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From Laptops Encyclopedia
| 3 | September | 2010 |
All laptops are portable computers because of their design. A laptop is smaller, lighter, tougher, and much less demanding on electrical power than a desktop machine. The current laptop models include the same hardware characteristics of a desktop computer, motherboard, built-in high resolution flat LCD color display, processor, keyboard (depending on the range, either a smaller keyboard or a full US layout keyboard), an easy to use but unobtrusive mouse, trackball (also known as touchpad), video chipset (dedicated or shared), speakers (mono or stereo), connectivity ports, and a high-capacity, relatively lightweight battery, rechargeable using an AC adapter, usually shipped within the retail box. Unlike desktop computers, laptops are limited in their capacity to be upgraded. It is more likely that a laptop will keep its hardware specification through all its life cycle. Some laptop manufacturers allow several limited expensive upgrades.
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Evolution
When the first laptop was launched (within a suitcase size form factor) on the market it was called portable computer because of its special feature, portability. This portable computer had a CRT monitor, a handle on top, and a long electrical power. Some preferred calling them luggable computers or transportable computers. Later on, the first battery powered computers were released on the market. They were called laptop computers. These computers were using monochrome screens, and later color LCD screens. Because the hardware components became lighter, smaller and better packed together, manufacturers decided to release a sibling of the laptop, the notebook, and later on subnotebook.
These names indicate the dimension category of each portable computer. In time, the difference between laptops and notebooks became a matter of a few inches in width and length, and even smaller within thickness. The same difference can be found between notebooks and subnotebooks. However, there is a consistent difference between laptops and subnotebooks, not only in sizes, but also in hardware specifications. Laptops vary in terms of weight and dimensions strictly because of the diagonal screen. Therefore, a portable computer is included within laptop, notebook, or subnotebook categories strictly because of the display.
The terms of laptop and notebook are not interchangeable. In time, laptop became the expression of desktop replacement, while notebook became the new laptop in terms of portability, but adding another essential feature, autonomy.
Classification
Diagonal display
In the present days, September 2010, we can easily distinguish three portable computer categories by the diagonal display:
- Laptop (or desktop replacement) – easily compete with performance delivered by desktop computers, with a display diagonal over 15 inches (15.4 inches, 15.6 inches, 16 inches, 17 inches, 17.3 inches, 18 inches, 18.1 inches);
- Notebook – the perfect balance between performance and portability, with a screen diagonal varying between the lower 13 inches to upper 15 inches;
- Subnotebook – today called netbooks, with a maximum diagonal screen of 12 inches (the lowest diagonal screen of a subnotebook is 8.9 inches, value that might change depending on the market direction).
Purpose
A laptop, or portable computer, can also be classified by its purpose:
- Business – powerful processor, significant RAM, medium ROM, less multimedia features, better battery life.
- All-in-One – the desktop replacement laptops are included within this range, with good to excellent performances and multimedia features, but with a bad battery life.
- Multimedia – notebooks or laptops that are strictly developed for the best audio and video experience, delivered within a spectacular design.
- Gaming – probably the most powerful laptops on the market.
- Netbook – excellent for anyone who needs a permanent travel computer with fast access to internet, a new range that is still trying to make a statement.
- Ultraportable – notebook with small weight (subnotebook weight) combining Business and Multimedia features.
Components
Although progress is the key term within computer technology, laptops components are still far from being equivalent to the desktop computer components. Performances can be similar, but in the hardware core, laptops are still inferior to desktop computers. This will never be fully corrected since laptops are bound to have a small and light form factor with never sufficient space while desktop computers do not have these disadvantages.
The hardware structure of laptops is similar to the desktop computers, but some components, such as the motherboard, are re-engineered. Within the last years manufacturers started paying more attention to the hardware details. All portable computers, laptops, notebooks, and subnotebooks have the following hardware components:
- Motherboard – also known as mainboard, is the primary component of the laptop (or computer in general speaking); the laptop motherboards are different in construction and form factor than the desktop computer motherboard; although in general speaking a motherboard is a large printed circuit with connectors for expansion cards, processor, memory modules and others, the laptop motherboard can easily lack expansion slots for the expansion cards, with all the functionality embedded on the motherboard itself; however, other laptop motherboards can easily have more than one standard included, such as Express Card, or others; also the laptop motherboard generally includes a number of onboard networking and multimedia devices such as graphic card, network card, upgraded hard drive controllers, and integrated sound card.
