Must-Have Features for Your Next Laptop

If you're looking to replace a laptop or desktop that's several years old, you're in for a treat. The intervening years have seen great advances in laptop features. Here's what you should look for, whether you're in the market for a general-purpose laptop or you have more-specific laptop uses in mind, such as for gaming, entertainment, or mobile work.

General Features

The Latest Processors

The latest chips from Intel and AMD significantly boost system performance, improve graphics processing, and increase battery life. In our tests of Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs, the new processors demonstrated their blazing performance and low power consumption. Meanwhile, AMD has showcased its new chips' ability to handle high-performance tasks smoothly. Look for a laptop with one of these latest CPUs.

An easy way to identify Sandy Bridge processors is by their model number: Previous-generation Intel Core processors have three-digit model numbers (for instance, Intel Core i3-350M) while Sandy Bridge chips have four-digit model numbers (such as Intel Core i3-2310M). AMD's Fusion chips will be dubbed AMD C-Series APU, AMD E-Series APU, and AMD A-Series APU (for details, see "AMD Finally Ships Fusion Processors").

SSD or Hybrid SSD

Laptop hard-drive storage capacity has grown dramatically in recent years. At minimum, if you expect to be wrangling lots of content, you should look for a 320GB drive that runs at 7200 rpm. If you don't need acres of space for multimedia, huge databases, and massive files, however, consider opting for a solid-state drive; in PCWorld Labs tests, SSDs have delivered significantly faster disk performance, in addition to having greater durability and lower power consumption. They also run cooler and more quietly.

You'll pay more per GB for an SSD, but the payoff--a blazing, fast-booting laptop--may be worth the couple of hundred bucks extra.

Hybrid SSD drives, such as the Seagate Momentus XT, which my PCWorld colleague Tony Bradley has championed, may offer the best of both worlds, combining brisk speed and roomy capacity at a lower price than a pure SSD commands. Vendors have included hybrid SSD drives in laptops such as Best Buy's exclusive Blue Label line.

High-Definition Screens

Most laptops today come with displays that have a maximum resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels--good enough for most users. For movie viewing or to see more on the screen, look for laptops with 1600-by-900-pixel or 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution.

Screen size is a matter of personal preference. Do you favor the netbook-like size and light weight of an 11.6-inch laptop like the MacBook Air, or is a massive 18.4-inch screen like the one Dell incorporated into the Alienware M18x more your style? For many users, the sweet spot seems to be the ultraportable 13.3-inch display size found in the Samsung Series 9, the MSI X-Slim X-370, and the Toshiba Portégé R830.

Long Battery Life

Unless you use your laptop primarily as a wall-plug-tethered desktop replacement, make sure that its battery life accommodates your mobile needs. You can find laptops both midsize and ultraportable laptops that last 6 hours or longer on a single charge.

Large Memory Capacity

Today's laptops usually offer at least 2GB of RAM, but 4GB is better--and of course, the larger the memory capacity, the better.

Comfortable Keyboard and Responsive Trackpad

When you spend hours typing on your laptop, a comfortable keyboard is critical. Look for full-size frequently used keys that have a good spring to them, amd a long and comfortable palm rest to support your wrists.

Trackpads have evolved in the past few years to support multitouch gestures. For an optimal laptop user experience, look for a large, well-positioned trackpad that's easy to interact with and has a smooth surface. The trackpad buttons should not be too tiny or excessively stiff.

See PCWorld's selection of the top all-purpose laptops.

Next: Features Essential for Ultramobile Workers