Rugar
Chieftain
As a separate addendum...
The major slow-down of laptops is typically *not* the processor. It's usually either inusfficient memory or a very slow hard drive. Remember that WindowsXP really runs best with at least 512Mb of memory. Anything less than that will seriously slow down the system. Laptop memory is more expensive than desktop memory and there are typically only 2 slots on a laptop for memory. Of these two slots, only 1 is typically available for your average computer user to get to. You will often see in laptop ads: 512Mb (2DIMMS). This means that both of your memory banks already have chips in them. If you buy a 512Mb memory stick to add to your laptop in this case, you will have to pull a 256Mb stick out to put it in. Rather than having 1Gb, you will only have 768Mb. If you can buy a laptop that lists 512Mb (1DiMM), this is much better because that means you have a slot free to add more.
The other major slow-down in laptops is the hard drive. Remember that hard drives are spinning disks. The faster the disk spins (rotational speed), the faster data can be accessed and read from the disk. Current desktop hard drives are almost all now 7200 RPM with very, very value solutions being 5400 RPM. Because it takes lots of power to spin drives quickly, laptop drives are typically MUCH slower. 4200 RPM drives are something of the norm in laptops. 5400 RPM drives like in the Toshiba you mention will load games, levels, wonder movies, etc. much faster than a 4200RPM drive. 7200 RPM drives for laptops do exist, but they are insanely expensive and are not common in low or mid-range laptops.
The major slow-down of laptops is typically *not* the processor. It's usually either inusfficient memory or a very slow hard drive. Remember that WindowsXP really runs best with at least 512Mb of memory. Anything less than that will seriously slow down the system. Laptop memory is more expensive than desktop memory and there are typically only 2 slots on a laptop for memory. Of these two slots, only 1 is typically available for your average computer user to get to. You will often see in laptop ads: 512Mb (2DIMMS). This means that both of your memory banks already have chips in them. If you buy a 512Mb memory stick to add to your laptop in this case, you will have to pull a 256Mb stick out to put it in. Rather than having 1Gb, you will only have 768Mb. If you can buy a laptop that lists 512Mb (1DiMM), this is much better because that means you have a slot free to add more.
The other major slow-down in laptops is the hard drive. Remember that hard drives are spinning disks. The faster the disk spins (rotational speed), the faster data can be accessed and read from the disk. Current desktop hard drives are almost all now 7200 RPM with very, very value solutions being 5400 RPM. Because it takes lots of power to spin drives quickly, laptop drives are typically MUCH slower. 4200 RPM drives are something of the norm in laptops. 5400 RPM drives like in the Toshiba you mention will load games, levels, wonder movies, etc. much faster than a 4200RPM drive. 7200 RPM drives for laptops do exist, but they are insanely expensive and are not common in low or mid-range laptops.
