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I have my own criteria, but I was wondering what are some points people look for when picking a laptop (especially things that are not obvious to the community). For example, not having ports, such as audio and microphone, in the front, as I often put my laptop on my lap, and the headphones would jut out at me.

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Depends entirely on your use. What matters the most to people is different for each of them. some will want absolutely a num pad, others won't care. Some want to play games (graphical card more important than the rest, even the cpu), some will want to edit videos and large images (lot of RAM). Some want to use it while traveling, some want a desktop replacement. This question is only a wide discussion, and it doesn't fit well in our Q&A pattern. – Gnoupi Jul 17 '10 at 19:21
@Gnoupi It is a community wiki, also, I'm looking for some things that people dont usually look for, such as the ports being in the front or perhaps keyboard layout. There could be something from experience to relate. – Cenoc Jul 17 '10 at 19:31
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closed as not constructive by Gnoupi Jul 17 '10 at 19:24

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4 Answers

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The big factor for me is Hard Drive speed, which tends to be the primary bottleneck that makes a laptop "feel like a laptop." The majority of laptops still come with 5400RPM drives, and I strongly recommend to everyone that they grab at least a 7200RPM drive (if not an SSD at this point).

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+1 for SSD comment. – data_jepp Jul 17 '10 at 18:33
I'm waiting until I heard more on the write endurance/performance degredation issue (for SSDs). Also, people who buy SSD should make sure their OS has TRIM support, I believe.... – Cenoc Jul 17 '10 at 18:34
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  • Screen readability in the sun.
  • How easy is it to open the case. (Mainly for cleaning purposes)
  • Good linux support.
  • Case strength for obvious reasons.
  • Keyboard comfort - lot's of coding.
  • Screen resolution. Should support at least 1600x1400 and good quality. As I also mess around with graphics.
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I used to be a die-hard high-res guy; 1600 pixels wide minimum, but I switched to a 1440x900 screen last year to gain some compactness, and I haven't regretted it once. YMMV, of course. – JesperE Jul 17 '10 at 18:43
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The biggest factor for me when I was looking for a laptop last year was the keyboard layout. I just hate laptops that mess with the standard layout of the keyboard. Most on the market move the page up/down, home and end keys. If those keys are not moved, then the arrow keys are inlined with the rest of the keyboard (there is no space surrounding the arrow keys). I use these keys quite frequently and can't stand using laptops that put the keys in an odd location.

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Keyboard with depth to their clicks are big for me. I hate the mac keyboards for that reason, but love the thinkpad ones. – Cenoc Jul 17 '10 at 18:55
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In no particular order:

  • HD speed: as fast as possible. 7200 RPM or SSD.
  • HD size: 320GB, or at least 250GB.
  • Screen size: as large as necessary, but not larger. 1440x900 is a good compromise for me, but that's highly individual.
  • Keyboard layout: I prefer US keyboards, but since I live in Sweden I usually have to manage with a swedish keyboard. Dell had the option of choosing keyboard layout, but I'm not sure they do that anymore.
  • External DVD/CD player to save size, if possible.
  • Quietness: should be silent enough to allow watching TV with the laptop on.
  • Clean and nice design: if I get to choose between two laptops with roughly the same specs, I may very well go on how it looks.
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