Top Rated Laptops - Best Laptop Computers 2009

The reason, that you are reading this article to know about the top rated laptops, is simple. You don't want to buy a laptop computer and show it to your friends, who would probably laugh at you, because they got a far better configuration for the same amount of money. You need to stay in touch with the latest technological trends available. It should not happen that you go to buy a laptop and you are not even aware of the processor speed and its importance. There are certain important features that need to be understood, before answering the question, how to buy a new laptop.

Finding the best laptop deal is not an easy task. The type of laptop that you intend to buy depends primarily on the use of the laptop (i.e., the purpose for which you want to use it). If you just want a laptop for your regular work, like checking your mails, managing your daily accounts, etc., then probably, you don't require a very high end system. Again, if you are a computer programmer, then you would require a computer with the best configuration. If you are into gaming, you have to consider aspects like, if the laptop that you intend to buy has a compatible processor and a graphics card with sufficient memory to handle the PC games and give you the best gaming experience. Personally, I feel that instead of going into the details of getting a laptop that exactly meets your needs, why not go for one with a good configuration, irrespective of the fact that you have limited usage. Besides, nowadays, you get the top rated laptops at very reasonable prices. So, there is no point investing your money on some low configuration laptop.

Now, let us take a look at the most important factors that you need to take care of before you go for the buy. What I mean to say is, make a careful survey of the features or the configuration aspects, that will help you in sorting out a laptop from the best laptop computer deals. Once we are done with the technical configurations part, we will be in the right position to choose from the best laptops of 2009 from the list that follows.

Technical Configurations of a Laptop

Processor
The all important processor or the core of your laptop, this is what takes care of each and every operation in your computer. It is not required to mention that you should get the best available processor in the market. No doubt, this depends on your usage, but the features of a processor, like its speed, multitasking capability, handling computer games, etc., are features that need to be taken care of before selecting a laptop from the top rated laptops available in the market. You should have a fair idea of the reviews of different computer processors, manufactured by the different computer processor vendors. AMD and Intel are among the most established companies in this field. Again, you need to understand the basic difference between a 32 bit processor and a 64 bit processor. A 64 processor will provide you with the same performance, as that of a 32 bit processor with twice its frequency. Again, a processor that is being used in a laptop, should be such that it does not consume a lot of battery power. The basic reason that Intel built up the Intel Atom processor, was to let the laptops enjoy longer battery life. But then again, will the use of an Intel Atom processor in your laptop handle all the applications that would run on your laptop? Just like the Intel Atom, there is the AMD Athlon NEO processor, that is used in handling the low cost Netbooks. Many sites have reviewed AMD Athlon NEO processor and mentioned that it has a very good multitasking capability.

RAM
Next important feature is the RAM (Random Access Memory). What is a computer RAM? The RAM or the Random Access Memory of your computer, is the primary memory of your computer. No doubt there are cache memories available, which are accessed by the processor before the RAM, but then, it is still attributed as the primary memory of any computer. Every program or application that runs in the computer, has to be first loaded on the RAM, before it can be accessed by the CPU, or in other words, before the processing starts. Even when a computer boots up, it is the BIOS routines which, when loaded onto the RAM, starts up the computer. It is a volatile memory, that is, it doesn't store data permanently. Once the power is cut off, there is nothing on the RAM anymore. But then, without a good size of RAM, your computer will not be able to function properly. Just as in the case of processors, there are a variety of RAMs to choose from the market too. DDR2 and DDR3 are among the most common choices. Again, you need to get the proper reviews between the two. DDR3 has, no doubt, got higher frequency ratings, but at the same time, the latency also increases on using DDR2. Thus, you need to make a choice of your own. The size of your RAM is chiefly responsible for the execution of your applications. Hence, take a RAM of a proper size that is sufficient to handle all your operations. If you want to learn a simulator on your laptop, then you are probably in need of a RAM somewhere around 2 GB. The size of the RAM is in fact, one of the primary requirements of operating systems and various other applications.