- Processor – also known as central processing unit or CPU, are special developed for laptops in order to produce less heat and save more power; however laptop processors are inferior to desktop computer processors (usually with one generation); the laptop’s CPU includes the same function, processing numeric data, meaning information entered in binary form, and the execution stored in memory; there are a lot of laptop processor on the market from several manufacturers, including Intel (with Pentium M, Celeron M, Intel Dual Core, Intel Core 2 Duo, and Intel Core 2 Extreme and others), AMD (with Turion, Sempron, and Athlon) and other manufacturers; mostly the laptop processor is solded on the motherboard and is non-replaceable.
- Internal memory(HDD) – also known as read only memory (ROM) is the type of memory that stores data without electrical current; it is also called non volatile memory since no data is erased when the computer is turned off; laptop hard disks are smaller (from 1.8 inches to 2.5 inches) than the ones found on the desktop computer, 3.5 inches. Depending on the portable computer range the hard drives can easily vary from the low 80 GB with only 4200 RPM to 500 GB 7200 RPM. Also some laptops have two hard drives available, primary storage and second storage allowing up to 1 TB 7200 RPM total storage. Also available for business range laptops are the Solid State Drives or SSD, common within the 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB, and the latest version, 512 GB SSD.
- Media drives – is a standard element within any notebook and laptop; however a subnotebook does not contain a DVD/CD reader/writer (available as a separate purchase with a USB connector). Blu-ray drives are becoming more popular within laptop configurations even if they are mostly available in customized configurations.
- Display – the laptop display unit with a varying diagonal screen from the smallest 8.9 inches to a little over 18 inches; although there are many resolutions, modern laptops seem to use only a few resolutions, UXGA mode (Ultra eXtended Graphics Array), 1600 x 1200, WXGA (Wide eXtended Graphics Array), 1280 x 800, XGA (eXtended Graphics Array) second version, 1024 x 768, WSXGA+ (Wide Super eXtended Graphics Array+) with 1680 x 1050, WUXGA mode, (Wide eXtended Graphics Array) with 1920 x 1200.
- Video display controller – the most common solution found on laptops is the embedded video controller into the chipset. The video controller is also known as graphic adapter, video card or graphic accelerator. The graphic card is the laptop component which converts the digital data into a graphical form in order to be displayed on the screen. However, the high end laptop models, including the gaming laptops have dedicated graphic processors on the motherboard that will provide good graphic performances.
- Random Access Memory – also known as RAM, is generally separated within two important categories, DRAM – Dynamic Random Access Module – inexpensive, but mostly used on desktop computers, and SRAM – Static Random Access Module – which are fast but expensive (and about half a size of desktop DIMM’s). The SO-DIMM memory module is located either at the bottom of the laptop (in order to be easy to upgrade, or change by the user), or under the keyboard and the mainboard (making them impossible to reach for a user). Depending on the location where the laptops are sold manufacturers equip them with either 1 GB DDR2 RAM 800 MHz (new models, or 667 MHz old models), up to 16 GB DDR3 RAM 1333 MHz. However, the middle range laptops usually have 3-4 GB DDR2 RAM with 800 MHz. beside the market location, RAM memory can vary depending on the portable computer range, laptop, notebook, and subnotebook.
- Battery – laptops are nowadays delivered with a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery. However, there are several other battery types such as NiCad (Nickel-Cadmium: rechargeable battery not used anymore because it suffered from the memory effect), NiMH (Nickel-Hybrid Metal: rechargeable battery that works better than the NiCad), Li-Polymer (Lithium-Polymer: rechargeable battery equivalent with the Lithium-Ion batteries in terms of performance, takes longer to charge and the autonomy is smaller), and the Lithium-Ion (the most common used battery within laptops, perform well and are reasonably priced). The Lithium-Ion battery does not suffer from the memory effect (it is not mandatory to empty the battery before recharging).
- Input/output Interfaces – this feature will enable the laptop’s functionality to be extended by external components, for instance PCMCIA or PC Card connectors. Another common port is the USB port. The first generation, USB 1.0, only allowed transfer up to 12 Mbit/second, while the second generation enables data transfer with a maximum speed of 480 Mbit/second. The IEEE 1394 port can be found on Apple laptops (FireWire) and on IBM laptops (i.LINK). It is useful for a rapid and secure connection between the laptop and a digital video camera. Depending on the laptop range and the shipping market, a portable computer can include multi-card readers with different formats, such as Multimedia Card – MMC, Secure Digital – SD, Memory Stick – MS, Memory Stick Pro – MS Pro, xD picture card and others.
- Audio and Video input/output – every modern laptop comes with a standard VGA connector, which enables connection between the laptop and an external display or video projector. You can also connect the laptop to a television if the laptop includes a video output or TV output or an S-Video connector. Also common is the headphone and microphone jacks and the mono or stereo speakers. Some laptops also include S/PDIF output - digital audio output – that allows users to connect their laptop to a sound system that supports Dolby Digital 5.1.
