The Gadgets Page

Continuing our series on choosing a notebook PC, today I’ll take a look at three more major notebook features: disk drives, video cards, and memory.

While these are relatively minor considerations when you buy a desktop machine—you can always upgrade them later—notebooks are harder to upgrade, so it’s worth taking a moment to consider what you need and buy it up front if possible.

Disk Drives

The most obvious consideration when choosing a disk drive is size, and the larger the better—especially if you’ll be working with digital photos or video, or storing a library of MP3s on the machine. Today’s top models have disk sizes ranging from 40GB to 100GB. If you order online, you can usually choose the disk size, but if you buy your notebook locally you’re stuck with the stock choice. Make sure it’s something you can live with.

In general, for strictly business use—no video or music—40GB is plenty. But if your notebook will double as a desktop music or video player, get the biggest drive you can afford.

All but the largest notebooks have room for only one disk drive. While it is possible to upgrade the drive, it requires reinstalling the operating system—not always an easy task with notebooks, since you have to track down drivers for all of their components. Also, since laptop disk drives are smaller and less in demand, you usually save money by buying the drive with the notebook.

Another variable is disk drive speed. Most notebook drives are 5400 RPM, a bit slower than the 7200 RPM drives that are available on desktops. Some ultra-small notebooks will have 4200 RPM or slower drives, but since the slower drives use less battery, it might be worthwhile to live without the highest speed. Unless you’re using the machine for video editing or music production, drive speed probably won’t affect your experience.

Video

On a desktop PC, you can upgrade the video card if you need more performance. While there are some standards for notebooks to support video upgrades, almost no machines support them, so you should buy the machine with the video support you need.

For PC notebooks, there are usually two video choices. The cheapest is “Integrated video,” also known as “Intel Graphics Media Accelerator”—this is the video chipset packaged with Intel’s Centrino chipset. It usually shares the system RAM rather than having its own video memory. It works for business use and can play a DVD just fine, but isn’t very fast for anything video-intensive—games in particular.

If you plan on doing lots of gaming or video editing, look for a machine with a separate nVidia or ATI video card and dedicated video RAM. You’ll also want to read reviews and benchmarks for each model if you need lots of video performance. Some customizable laptops offer both choices, others have only one video option.

Memory

One last factor that will have a major effect on your notebook’s performance is the amount of RAM memory. For Windows, I recommend a minimum of 1 GB unless you’ll only be running the simplest software. For Mac OS X, 512 MB is workable, but 1 GB is faster.

Memory is one area where you may be able to save $100 or more by upgrading it yourself. You can add memory to most notebooks by removing a few screws and inserting a chip. If you’re buying a customized PC, check Crucial.com and compare their price for a memory upgrade to the manufacturer’s price when you buy the notebook. If the price is significantly lower, you might want to buy the (almost crippled) 256 MB model and put in a new chip. (You can buy memory at many online sources, but Crucial is a good place to start because their site can tell you which type the notebook needs.)

Most notebooks have two memory slots. If you buy a machine with 512 MB or 1 GB of RAM, be warned that the stock memory might be divided between two chips, making an upgrade difficult. For example, if a 1 GB notebook has two 512 MB chips and you buy a new 1 GB chip, the maximum memory will be 1.5 GB, since you’ll have to remove one of the existing chips to add the new one.

Almost done! In the next installment I’ll look at connectivity options for notebooks—WiFi, Bluetooth, USB, and so on.

• View our entire series of articles on choosing a notebook PC

Previously:

• Part 1: Size Matters
• Part 2: Screens
• Part 3: Processors

While choosing a PC has never been an easy task, processors used to be easy to tell apart—a 2.0GHz processor was faster than a 1.5GHz processor, and cost more money. A Pentium 3 was more efficient than a Pentium 2. Now processor speed means less than it used to, and the manufacturers have helpfully started calling their processors things like “Core Duo T2300″ and “Turion 64 ML-40″.

Continuing our series on choosing a notebook PC, today I’m taking a look at processors for notebooks. Read on to find out how to tell them apart, and how to choose the best one for your new notebook.

Intel Processors

A bit of history: While Intel’s Pentium 4 was built for blistering clock speeds, which looked great when compared with their competition, they weren’t very efficient in processing or in power consumption. Desktop P4’s worked, but the speed didn’t get much higher than 3GHz because of manufacturing difficulty—and there was no way to squeeze one of these beasts into a laptop. So Intel went back to their Pentium 3 design, and built the Pentium M processor based on that. It ran at slower clock speeds than a P4, but was more efficient and less power-hungry, making it ideal for laptops.

