What notebook screen size do you need?

The laptop screen issue is usually overrated and over promoted by notebook manufacturers but it really doesn't make much of a difference. It's just another option to add to the cost of the unit and increase the retailer's profit margin.

For notebook computers, your face is only about 20 inches away from the screen and unlike televisions where the distance from the monitor can vary greatly it doesn't make much difference with a notebook.

Similarly, does it make a difference how big the windshield or your car or the lenses size for your eyeglasses? It might somehow, but not really, you can still see. And just like the three examples stated above, in the case of notebooks the area to view is so close to your eyes that the difference in screen size is marginal.

If you are looking at an active matrix screen option, I would also pass on that feature. They are only useful for presentations where you need to display the screen diagonally to someone sitting or standing besides you. Unless you are a real estate agent or someone who needs to share the screen with others, you don't need active matrix.

Additional factors to consider on your laptop purchase:

Don't worry too much about screen size when buying a laptop and don't worry about CPU speed. But try to purchase something with a good quality CPU ( Central Processing Unit), Athlon and Pentium are great, Celeron however is of inferior quality and leads to frequent crashes and overheating.

Make sure that you have good RAM expansion capabilities, that really makes a notebook faster. You should have 256 standard expandable to 512.

Buy an extended warranty, notebooks break A LOT!  Keyboards, batteries, CD ROM devices are notorious for being defective both shortly after the one year warranty in addition to before that period in some cases.

Recommended brands

- Toshiba
- HP
- Compaq