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The display size describes the size of the visible part of the screen of your portable computer across the diagonal in inches. Average portable computers have 15.4" standard or 15.6" wide-screen displays. The ultra compact category portable computers have the display size of about 10,1".

Some portable computers have the option of turning the screen to the angle of 180 degrees and close it with the keyboard – the result is a true tablet computer without a keyboard. These models are sometimes referred to as transformers or tablets - they can be used both as a standard portable computer and as a tablet computer. This option is very handy for reading or, for example, drawing when the keyboard is not required.

Portable computers that are positioned as a replacement of desktop computers sometimes have the screen as big as 17". A bigger monitor is usually required for editing graphics or reviewing big-size tables, etc. However, it has to be considered that a bigger screen means a bigger size and usually also a bigger weight of the computer, besides it can be damaged more easily during opening and closing.

The maximum resolution of the display indicates the number of colour points (pixels) on the computer screen. The higher the resolution the better quality (more detailed) image. For example, 1366x768px means that your computer has 1366 points horizontally x 768 points vertically. High resolution provides more information on the screen and this is directly related to the size of the screen. Nowadays even a 12.1 inches screen can have 1024x768 resolution. At the first glance it looks that this resolution is too high for this size of the screen, however, high resolution provides more comfort.

WVGA (800x480) is characteristic for old portable computers and mini tablet computers of the new generation. WSVGA – ultra mobile portable computers with the display of 10.1’’ (the resolution of 1024x600 can be seen more often).

WXGA (1280x800) – this resolution is mainly characteristic of 12.1’’, 13.3’’, 14.1’’ screen with the relation of sides of 16:9.

HD 1366x768 and 1600x900 is a widespread resolution for the budget and middle class portable computers.

Full HD (1920x1200) resolution combined with high capacity video cards (NVidia Quadro FX vai ATI FireGL) is intended for the professional level 3D modelling work.

WUXGA (1920x1200) – ultra extended graphical arrangement (screen16:10) is intended for watching HD TV.

Attention has to be paid also to the contrast and brightness of the screen. The screen must have the maximum brightness for using the portable computer even in very bright lighting conditions.

The screens of portable computers are divided into Glare, or flossy and AntiGlare, or mat. The advantage of the flossy screen is better contrast, colours and sharpness, therefore this type of monitor is preferred by home users. The disadvantage of this screen is the glare which disturbs seeing the image in bright lighting.

AntiGlare, or mat screens to some extent prevent the glare problem by "scattering". This type of screen is usually used in business class computers intended for working with documents and accounting systems.

This index determines the number of cores in the computer CPU. Each core is like a separate CPU that is capable of operating various applications separately. Thus, if there are several cores the operating system of the computer can distribute the load evenly between cores, so that the computer user can, for example, listen to music, browse the Internet and download files at the same time.

The processor clock frequency is among the main criteria of the processor performance. This index determines the number of operations that each CPU core can perform per second. The higher the CPU clock frequency the faster the computer will be perform the given computing tasks.

The CPU cache memory is the place where the CPU stores (buffers) the data intended for processing for a short time. The volume of the cache memory is important in determining the high-speed operation of the CPU and, thus, the overall high-speed operation of the computer itself. Bigger volume of cache memory means higher-speed operation.

RAM is a short-term data storage. This component determining the operation speed:

• allows the CPU of your computer to have fast access to the information that needs to be processed used by the computer application which you have opened;
• at the moment of opening an application stores it in its microchips, thus the memory capacity determines how many applications can be run by your computer simultaneously and also with how big data volume (pictures, texts, webpages) you can operate at once.

Thanks to the dense placement of chipsets the RAM of a portable computer has the same characteristics as the RAM of desktop computers. Dateks.lv recommends to use 3Gb or higher capacity RAM for general use.

This criterion determines the type of the RAM used by the computer,m and this is useful if you want to buy an additional memory module when you buy the computer or upgrade the existing RAM capacity in future.

The newest type of memory is DDR3. DDR2 represents an older generation accordingly.

Maximum RAM is the indicator of the upgrading possibilities of the portable computer determining how many Mb of RAM are supported by * this model of the portable computer.

*The possibilities of upgrading the RAM depend on the number of available free memory slots and on the amount of Mb memory in the basic configuration of the computer.

AnSSD, or Solid State Drive, is a modern storage device that, unlike hard disk drives (HDDs), has no moving parts and stores all information on NAND memory chips. This is why SSDs are much more reliable, as they can withstand shock, vibrations and temperature changes much better. The main advantage is the high data transfer speeds as well as the lowaccess time. Currently, SSDs equipped with a SATA 3 port deliver data transfer speeds of 500 MB/s on average. However, some drives using M.2 or PCI-Express ports have data throughputs

2000 MB/s.

Video card is a device that displays information on the screen of a portable computer. This parameter indicates what is the model and manufacturer of the video card integrated with the portable computer. However, you can forget the visually impressive and 3D graphics shooting or driving games because this is an integrated video card. An integrated video card usually uses a fraction of the basic memory of the portable computer.

For office and study use Dateks recommends to buy a portable computer with Intel HD Graphics video card.

For playing 3D games and using graphics applications we recommend to buy a portable computer with ATI Radeon, Intel HD or Nvidia GeForce series video card. If 3D modelling is the major type of use - AutoCAD, Maya, 3DMAX, we recommend to buy a portable computer with Nvidia Quadro or AMD FirePro card.

The parameter "video card memory" indicates whether the video card will use a fraction of the RAM of the portable computer for performing its functions or the video card has own memory of a certain amount of MB.

If you want to connect portable headphones or stand-alone, more powerful speakers to your computer you should certainly look for a computer with the connection slot for headphones.

If you don't make your choice at once later it will be necessary to buy an external sound card which is an additional expense and quite often not a very convenient solution.

This index determines whether the portable computer has the 1.8" mini-jack stero connector for connecting the classic headphones or computer speakers.

If this connection is not available it will be necessary to buy the USB sound card for connecting these devices and this is an additional expense and inconvenience.

This device allows to copy photos from the memory cards of digital cameras without connecting the camera. All you have to do is to insert the relevant card in the reader and all its content is available in the computer at the very same moment.

There are different types of cards (SD, MMC, xD, MS Pro, etc.), therefore you should verify whether the selected card reader supports the required type of the card.

Bluetooth connection provides secure wireless data transmission among various devices (at the distance of up to 150 m). This is a possibility for your portable computer to connect with your mobile phone, another portable computer, palmtop and other bluetooth devices without using any wires for exchanging Mp3 music, photos and documents. You can use bluetooth for connecting wireless headphones with a microphone, mouse, keyboard, printer and other devices supporting bluetooth connection.

Examples of use of the Bluetooth technology:

• transfer of files between computers or between a computer and another device;

• printing using Bluetooth enabled wireless printer;

• use of a Bluetooth equipped keyboard or mouse, listening to music via wireless headphones;

• synchronisation of the personal digital assistant (PDA) with a computer or another device;

• wireless connection to the Internet via the mobile phone or the modem server;

• connection to the Bluetooth personal network (PAN - this is the technology that allows to establish the Ethernet network with wireless links between portable computers, mobile phones and hand devices).

*For establishing a connection with a portable computer with bluetooth; all the devices to be connected need the bluetooth support.

Wireless is the wireless network connection via which the computer will be connected to the router or the access point. Nowadays the 802.11 B/G/N connection with the highest speed operation (150 -300 Mb/s) and highest security is most popular.

Via 802.11 B/G it is also possible to connect to virtually all network, just the maximum speed will be 54 Mb/s in connections to the N type network.