As of January this year, Intel released their Core Duo chips, which are basically two Pentium Ms built into the same chip, and Core Solo, a 1-processor version of the updated chip. These are the latest Intel processors to appear in notebook PCs (including Apple’s new MacBook Pro). Intel is extending this idea to future desktop chips, which will be the next generation after Pentium 4.

Here are the Intel processors you’ll find in current notebooks:

• Core Duo: Essentially a double Pentium M. The fastest Intel processor for notebooks.
• Pentium M: The previous state of the art, and still a respectable processor.
• Core Solo: A single-processor version of a Core Duo—essentially a Pentium M, but for the new platform.
• Celeron M: A slower economy model, a stripped down Pentium M.

AMD Processors

While Intel was going back to the drawing board, their competitor AMD continued improving their processors. In particular, they’re producing 64-bit processors, while Intel’s are all still 32-bit, and their chips, like Intel’s Pentium M series, are more efficient at the same clock speed. Their Turion processors, released last year, are low-power 64-bit chips meant for notebooks. Until the Core Duo was released, AMD had a clear lead over Intel; now the two are competitive. AMD’s current notebook processors include the following:

• Turion 64: AMD’s top of the line notebook processor.
• Mobile Sempron: A lower-end mobile CPU that costs less.

(AMD also has a dual-core Athlon 64 processor, but it’s only available in a few very specialized and very large notebooks.)

Choosing a Processor

Should you choose Intel or AMD? That’s a difficult question if you’re looking for the fastest possible notebook—Intel’s Core Duo chips have two processors, but AMD’s Turion processors support 64-bit processing. Neither is a clear advantage, though:

• Two processors only give you an advantage when you’re running two or more programs at once, or using an application designed to take advantage of multiple processors.
• 64-bit chips only give you an advantage when you’re running a 64-bit operating system, like the upcoming Windows Vista.

I suspect the latest Core Duo machines, which have only been out for a month or so, will beat AMD in benchmarks, but it’s hard to find comparisons of machines as new as these. The good news: if you’re just looking for a machine that can run Photoshop or play your favorite game, one of the latest processors from either one will work just fine.

Processor Speed

One last thing to consider: processor speed. With either Intel or AMD, you will find a range of speeds, and if you order a custom notebook from HP, Sony, or Dell, you can choose the speed. How much speed you need depends on what you’re planning to do with the notebook:

• Desktop applications (Word processing, Spreadsheet, etc.)—the slowest and cheapest of the current models will work fine.
• Design and music (Photoshop, Cubase, etc.)—the faster the better.
• Games—the faster the better, but the video card might matter more—see the next installment.

If you want a reasonably fast machine at a good price, I recommend getting the second- or third-fastest processor. You always pay a very high price for the top processor. For example, as of today, when ordering a Dell Inspiron E1705 notebook, you get a 1.66GHz Core Duo by default. The next step up, 1.83 GHz, adds $100 to the price, and going up to 2 GHz costs $300. Stepping up to the newest, fastest 2.16 GHz processor costs a whopping $600—you can save $300 by choosing the second-best, and I doubt you’ll miss that .16 GHz.

(Note: Both Intel and AMD have assigned code numbers to their chips, like T2300 and M40. While you can generally assume a bigger number means a faster processor, I recommend you look at the actual speed in GHz.)

Macintosh Considerations

I’ve focused on Windows notebooks here, since they have many processor choices. If you’re considering an Apple notebook, there are less choices, but you do have one major thing to consider: Intel or G4. Apple is moving to Intel processors, and their MacBook Pro is the first Intel-based notebook. It’s undoubtedly faster than the previous machines, but there are some advantages to sticking with the tried-and-true G4 notebooks for now:

• MacBook Pro: The Intel Core Duo processors are fast, and you’ll have a machine that supports the platform Apple’s taking into the future. However, older applications aren’t optimized for Intel processors and will have to run under the Rosetta emulation system, making them potentially slower than on a G4. In particular, Photoshop isn’t available in a Core Duo build yet, and probably won’t be until they release a new version.

• iBooks and Powerbooks: The G4 processor might be the fastest choice for Photoshop right now, but you’ll be behind the curve as everything moves to the Intel platform over the next year or two.

Of course, Apple will undoubtedly release more Intel-based notebooks soon, so keep an eye on the market before you decide.

Conclusion

One thing to watch out for: some manufacturers use desktop processors in notebooks. Sometimes these are high-end models that are larger but faster, and sometimes they’re just cheap models. In either case, the processor will generate more heat and more drain on the battery than a true mobile processor, so avoid them unless you really need the speed.

