The choice of device directly depends on what processes will be launched on it. If the regular one is worth buying to use office programs, browser and 2D games, maybe even light content processing programs, then buying a gaming laptop for such purposes would be an unwise choice. A powerful gaming laptop is capable of running not only modern 3D games, but also withstanding heavy programs often used in various professional activities without overloading.

The main differences between a gaming laptop and a regular one

Processor frequency

This is the most obvious and most influencing quality. The more powerful and newer the processor model, the heavy loads he is able to endure. This does not mean that you need to deliberately overload it, but you can not be afraid of losing data due to a sudden reboot or shutdown of the device. Therefore, they differ from office ones in a large number of cores and their higher frequency.

Reference! For demanding processes, including games, it is better to use at least 4 cores and the frequency of each of them is at least 2 GHz. When choosing, it is recommended to pay attention only to reliable and confident manufacturers. For example, Intel Core i5 M-series or Core i7.

video card

This detail directly decides the quality of textures. A large role in video cards is given to its built-in memory. Modern games require a minimum of 2 GB. It must be discrete, because they have greater performance. Simple laptops often have integrated video cards, but their low power is enough for surfing the Internet, social networks and light programs.

Reference! Replacing a video card can be a difficult and costly or even impossible process, so its choice should be immediately treated with special attention.

HDD

Modern tasks, due to their detailed elaboration, have considerable memory requirements, they need to take up enough disk space to work properly and download updates. For this reason, office laptops that are not designed for gaming may have less than 1 terabyte of memory.

RAM

An important point that decides the smooth operation of any processes in the system. The rule “The more the better” works here. Currently 8-16 GB random access memory are optimal for most tasks, at least 16 GB is recommended for graphical applications. Many office laptops have 4 GB, and it will be enough for old games and undemanding applications, but no more.

Design

This is the first obvious difference. Simple laptops are made in a discreet, laconic design, but gaming ones use the ideas of futurism and cyberpunk with an admixture of different colors. Also often gaming laptops have a built-in colored keyboard backlight. But that doesn't mean you can't find gaming laptops with understated designs if you want to.

Battery capacity

If you often work on the go, then a small battery capacity will be a problem for you, as gaming laptops are characterized by increased power consumption. But most powerful laptops, unlike conventional ones, have more volume. For more or less comfortable work, you should select a device with a minimum battery capacity of 4000 mAh.

findings

The future device should be chosen based on your needs. Office devices are no worse and no better than gaming devices if you use them for everyday purposes. But if you need a productive portable device, then a gaming laptop will be the only right solution.

Reference! For a powerful device, it will be very useful to purchase a cooling pad. This will protect it from overheating of the processor, thereby extending its life.

If you are faced with the task of purchasing a gaming laptop, then you must understand that the “gaming” classification is conditional. Under this word, accurate information is not hidden. It simply implies that such a laptop is equipped with high-end components that can collectively “pull” most of the new and popular games.

Why the majority? Because every year system requirements for games are growing. For some of the expected game releases of this year, hardware parameters are announced such that even the best laptop available on the market is unlikely to pull them at ultra-settings.

This is an inevitable quality of all laptops. Their main advantage is their compactness and the ability to work autonomously for a long time, without connecting to a network. Accordingly, laptop components are adapted so that they take up as little space as possible and consume as little energy as possible. This does not fit well with gaming hardware, which, due to its purpose, cannot be called economical. Reducing the size of powerful video cards and other components specifically for a mobile base, moreover, greatly adds to the final cost of the entire device.

In other words, laptops for the most demanding games are not the best platform, but manufacturers are trying their best to meet demand and create machines that can handle the vast majority of existing gaming projects. It's not hard to conclude that gaming laptops are quite expensive.

How are gaming laptops different from the rest?

So, what parameters should a full-fledged gaming machine have? One could simply say “the best”, but this is unlikely to help us constructively approach the process of choosing hardware for a particular game.

Let's start with simple and clear things: a gaming laptop must have a discrete graphics card (not built-in) and a fairly powerful processor. All machines that claim to be gaming, one way or another, meet these basic requirements. Everything else (screen diagonal, amount of RAM and physical memory, etc.) can vary widely. Well, it's worth adding that perfect cooling systems (often noisy) and a mechanical keyboard are almost always relevant for a gaming laptop.

These are the most General characteristics. If you choose a laptop for a particular game, then you need to focus on the recommended system requirements stated for it. You can always find them on the official website of the game or fan sites. If you need a universal gaming machine with a margin for several years ahead, then you need to focus on the most demanding games, the release of which is announced for this year.

That is why, before moving on to a detailed explanation of what to look for when choosing a gaming laptop, let's recall the most popular games for which laptops are often purchased and learn about their requirements. This will save time for those who are well versed in the possible configurations of hardware and will help everyone else to better navigate.

System requirements for popular online games

Every year, several dozens of various multiplayer game projects are announced and released, and there is simply no way to list everything. Therefore, consider the stated requirements for the most popular. Unlike offline (single) games, they do not differ in exorbitant requirements, and in most cases even a mid-range gaming laptop will run the game without problems even at maximum settings.

Lineage II is one of the most famous and most popular online games of the 2000s. It first saw the light in 2003 and in 15 years has gained a multi-million audience of fans. Despite the fact that the game is old, the Lineage 2 and Lineage 2 Classic servers are still popular. The recommended system requirements are as follows:

• Processor Intel Core i7 920
• Video card Geforce 8600 GT / Radeon hd2600 XT or better
• RAM - 4GB
• 30GB free hard disk space

World of Warcraft- Another super popular multiplayer project with a multi-million audience of players from all over the world. It is updated globally every few years, due to which the recommended system requirements are constantly growing. The upcoming World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth update scheduled for September 21, 2018 will require:

• 64-bit operating system
• Intel Core i5-760 or AMD FX™-8100 processor or better
• Video card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 2GB or AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB or Intel HD Graphics 530
• RAM - 4GB
• 70 GB free hard disk space

EVE Online is the world's most popular space multiplayer game. There are more than 7 thousand star systems with more than 60 thousand planets in the game galaxy. Thousands of clans from different countries are fighting for power in space. In 2017, the game's audience was more than 330,000 active players. At different times of the day, there are from 15 to 50 thousand users on the official server. The recommended system requirements for early 2018 were as follows:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 or AMD X4 2 GHz or better
• Video Card: AMD Radeon 6790 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560, 1 GB VRAM or better
• RAM: 4 GB or more
• Hard disk: 20 GB free space

World of Tanks is an online game for all ages that does not need a detailed description. In March 2018, a global update was released on the Core engine. It's almost new game with higher requirements. For a comfortable game in World of Tanks enСore, the following recommended parameters are stated:

• Operating system: Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 (x64 version).
• Processor: Intel Core i5 or AMD FX-6xxx.
• RAM: 4 GB.
• Free HDD space: 36 GB.
• Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2048 MB or ATI Radeon HD 7850 2048 MB.

All of these requirements apply when using operating system Windows. For MacOs, Linux and other operating systems, the options may vary. Also, it is important to remember that all online games require a high-speed broadband internet connection.

System requirements for popular offline games

With offline games (single player) everything is somewhat more complicated. Developers of game projects with a multi-million dollar budget are raising the bar for hardware requirements every year. The graphics become more perfect, the volume of processed information is greater. It's no secret that gaming personal computers of almost any configuration become obsolete in 3-4 years. The same goes for laptops. Even the most advanced gaming laptop bought today, after 1-2 years, in terms of parameters, may not reach the recommended requirements of the next hit.

It is well known that it is computer games that set the pace of progress in the development of components for personal computers and laptops. Same goes for consoles mobile devices able to support gaming software. The fastest processors best screens and video adapters are needed just for games.

Those who prefer gaming laptops to personal computers, this situation is most disappointing. If in the system unit it is sometimes enough to change the video card, then in the case of a laptop, you often just have to buy a new machine due to the impossibility of replacing the graphics adapter. And the cost of a gaming laptop is relatively high. The system unit of a personal computer with components of approximately the same level sometimes costs half as much, but you can’t take it with you on the road or on vacation.

Let's list the most popular games for which laptops are often bought.

Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5)- the fifth part of the popular franchise about criminal adventures in the big city. A distinctive feature of all GTA games is an open world, a huge number of quests and the ability to use any vehicles (cars, motorcycles, bicycles, etc.) to achieve the goal. There are many reviews on the Internet on gaming laptop tests within the requirements for GTA 5. Recommended for this game:

• Operating system: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1
• Processor: Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHZ (4 CPUs) / AMD X8 FX-8350 @ 4GHZ (8 CPUs)
• RAM: 8 GB
• Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 660 2 GB / AMD HD7870 2 GB
• Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
• Hard disk: minimum, 65 GB of free space
• DVD drive

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a role-playing game from the Polish studio CD Projekt RED, the third part of the adventures of the witcher Geralt in a medieval fantasy world. A very large open world and almost revolutionary graphics for 2015. After the release of the game, most gamers had to upgrade their computers. The stated requirements for iron were quite high. However, even after 3 years, not every gaming laptop with average performance can handle this game. The recommended requirements are as follows:

• OS: Windows 7/8/8.1 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i7 3770 3.4 GHz / AMD AMD FX-8350 4 GHz
• RAM: 8 GB
• Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 770/ AMD Radeon R9 290
• Hard disk: 40 GB free space

Presumably in 2019, another hit from Polish developers is expected to be released - the game Cyberpunk 2077. System requirements have not yet been announced, but they will definitely be higher than that of the 3rd part of The Witcher adventures.

Most Anticipated Games of 2018

Far Cry 5 is a first-person shooter in an open world from the famous studio Ubisoft. One of the most anticipated releases of 2018. The release date is scheduled for March 27th. The recommended requirements are as follows:

• OS: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only);
• Processor: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.2 GHz;
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD R9 290X (4GB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 support)
• RAM: 8 GB.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a first person game with an open medieval world. The developers promised gamers a reality in which even minor characters live a full life. The game promises an exceptional level of realism, including in terms of battles. The release took place on February 13, 2018. Recommended requirements:

• OS: 64-bit Windows 7 or 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1)
• Processor: Intel CPU Core i7 3770 3.4 GHz, AMD CPU AMD FX-8350 4 GHz
• RAM: 8 GB RAM
• Video Card: Nvidia GPU GeForce GTX 1060, AMD GPU Radeon RX 580
• Hard disk: 30 GB

A few more games that are worthy of buying a gaming laptop for them could be cited as an example, but our task is just to voice the approximate requirements for modern games. The examples given are more than enough.

