There are so many different types of laptops on the market today, how do you choose the one that will satisfy your needs? Some laptops have larger screens or more memory and some are just thinner than the rest. How do you decide which one will work for you?

Dell or Macbook or Sony Vaio

I am a Dell guy, I am not going to lie. Every since I have been purchasing Dell computers, I have had little issues and I like that I can customize every aspect of the purchase. That takes care of the brand, but what about the specs? I, personally, like to have a reasonably larger screen because I am always doing more than one thing at a time, even on a laptop. If I am able to open up a couple of windows, or programs, and see everything at a glance, that is perfect for me.

I also know that to have many processes running at one time, you need a RAM boost. I like to hit up the 2GB range minimum and then always make sure that I am able to upgrade to at least double that for the future. Hard drive size really isn’t that important for my laptop as I save all my important files on a desktop and then I just up the GB’s until the cows come home. That way, as long as I have enough space on my laptop to get programs running and save minor items, 100GB or so is plenty.

That is pretty much all I look at. There are random other things like graphics cards, processors or motherboards that I could fit into my customization, but those things aren’t as important to me as they are in my main computer. So for that, I just skip and go with what is recommended by Dell.

Do you shop for your laptop by brand, hit up the best prices, or search out a complete customization?  Maybe you do all of the above and that’s what you like!

Today I was reading the tech.msn.com site and see they have a list of the 10 Most Extreme Laptops and thought I would share them with you. I will post the name & extreme spec and give my 2 cents on the whole deal.  (PC World)

Dell Adamo XPS

• Coming soon
• Price unknown
• .40-inch thickness

I think this laptop is crazy thin. Pretty soon laptops are going to be actual sheets of paper and you will be able to just roll them up and stick them into your pockets. You can expect to pay over $1500 for this laptop, but if you want the thinnest of the thin, just wait another 6 months, another one will be made.

Sony Vaio X

• Available Nov. 2009
• Priced at $1300 and up
• Weighs only 1.6 pounds with battery

Lightweight is good when you have to lug a laptop all over the place in your daily job. 1.6 pounds WITH battery is nice. It only has an 11-inch screen, but that seems to be the trend these days with the netbooks gaining popularity, etc.

HP Pavilion HDX Dragon

• Discontinued, but check ebay
• Over $2,000
• 20.1-inch screen

Yes, this gem is discontinued, but I am sure you can still find them on ebay. With a 20.1 inch screen, this is one of the largest laptop screens around. Naturally, with a screen so large, it will weigh more (about 15 pounds), but if you don’t have to move it much, it’s worth it. 4GB of RAM and TWO 160GB HD, this thing is a computing all-star.

Dell XPS M2010

• Limited availability, check for refurbs
• Under $1,000
• 18.30 pounds

Well, we can easily see why this “laptop” isn’t around much anymore. The thing is just an ultra-portable desktop in a sense. You are getting a 20.1-inch screen again and a ton of computing power, but I really don’t see the desirable spec on this one.

Eurocom D901C Phantom-X

• Available now
• $5900+
• 133 score in Worldbench 6

The specs on this thing are insane even for a laptop. 8GB of RAM, 2 solid-state 80GB HD, one 320GB traditional HD, nVidia 9800M GTX graphics card and a 3GHz Xeon Quad Core X3370 processor. The WorldBench 6 speed champion here is super fast and only weighs 9 pounds, not bad and cheap!

Alienware M17x (European Model)

• Available in Europe
• $3,000+
• TWO 500GB hard drives

What could you do with TWO, yes TWO, 500GB hard drives in your LAPTOP? Just about anything you want. Don’t have to worry about every filling those bad boys up with music, photos, games or whatever you download. The optional TV Tuner and BluRay drive is a sweet deal as well, although the battery life is only about 3 hours.

Toshiba Portege r600-ST4203

• Available now
• $3,500
• 512GB solid-state drive

Now you are getting into less moving parts on a laptop with the solid-state drives.  SSD can download faster and they are much more durable than regular HD.  12.1-inch screen is OK, but the built-in webcam is a nice touch.  All this fancy-ness for under 3 pounds.

Gyy

• Available in Europe
• $220
• First solar powered laptop

All fine and dandy for the Greenies out there, but what are you going to do with no sun, you ask?  Who cares, this thing is so slow you could make ten phone calls while you wait for your IM program to start up.  8-inch screen and only 128MB of RAM is nothing, you might as well look into a iPhone or something.

Lenovo ThinkPad X200

• Available now
• $999
• Eight hour battery life

I like the long battery life, but of course, most of the time you can plug in the laptop by then.  If you travel a lot, this might be an option for you.  12.1-inch screen 2.4GHz Core processor, 4GB RAM, fingerprint reader and weighs under 3 pounds.  I like this one a lot for the power and portability.

Umid M1

• Available now overseas
• $599
• 6.1×3.7×0.6 inches

I am not a fan at all.  I just don’t see why laptops have to be smaller.  What can’t they just be portable and pack some power and storage?  This thing is just a tad larger than a smartphone, so I wouldn’t see any advantage of having one.  Blah.

Eee PC 900HD

• Available now
• $250
• Cheapest around

Well, if you need something cheap, here it is.  Don’t forget that you get what you pay for, no matter what it is.  1GB of RAM, 160GB HD, 10GB of online storage, 8.9-inch screen and built in Wi-Fi.  Under 2.5 pounds and cheap, what more can you ask for?

Ego Bentley

• Available now
• $19,943
• Over the top price tag

Will you take a look at this thing?  What a crappy laptop, unless you live in Beverly Hills of course.  I would hate to see ANYONE with something like this.  If you buy a laptop like this you are not even into using a computer.  It’s all about looks, check the name, but it does have a 12-inch screen, 160GB HD, 2GB of RAM, webcam, Wi-Fi and more.  Weighs in at only 6 pounds, it might be lighter than most handbags woman carry around.

MacBook Air

• Available now
• $1499+
• Droolicious

The MacBook Air is quite stunning and there is a lot of hype online about this laptop.  I have never owned a Mac, but if you are serious about something hot-to-trot and portable, this one is for you.  The price is very reasonable considering the specs.  13.3 LED screen, 1.86GHz, 128SSD, 2GB of RAM, nVidia GeForce 9400M and iSight webcam, just to name a few.