Notebook For The Casual User

The notebook has a great deal of features, but what you use it for greatly affects the type that you should purchase. The device is designed to be compact, transportable and still provide all the technological requirements that suit your needs. Certain elements affect these notebook features a great deal. Many are unnecessary if you want to use the device only for fun or for occasional use, and others are also essential. It is important that you know what you need so that you can make sure your notebook is a sound investment.

A recreational notebook user wants a device to be able to edit video, play DVDs, access the internet for browse and downloading games. For these requirements an internal CD/DVD will be required. These can be bought as an accessory, but if entertainment is the key requirement then it makes sense to buy one with inbuilt capabilities. This will provide instant access, making the device more readily accessible and less cumbersome for the recreational user. The inbuilt DVD player will make the notebook heavier.

The size of the notebook screen will affect the quality of the entertainment used. A larger screen is required to make the image clearer and more enjoyable. This will make the device bulkier and heavier, but if it used for recreational reasons, then this is seldom a problem. A fifteen to seventeen inch screen is perfect for the recreational user. This also means that the keyboard will be larger which can assist with gaming in terms of better and easier access to controls. The graphics card needs to be able to produce a good quality image on these screens, and so choose a notebook compatible 3d option. If it is inbuilt, check to make sure it is top of the range to avoid disappointment.

Any notebook has built in memory that can easily cope with an excess of word processing and document creation and storage. However, if you are using it for entertainment, then the size of the memory will be important. The bigger the memory; the best quality product you will receive. The memory affects picture quality, game choice, graphics, and game speed. If any of these are a requirement then you should choose a notebook with maximum memory to get the best possible results. If you are using a video card that says `Shared Video Memory` then this means that it uses some memory from your notebook. Small amount of memory also restricts the number of colours available and so again it will produce an image of low quality.

Downloading films and games from the internet require good hard disk space also. Many games are multi faceted and so require regular saving. These store lots of information including graphics, and so try to keep the amount to a minimum to get the best performance from your notebook. Games on disc use less memory, and so combine the use of the two for better variety. Add and remove downloaded films as required to get the best from your device. This is also important for the battery life.

Using a notebook recreationally runs the battery down much more quickly than for business use. The more information stored, the more output is expected, and so the battery will take the strain. Keeping a neat and well organised notebook will ensure you get optimum performance.