Next, we could move on to an overview of the possible options for components for gaming laptops, but first we will give answers to one of the most asked questions on the topic: how much does a good gaming laptop cost?

How much does a gaming laptop cost? About prices and brands

As mentioned above, “gaming laptop” is a very arbitrary definition. The price of each particular laptop depends on the level of components, screen size, and even the date of entry into the market. New models, regardless of performance, always cost a little more. Over time, the price goes down.

As for manufacturers, almost all leading brands have gaming laptops in their catalog. And the variety of models is very large.

The requirements announced for the most popular and expected games in 2018 are relatively high. As a starting point in determining a gaming laptop, we take the presence of a discrete graphics card, a screen with a diagonal of 15 inches (15.6") and a processor with a performance of 2.4 GHz.

For a clearer idea, we will divide all the equipment corresponding to these parameters into several price categories.

From 1500 to 2500 rubles. In this price range, all 15.6" gaming laptops and a fairly wide range of 17.3" laptops.

The most inexpensive machines with a 15.6" screen will cost about 1500 rubles. As a rule, they are equipped with processors of the Intel Core i5 level (frequency 2.8 GHz), a discrete card of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M level, the amount of RAM from 4 to 8 GB and hard drive with a capacity of 500 to 1000 GB. The largest number models of this class are offered by Asus, Acer, Lenovo and MSI. The minimum price for gaming laptops with a diagonal of 17.3 "with the same parameters starts somewhere from 1750 rubles.

The most productive machines with a screen diagonal of 15.6 "will cost about 2,500 rubles. The configuration can be represented by an Intel Core i7 7700HQ processor (frequency 2.8 GHz), an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 video card, 8 to 16 GB of RAM and a hard drive with a capacity of 1000 to 2000 GB. In addition to the already listed brands, equipment of this level is widely represented in the Dell and HP catalog. Laptops with a 17.3 "screen and approximately the same parameters will cost more.

From 2500 to 5500 rubles. In this price range, only gaming laptops with a screen diagonal of 17.3". There are single options from MSI with a diagonal of 17.0.

From 2500 to 3000 rubles will cost a machine with a sixth or seventh generation Intel Core i7 processor, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 level video card, 8 to 16 GB of RAM and a 1000 to 2000 GB HDD hard drive. Many models offer an option as an alternative HDD hard drive 1000 GB plus one SSD drive with a capacity of 128 to 512 GB.

The configuration of laptops with a price of 5,000 to 5,500 rubles differs only in a more powerful video card. The same screen on 17.3", sixth or seventh generation Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 card and in almost all versions one 1000 GB HDD hard drive plus one SSD drive with a capacity from 128 to 512 GB.

Gaming laptops ranging from 2500 to 5500 rubles are presented in a wide variety by manufacturers Asus, Acer, Lenovo, MSI, Dell and HP.

From 5500 rubles. The vast majority of gaming laptops with a diagonal of 18.4 "will cost more than 6,000 rubles. In the range from 5,500 to 6,000 rubles, there are literally single options. The high cost is determined, of course, by the size of the screen, but manufacturers quite reasonably assume that a machine with a large screen is just cannot have low performance. A laptop with a cost of up to 7000 rubles (18.4 "screen) will have approximately the following configuration: Intel Core i7 processor (4-7 generation), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M video card, one 1000 GB HDD hard drive plus one SSD drive with a capacity of 128 to 512 GB.

If you need a more powerful video card, you will either have to pay attention to models with a diagonal of 17.3 "or focus on a price of 8,000 rubles or more. The list of manufacturers is the same: Asus, Acer, Lenovo, MSI, Dell and HP.

Thus, it is not difficult to draw a simple conclusion: the cost of a gaming laptop is determined primarily by the size of the screen and the power of the video card. For the popular online games mentioned above, a 17.3" machine from the price range of 1750 rubles will be enough. This is the best option. For offline games like GTA 5 or Kingdom Come: Deliverance, which was released in February 2018, you will need a more powerful and expensive car.

Now, when we imagine the requirements of popular games and know how much a gaming laptop suitable for them will cost, we can move on to detailed description how to choose the right gaming laptop and what to look for first.

The main indicator of the speed of the laptop in games

Whenever discussing the advantages of a particular hardware configuration on the Internet, fans first of all compare the FPS. FPS (frames second) is a measure of the number of frames per second. Everyone agrees that at a level above 30 FPS, nothing will slow down, and not everyone will notice the difference between 30 and 60 frames per second. Nevertheless, The generally accepted norm for a comfortable game is a level of 40FPS. The higher this number, the better.

It is worth remembering, however, that the refresh rate of the monitor must also match the maximum FPS. So, if you are playing at 70 FPS, and your screen refresh rate is only 60 Hz, then it turns out that the monitor gives out 10 extra frames per second for nothing. It is necessary to set the maximum FPS value in the settings strictly to the screen refresh rate. FPS is regulated by reducing or increasing the quality of drawing in the game or the acceptable resolution settings.

By the way, it will be useful to know that the number of frames per second is always an average. Usually the screen displays no more than 25 frames per second, but for more "heavy" scenes with a lot of small details, a higher maximum threshold is sometimes required.

The speed of work is determined primarily by the characteristics of the processor and the power of the video card. When selecting components for gaming desktops, it is important to balance the performance of the processor and video card. One must match the other. If during the game it is found that the graphics card is only 70-80% loaded, but something slows down or lags, then most likely the processor is underpowered.

Gaming laptops generally don't have this problem. By default, manufacturers install optimally matching components in them. All components installed in a laptop, together with software components, are called a “hardware platform”.

CPU

As for processors, one could write a separate article on them, and even more than one. Since when choosing a gaming laptop, we just need to have a general idea of ​​​​mobile versions of processors, we will briefly dwell on the labeling and general categories for evaluating a particular model.

Processor Specifications

The power and speed of information processing depend on several characteristics at once. Each of them can be important in the case of evaluating and choosing a processor for a gaming laptop.

Number of Cores- from a technical point of view, the definition is not entirely correct. For example, a 4-core processor is 4 separate processors on the same board that work in sync. That is, any incoming task is divided into 4 parts. There are processors capable of supporting more threads than the number of cores. For example, the number of cores is 4, the number of threads is 8. Such chips are even faster.

Tests show that different games can be better or worse adapted to processors with different numbers of cores. So, for example, GTA 5 had an average number of frames per second (FPS) on a 2-core chip (with a frequency of 3.3 GHz) was 57.6, and on a 4-core one it was 109.4. But the average performance of a 6-core processor with the same frequency in the same game increased by only a few points to 116.8 FPS.

In other words, depending on the number of cores and created threads, the speed may change, but often the speed of information processing in a particular game depends on the adaptation of the software to work with processors with different numbers of cores. Most experts agree that 4-core processors are enough for all modern games. So far, there is simply no need for chips with 6 and 8 cores.

Frequency- a characteristic that determines how many operations per second the processor can perform. The higher the number, the better. Everyone, again, agrees that it makes no sense to buy a laptop with a processor frequency below 2.4 GHz for games. However, sometimes too high thresholds are also not necessary. The same GTA 5 can easily work with a 2.5 GHz processor. Even the most expensive laptops use processors with a frequency of 2.9 GHz, rarely up to 3.1 GHz. In turbo mode, performance will be higher.

Cache- the amount of processor's own memory used to optimize calculations. Depending on the model, it can vary from 3 to 12 MB. When evaluating the processor, it does not play a significant role, since the cache size practically does not affect performance. Manufacturers always equip the processor with the amount of memory necessary for normal operation.

These are the most important characteristics, the level of which evaluates the performance of the chip. There are other less significant ones, but there is no point in mentioning them here.

Manufacturer. Intel or AMD?

By 2018, the global processor market is almost completely captured by two companies: Intel and AMD. When buying a gaming laptop, you probably won’t have to wonder which brand is better. Gaming hardware platforms require high performance, and Intel has a clear advantage in this sense, even though relatively competitive Risen processors have appeared in the AMD lineup.

The variety of gaming laptop models in online stores has several thousand, and only in a few variants can you find an AMD processor. So, without going into details of the reasons for this state of affairs, we boldly answer the question of which manufacturer - Intel. Notebooks with an Intel processor have a much wider choice of hardware platforms.

Processor markingsIntel

Since almost all gaming laptops use Intel processors, then it’s worth dwelling on the marking of chips from this company in more detail. In the framework of this article, we will only talk in detail about the processors of the Core line, since they are installed in game modifications. Less productive Atom, Celeron and Pentium are installed in office laptops and universal format machines. The most powerful Xeon E are installed in workstations, hardware platforms for high-performance computing (3D modeling, animation, etc.).

The architecture, generation, and version number of the processor can be identified by marking. As an example, let's analyze the designation of the Intel Core i7-7920HQ processor.

• Intel- manufacturer
• Core i7- ruler (family)
• 7 - the first digit after the hyphen indicates processor generation
• 920 – model number within a generation
• HQ– Latin letters (if any) indicate the processor version (destination).

Now let's talk about each item, starting with belonging to a certain line, in more detail.

Intel Core processor family. The vast majority of gaming laptops are equipped with processors of the Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 families. At the same time, Core i3 are already quite rare.

What is the fundamental difference? Belonging to a line with a particular number does not directly indicate the generation and age of the processor. The difference is only in the type of architectures. So Core i3 and Core i5 have the Nehalem microarchitecture, while Core i7 processors are based on a variety of architectures introduced by the company over the years. The first Intel Core i7 processors appeared in 2008. The Core i7 identity is now used solely as a marketing name, continuing the successful tradition of Intel.

