• Questions to ask yourself
• Desktop PC or notebook?
• How important is mobility?
• What will I be using the notebook for?
• How much do I need to spend?
• Specialised portable computers?
• Ultraportable notebooks
• Tablet PCs
• Palm/hand top computers
• Ruggedised portables
• Processor and chipset
• Intel versus AMD
• Intel notebook processors
• AMD mobile processors
• Other key components
• Questions to ask the retailer
• The market

Mobile AMD Athlon 64 processor

The AMD Athlon 64 was the first consumer 64-bit processor for a portable PC, a feat the Intel has only recently achieved.

Like the Turion 64 X2, this processor is also capable of running both 32-bit and 64-bit software. The Mobile Athlon 64 features AMD PowerNow! Power management technology, supports Windows enhanced virus protection and uses AMD's HyperTransport technology for FSB speeds up to 1600MHz (full duplex). Mobile AMD Athlon 64 performance processors each have 1MB of Level2 cache and speeds ranging from the 1.6GHz 2800+ up to the 2.6GHz 4000+. Each Low Power Mobile AMD Athlon 64 processor features a 512KB Level2 cache. This range includes the 2700+ (1.6GHz), 2800+ (1.8GHz) and 3000+ (2.0GHz). For more information on AMD processors, see the company's Web site.

Mobile AMD Sempron processor

Directly targeting Intel's value-orientated Celeron M processor, AMD's 32-bit Mobile Sempron processor is a vast improvement over its earlier Mobile Duron efforts and should help notebook vendors with the ability to produce inexpensive, thin and light notebooks.

That said, the Mobile Sempron processors have 128KB of Level1 on-chip cache - twice as much as Intel's Celeron M processors. However, Intel's Celeron M processors have much more Level2 cache (1MB compared to the Sempron's 128KB-256KB, depending on the model).

Mobile Sempron processors offer AMD PowerNow! Power management technology and supports Windows enhanced virus protection.

Other key components

So you're pretty sure that a notebook is the computer for you -- great! The next step is to determine the specification you will need. The core components of a notebook are its display, graphics controller, memory (RAM), hard disk, removable storage, networking options, peripheral connectivity, sound and battery.