- Pointing Device - in general laptops are shipped with a touchpad (touch – sensitive surface that substitutes the role of a mouse). Some laptops are also equipped with a track point (touch sensitive eraser tip located in the middle of the keyboard – this track point allows users to move the cursor with their fingers).
- Connectivity – the fast Ethernet is the most common with the RJ45, followed by the RJ11 modem, built in Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi adapters, Bluetooth technology (most common v2.0, v2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate, v2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate, and v2.1).
- Docking Station – mostly available optional, this device is will mediate the connection between the laptop and display, mouse, keyboard and other devices.
Disadvantages
The comparison between a laptop computer and a desktop computer is not correct, since both devices are delivered in different form factors, and target different customer ranges. However there are several disadvantages that need to taken into consideration:
Operating Temperature
Depending on what you use your laptop, several part component part, including the processor, run in the same time can cause a high temperature of the portable computer; increasing the temperature on the covers and keyboard (it can easily become annoyingly hot). Overheating is a real danger and should be considered a serious disadvantage since it can create severe problems when the screen is down (preventing the thermal dissipation). Even more, if you over work your computer, the overheating will not be the only problem.
Another problem that is strictly depending on the overheating failure is the noise, loud noise created by the heat evacuation devices. Also, the room temperature is important when using a laptop. Even if a laptop can survive during minus temperature, it can only run within a minimum 5C degrees and a maximum temperature of 35C. Otherwise you will risk your laptop integrity.
The desktop computer is not as fragile as the laptop, because if one hardware component would malfunction, it would not affect the whole computer integrity. A solution in decreasing the internal temperature would be obtaining a cooling unit for the laptop. These units connect with the laptop by USB ports and can contain up to three cooling fans. It is located under the laptop itself, with the result of keeping the portable computer cool to the touch, less noisy, and secure from rebooting or data integrity loss.
Construction and durability
The laptops are portable computers. Therefore, in order to keep it safe you should use a travel case, or computer bag, in order to keep it safe. Also it is highly recommended to invest into a security cable, Kensington ComboSaver, which allows you to attach the laptop to a fixed piece of furniture. Durability is a sensitive issue, which mostly depends on the manufacturer and the laptop’s price range. Even more, durability is part of construction materials and quality.
Manufacturers usually use plastic, glossy plastic for the lid cover and though matte plastic on the rest of the case. These laptops, made out entirely out of plastic are the not going to provide the same quality feeling over their life cycle. For a better construction and durability manufacturers offer (within a higher price range) aluminum chassis and base with anodized aluminum cover. This should protect a laptop better in time. However, the build quality is also important. Apple has since 2009 a new laptop case, unibody, with only one piece case body keeping the hardware components perfectly safe. The unibody case construction is used in both plastic MacBooks and aluminum MacBooks. It is essential not to drop the laptop or getting it wet, no matter the materials used or the build quality. In comparison with desktop computers, laptops are very fragile and costly to repair.
Performance
In general, in straight forward comparison on the same level, the desktop computer performance is better than a laptop performance. However, some laptops within the higher end range deliver the same performance with middle range desktop computers. Therefore, laptop performances are a drawback within a direct comparison. Even so, the high end laptop models are powerful enough for 3D gaming, video editing, and encoding, high resolution movie playback. High end laptops usually deliver good performances for a multimedia user. The business user which is dealing with math, database, engineering, and financial software should chose to work on a desktop computer.
Upgradeability
The biggest disadvantage of laptops is the lack of upgradeable hardware components. The most common upgradeable hardware specification of a laptop is the SO-DIMM memory. The rest of the hardware components, such as motherboard, video chipset, processor, optical drives are almost impossible to upgrade. However, these components can be changed in case of malfunction. Basically, a laptop’s hardware configuration can’t be changed in time. Even more, most manufacturers build their laptops after their unique pattern, which results in high repair costs for the user.
Advantages
The main advantage of a laptop over a desktop computer is the portability, and the compact form factor. The main motivation within choosing a laptop over a desktop computer is mobility and the need of save space. Laptops became more popular with the emergence of wireless networks, making it easy for the user to be online wherever it needs to be, library, park, office, home, school. Another advantage is the lower power consumption. And when you connect the lower power consumption with small noise (used within proper limits) the laptop seems the perfect choice for staying connected all day. Depending on the range, laptops can be certainly a better choice than computer desktops, since even the lower end laptop models include, nowadays, several important features like Wi-Fi card, Express Card slot, and memory card reader (plus the fingerprint security lock), features that are only optional on desktop computers.