Generation. Intel updates generations of its chips about once every year and a half. However, due to technological reasons, this time gradually begins to stretch. In the future, perhaps, the difference will be already 2-3 years.

There is a certain strategy for updating generations, which at one time was dubbed “Tick-Tock”. Since 2016, the scheme has become more complicated to the “Tick-Tock-Tock” principle.

• The 1st step "Tick" is the stage of reducing the technological process based on the existing microarchitecture. Minimal changes.
• The 2nd step “So” is the transition to the updated architecture within the framework of the existing technological process.
• 3rd step "So" - optimization stage with a change in the name of the architecture.

By the beginning of 2018, 5 generations of mobile processors of the Intel Core line from the 4th to the 8th could be found on sale.

• 4th generation. 2013 - transition within the technological process - 22 nanometers to the Haswell architecture ("So"). For example, Core i5-4200U or Core i7-4510U processors
• 5th generation. 2014 - transition to the 14 nm process technology ("Teak") with a simultaneous transition to the Broadwell architecture, an improved version of Haswell. For example, Core i5-5200U or Core i7-5500U processors
• 6th generation. 2015 - transition to the Skylake architecture ("So") as part of the 14 nm process. For example, Core i5-6200U or Core i7-6500U processors
• 7th generation. 2017 - Optimization to Kaby Lake architecture ("So") as part of the 14 nm process technology. For example, Core i7-7920HQ or Core i7-7820HQ processors.
• 8th generation. 2017 - optimization to the Coffee Lake architecture ("So") as part of the 14 nm process technology. For example, Core i5-8400H or Core i7-8850H processors.

Processors planned for 2018 9th generation, accompanied by another reduction in the technological process to 10 nanometers, and the improved Intel Skylake will simultaneously be called Cannonlake.

In 2019, within the same technological process (10 nm), another architecture optimization is expected, which will be called Intel Icelake.

In 2020, a new optimized version (10 nm) will be called Intel Tigerlake.

Model number within a generation (SKU number). Denoted by a three-digit number. It does not carry any special information. When choosing, it is better to focus on the frequency, number of cores and other important parameters, which will differ depending on the model number.

Version. In mobile versions, it is indicated in Latin letters. When evaluating parameters, it matters, perhaps even more than the usual comparison, for example, Core i5 and Core i7. There are four main versions used in modern laptops:

• Versions "Y" and Core M– passive cooling, poor performance. "Core M" processors have their own markings different from "Core i". For example, Intel Core M 5Y31.
• "U" versions– the optimal combination of price, performance and energy consumption. Good for universal laptops (but not for gaming). For example, an Intel Core i7-7500U processor.
• Versions "HQ" and H.K.– high-performance processors (4 cores). For example, Intel Core i7-7920HQ. Used in gaming machines.

If we purchase a gaming model, then we are very likely to have to deal with hardware platforms where the processor of the "HQ" or "HK" version will be installed. Almost all Core i5 and Core i7 processors with this label will have a power consumption (TDP) of at least 45 watts. And this, in turn, requires a good cooling system and a battery with a large capacity. The clock frequency, depending on the model, can vary from 2.3 GHz (Core i5-6300HQ) to 3.1 GHz (Core i7-7920HQ). All variants of the Intel Core i7 and the Intel Core i5-7700HQ processor, thanks to Hyper-Threading technology, are capable of, among other things, creating 8 threads (with 4 cores).

Processors of the "HK" version, unlike the "HQ", have an unlocked multiplier, which allows you to independently overclock the processor by manually increasing the clock frequency. But you should not be tempted by the letter "K" in the marking. Manufacturers often limit the possibility of overclocking by removing the corresponding functions from the laptop BIOS.

On this topic, processors for gaming laptops can be completed. For a general assessment of the level of the processor in a gaming laptop, this information is more than enough.

Thus, we can conclude that in a gaming laptop we need:

• Processor – Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7
• The clock frequency is at least 2.4 GHz.
• Number of cores - 4 (optimal) or more
• Generation - the higher the better.
• The version is "HQ" or "HK".

When choosing a processor, keep in mind that the recommended requirements for games are indicated taking into account modifications of desktop processors (for desktop PCs). When choosing a gaming laptop, you need to make allowances for the fact that mobile versions processors (for laptops) have their own marking.

Let's move on to the second equally important part - choosing a video card.

Video cards (graphic adapters)

The processor and video card are the very components by which the level of a gaming laptop is assessed. Crane size, battery capacity and keyboard type also matter, but performance is directly related to a well-balanced combination of processor and graphics card.

The good news is that laptop manufacturers themselves determine which processor best matches the performance of a particular video card, and there is no need to get confused in the nuances of matching one with another. The bad news is that it will be impossible to replace either the card or the processor later. You can upgrade the RAM, change the hard drive to a larger one, but the processor and video card cannot be replaced. In any case, the manufacturer does not provide such an opportunity.

Video card type

Let's start with the fact that only laptops with a discrete graphics card fall into the "gaming" category. Even the best integrated video adapters won't let us run "heavy" games.

About a third of all laptops with the prefix "gaming" in addition to a discrete graphics card are equipped with an even simpler integrated graphics card, which saves battery power when working with light applications. For such laptops, the “video card type” column often indicates “switchable”. The machine becomes more versatile and can be used effectively for simple everyday tasks.

An indication of the type "SLI" (NVidia) or "CrossFire" (AMD) means that the laptop uses two or three identical video cards working at the same time (combined power). The performance of models with such cards is much higher, but the cost of the entire hardware platform will be high. The cost of such laptops starts somewhere from 6000 rubles.

Hybrid graphics cards are not used in gaming laptops.

Manufacturers and labeling

The main manufacturers of discrete graphics cards are two companies: NVidia and AMD. Intel does not specialize in discrete video adapters, preferring to develop integrated ones.

NVidia branding

Video cards from NVidia are called GeForce. As an example, let's analyze the marking of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M card.

• GeForce- family
• GTX- type
• 9 – generation (series)
• 60 – model
• M– version

Family. The name of the family reflects the purpose of the card and what application it is designed for. Cards for home use, including those for powerful gaming platforms, are overwhelmingly of the GeForce type. Models of the "Quadro" family are designed for powerful workstations, "NVS" cards - to provide multiple monitors.

Type. A sign that reflects the purpose of the video card and partly speaks of the level of performance. In the simplest cards, the type may not be indicated at all, for example, GeForce 240. The “GT” type marks the middle-class cards, “GTX” - the most productive options.

Generation (series). Each new generation of video cards has a set of characteristics that are different from the previous one. In our example, the card belongs to the 9th generation, the models of which first appeared on the market in 2014-2015. The most relevant are the cards of the 10th series. They appeared on the market in 2016 and are still being produced, for example, the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti.

Model. The model number indicates the place of the video card in the hierarchy within its generation. The higher the number, the higher the power.

Version. Indicates the type of map application. The letter "M" until the 9th generation marked all mobile video cards (for laptops). Due to the fact that, starting from the tenth generation, the same chip is used for desktop and mobile devices, the letter "M" is not added to the labeling of the 10th generation adapters. An additional "X" (e.g. GeForce GTX 680MX) indicates higher performance. The symbols "Ti" (Titanium) are added to the labeling of desktop cards to indicate a more powerful modification.

Thus, when labeling GeForce cards, it makes sense to pay attention not only to the generation number, but also to the model number. There is a fairly easy way to compare NVidia's pre-9th gen graphics cards in terms of performance using the "+100 (-10)" formula. So cards from different generations of the GTX 680M, GTX 770M, GTX 860M and GTX 950M will have approximately the same performance level.

AMD Marking

Video cards from AMD are marked in a similar way. Let's take AMD Radeon R9 M390X as an example

• Radeon- family
• R9– generation (series)
• M– version
• 390X– model

Family. The Radeon family includes cards for wide application. Those are the absolute majority, including gaming ones. The "FirePro" family of cards is similar to NVidia's "Quadro". These are quite powerful options for professional platforms.

Generation (series). The generation number indicates how long ago cards of this modification appeared on the market. By the beginning of 2018, the latest series was "RX".

Version. The letter M stands for video cards for mobile devices.

Model. The model number uses letters and numbers to indicate position within a generation. The higher the number, the more powerful the card.

As for the comparison of NVidia and AMD video cards, it should be noted that both manufacturers are walking, as they say, in step. That is, no one has a significant lag in the technological level in the production of conventional cards and mid-range models. However, for now, NVidia's gaming laptop solutions are the preferred choice due to the greater variety of high-performance options.

Currently only DELL (Alienware series) offers gaming hardware platforms with AMD video cards. Upon closer examination of the characteristics, it becomes obvious that some options from this line definitely deserve attention. At the same time, if you need maximum power, then you need to choose from model range NVIDIA.

Main characteristics

Clock frequency. It is measured in Megahertz (MHz). In video cards, the base and maximum (in Boost mode) value are indicated. Maximum indicates the limit at peak loads. So, for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M discussed above, the base core frequency is 1096 MHz, and the maximum is 1677 MHz. For comparison, the mobile NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 has a base frequency of 1607 MHz, and a maximum of 1746 MHz.

Memory frequency. It is also measured in MHz. Specifies the frequency of the video memory. The higher the value, the better. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M has a memory frequency of 2500 MHz.

Memory capacity. Specified in bits. Can be in the range from 64 to 264 bits. The higher the value, the higher the bus bandwidth, the faster the exchange between its own chip and the video card's memory. Video cards for gaming laptops must have a bit depth of at least 128 bits. For example, the GeForce GTX 940M has a bus bandwidth of only 64 bits. Obviously, this video adapter is not suitable for modern games.

Memory type. Now there are cards with local memory types GDDR3 and GDDR5. The second option is later, more productive and, accordingly, more in demand.

Video memory. There is a well-established stereotype of assessing the level of a video card by the number of gigabytes of video memory. The stereotype is not entirely correct, since the performance depends in combination on the type and amount of memory, the level of the video processor, the bus width, etc. In other words, it is not worth chasing the maximum numbers. As a commercial ploy, manufacturers sometimes deliberately increase this parameter to make their products more attractive. The most common cards with a volume of 2 to 32 GB. In particular, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M has 4 GB, and the mobile NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 has 8 GB.