Cache Memory
This is what can help you speed up your computer's performance. RAM is a volatile memory and the processor may take time to fetch data and instructions from the RAM. A cache memory is a high speed memory, that is located between the RAM and the computer processor. Getting into the details of how a cache memory works, will take volumes itself. For now, let us understand that it is a memory that is easily accessible and is faster than RAM and hence, it is always important that your laptop computer should have a good amount of cache memory. The cache memory is divided into L1 instruction cache, L2 instruction cache, L1 data cache, etc. The L1 cache means that it is the level 1 cache and is closest to the CPU. This is done by computer manufacturers to decrease the latency in a computer. Read more to know what is processor cache.

Hard Drive
The computer's hard drive is the secondary storage unit of the computer, where all data and applications are stored. The hard disk is not accessed directly by the CPU and it is non-volatile too. So, any data that you want to store, has to be in the hard disk. The size of the hard disk for your laptop depends on the amount of data you need to store. However, I feel, with all the best rated laptops offering you a large amount of hard disk space, there is nothing wrong in getting a laptop with a good amount of hard disk space. You never know, when you are suddenly in a requirement to store a large amount of data in your hard disk. Once you go to a laptop computer vendor, you will see that primarily there are two options of hard drives to choose from; the one that uses SATA technology and the other that uses PATA technology. SATA hard disks can be accessed serially, while PATA hard drives use the parallel data access technology. However, the SATA hard drives are faster than the PATA hard drives.

Graphics Card
If you are into gaming, then you of course know the importance of a graphics card. For playing high end games, it is often a compulsion that your laptop should have a graphics card with a minimum amount of memory storage. Nvidia and AMD are among the best graphic card manufacturing companies for the laptop segment. ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 with 256 MB storage capacity and Nvidia's GTS 260M are among the best graphic cards available for the top rated laptop computers.

Other Important Configurations
You can look for other inbuilt facilities that the best rated laptop computers avail. The following are some other very important features that you need to take care of, while purchasing a laptop.

• Many laptops come along with integrated web cameras. This can prove to be very useful, if you are on a video conference.
• Some laptops also come with integrated microphones. Check out the laptops' sound quality as well.
• Also check out if the laptop has an inbuilt memory card reader. This will help you a lot, as transferring data to your cell phone's memory card would not require any extra peripherals.
• This is the age of wireless technology. The basic purpose, because of which you got a laptop, is so that you have a mobile computer. What use will it be of, if you have to finally use a cable for Internet access. Check out for the Wi-Fi features in the laptop, so that you can have a wireless access to the Internet and form your own wireless LAN (Local Area Network).
• Ensure that your computer has proper hardware security features enabled. There are many laptops which even come with the hard disk shock absorbing facility. When such laptops experience the slightest vibration, the entire system freezes, thus causing no damage to the hard disk.
• Bluetooth technology is the fastest and of course, the most power consuming feature in any mobile device. However, in case of laptops, the benefits of bluetooth are many. What can beat the fact that you can connect a laptop to your Internet-enabled cell phone with bluetooth facility? Almost all laptop manufacturers include this technology just as they include the wireless feature. So, take care that your laptop is not left out of these important features.

Common Things to Check Before You Buy a Laptop
What I will be listing out here are the most common features that you need to take care of, while buying a laptop. These features are totally specific for a laptop and without checking out these features, even a high end laptop that you purchase, won't bring the satisfaction of availing the best bargain.

• Check out the screen size. There are wide screen laptops, as well as laptops with small screens. The ones with smaller screens may be good for you, if you are a bit tight on budget and the wide screen ones of about 17" monitor size, will give you a real good visual experience.
• Check out the CD/DVD ROM of your laptop. Read the reviews of the CD/DVD ROM of the laptop you are supposed to buy. Many people face problems with the laptops CD/DVD lens, and hence its better that you get the review before you go for the buy. Check out that the laptop has the capability to read and write CDs as well as DVDs. Blue-ray disks are in high demand in the market, and if you get a blue-ray writer integrated in your laptop, then you are one step closer to a good bargain
• Check out if the keyboard is large enough for your hands to fit in. This may not sound important, but believe me, you can really get frustrated whenever you hit a wrong key because of the small size of your laptop. Also consider the spill laptops that are available in the market.
• Check out if the touch pad is good enough and responds well to the movements of your fingers. If there are additional facilities like track point, then its even better.
• Read reviews of the heat sink facility of the best rated laptops before you go for the buy. Laptops, as compared to desktops, do not have good cooling facilities. Hence, its very important that you get the reviews of the heat sink facilities of the laptop, before you buy one. An overheated laptop can cause damage to the hardware inside the system. For understanding how to cool laptops, read on.
• Number of USB ports in your laptop computer is another deciding factor. If in due course of time, you come to a situation that you have to connect a few USB devices to your laptop at a same time, then you may have to compromise on one of the devices. Hence, its very important that you have considerable number of USB ports in your laptop.
• And last but not the least, consider the laptop battery life. Check out that the laptop that you buy should have a good battery life.

