• Business User
• Gamer

Home User

Most home users use their computer for all kinds of tasks - in addition to surfing the web, paying the bills and writing a few emails, the laptop will most likely be used for pure entertainment purposes; ripping CDs to beef up that iTunes library, playing some casual games, or hooking it up to a TV for watching movies might be some of the stuff you'll want to use it for. To simplify: You need a versatile laptop with plenty of hard drive space, a reasonably fast processor and a fair amount of RAM. If you're at all into gaming, a dedicated graphics card from Nvidia or ATI is a must.

Home User Laptop Buying Guide

Student

A tight budget doesn't rule out getting a laptop anymore. A few years ago you had to pay twice as much for a laptop as a similarly equipped desktop PC, but that has all changed. In all fairness, you still get more bang for your buck with a desktop, but it's not half as convenient. A small and cheap netbook like the Asus EEE could be an option, as they're easy to lug around between lectures and whatnot, but keep in mind that they're not suited for anything heavier than basic tasks like web surfing and word processing. Alternatively, you can get a budget mainstream laptop with more horsepower and skimp on the portability.

Student Laptop Buying Guide

Ultraportable

Portability is one of the main reasons to get a laptop, but regardless they come in all shapes and sizes, including huge desktop replacement models. What defines an ultraportable laptop is of course its size and weight; the screen should be no larger than 13.3 inches and the weight no more than four pounds. Thin-and-light laptops are usually not as powerful as larger ones because of the cramped space and limited cooling options. However, if you travel a lot it's easily worth the tradeoff, and even the smallest laptops can handle most work-related tasks you need it for.

Ultraportable Laptop Buying Guide

Business User

If your work only involves basic office tasks, such as editing spreadsheets and keeping up with the company correspondence, it's safe to say you don't need a super fast laptop with the latest gaming graphics card. There are lots of options for small and large businesses - from really cheap, low-end laptops with just the basics, up to powerful workstations with professional grade video cards. When you have assessed what you need, it's also important that the laptops have a solid and durable build quality and that the manufacturer provides the right amount of long-term support.

Business User Laptop Buying Guide

Gamer

The single most important requirement in a gaming laptop is the dedicated graphics card, and if you're really serious about gaming on your laptop it needs to be a powerful one. Because of the heat they generate, you normally only find these in larger, 15 or 17-inch laptops. Laptops dedicated to gaming are very powerful and tend to drain the battery fast and be very pricey, and it's quite a niche market because of it. Nevertheless, if you want to see your LAN party buddies green with envy, this is what you want.

NEW LAPTOP MODEL 2

Toshiba Qosmio G45

A powerful Multimedia notebook with HD-DVD and HD-enabled features.

Satellite M305

Carrying a nice glossy finish, good connectivity, Lableflash Drive, and 14.1 widescreen with TruBright Display, the M305 makes a upper class statement.

Toshiba L350

A 17 inch widescreen laptop that features less than stellar connectivity, and a soon to be phased out operating system...

Alienware m15x Gaming Laptop

The newest mobile computer from Alienware has landed. The Area-51 m15x mixes high-end features found in desktop computer housed in a mobile design. Th...

Acer Ferrari 1000

Acer sponsorship of the Scuderia Ferrari racing team brings the compact Acer Ferrari 1000 Laptop.

Asus G50VT

The 15-inch G50Vt gaming laptop from Asus uses the powerful Nvidia 9800M GS mobile GPU and should have no problem playing the latest games, but how di...

Toshiba Portege R500

This review is in progress, please come back soon toread our extensive review of the Tosiba Portege R500.

Alienware Area-51 m17x

Our Alienware Area-51 m17x Notebook review is under construction. Please come by in a couple of days to read it:)

Asus M70sa

Gathering the 17" widescreen in true high definition, the Asus M70sa has a plethora of connection inputs, and some serious storage space under the hoo...

IdeaPad U110

The Lenovo IdeaPad U110 is well rounded ultraportable laptop that not only looks good but packs enough power to handle every business related project....

Sony Vaio TZ

It's obvious that the Vaio TZ from Sony has been designed from the ground up with 100% mobility in mind. It looks stunning in its carbon fiber casing ...