Discover the Right Laptop/Ultrabook for You
NEW & EMERGING:
Ultrabooks
 
These under 15-inch laptops feature an ultra-thin and lightweight form factor, without compromising performance.
  
MAINSTREAM:
Power Without the Premium
You can get a state-of-the-art dual core processor-based laptop for well under $750.
  
GOOD VALUES:
Budget Laptops
 
In this price range you'll find Netbooks running on Atom processors and low-priced, large 15-inch laptops. Whatever you call them, they deliver a lot of computer for a low price.
Top Rated Ultrabooks
  
Top Rated Power Without the Premium
  
Top Rated Budget Laptops
$799.00
HP Folio 13-1020us - Ultrabook - Core i5 2467M / ...
$655.00
Toshiba Satellite P755-S5380 15.6-Inch LED Laptop ...
  • Intel Core i5 2430M / 2.4 GHz
  • 15.6"
  • Notebook
$379.00
Acer Aspire AS5250-0639 15.5" Laptop (1.65 GHz AMD ...
  • AMD Fusion E-450 / 1.65 GHz
  • 15.6"
  • Notebook
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Getting more out of your Laptop
The Must-Haves

Accessories like laptop bags, USB flash and external drives are things you should consider first.

Making it Better

You can upgrade your laptop with a second monitor, mouse, memory or hard drive.

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Ivy BridgeThe latest iteration of Core i3, i5, and i7 chips, and the successor to Sandy Bridge, offers higher performance and uses less power Sandy BridgeThese processors may be older, but still offers great performance.      
Quad-CoreDual–core may still be adequate for most tasks but quad–cores found in new i7 and i5 chips are becoming more affordable. Dual-CoreA dual–core processor like the Core i3 will give you plenty of power for most tasks.      
SSD (Solid State Drive)Solid state drives are still expensive but are faster and more reliable. HD Capacity > 500 GBWith more laptops used as primary computers, 500 GB is a reasonable number HD Capacity < 320 gbIf you're using your laptop mostly for going online you don't need a lot of storage   
   Ultrabooks/Macbook AirUltrabooks are just recently gaining popularity as prices are starting to drop on early ultrabook models. They offer a light-weight form factor coupled with powerful performance NetbooksFor under $300 you can get a very portable laptop with good battery life and a real keyboard   
ThunderboltThunderbolt has significant speed improvements over USB 3.0, but the market has been slow to adopt it because of its high cost compared to USB 3.0 Integrated WirelessA requirement for most mobile devices today. Go for 802.11n if you can get it Integrated EthernetWi-Fi is much better but you can still get Internet access many places with an Ethernet connector   
USB 3.0Offering significant speed and power improvements over USB 2.0, newer laptops are starting to come equipped with USB 3.0 USB 2.0USB 2.0 is standard in most laptops on the market.      
Energy Star ComplianceEnvironmentally-friendly laptops should have good power management EPEAT (Green) SupportThis standard means the laptop was made with non-toxic materials and manufactured in an environmentally-friendly way      
Blu-Ray Drive/BurnerBlu-ray drives are becoming more of a standard in newer laptops DVD Drive/BurnerMany laptops are skipping optical drives to save weight and size CD Drive/BurnerEither no optical drive or a DVD drive is the way to go   
   Integrated WebcamAlthough an external webcam might be better quality one built into the laptop cover can make video conferencing easier.      
HDMIWith just one cable, you can have both audio and video output directly to your HDTV. DVIThe digital standard for external displays and better than VGA S-VideoNot as good as HDMI but can be adequate for putting laptop content on a TV VGAStill a standard for connecting monitors but fading away
Read about the latest technologies in Retrevo's Laptop Buying Guide »

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