Choosing a laptop is not a simple decision, and will probably involve you delving through tons of technical documents and jargon, just to be completely none the wiser. But do not fear, PC Discounters is here to help you choose the perfect laptop.

The first step is don't worry about pages and pages of technical specifications and have a good think about why you need a laptop and how you will use it. What are its primary uses? Is it a desktop replacement for home? Is it for work? Will it be carried around? Is it for multimedia applications and gaming? The answers to these questions help you decide on the features you require for your ideal laptop.

I want to use a laptop for writing documents and using the internet.

Using a laptop for internet and writing documents is quite light use. You won't need the fastest, newest technology so big savings are available by choosing an Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron processor; which both offer good performance at a lower cost. Without using up space on music and videos you can also save money by choosing a hard drive of around 60-80GB, enough space for many thousands of documents, pictures and emails, but you may want to consider a larger drive if you want to save a lot of music or video on to your laptop.

Wireless networking is now available on all our machines and is definitely worth taking advantage of. When it comes to memory, most low-end laptops come with 512MB of memory, which is fine for the most basic of uses, but it is highly recommended to upgrade the memory to 1024MB to keep things running smoothly, especially if its running Vista as the operating system.

I want to use my laptop instead of my home PC

A desktop replacement laptop needs to be high powered, but it doesn't necessarily have to be as expensive as you might think. An Intel Core Duo or AMD Turion X2 processor is a must while 512MB is an absolute minimum in terms of memory, however to ensure good performance, 1GB or even 2GB is recommended which will allow you to perform virtually any task.

To store large files such as pictures, downloads, music and video on your home laptop, a hard drive of at least 100GB will be needed, but bigger is always better in this case. The recommended optical drive for a home user is a DVD Super Multi Drive as it is the most diverse, reading and writing to virtually any CD or DVD type. If portability isn`t an issue take a look at 17" laptops, although its worth noting that these tend to be heavier.

I want to use my laptop in the office.

Office work doesn't generally require the most cutting edge laptop technology, but a good level of performance and reliability ensures a productive work rate. A mid range processor such as Intel's Dual Core will meet your needs. The minimum recommended amount of memory for office work is really 1024mb to ensure everything runs smoothly when working with multiple applications at once. A smaller hard drive of about 80GB will be ample to store all your documents and files, but if you are planning to store music and video alongside your day to day files a larger hard drive would be a worthwhile investment.

A useful feature for an office laptop to include is a docking port. This allows the connection of a docking station enabling you to effortlessly use desktop peripherals with your laptop. For a comfortable working experience a 15.4 inch screen is the most practical and comfortable, while anything smaller could be a strain to work with over long periods. For easier networking possibilities, including joining the office network with your laptop, choose Vista Business as it's tools and networking performance will make your life easier! Be sure to take advantage of wireless connectivity, enabling wire-free working in an increasing number of coffee shops and offices. Bluetooth is also an option worth considering for synching mobile phones and PDAS.

I want to use my laptop everywhere.

There are two main characteristics to take into consideration when choosing a mobile laptop, size and weight. While laptops with screens up to 15.4" can be carried around, they are still quite bulky and relatively heavy. Truly mobile laptops are screen sizes of up to 14.1" while some laptops have screens as small as 10". The screen is often the heaviest part of a laptop, so by opting for a smaller screen the laptop will be lighter. A typical 12.1" laptop will weigh approximately 1.8kg. Other specifications of mobile laptops to recommend very much depend on what you will use it for.

A point to consider when purchasing a mobile laptop is that features are often compromised in some respect due to the physical size of the notebook for example, smaller hard drives are more common in mobile laptops to keep the weight down, so the storage of large media files will be limited. Bluetooth is a useful feature for communicating with other devices, and worth considering. Mobile laptops will be pre installed with Windows Vista so 1GB of memory is required for smooth processing. Another very important consideration for choosing a mobile laptop is battery life, if you intend to use your laptop on the move, then extended battery life is desirable. Manufacturers claims are subjective but battery life of up to 5hrs is possible. Ultra mobile laptops are typically expensive due to the components required and manufacturing processes.

Iwant to play the latest games on my laptop

Playing the latest games is a performance intensive task requiring high specifications and therefore these laptops are often in the higher price bracket. An Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Turion X2 processor will provide the power required, but needs to be supported by at least 1GB of memory or significant slow-down may be experienced. Ideally, try and upgrade to as much memory as you can afford, or can be fitted to your chosen laptop, usually a maximum of 4GB. A big 'must have' for a gaming laptop is dedicated graphics to ensure the graphical performance, effects and speed you require. Both NVIDIA and ATI dedicated graphics are recommended, but you should try and choose a laptop with the most dedicated graphics memory, to run the fastest 3D games.

For the most vivid and realistic gaming experience, chose a laptop which features screen technology such as CrystalBrite from Acer or X-Black from Sony. Most Manufacturers have there own version which ensures a crystal clear crisp display with much sharper colours, ensuring you can appreciate the detail found in the latest games. A 15.4" widescreen display will provide a large enough viewing area but a 17" screen would provide the ultimate experience if mobility and cost aren't large factors. You should find that a typical gaming machine has a whole host of other features to keep you entertained.

I want to use the latest multimedia on my laptop

Multimedia laptops are packed full of features to ensure full integration with all the latest formats and media, which means they often aren't cheap. The key to getting a good multimedia laptop is to get the very best laptop you can afford. Laptops with fewer features are available for less. One of the most popular features of a multimedia laptop is an integrated Hybrid TV tuner that allows you to view terrestrial and Freeview digital channels with Vista home premium, which allows pausing and recording of live TV, as well as a host of other media features. A large hard drive of 100 - 160GB is recommended, but the ideal is two hard drives - one for programs, and one for storing media - but these are usually only found on the more expensive models.

To ensure smooth performance and playback, a powerful Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Turion X2 processor and at least 1GB of memory is required, while dedicated graphics is also highly recommended to get the best performance. To connect gadgets such as PDAs and Phones, integrated Bluetooth connectivity will enable quick and easy communication between devices, and allows accessories such as wireless headphones to be used. Firewire and USB ports are often standard on laptops in this price range which allows the connection of several peripherals to add functionality to your laptop. An integrated card reader will allow quick transfer of images and data from devices such as digital cameras and MP3 players and If you hope to utilise web communications such as messaging and Skype, then integrated microphones and web cams are also useful features. A 15.4" screen will be ample to utilise multimedia functions, but a 17 inch or larger will provide the ultimate experience and is recommended. To connect to and watch HD TV, look at laptops with the latest Blu Ray or HD optical drives.

Netbooks

Netbooks are small portable computing devices, similar to a notebook but intended as secondary devices and are great for surfing the Web and checking e-mail. What differentiates a netbook from a notebook is its physical size and computing power. A netbook typically has a small display, ranging from 7 to 10 inches. It weighs under 1Kg, and supports a keyboard that is reduced in size from 75 to 80 percent when compared to a standard keyboard. Netbooks have build-in Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB ports and slots for flash memory cards. To keep the devices small and compact, netbooks do not have a CD or DVD drive, and most use solid-state disks (SSD) for storage. Netbooks commonly run Linux or Windows XP Home edition operating systems.