Number of universal processors. The bigger, the better. However, there is often a situation in which a card with a large number of universal processors is inferior in performance to models with a smaller number. For 9th generation NVIDIA cards, the number of cores, depending on the model, can vary from 640 to 1536 cores, for 10th generation adapters - from 640 to 2560.

Thus, it can be argued that the performance of a video card is evaluated by many parameters. It is important to pay attention not only to the generation number, but also to the model number within it. The frequency of the processor core and memory characteristics also matter. Memory capacity should be at least 128 bits, preferably from 4 GB.

RAM

A year ago (in January 2017), the optimal amount of RAM (RAM) was considered to be 4 GB. All games released in 2018 already require at least 8 GB. If you are buying a machine for online games, then 4 will be enough, but gaming computer for all modern games should have 2 times more RAM.

Unfortunately, unlike desktop computers, laptops most often have no more than 2 RAM slots. It is important to note that, other things being equal, two 4 GB sticks will work faster than one 8 GB stick.

RAM type

At the moment, the following types of RAM sticks can be found in gaming laptops.

DDR3- the third version of the DDR standard. It differs from the previous second one in the increased capacity of microcircuits (8 bits). The minimum total volume has also increased. Now it cannot be less than 1 GB. Voltage from 1.5 to 1.8 Volts.

DDR3L- one of the options for DDR3 RAM. The letter L means "Low". The main difference is lower power consumption. The voltage ranges from 1.25 to 1.35 V. Less energy is consumed and less heating, which is especially true when used in laptops. DDR3 and DDR3L sticks are physically compatible, meaning a DDR3L stick will fit into a DDR3 slot. Such a replacement makes sense if the BIOS allows for appropriate voltage adjustment, but experts still recommend using exactly the type of memory that was originally provided. Be careful! For Intel Skylake (6th generation) and later processors, only DDR3L memory is installed.

DDR4 is currently the latest version of the standard. Theoretically, DDR4 is capable of addressing larger amounts of information and reaching higher clock speeds than DDR3, but data transfer rates may be slower than the best DDR3 variants. Nevertheless, numerous tests have shown that so far there is no noticeable difference in performance between DDR3 and DDR4 sticks. Be careful! DDR3 and DDR4 sticks are not physically compatible. That is, memory of one type will not fit in the memory slot of another. In addition, it will be useful to know that DDR4 memory is only fully supported by processors from Intel Skylake (6th generation) and later.

In rare cases, laptops with provided RAM such as LPDDR3 or LPDDR4 fall under the definition of "gaming". This marking has RAM for smartphones and tablets. A gaming laptop with this type of memory raises big questions.

RAM frequency

It is necessary to select RAM by frequency based on what frequency maximum is supported by the processor and motherboard. For example, if you set the bar with a frequency of 1600 MHz, and the motherboard only supports 1333 MHz, then the memory will also operate at a frequency of 1333 MHz. Taking memory with a margin to the limit is only worth it if you plan to overclock the processor.

Things to remember when upgrading laptop RAM

32-bit versionsWindows do not support more than 3 GB of memory. The operating system simply does not see a larger volume.

64-bit versionsWindows require 2 times more RAM for themselves. For example, Windows 7 with such a bit depth requires about 800 MB for its needs. From which it follows that 2 GB for such a system will not be enough, you need at least four.

All 64-bit versions of Windows from 7 to 10 inclusive fully reveal their potential with 8 GB of RAM.

Drives (hard drives)

Since the drive in a gaming laptop, if necessary, is subject to replacement, the question of choice is not so acute. However, it is worth dwelling briefly on this issue.

Drive types

Gaming laptops currently use 3 types of drives:

• Hybrid HDD

HDD- the classic design of a hard drive with a magnetic recording principle. Advantages - relatively low cost and rather large capacity. Disadvantages - relatively low speed, increased vulnerability to shock and mechanical stress, noise and overheating. It is still used in most gaming laptops due to its ability to store large amounts of information. Max Volume, used in laptops - 4000 GB (4TB), however, game modifications use devices with a capacity of 500 to 2000 GB.

SSD- a solid-state drive with a storage medium based on flash memory. Advantages - high speed of storing and transmitting information, lower power consumption, no noise, high resistance to physical and mechanical stress (not afraid of shocks and shaking). Disadvantages - high cost and a small maximum volume relative to HDD. The volume of the most capacious SSD used, including in gaming laptops, is 1024 GB. The minimum amount starts from 8 GB.

Hybrid HDD- the golden mean between the two above types. The principle of operation is to write all the data to the HDD media with the transfer to the SSD of the part of the information that is used most often. A special intelligent system is responsible for the placement of accents in the distribution of information. Hybrid HDDs are slightly more expensive than regular HDDs, but cheaper than SSDs. The read and write speed remains quite high. Most often in gaming laptops, models with a volume of 1000 + 8 GB (HDD + SSD) are used.

Transfer speed is a cornerstone for a gaming laptop, which is why SSD drives are a must-have for mid to high-end gaming laptops. Since their volume is not enough to harmoniously match the level of modern software, they are installed as additional ones for the time being. The main storage is still HDD. That is, for a gaming laptop, the combination of 1HDD + 1SDD is optimal.

In expensive models, several SSDs may be attached to the main HDD. In budget options, as an alternative to the union of HDD and SSD, one hybrid HDD is installed, which is partly an alternative solution to the speed problem. In the most economical versions, even 1 HDD can be used, but this is not the best option for a gaming laptop.

Screen

With the choice of the screen, too, serious difficulties should not arise. There are literally a few parameters that you need to consider when choosing. A few words about each.

Screen diagonal- for the vast majority of models it can be from 13.3 to 18.4 inches. There are options with a large screen, but they will most likely have to be specially ordered. They are not very popular because of the high price. In general, the principle “the larger the screen, the more expensive the laptop” is also relevant for gaming laptops.

Screen resolution is the number of pixels that fit on the screen matrix. The higher the resolution, the more pixels, the smaller the displayed objects, the more objects fit on the monitor screen. For a gaming laptop, the nominal resolution is currently 1920x1080 (Full HD). Less than that just doesn't make sense. Higher resolution for a gaming laptop with enough money seems like a good solution, but you need to remember that screens with a resolution of QHD (2560 x 1440) or 4K (3840 x 2160) are very demanding on hardware performance. For almost all modern games, Full HD is enough for the eyes.

Screen Matrix- can be presented in several ways. Quality TN panel with Full HD, slightly more expensive PLS or the best IPS version with 4K resolution. Modern IPS options seem to be the best choice, but we must not forget that TN matrices have better response times. The PLS matrix is ​​an intermediate option between TN and IPS. Screens with OLED-matrix to date have not yet received wide distribution.

Touchscreen- found in single models of gaming laptops. Might be useful if you're a fan of mobile games, and almost useless for classic gaming. As a rule, laptops with a small screen diagonal (up to 15.6 inches) are equipped with touch screens.

matte/glossy- a choice, with more, depending on preferences. The main argument of glossy coating defenders is brighter colors. Matte screens do not glare, but the colors are less saturated and detail is slightly worse.

Keyboard

Many years of gaming experience shows that there is no alternative to mechanical keyboards. Only they allow you to achieve maximum comfort in games. In addition, the keys must have a pitch (distance between the keys) of at least 1.5-2 mm.

Keyboard options and modifications vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. The keys on the Asus models are smooth and soft, which doesn't go well with gaming dynamics, but is great for everyday use. MSI keyboards often look like the dashboard of an airplane, which appeals to gamers a lot. At Acer, in some models, the keys turned out to be slippery and short-stroke.

In a word, there are nuances. For those for whom this issue is of particular importance, we can only recommend that you personally test the keyboard before buying.

Conclusion. The parameters of a modern gaming laptop.

In order to summarize everything that has been said, we will briefly summarize all the information. So what kind of laptop do we need to run 2018 games? If you study the recommended requirements of the most popular game projects, you will need a machine with the following set:

• 4-core processor Core i5 or Core i7 clocked at 2800 MHz (2.8 GHz). In turbo mode, such chips are quite capable of pulling the 3400 MHz (3.4 GHz) declared for modern games.
• video card Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or better.
• RAM type DDR3L or DDR4 with a total capacity of at least 8 GB.
• Drives- One HDD with a capacity of at least 1000 GB and one SSD with a capacity of at least 256 GB.
• Keyboard– mechanical
• optical drive

A laptop with these characteristics is almost guaranteed to run modern games at the recommended settings. It is worth noting, however, that such a car will not be cheap. The same set in the desktop version (for a desktop computer) will certainly cost less, but this is already a matter of preference.

As for almost all online games, the requirements for them are much lower. A perfect set would look something like this:

• Quad-core processor Core i5 or Core i7 at 2500 MHz (2.5 GHz).
• video card Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 or better
• RAM type DDR3L or DDR4 with a total capacity of 4 GB.
• Drives- one HDD with a capacity of 1000 GB is enough.
• Keyboard– mechanical

An optical drive for online games is unlikely to come in handy, but you can not save on such trifles. Everyone will choose the type and diagonal of the screen according to their requests.

In short, that's all you need to consider when choosing a gaming laptop in 2018. To simplify the choice, we took specially selected for this article best models gaming laptops in the price / quality ratio. Under each image there is a link, by clicking on which you can go to the product card and get acquainted with the detailed characteristics.

To place an order, click "Add to Cart" and leave your contact details. A call center specialist will contact you as soon as possible and tell you in detail about the possible payment and delivery options. By the way, any laptop from this article can be purchased in installments.

If you have additional questions, please call. Phone numbers at the top of the page.

With this article, our portal begins a whole cycle of useful materials, the purpose of which will be to facilitate the choice of any product from the thousands of options offered on the market. Agree choice. specific model some gadget always takes a lot of time, which can be spent usefully. In today's material, we will talk about choosing the right laptop - for work, study or entertainment.

What do you need a laptop for?