Don’t forget that there are lots of factors besides the processor that will affect speed—the hard disk and video card being the biggest. In the next installment of this series on Monday, we’ll look at three more major notebook features to consider: disk drives, video, and memory.

• View our entire series of articles on choosing a notebook PC

Previously:

• Part 1: Size Matters
• Part 2: Screens

Nothing says I love you like a gadget, right?

No, actually, that’s wrong.

The best way to say I love you is with those little actions every day of the year. You can’t give a gift on Valentine’s Day and think that it will make up for all the times you forgot the important things all year long.

It’s too late for this year, but starting today, remember all the little ways to say I love you without expensive gifts. You probably should ask your partner what they think would tell them that you love them and then DO IT.

Sorry, no cool gadgets for you today. Just an urging to tell your loved one that you really love them in the best way possible.

We saw this color laser printer at the Epson booth. It was the last day of the convention and we were tired, but the lady at the Epson booth was eager to show us all of its capabilities. The printer was very reasonably priced at $799, but I wanted to know the cost of maintenance. She had all the information for us:

Black Toner (4000 pages): $79.99
Color Toner (1500 pages): $69.99
Color Toner (4000 pages): $114.99
Drum (42,000 pages BW and 10,500 pages Color): $269.99

These prices didn’t seem outrageous. The fax and copier feeder has a 50 sheet maximum. The printer has no manual feed for things like labels, so you just have to put them in the normal feed.

Additionally, the feed has a 500 sheet capacity, but it doesn’t have a tray. I’m so used to putting paper in a tray instead of directly into the machine that I was uncomfortable with this. She noticed my reluctance and opened it up and showed how easy it was to put in the paper, but the machine was elevated and the paper feed was at eye level for us. I’m sure it’s easy when the feed is at eye level, but sitting on the filing cabinet in our office, it would be substantially lower. Would that make it more difficult to fill?

It will take legal size paper, which is cool, but I have been brainwashed by so many companies. The paper goes in a tray, not directly into the machine. This All-In-One machine won PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice award, so that one issue might not be as important as it seems to me.

The color copies that come out of the machine are beautiful. Epson is known for great color, so that’s what really draws me to this machine. A color laser printer at under $800. Things are really getting better all the time.

Click here to see Epson’s Website:

• Epson America, Inc. – Product Information – AcuLaser CX11NF

At our other weblog, Starling Fitness, Laura has been reviewing the fitness gadgets we’ve seen at CES—there have been quite a few. Here are links to our first batch of reviews:

Konami and DDR—looking at Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution display.

PowerGrid Fitness—The Kilowatt and Exer-Station are a line of Xbox/PS2/PC game controllers that turn gameplay into a workout.

ArcadeMX—The BodyForce is a controller similar to a DDR pad, but intended for playing martial arts games. It includes wrist and ankle transmitters that translate your moves to the game.

GameRunner—A PC game controller that uses a treadmill to control forward movement and speed.

We have more CES items to post here, and be sure to watch Starling Fitness for the gadgets that might help you stay fit.

Live from CES… Filed under: Site News — Michael Moncur @ 6:00 am

Laura and I will be attending the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, and posting daily items of interest here and at Starling Fitness. CES posts will begin on Wednesday, January 4th.

CES is where many companies announce their latest gadgets, or show off concepts for future products. As usual, we’ll try to stick to “real world” gadgets that you’ll actually see on the shelves soon, but we might cover some of the pie-in-the-sky gadgets too.

You shouldn’t expect total coverage of CES here, of course—it’s a gigantic show, and we’re covering it with a staff of two people. What you can expect is our perspective: each day we’ll post about a few new gadgets that we found the most innovative or interesting.

Enjoy the CES coverage! Comments (0)

Applies to GZ-MG20U, GZ-MG30U, GZ-MG40U, GZ-MG50U

• Read our original review

Well, I’ve been using the JVC Everio as my primary camcorder for a month now, so it’s time to update the site with my experiences.

The camera startup time is about five seconds—pretty much the same as any modern camcorder. You don’t need to worry much about getting setup in advance.

Video quality is fantastic. While you can observe some video artifacts if you pan the camera rapidly at basic quality, the video is essentially perfect at medium, high, and ultra quality. You can’t see any defects on an NTSC television at these resolutions. The Ultra-resolution mode is 9.8Mb/sec, the maximum standard for DVD and MPEG-2. At this quality, the video is very close to raw uncompressed DV in quality. I’ve been very happy with the video quality—the real-time MPEG2 compression engine in the camera is superior to that of my Sony DVD Handycam and my Phillips console DVD burner—and better than any of the software compressors I’ve used. It’s as close to professional as you’re going to get.

