The CNET editors' guide to laptops clues you in to what you need to know, from finding the type of notebook that fits your lifestyle to all of the latest trends.
What types of drives do I need?
First, decide how big of a hard drive you need; this will depend on how much data you store. After that, determine what you'll use your notebook for. Will you be tackling the most basic computing tasks, or do you plan to make your own DVD movies?
Drives:
Hard drive |
CD and DVD drives |
Swappable vs. fixed drives |
External drives
Hard drive
A notebook hard drive removed from the system.
This magnetic disk provides you with space to save programs and files indefinitely--or at least for the life of the drive. Notebook hard drives can provide up to 120GB of storage--some notebooks incorporate two 120GB drives for extra storage space--but these giant drives cost hundreds of dollars more than the default 60GB to 80GB notebook drives. The 60GB to 80GB drive should be sufficient, unless you store lots of music and movies or tons of pictures. Be warned that capacity alone does not make a good hard drive. The hard disk's rotational speed also makes a big difference; a 7,200rpm notebook disk delivers significantly faster performance than a 5,400rpm model. The faster the disk spins, the better your notebook will perform overall, though a faster disk will also shorten your laptop's battery life.
CD and DVD drives
Unless you're going budget, don't settle for anything less than a CD-RW drive.
Nearly all notebooks, even budget systems, include a CD-RW/DVD drive (either built in to the laptop or external and connected via USB) for burning discs and watching movies on the road. DVD burners, which let you store large amounts of information on one disc, are also commonplace; double-layer DVD burners can pack even more data on a single disc. But unless you need to store huge files, such as movies, you may not need these more expensive DVD-RW drives.
Swappable vs. fixed
Here is a media module slipping into a swappable drive. Fixed drives won't let you remove the module.
The least expensive notebooks come with
fixed (built-in) drives. In other words, if you buy your notebook with a fixed DVD-ROM, you're stuck with that drive. A
swappable drive bay, on the other hand, gives you optimum flexibility. For instance, you can pull out the DVD-ROM drive and swap in a combo DVD/CD-RW drive or even a second battery. We recommend going with a swappable bay if you can afford it. Keep in mind, however, that the smallest and lightest ultraportable notebooks may include neither fixed nor swappable optical drives, relying instead on external drives that connect via USB.
External drives
This is an external drive tethered to a Sony notebook.
--storage and media-burning options that hook up to your notebook via cable--come in many shapes and sizes. Most of these drives connect to your notebook via a USB or FireWire cable. Drive choices include DVD/CD-RW, DVD-RW, hard drive, and others. There are also smaller external drives, called
thumbdrives, that plug directly into your USB connector sans cable. These little drives are brilliant for transferring small amounts of data between notebooks or between notebooks and PCs, and they're much more convenient than burning data onto CD. Many notebook users don't need external drives, but there are scenarios that require them. For instance, if you buy a tiny ultraportable that lacks a built-in CD-ROM drive, determine whether you'll need an external one to load software or read data discs.
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