First you need to decide what you will use the laptop for. There are several options:

Work in office applications and study

Even the cheapest laptop is suitable for these tasks. The only condition that must be met without fail is that such a laptop must be of high quality and durable in order to serve you as long as possible. Pay attention to the manufacturer (it is best to choose laptops of well-known brands) and the convenience of working with the device's keyboard. There are no more delays here - you don’t need a powerful processor (even the weakest, more or less new laptop can play music and movies), a powerful video card (you’re going to study and work, right?), or a large volume hard drive(documents and tutorials take up very little space).

Desktop replacement, laptop for home

Such a laptop should fulfill the desires of all family members at an acceptable level: help parents with work, entertain children and keep grandmother in touch with friends. Here you should also pay attention to the strength of the case (when buying, look at how it flexes when not pressed too hard). In addition, it is worth buying a laptop with a capacious hard drive(500 gigabytes - the minimum) and a large set of ports (for connecting all possible home devices). The processor, memory and video card should also not be the weakest, but you should not chase top-end characteristics.

Ultraportable laptop (ultrabook) for travel and business trips

Here, the weight of the laptop, its thickness (no more than two centimeters) and time are at the forefront. battery life from the battery. Also, consider SSD rather than HDD options (more on that later) - the extra speed on the road won't hurt. Often, ultraportable laptop cases are made of metal or carbon fiber - this will be a nice bonus. You don't need to pay attention to the video card and extra ports here. Note that in some cases, ultrabooks do not have a standard port for a network wire - you will have to use Wi-Fi or purchase an adapter.

Powerful laptop for gaming and multimedia tasks

Such a laptop should have a large and high-quality screen (both games and work in multimedia programs require this), powerful internals (processor, RAM and video card) and a capacious hard drive. Unfortunately, you will have to forget about autonomy and portability: even the best and most expensive gaming laptops (with a few exceptions) will be heavy and rather thick, and their battery is unlikely to withstand more than a couple of hours of intensive work of all systems.

Work station

These laptops are used in jobs that require a lot of computing power. They differ from gaming ones in that they usually do not require a good video card (unless one is needed to perform specific work tasks), but they need all possible ports for connecting peripherals. If you do not need to work with graphic materials, you can also neglect the screen.

Hybrid 2-in-1

Recently popular hybrids are often a real minefield. At the moment, it is best to choose an ultrabook and a tablet - two separate devices. If you want to combine them, then there are not many options - check out recent models in this form factor from Lenovo, Microsoft, Asus and Dell.

Which laptop screen is right for you?

The screen size of a laptop is one of the most important factors that affect the user experience. You need to decide on these indicators immediately after determining the tasks that your future laptop will perform:

10-12 inches

The lightest and thinnest laptops, weighing less than 1.2 kg. Many users will not fit their compact keyboards, and they simply do not have multimedia applications. But laptops with such screens are best transported and used for small work sessions on the road.

13-14 inches

A good balance between portability and convenience. Their keyboards are usually quite large and weigh less than 2kg - a good option for those who spend a lot of time on the road but prefer to work in more comfort.

15-16 inches

Most popular size. These laptops can weigh up to 2.5 kg and are already able to accommodate good components, which will be sufficient not only for work, but also for entertainment.

17 inches or more

Huge laptops, which usually contain the most powerful processors, the most powerful graphics cards and the most capacious hard disks. Ideal for a laptop that will not leave your apartment or house.

Matte or glossy?

The laptop screen can be either matte or glossy, and choosing one of them is a matter of personal preference. It is best to look at the laptop with your own eyes - on the store counter. Let's put it this way: glossy displays have brighter and more saturated colors, but at the same time reflections are very noticeable on them (in the worst case, direct sunlight from a window or on the street). Matte screens make colors not so pronounced, but are protected from glare with a special coating. Note that Apple MacBook screens are glossy in most cases.

How to understand the characteristics of a laptop?

A lot of incomprehensible abbreviations, names of unknown brands and obscure numbers can lead anyone into bewilderment. In this section, we will talk about RAM, CPU and other GPUs.

Screen resolution

The more pixels that fit on the display, the sharper the image becomes (but also the more computing power). It is not worth considering options with a resolution below 1366x768 pixels (it seems that they are no longer made anyway), but it is better to focus on something more impressive. 1600x900, 1920x1080 or higher is already very good. Naturally, in the case of small screens, you will have to be content with a small resolution, and for sharper screens you will usually have to pay a hundred or two dollars more. Apple MacBooks have Retina screens - for example, 15-inch MacBook Pros have a resolution of 2880x1800 pixels. This is also a very good indicator.

Processor (CPU)

The most budget models are now equipped with AMD E and Intel Celeron / Pentium processors. They are not designed for tasks more difficult than working with email, editing documents, watching movies and listening to music. The next step is Intel Core i3 and AMD A. These processors should provide acceptable performance in multimedia tasks, but for games and serious work it is better to choose a laptop with an Intel Core i5 (preferably the fourth generation, codenamed Haswell; the names of such processors look like “ Core i5-4xxx”). And finally, the most productive and expensive laptop models are equipped with Intel Core i7. You can also find expensive models with AMD processors, but at the moment these solutions lose to Intel processors in terms of performance quite seriously. The latest ranking of mobile processors can be found.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

For everyday work with documents and other “light” tasks, 4 gigabytes will be enough. Games and work with large software packages will require at least 8 gigabytes.

Hard Disk (HDD/SSD)

Buying a laptop with a hard drive less than 500 GB can be justified in two ways: 1) it's small and portable; 2) It is equipped with an SSD disk. Often these cases overlap. In addition, more expensive models can be equipped with a hybrid drive, most of which is mechanical (HDD), and the smaller part is chip (SSD). SSD drives provide very high read and write speeds, and consume less power, but are significantly more expensive than mechanical drives.

Video card (GPU)

This item is important only for those who are going to play games on a laptop - the rest will use any chip built into a modern laptop. Players should pay attention to the performance options from AMD and Nvidia - Radeon R9 and GeForce GTX 9xxM. You need to take into account the fact that such discrete graphics cards require much more battery power. A fresh rating of mobile video cards can be found.

Ports

Pay attention to the number of USB ports and their standard (you should buy a laptop with USB 2.0 only as a last resort, look for options with USB 3.0), the presence of an HDMI or VGA output for connecting to a TV or an external monitor, as well as the presence of specific ports to connect peripherals that you need in your work.

Optical drive

In most cases, you will not need it - the digital future and high-speed network access allows you not to use outdated optical discs and, if necessary, use USB flash drives. We advise you to save as much money as possible on this component - you will not need to burn DVD and especially Blu-ray (unless, of course, you do this for work).

Battery

Be sure to pay attention to the battery life of the device specified by the manufacturer. At least it should be 6 or 7 hours. The very best models (either ultra-portable or heavy and large) can provide up to 10 or even 20 hours of operation. At the same time, manufacturers often lie and overestimate their estimate of the operating time - it is better to turn to independent tests.

Operating system

In fact, you have to choose not the operating system - everything is much simpler. Do you need a MacBook? This quick guide will help you figure it out.

A completely versatile operating system that will allow you to perform any task (working with documents, playing games, watching movies, etc.), but requires more care than OS X. If the laptop will be used by someone who has never used Windows before, it is better pay attention to the next option.

OS X works great with all Apple devices and is suitable for all beginners. In addition, it is a favorite working environment for designers, musicians and other creative people. Unfortunately, it also has its many disadvantages: this OS is not intended for gamers, and only Apple makes laptops with it, which allows it to keep their prices at a fairly high level.

Laptops with Linux are suitable for those who use Linux in their work. Everyone else is encouraged to consider the two previous options. However, Linux laptops (and sometimes DOS laptops) are often cheaper than Windows counterparts due to the free OS license.

Chrome OS

Notebooks running this operating system are popular in the United States, but outside of that country, they are almost never seen in stores. A good option for those whose work with a laptop takes place entirely in an Internet browser, but in Belarus it is almost useless to buy a Chromebook - for the same money you can buy a full-fledged laptop with Windows.

Additionally

There are still a lot of details about buying a laptop, which we will bring to your attention in this section.

Firstly, check the Wi-Fi standard that the laptop's wireless chip supports. All laptops worth buying can work with 802.11 a/b/g/n networks, and many new and advanced ones can work with 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. Also, if you're going to use Wi-Fi Direct, make sure it's supported as well.

Secondly, pay attention to whether the laptop battery is removable. In many cases, it becomes unusable after a couple of years, and replacement will be much easier if the laptop does not have to be carried to the service.

Thirdly, check if you have an SD card reader. It may be needed to work with photos and videos with external devices.

Fourth, take care to have a good webcam above the screen (although there is almost always one). The camera must have at least an HD sensor (1280x720 pixels) - this will come in handy in video calls via Skype.

Purchase process

Have you chosen a model and are you ready to call the store? Take your time, we recommend that you remember two simple rules.

Test your laptop before you buy. Launch a few programs, go online, try using his keyboard and trackpad for a bit. We also recommend that you check the screen and case for cracks and scratches (even the smallest ones) to make sure that the laptop came to you straight from the factory, and not from the previous owner.

Check the warranty. Laptops are very complex electronic devices, and many of their parts often fall into disrepair. A long warranty period in a reliable service center will help you avoid headaches in the future.

Conclusion

We hope that this article helped you deal with the difficult task of choosing your future laptop. Next week we will help you choose a tablet!

Choosing a laptop can be compared to an exciting quest, after which the buyer, pumped with all the necessary technical knowledge, will have to decide and become the owner of a new laptop.

How to choose the right gaming laptop

This will take more than a day, or even a week, and the one who goes to the store, putting a few banknotes in his pocket, and hopes for an intelligent consultation from a technically savvy consultant, loses a lot. First of all - the pleasure of working with a computer that has already been purchased, which subsequently does not suit for many reasons.

The most gaming laptop is a serious technique that requires special attention already when choosing, and transferring such responsibility to friends, online services or consultants in a store would not be entirely correct. No one knows your abilities, needs and desires better than you.

