• 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

Processor and chipset

When purchasing any personal computer, one of the fundamental factors to consider is the central processing unit (CPU). In a notebook computer this is even more important, as the CPU is not only the brains of the machine, it is one of the factors in determining how long the notebook will operate while disconnected from the mains power and running on the battery.

The processor must be able to deliver the performance you require while not draining the battery too fast. Of course, processor vendors are not charities, and the more value they put into the CPU -- speed, power reduction, lower heat emissions for super-portable notebooks, and so on -- the higher the price tag of the processor and, correspondingly, the overall price of the notebook.

Which notebook you buy, and which processor it includes, will in most cases depend on your budget. Within the AMD and Intel mobile processor range there is a wide variety of individual CPUs.

It's important to know that just because processors are marketed under the same brand, such as Intel Centrino Duo or Turion 64, it does not mean that they are all identical. For example, processors in the same range can differ in micron technology used, the amount of Level 2 cache, clock speed and the number of CPU cores that are on the processor. Within processor brands, differences exist in the underlying silicon gate technology (eg, 65-nanometre). Generally, the smaller the build process is, the newer the technology.

Other differences include the power consumption figures, the power management technologies included, and the amount of secondary (Level 2) cache on the processor. All these factors affect CPU performance, which is why Intel and AMD have both moved away from using just the gigahertz (GHz) speed to identify a processor and instead have started using numbering systems that they feel better label their products.