I am still on a quest for an ultimate laptop. And with the new generation of Ivy Bridge based computers about to hit the market in April-May, I figured it's time to start a new thread, similar to the one from last year.
Although some of this discussion may also apply to Macs, I do ask Mac fans not to derail this thread, as it is intended to be about Windows laptops. And as last year, I suggest we focus mostly on features, rather than specific brand recommendations.
Ok, let me start by sharing my thoughts and recommendations and you all are welcome to share yours!
RAM
Memory is cheap these days! Although 4GB might be enough for most people, I do recommend 8GB, especially if you run RAM-intensive programs or multiple virtual machines, as I often do. Ideally, I would like to have a possibility to expand to 16 GB down the road. (Remember, you need 64-bit Windows to take advantage of RAM above 4GB!)
USB 3.0
This is a must have in 2012! USB 3.0, which is 10 times faster than USB 2.0, has a lot of hardware already available: hard drives, flash drives and adapter cards, etc. Most importantly, USB 3.0 is backward compatible with all older USB devices. Intel is finally supporting USB 3.0 in the upcoming chipset, so this should become standard in the next wave of laptops.
CPU
The talk of the day is the new "Ivy Bridge" line of CPUs from Intel launching in April-May. Similar to last year's "Sandy Bridge", but smaller (22nm production process), faster, more power efficient and with a much better integrated graphics.
Video
Although a good video card might still be required for gaming enthusiasts and graphics designers, the newly redesigned integrated graphics in the Intel Ivy Bridge architecture might be quite sufficient for most of us.
Display
I find 15" adequate for most professional applications, without requiring an external monitor. I would be looking for nothing less than full HD resolution. If you require accurate colors, look for IPS displays. IPS (stands for In-Plane Switching) is an LCD technology which aligns the liquid crystal cells in a horizontal direction. IPS technology provides more accurate colors with no color distortion from any angle.
Update: It might be a good idea to look for touch-screen capability in preparation for Windows 8.
Form factor
The latest buzz is "Ultrabook", a term trademarked by Intel. Light, less than 0.8-inches thick, with good battery life, but mighty and with bigger 13 or 14" screen (think 13" MacBook Air). Some ultrabooks are already available, much more will show up later this year with Ivy Bridge. Although ultrabooks are excellent for travel and make much more sense than underpowered netbooks, I suspect they will still be too limited in features and upgradability. We'll see!
Hard drive
As far as I am concerned, the bigger, the better! 750 GB 7200 RPM would be my starting point. But I am also intrigued by the SSD technology - just wish it was more affordable. One great option offered by some computer manufacturers is a dual drive configuration: a small system SSD drive and a bigger hard drive.
SATA III (6.0 Gb/s)
Perhaps not so important for HDD, but for the latest SSD drives this faster SATA interface can make a big difference.
SDXC card reader
It is very convenient to have a built-in card reader to transfer photos and videos and also as an external storage. SDHC is limited to 32 GB. The new SDXC spec breaks that limit and supports cards up to 2 TB.
Other common features
These features are pretty standard these days: HDMI output, built-in webcam, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (preferably 3.0), ideally a backlit keyboard.
Although some of this discussion may also apply to Macs, I do ask Mac fans not to derail this thread, as it is intended to be about Windows laptops. And as last year, I suggest we focus mostly on features, rather than specific brand recommendations.
Ok, let me start by sharing my thoughts and recommendations and you all are welcome to share yours!
RAM
Memory is cheap these days! Although 4GB might be enough for most people, I do recommend 8GB, especially if you run RAM-intensive programs or multiple virtual machines, as I often do. Ideally, I would like to have a possibility to expand to 16 GB down the road. (Remember, you need 64-bit Windows to take advantage of RAM above 4GB!)
USB 3.0
This is a must have in 2012! USB 3.0, which is 10 times faster than USB 2.0, has a lot of hardware already available: hard drives, flash drives and adapter cards, etc. Most importantly, USB 3.0 is backward compatible with all older USB devices. Intel is finally supporting USB 3.0 in the upcoming chipset, so this should become standard in the next wave of laptops.
CPU
The talk of the day is the new "Ivy Bridge" line of CPUs from Intel launching in April-May. Similar to last year's "Sandy Bridge", but smaller (22nm production process), faster, more power efficient and with a much better integrated graphics.
Video
Although a good video card might still be required for gaming enthusiasts and graphics designers, the newly redesigned integrated graphics in the Intel Ivy Bridge architecture might be quite sufficient for most of us.
Display
I find 15" adequate for most professional applications, without requiring an external monitor. I would be looking for nothing less than full HD resolution. If you require accurate colors, look for IPS displays. IPS (stands for In-Plane Switching) is an LCD technology which aligns the liquid crystal cells in a horizontal direction. IPS technology provides more accurate colors with no color distortion from any angle.
Update: It might be a good idea to look for touch-screen capability in preparation for Windows 8.
Form factor
The latest buzz is "Ultrabook", a term trademarked by Intel. Light, less than 0.8-inches thick, with good battery life, but mighty and with bigger 13 or 14" screen (think 13" MacBook Air). Some ultrabooks are already available, much more will show up later this year with Ivy Bridge. Although ultrabooks are excellent for travel and make much more sense than underpowered netbooks, I suspect they will still be too limited in features and upgradability. We'll see!
Hard drive
As far as I am concerned, the bigger, the better! 750 GB 7200 RPM would be my starting point. But I am also intrigued by the SSD technology - just wish it was more affordable. One great option offered by some computer manufacturers is a dual drive configuration: a small system SSD drive and a bigger hard drive.
SATA III (6.0 Gb/s)
Perhaps not so important for HDD, but for the latest SSD drives this faster SATA interface can make a big difference.
SDXC card reader
It is very convenient to have a built-in card reader to transfer photos and videos and also as an external storage. SDHC is limited to 32 GB. The new SDXC spec breaks that limit and supports cards up to 2 TB.
Other common features
These features are pretty standard these days: HDMI output, built-in webcam, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (preferably 3.0), ideally a backlit keyboard.