From each according to his ability to each according to his needs

The laptop is in a very specific niche, and still cannot completely replace either a monoblock, or a tablet, or a desktop, just as it is irreplaceable itself. Do not forget that this choice primarily solves the problem of mobility, so it is not worth buying as a home multimedia center. For watching videos, reading books and browsing the news on the Internet on the go, a tablet, or even a smartphone, will be more convenient. And the game console is perfect for gaming on the run. With such a choice of various devices, you might think: why this device, but what kind of laptops? Gaming characteristics, however, for portable computers are quite high, and they still remain leaders in sales of computer electronics, primarily due to comfort in operation and suitable specifications, which we will consider in more detail.

The main features of the "gaming" display

• The minimum size is 15 inches, high resolution and contrast ratios, matrix response up to 12 ms. When choosing between a matte and glossy type of matrix, you need to consider that glossy displays have a brighter color reproduction, while matte ones eliminate glare from any light source.

In general, when deciding how to choose a gaming laptop, you should start with a display that immerses us in an exciting virtual world. Laptops for gaming with a diagonal of less than 15 inches are extremely rare: when choosing a diagonal, you can be guided by a simple rule: the larger the better.

The responsiveness of the matrix affects the response speed of the monitor, to changes in the image image. If you want to get a sharp picture in fast-paced games, then the best gaming laptops come with a matrix response of 12ms or less. A low response value will create problems when managing game events.

In addition, playing games on a laptop will be difficult with a low contrast LCD monitor: in order to quickly act, you need to clearly see what is happening on the screen.

• Sufficient contrast for a gaming laptop - 1000:1. With this indicator, you can easily navigate even in the darkest scenes.
• Resolution is another important condition for a clear image, the higher it is, the more detailed the picture is, and the eyes are more comfortable.

Widescreen monitors

Gaming laptops are available with widescreen 16:9 monitors as well as standard 4:3 ratios. It all depends on your personal preference.

It is more convenient to play on 16:9 screens, as the view in games improves, it is also good to watch widescreen movies. The disadvantages include the fact that not all gaming applications support this format.

Performance: processor

By creating various virtual worlds rich in motion and color, game developers become the "driving force" for the development of innovative technologies, making the most of available resources, creating better and better gaming laptops. The realism and quality of the picture on the screen is determined by the performance of the graphics adapter and processor.

• For a gaming laptop, it is desirable to use a video card with its own memory and a 2-core processor.

The characteristics of a gaming laptop are in no way inferior to a stationary PC. Behind the excellent design of laptop models, corresponding performance is hidden. There are special programs for determining performance, the most common are PC mark053 and Dmark06.

• The test results showed that the laptop must be equipped with at least a 2-core processor: Core i5 (i7) or Core 2 Duo from Intel, Turion or Athlon 64 X2 from AMD.

Also pay attention to the clock frequency with which the heart of the laptop “beats”.

• Frequency selection: recommended - the higher the better.
• Another point: Turbo Boost technology in the Core i5 and i7 processors at peak load increases the frequency of the processor by 75 percent.

Graphics adapter

The video card is perhaps the main component of a gaming laptop. Built-in gaming graphics cards for laptops use the resources of a PC, and their performance is often not enough for modern games. Therefore, you need to choose a powerful discrete graphics card.

• This market is dominated by AMD/ATI's Radeon HD and Nvidia's GeForce.

To ensure that RAM resources are not additionally used by the video card, we recommend choosing laptops with at least 1 GB of their own video memory.

• Gaming video cards for laptops with HyperMemory (ATI) and TurboCache (NVIDIA) technologies supplement the computer's own video memory with resources.

Expandable parameters: hard drive and RAM

When reviewing gaming laptops, it should be taken into account when choosing the optimal RAM that games are progressing all the time, becoming more realistic and require increased performance of the “RAM”.

• An important selection criterion is the ability to expand the amount of RAM, a similar option is available in most gaming laptops.
• When choosing a hard drive, be guided by the volume and speed of its rotation.

New games in optimal mode usually require at least 1 GB of RAM. It is also worth considering the fact that in addition to this, the resources of the "RAM" are used installed on the computer antivirus program, operating system and other similar applications.

• Taking this into account the best choice there will be a laptop with 2 GB of memory, at least.

The number of simultaneously installed applications and games depends on the volume of the hard drive, the speed of disk rotation affects the speed of reading / writing information data, determining the performance of the entire system.

• Demanding fans of high-quality virtual games will not be satisfied with a cheap gaming laptop. We need a serious device with a 160 GB hard drive, with a rotation speed of 7400 rpm. in min.
• Notebooks also have the ability to install additional hard drives.

Keyboard size

Comfort in the game largely depends on the input devices - mice and keyboards.

• For convenience in the game, you will need a keyboard that is as close as possible to the desktop. The key properties of the keyboard for the player is the degree of rigidity and the shape of the keys, a small stroke for a clear and fast pressing.

Comfortable keyboard - successful game

In specialized gaming laptops, the keyboard has a number of special qualities. Accidental pressing, sticky keys or wrong combination is the way to an unsuccessful game.

• Close attention is paid to the keys used to control the gaming W-A-S-D characters, which can be marked with arrows, as well as a space. It is on these keys that the main load falls in games.
• Spectacular and convenient detail for games at night - backlit keyboard. Such a backlight, in addition to the shutdown options, can be endowed with brightness control.
• An important attribute of a laptop for gaming is the mouse, since the touchpad is not designed for such purposes. It is better to check the option to disable it in advance.

Peripheral connections

A gaming laptop, being a high-tech system, includes a certain set of multimedia interfaces and ports. The user's convenience when connecting headphones, a mouse or an external monitor will depend on their number and comfortable location, which means that the task of choosing a gaming laptop will be solved as correctly as possible.

One USB port on a laptop is usually occupied by a mouse. In addition, a flight simulator joystick, as well as gamepads and a racing wheel are connected via USB ports.

• Thus, it is desirable that the specifications of a gaming laptop include 3-4 USB ports.
• If you have a Plasma or LCD TV, look out for an HDMI port that supports high-speed digital video transmission. Playing on the big screen is impressive.

Despite the seemingly high-quality built-in acoustics, the sound will undoubtedly be more realistic and louder when Hi-Fi headphones or external speakers are connected to the gaming laptop.

• The S/PDIF audio output of the standard, in addition to the transmission of a conventional stereo signal, also supports the transmission of 5.1 audio.
• Integrated Bluetooth allows you to wirelessly connect peripheral devices to the gaming machine: headphones, mouse, mobile phones.

For fans of network and online games, network connectivity will be useful. In addition to the classic wired LAN, gaming laptops provide modules for connecting to wireless networks and the Internet, so a cheap gaming laptop may not have such ports.

• Wi-Fi module 802.11g standard is the most modern format wireless communication, characterized by high-speed data transfer, and allows you to play anywhere and anytime.
• An additional feature is the wireless connection to local network for online battles.

Among the endless windows

Once you have decided on how to choose a gaming laptop, and decided on the characteristics, you can build your own PC. Not by hand, of course, but by imagination. You imagine what you want, and the manufacturer makes it a reality. You have already decided what to donate. You have roughly figured out how much a gaming laptop costs, and whether this acquisition will destroy your budget. All sorts of baubles and chips from the manufacturer are most often not important: it is unlikely that a fingerprint scanner is of fundamental importance for someone, in contrast to the performance of the platform. Of course, for comfort, someone will need a COM port, someone will need an LPT, and some may want to have an IRDA.

In the end, I would like to note that buyers armed with knowledge are almost never disappointed and make the right choice.

For handheld and mobile devices, Intel specifically designed the Atom, a processor with extremely low power consumption.

Their advantages lie in the absence of moving mechanical parts, which increases both the reliability of the device and the speed of reading information.

If business continuity is critical, consider a battery backup option.

Executive laptops are the leading models in the business segment. They are characterized by an optimal balance of functionality and image, complemented by the most interesting and promising of advanced technologies.

An executive laptop is primarily a fashion accessory, so Special attention when developing these models, attention is paid to design, finishes and materials, as well as innovative options. Accordingly, the prices for equipment of this class start at an average of 50,000 rubles.

Executive laptops are a worthy example of a strict yet stylish design. Bright elements in them are replaced by expensive monochromatic materials and seasoned finishes that emphasize the image and status.

• Compactness and functionality are the two main differences between representative equipment.

The exceptional lightness of such laptops is due to the high-quality matrices of 11-13 inches, which are not inferior to large screens in terms of color reproduction and brightness, as well as careful selection of rare components and materials.

• Another feature of executive laptops is impressive communication functionality that will help you quickly organize a video conference, get a fresh report in a hotel room, send the documentation necessary for preparing a presentation.
• In addition to the IEEE 802.11g Wi-Fi interface, which has already become an industry standard, which provides full communication with the outside world within the range of a wireless network, executive laptop models have next-generation communication modules - Wi-Max and WWAN.

Actively developing WiMAX networks expand the possibilities of data transmission: information “flies” at speeds up to 70 Mbps, the range is calculated in kilometers. The wireless network WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) provides access to the Internet through cellular networks: you can get into the "world wide web" within the coverage area of ​​\u200b\u200byour operator mobile communications. Such a module will also come in handy as a backup option in case of a failure at the Internet service provider.

A separate category of laptops are systems designed for demanding applications on computing resources. The cost of portable graphics stations is quite high, and their weight can reach 3-4 kg. But on the other hand, such a laptop can handle both 3D visualization and video editing at a professional level.

If a laptop is purchased for resource-intensive applications, work with complex graphic and video editors, three-dimensional CAD models, the requirements for the power of a discrete video card and matrix resolution come to the fore.

• These models also have a multi-core processor and a very capacious hard drive.

Another component of trouble-free work with professional tasks is powerful RAM (from 4 GB or more). A nice option is the ability to expand it using dedicated slots. If in the course of work the need for such an expansion becomes obvious, it will be cheaper to equip the laptop with RAM on its own than to initially choose a system with a “reserve” of resources.

A special subcategory is professional series laptops with a modular bay. They allow you to replace burner battery, a second hard drive, and even a serial port (for IT server tasks).

The coolest laptop

How much progress has been made

A couple of decades ago, no one could have imagined how much our lives would depend on office equipment. After all, in the past, instead of a calculator, there were abacus, instead of a computer, a typewriter.

