Which To Pay For On A New Laptop, Video or Processor?

There are two laptop components that can't be added later, the video card and the processor. Sometimes you may have to decide which is more important to your buying decision, but hopefully you don't and can maximize both of them in your laptop purchase.

You can add RAM, a wireless modem, a modem, a higher capacity hard drive and external components to your laptop after you have purchased it. You cannot replace the video card or the processor after your acquisition. This means that these become the most important features to consider at the time of your laptop investment.

Today's video requirements are not any greater than any time in the past, there are just more options than before. A video card may or may not have onboard random access memory (RAM). I personally would not suggest that anyone buy a video card with shared memory (sharing memory with the processor of the computer). A 128 Mb video card is now the standard. This is double the standard of only two years ago. There is a significant difference in the visible speed of any computer, with a larger amount of video ram. Increasing to 256 or 512Mb is a MAJOR increase in graphics speed.

The central processing unit (CPU) of the computer is the primary determination of a computer's speed. Today's standard could be out of date tomorrow. At this point in time, the Dual Core processor is the minimum CPU requirement. A dual core processor has two CPU's attached to the same chip. The processor speed should be no less than 2.0GHz based on today's market and the ability of the computer to be viable in two to three years. You should try to maximize the processor to the highest you can afford at the time.

Here is the rub. The difference between a 2.2 and 2.4 to 2.6 GHz processor may not be enough to justify the additional $125 to $300. The jump to 2.8 or even 3.0 may be worth the increase in price, if you can afford to go there. You are better off in a fixed budget situation to increase the video card memory than to make a minor increase in the processor.

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