One negative: The auto exposure mode frequently seems washed out. I’ve found that I have to use the spot exposure mode to be happy with the exposure settings–Auto exposure and the varous fixed modes (cloudy, sport, etc.) don’t seem to be well calibrated and they vary too much while you’re shooting.

Editing videos is pretty easy. Both the Mac and PC packages are easy to use and relatively powerful—CaptyEx for the Mac is the best non-linear MPEG-2 editor (i.e., no wasted time transcoding) I’ve seen for less than $1000. Since you’ve got to use your PC to burn the video anyway, you might as well spend some time cutting out the garbage. I’ve actually been using the included software to edit commercials out of DVDs burned on my TiVo.

Erik Dp asked “Can material stored on two separate discs be merged into one disc with the editing programs? (I don’t want to store too much raw material on my computer if a “best of”-disc has to be created.)”. The included editing software can be used to edit existing DVD material, if that’s what you’re asking. So if you’ve already burned your video to DVD and you later want to create a compilation disk, that’s no problem. You will have to copy the .VOB files back onto your PC and rename them to MPG in order to edit them, but that’s easy to do. The editing programs will allow you to cut and paste video pretty much however you want. You can keep many hours of video on the camera depending on the hard disk size and the quality of video you are recording (Generally a full day of ultra-quality or a week’s worth of basic quality) , before you have to start moving it off to DVD.

Not having to worry about changing tapes or DVDs is fantastic! It makes this camera considerably cheaper than tape or disc based cameras because you don’t have to buy media. With DVDs blanks down to about 0.50/each, this camera costs far less to operate than MiniDV or Mini-DVD camcorders—and it’s future proof: Current dual-layer 9GB DVDs and future ultra-high capacity Blu-Ray or DVD HD burners for PCs will work with MPEG2 video from this camera.

Turning the camera off before unplugging the USB cable reliably solves the disk corruption issue that I mentioned in the original article. When you turn the camera off, you can see that it accesses the hard disk for a few seconds, probably to flush an internal hard disk cache. Never unplug the camera without turning it off first.

If you’re a Mac user, Don’t bother purchasing CaptyDVD to author. Just use Toast 7 Titanium. Rename your VOB files to end in MPG and drag them into the Toast video window. Click burn, and you’ll have your DVD in about 20 minutes. Plus, unlike CaptyDVD, Toast 7 is useful for a lot of other burning needs.

Buy a JVC 1400mAh battery (BN-VF714U). The battery that comes with the camera only lasts about a half an hour. This one lasts about five. The Cellboost disposeable camcorder battery for JVC also works well as an emergency power source (it plugs into the DC adapter port) and costs about $12 at Fry’s/Outpost Electronics.

Lenmark aftermarket batteries do not work in the camera. They lack a security chip that JVC builds into newer cameras to force you to use JVC batteries. Sony does the same thing, and they both claim that it’s necessary for their smart battery power measurement to work, which is simply not true.

In summary, this is the best casual use camcorder I’ve ever used. If you’re a PC user and not afraid of burning DVDs, this is definitely the camcorder for you.

Welcome to the all-new (but two years old) Gadgets Page. This site launched in October 2003, but we haven’t had as much time to update it as we hoped. We’ve relaunched the site with a new design, new software, and a new focus.

We will now be posting shorter items more frequently, covering topics like these:

• Reviews of gadgets
• Descriptions of new and upcoming gadgets
• Getting the most from your gadgets
• Updates on our long-term experience with the gadgets we own and review
• Questions and answers
• Our thoughts on the industries behind the gadgets

We’re aware there are some other gadget sites out there—we read and enjoy them. But we plan to make this one different in a few ways:

• We have our own style and interests, and we’re trying to create a site for gadget users, not just gadget geeks.
• We’re going to focus on products that are available now (or soon) in the U.S. No offense to those outside the states, but we can’t write about what we can’t see or buy.
• We’ll talk about both old and new gadgets, and encourage you to get the most out of your gadgets rather than replacing them with the hottest new thing every few months.

Please let us know if you have any suggestions, or if there are gadgets or aspects you’d like us to cover. As with all sites, this one will evolve in style and substance as time goes by, and we hope you enjoy it!

—Your authors: Matthew Strebe, Michael Moncur, and Laura Moncur