Now in modern world a person does not even imagine how he managed without such things, everything is so improved. Now, to make a call, you do not need to run somewhere, but you can do it in any place convenient for a person, since without mobile phone not enough. Previously, you had to wash clothes at Belka, but now the washing machine will do everything by itself, for this you just need to simply load the laundry, press the button and wait a bit.

The internet changes everything

List Newest technologies you can for a very long time, but they, be that as it may, will still be constantly updated. Since progress, as you know, does not stand still. Now, if, for example, we take a computer, literally fifteen years ago, the Pentium was considered the coolest computer. After him, over the years, there were so many of the most expensive and luxurious computers, and then laptops, that you can’t count them. Thus, many are wondering what is the coolest laptop today?

As you know, the coolest laptop in 2012 was recognized as an ultra beech, the main advantage of which is that for seven hours it can work without charging from the network, which, in fact, attracts most users. Since the Internet was not so widely used before, three hours a day at the computer were enough for people. At present, with the advent of the global network, three hours without recharging is definitely not enough.

"Apple" laptops

In addition, the Apple MacBook Pro 15 ultrabook has a 2.3 GHz quad-core processor, as well as an NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphics card, which allows you to play even the most powerful modern games, despite its modest dimensions.

But no matter how much a person wants to find the answer to the existing question of what is the most sophisticated and cool laptop in the world, he still cannot find the answer.

After all, technology is developing every day, and there will always be a manufacturer who will bypass the other. If we assume that such a computer should be based on a combination of the latest electronic developments, then, accordingly, the cost of electronics will be much more expensive.

At this time, it is generally accepted that the “Golden MacBook Pro” has the title of the coolest and most expensive laptop in the world. It makes no sense to talk about how much this “miracle machine” costs. It is enough to know that its case is covered with 24 carat gold, and the existing logo is lined with sapphires.

Other Expensive Laptops

And, for example, the most expensive one, which costs about 16 thousand US dollars, is the “Ego for Bentley”.

Interface this computer nothing particularly different. Its features are that it is beautiful, comfortable, chic. However, he is more suitable, rather, for a female representative to chat with her girlfriends in a chat, rather than a man who loves to play new games.

The series of the most expensive laptops includes the Macbook "Stealth Macbook Pro”, its cost is about 6 US dollars. It is based on all the same functions.

The SonyVAIO BondZ series notebook, costing around $5,000, has a very fast download speed and 128 GB of disk space.

All presented laptop models belong to the highest price category, and, of course, not everyone can afford such a luxury, however, if such beeches are produced and invented, then there is still a certain demand for them.

To date, the number of different laptop models has reached a huge number and it is not surprising to get confused in choosing a portable PC. In today's article, we will tell you 7 simple tips for choosing a laptop. Focusing on them, you can more accurately determine what exactly you need from a laptop.

Most people, when choosing a laptop, proceed from the price-quality ratio. There are, of course, those who care appearance, not content or vice versa, some people buy the most fancy model, although the only task of this laptop will be to open a browser or office application. That's from the tasks for which the laptop will be intended and should be taken into account when choosing. And the tasks can be very different: from watching movies to working with 3D objects.

So, here are some tips for choosing a laptop:

Tip #1. First, decide what screen size you need to work with. On the market there are models with a diagonal of 10 to 18 inches. Devices with a screen of 10-12 inches belong to the class of netbooks.

Basically, they are designed to work on the network and with documents. The performance of netbooks is usually lower than that of full-fledged laptops, but they have big time offline work. Some netbooks can work up to 15 hours without recharging. Also, the pluses include compactness and small size. Netbooks are suitable for those who constantly move around for work, often go on business trips and just people who want to be mobile anytime and anywhere.

The next category is laptops with a screen diagonal of 13 - 14 inches. Such models are also very popular. They are almost as compact as netbooks, but have better performance. Screen sizes allow you to comfortably surf the net, watch movies and work with documents.

Classic laptops have a screen diagonal of 15 inches. Such a laptop is quite comparable in performance to a regular PC, and the user is not tied to a power outlet. The battery life can be up to 5 hours or more when using the enhanced battery or 2 - 3 hours when using a standard battery.

Laptops with a screen larger than 17 inches are purchased as a replacement for a desktop computer. They are heavy and battery life is no longer than 1-1.5 hours. A big plus of such a laptop is a large screen that allows you to comfortably work with any applications: office, graphics, games. Usually, such models are equipped with productive hardware: a fast processor, a lot of memory, a powerful video card, and a capacious hard drive.

Tip #2. The main part of any computer is the processor. And if RAM is called the brains, then the processor can probably be called the heart of the laptop. When choosing a laptop, pay attention not only to the frequency of the processor, but also to the cache values. Cache is a fast memory used to exchange data between the CPU and RAM. We will not go into technical details (look on the Internet if you are interested), remember only that the larger the cache, the better. Now about the number of cores. Here it is impossible to safely say that the more, the better. Not all applications can work with a large number of cores, so do not chase the latest. And, again, choose based on tasks. For office work, a laptop with a single-core processor is also suitable. To work with graphics, video, 3D models, two or more cores may be required. The latest Intel Core i3, i5, i7 processors are mostly dual-core, but there are "pebbles" that have four cores.

Tip #3.

The amount of RAM greatly affects the performance of a laptop, since all applications are partially or completely loaded into this same memory. To date, two DDR2 memory standards and the faster DDR3 are common. Most laptops are equipped with 2 GB of memory or more. It's almost standard now. Since the same modern Windows 7 "eats" a considerable part of the "RAM". Remember, if you buy a laptop with 4 GB of RAM and are going to put Windows XP 32 bit on it, then the system will see only 3+ gigabytes. Therefore, either leave the "seven", or put the 64-bit Windows version xp.

Tip #4.

HDD. Everything is simple here - the more the better. A large hard drive will allow you to store a huge amount of information, collections of movies, music, photos and more. The only thing worth paying attention to is the HDD spindle speed. As a rule, laptops are equipped with drives with a rotation speed of 5400 rpm. There are faster ones, with a frequency of 7200 rpm. The higher the rotation speed, the faster you will access information. There are also laptops with solid state drives (SSDs). There are no disks at all. An SSD drive is such a large and expensive flash drive. So far, such drives have not received wide distribution in our country.

Tip #5. The video card in a laptop can be built-in or discrete. The built-in video memory uses part of the RAM for its work. This type of memory is suitable for office applications, watching videos, etc. If you plan to run “heavy” applications and modern games on a laptop, then we recommend choosing a laptop with a discrete video adapter.

Tip #6. When choosing a laptop, pay attention to what operating system is installed on it. If the description contains the inscription DOS, then this means that no “OS” is installed at all. This will allow you to install the system yourself. Mostly put on laptops latest version OS from Microsoft - Windows 7. On netbooks and some laptops, Linux OS (Ubuntu, Mandriva, etc.) can be installed. Therefore, before buying, check this issue with sales consultants.

Tip #7. And the last tip for choosing a laptop: pay attention to ports, connectors and other interfaces. For full communication over the network, you may need a built-in camera and microphone. WiFi module, network port, as a rule, are present in all modern laptops. The number of USB ports matters. If there are few of them, then there may be problems connecting external devices. In addition, one of them is usually used to connect a mouse. More expensive models are equipped with one or two quick USB ports 3.0. A plus will be the presence of HDMI, DisplayPort ports, which are used to connect to plasma panels and LCD TVs. VGA output is available on all laptops. Some laptop models are equipped with a card reader and a fingerprint scanner.

We hope that these tips will help you in choosing a laptop that will last for many years. And if you have any problems or need laptop repair, please contact our service center.

Like on a laptop

Setting up a keyboard on a laptop

Imagine such a situation. You type text on your laptop, hurry, type for a long time, and don’t look at the monitor at all. Then suddenly they decided to look at the screen and here your jaw begins to feel the force of gravity, and your eye twitches nervously! Was there such a situation? 🙂 In this article, we will look at ways to solve many problems that arise when using a laptop keyboard and touchpad.

Setting up hotkeys on a laptop

Let's take a closer look at your laptop keyboard. Some buttons have icons that indicate certain actions. The Fn button, in combination with other buttons, activates additional functions of the laptop.

Now let's look at exactly what additional functions are enabled by a keyboard shortcut.

Fn button +	Puts your computer into sleep mode or returns it to working mode.
Fn button +	Enables or disables network adapter WIFI.
Fn button +	Reduces the brightness on your monitor.
Fn button +	Increases the brightness on your monitor.
Fn button +	Stretches the viewed image to fill the screen, or turns on additional screen backlighting.
Fn button +	If you have connected an external display or projector to your laptop, then this key combination will allow you to display the image either simultaneously on two screens, or only on one.
Fn button +	Disables or enables the touchpad. AT different models laptops, this function is available under different buttons.
Fn button +	Turns off the sound on the computer completely.
Fn button +	Turns down the volume on your laptop.
Fn button +	Makes the sound louder.
Fn button +	With this combination, it becomes possible to quickly turn on or off the webcam.

Keep in mind that different laptop manufacturers may have different function buttons, but in most laptops they are similar.

Setting up the touchpad on a laptop

To begin with, for those who are in the tank, I will explain: the touchpad (trackpad) is the touch pad below the keyboard on your laptop, which is used instead of a mouse. You move your finger over it and control the cursor.

The problem in which the cursor moves to another place when accidentally touching the touchpad exists for more than half of users. Don't waste your nerve cells anymore, let's deal with this problem.

Download a small program for the touchpad TouchpadPal here, install it and open the shortcut. Then we simply follow the wizard of working with the program and after that we enjoy the work done.

Touchpad Pal works like this: when text is being entered, it automatically turns off the touchpad during accidental touches.

We can also disable the touchpad until the next time the computer is turned on using the Synaptics Pointing Device Driver program, in order to download the program, follow the link to the developer's website, select which OS is on your laptop, then go down to the very bottom, and click on the button agree to the terms of the license (if requested). Then boldly click on "Save", and further along the knurled, complete the installation process.