With the basic features dealt with, we are now in a position to take a look at the best rated laptops of 2009.

Best Laptops 2009

There are a good number of competitors in the laptop market. They provide, produce and manufacture the top rated laptop computers. Dell, HP, Toshiba, FujiTsu, IBM and Apple are just a few of them. Let us take a look at the laptops manufactured by these laptop manufacturing companies.

HP Compaq 8510P
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.2GHz
RAM: 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Drive: 160 GB SATA
Average Price: $1600
Bluetooth: YES
WiFi: YES

This is one of the laptops that has gained a great user review this year. The Intel Core 2 Duo processor of 2.2GHz frequency and 2 GB RAM provides it with good multitasking facility and good performance. If you love gaming and movies, then this laptop is not going to disappoint you. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 graphics card in this laptop provides very good visual effects and helps in handling the high end games. It is a wide screen laptop that comes along with genuine Windows Vista operating system. It has a 56 kbps internal modem too. The DVD-RW drive also supports blue ray disks and dual layer disks.

Toshiba Satellite L505-S6959
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T6500
RAM: 4GB DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Drive: 320 GB SATA
Average Price: $570
Bluetooth: YES
WiFi: YES

This is another laptop which is primarily known for the large storage space that it provides. This laptop provides the Blue Ray DL facility along with the DVD-Read Write features. Its 16 inch wide screen provides good visual capability because of the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500 MHD graphics processor that it comes along with. It has 2 USB ports and an external SATA USB combo port. This laptop also comes along with genuine Windows Vista. Overall, its indeed a very good bargain. Read more to know about the history of blue ray technology.

Apple MacBook Pro 2009
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz
RAM: 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM
Hard Drive: 320 GB SATA
Average Price: $2799
Bluetooth: YES
WiFi: YES

The laptops manufactured by Apple have always been known for their display and graphics. This apple computer is an another good bargain. The 6MB cache memory provides it with a very fast processing and access speeds. The 512 MB Nvidia GEForce 9400M graphic card and Nvidia 9600M GT dedicated graphic card, provides it with supreme gaming and graphic features.

Fujitsu Lifebook a6220
Processor: Intel Core 2Duo P8400 2.26GHz
RAM: 4GB DDR3 SDRAM
Hard Disk: 320 GB SATA
Average Price: $1399
Bluetooth: YES
WiFi: YES

This is another good laptop that can be considered while buying a new one. The CD/DVD drive also has the capability to handle Blue-ray disks. For handling the graphics features, it uses the ATI MOBILITY Radeon HD 3470 graphic card. This is another laptop that comes along with the Windows Vista operating system.

Dell XPS M1330
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz
RAM: 4GB
Hard Disk: 500GB
Price: $680
Bluetooth: YES
WiFi: YES

The primary feature of this laptop is its high storage space and the built in camera, that comes along with it. Another important feature of this laptop is, that it comes along with a high definition audio features. It uses the INVIDIA GeForce 8400M graphic card for enhancing its display.

These were the best laptop computers of 2009, from various laptop manufacturing companies. Besides the laptops mentioned above, a simple browsing over the Internet will help you in choosing the best laptop that meets your needs as well as your budget. While buying a laptop, keep some other important aspects in mind too. Ask the vendor, if he is providing you with laptop accessories along with the laptop. Hope this article on top rated laptops of 2009, will help you in making a proper decision before you go for the buy.