But there is another way to deal with this trouble. This is disabling the touchpad with function buttons. Different laptop models have different keyboard shortcuts. But if you have an Hp laptop, then there should be a disable button above the touchpad itself, so click on it. Try pressing the Fn+ button that has a hand drawn on the touchpad.

But it happens that keyboard shortcuts do not help to cope with this problem, then check if you have drivers for the touchpad installed. If they are not installed (then it will be exclamation mark!), then we need to go to the website of the manufacturer of your laptop and download them. After installing the drivers, try pressing the function buttons again to disable the touchpad. Everything should work out.

If you want to disable the touchpad in the laptop itself, then we do it as follows. Go to the "Start" menu, then "Control Panel", "Device Manager". Now select the item where it says "Mouse". In the next window that opens, click on "Properties". And open the "Device Settings" tab. Find the name of our touchpad and click disable it.

Outcome. Using the function buttons on a laptop is a really handy thing from laptop manufacturers that helps save a lot of time switching between different functions. Say thanks to the manufacturers for this service. Try to ensure that all programs are “correctly” updated and loaded on your laptop, then you will not have problems with either the keyboard or the touchpad. And then working with your laptop will only benefit and be very convenient.

computerologia.ru

Keyboards on laptops: customization, keyboard shortcuts, switching modes and other tips

Laptop keyboards, due to their portability, are somewhat different from full-fledged ones used with stationary PCs. The main differences for many of them are:

• the presence of an auxiliary key "Fn";
• lack of a separate numeric keypad.

Few laptops boast a numeric keypad.

But how to set up a keyboard on a laptop to use it without restrictions? Let us consider in more detail the features of the keyboard of portable devices.

The "Fn" key and its use

Considering the need to reduce the number of keys and save space, laptop developers tried to maximize comfort when working with them, so they introduced a number useful features by adding just one button.

The "Fn" key is almost always located in the lower left corner of the laptop case, next to the left "Ctrl" and / or "Alt". It is combined with function keys in the same way as "Shift" - with letters: that is, it uses their "second" functions. If you look closely, you will see that the buttons from "F1" to "F12", and some more, have icons in the same color as the "Fn" key - that is, pressing it activates these functions.

If you look at the row of F-keys, you can see the icons for turning on or off the Wi-Fi receiver, touchpad, external display or projector, sound, number buttons. Similarly, the transition to sleep mode or the “Scroll Lock” mode is performed. In addition, setting the sound and screen brightness is often placed on the direction buttons (arrows): by pressing "Fn", you can adjust these values ​​in just one movement. The same applies to player control: software laptop allows you to switch tracks or pause music directly from the keyboard using the same auxiliary key.

Of course, each individual brand and model of laptop will have its own set of these icons. If some designation didn’t intuitively remind you of anything, look at its purpose in the instructions for your PC.

Numeric keypad

If you have to do a lot of number work on a laptop, you may need a numeric keypad: the top row of buttons is usually not very convenient for such tasks. Many laptops with a screen diagonal of up to 15.6 inches cannot treat you to such a “luxury” due to space savings, but the developers have taken this need into account and put the numbers on the letter keys.

Look at the part of the letters that are located under the right hand when typing - numbers will be applied to these buttons. The number entry mode is activated using the same Fn key in combination with Num Lock. The "Num Lock" mode will be displayed, most likely, on one of the F-keys. It takes a little getting used to the layout, and you can easily work with text and numbers, switching between these modes as needed.

1. If, when typing, you see that the cursor itself “jumps” to an arbitrary section of the page, most likely you are quietly touching the touchpad. During such periods, you can disable it with the combination of the Fn button and the F-key with the touchpad icon. If you use a mouse on a laptop, the touchpad can be disabled until you need it.

1. When numbers suddenly appear instead of letters while typing, you probably have Num Lock turned on. It can also be turned on and off with the help of "Fn" and a key with the corresponding inscription.
2. Can't set up a Wi-Fi network? It may be that the receiver is disabled at the software level: "Fn" + F-key with the wireless network icon will turn it back on. Some laptops are equipped with indicator lights that show the status of the wireless receivers.

Conclusion

So, despite the compactness of the keyboard on a laptop, most of its functions were retained, and even new ones were added. Just take a closer look: those icons that you previously did not pay attention to can greatly help you in further work with your computer.

If you were unable to set up your laptop keyboard or faced some other problem in its operation, write to us in the comments, we will try to give advice specifically for your situation.

The designation of the keys on the laptop

The laptop keyboard has keys, or rather the designations on the keys, the meaning of which is incomprehensible to a beginner. In this lesson I want to clarify the meaning of such notation. If you take a look at the laptop keyboard, you will certainly see the Fn key on it, it is usually located in the lower left corner of the keyboard. The "Fn" label is usually highlighted in blue or circled in white, depending on the laptop model. In addition, if you look closely, you can see the icons on the keyboard also highlighted in blue or circled in a white frame. As you probably already guessed, there is a connection between the keys with these icons and the Fn key.

The "Fn" key (pronounced "Funkshin"), in combination with keys with blue icons or white borders, causes the computer to perform a specific action. On different laptop models, these icons are assigned to different keys, so I will describe the actions in pictures so as not to be tied to a specific key combination. Here is a list of such combinations and their corresponding actions:

"Fn" + - call help on keyboard shortcuts.

"Fn" + - call power consumption settings.

"Fn" + - Turn on/off BlueTooth.

"Fn" + - enable / disable sleep mode.

"Fn" + - if an external display (monitor or TV) is connected to the laptop, then using this key combination you can switch display modes: to the laptop display, to an external display, or to both the laptop display and an external display.

"Fn" + - turn off the laptop monitor in order to save energy.

"Fn" + - turn on / off the TouchPada (a device on which you move your finger to move the cursor. Replaces the mouse).

I have an interesting history with this keyboard shortcut. My friend has been using a laptop for more than a year and somehow at a meeting he asked me to help figure out why the Touchpad does not work, i.e. without a mouse, he could not work on a laptop for a whole year!

Without hesitation, I pressed this key combination - turned on the Touchpad and it all worked. He was very surprised. thought that the touchpad was simply broken 🙂

How is the laptop setup?

Every year, portable computers are becoming more popular, crowding out traditional personal computers. Computer store consultants are well aware that consumers are increasingly opting for compact laptops over full-fledged desktops.
The reason for this is simple - the technical characteristics of the average portable silicon assistant are almost as good as those in stationary models. The only unpleasant moment is the limitation in the diagonal of the screen, which in laptops rarely exceeds 19 inches. However, this is easily solved by purchasing a separate monitor for the home.

However, as always happens, such popularity has its negative manifestations. In particular, now service centers the laptop is frequently configured. This service is in demand, and supply and demand, as you know, are directly related. For example, the Internet shows over 27 thousand offers where laptop tuning can be done. An impressive amount!

Theoretically, setting up a laptop can be done by yourself. Still, we must not forget that the differences between a personal computer and a laptop are rather constructive, but by no means cardinal. The same basic BIOS functions, hardware components similar in principle of operation, even the operating system is no different. Therefore, for example, a person who knows how to "raise" wireless network on personal computer, setting up wifi on a laptop will seem just as simple.

One of the differences between portable and desktop systems is the spartan simplicity of the BIOS of the first.

No overclocking of components, changing timings of memory models, activation of blocked processor cores can be found here (except for special models). Setting up a laptop begins with BIOS. To enter the parameter selection screen, you must press F2 immediately after switching on. Depending on the model, here you can set the main bootable media, date/time, select the desired mode for the energy saving functions. Sometimes the BIOS provides the ability to work with the battery.

The next step is to set the brightness of the screen for yourself. In laptops, this requires pressing a certain combination of buttons. For example, Fn + right arrow. The exact values ​​\u200b\u200bcan be found in the instructions, and prompting images are also applied to the buttons.

The camera on a laptop is configured from the operating system. You must install the device driver before you can correct the image. It is recommended to do this even if the control program is found in the library Windows drivers and was installed automatically. To resolve this issue, you will need the CD that came with your laptop. If there are several drivers for webcams, then you need to install it for your model. It can be found in the specifications for the laptop. After installation, you can launch Skype and adjust the display settings there (menu Tools - Settings).

It was not in vain that we pointed out the similarities between personal computers and laptops: all recommendations for setting up the former are almost completely suitable for the latter. Is that the mode of operation of the energy saving manager should be different.

The setting makes it possible to optimize the operation of the system in accordance with the wishes of the owner.

Many people use the words "laptop" and "laptop" interchangeably. But not many people know that there is a difference between these two concepts regarding the configuration and technical characteristics of the devices. In a normal friendly conversation, you can say both "laptop" and "laptop" about the same device, it's not scary. However, when buying, you should be on the lookout.

The simplest explanation of the difference between these two concepts can be formulated as follows: a laptop is a portable computer, small, fitting on the user's lap (from the English "lap" - knee); laptop - thinner and more portable computer device(compared to a laptop). However, the thickness of the case is far from the only difference.

As a rule, laptops are very light, their batteries last for 4-5 hours of operation. The graphics system of laptops is simple, since the main task of such devices is to provide basic computing capabilities to users who work outside the home or office, or relax, again outside the home. Laptop screen sizes are around 12-14 inches. As a rule, the modem is pre-built into the case. The keyboard is small and functional, the processor "pulls" not so much energy. It's also worth noting that laptops tend to cost a lot because they're portable and minimalist.

Now let's take a closer look at laptops. The display diagonal is usually 14-17 inches, the graphics are on top (cards from NVidia or Ati Radeon). The laptop keyboard is large and wide. A laptop always has a built-in drive. The battery lasts for 3 (or more) hours of operation. A laptop is not an acquisition for a year or two. Its components can be easily changed according to your requirements and income. As a rule, laptops support Bluetooth and WiFi, are equipped with good speakers. Often they are equipped with Intel Centrino processors, which provide fairly low power consumption.

Laptops are created as an almost complete replacement desktop computer, while laptops are lightweight computers for traveling and doing simple work moments away from home.

It turns out that there is still a difference between "laptops" and "laptops", albeit not very significant. Keep this in mind when choosing a portable computer!