Right now I have a PC only. I used my friends new mac laptop and was very impressed with how it operated with PM. What are the most important factors when getting a new PC laptop so it will run as fast as possible? Should I max out the processor, harddrive spin speed and ram?
I'm suggesting that a MacBook Pro is the best Windows PC out there. All you have to do is install Windows XP or Windows Vista on it.
Beyond that if you're looking for a machine that will only run Windows (or Linux, etc.) and you want to shop around based on specifications, then here are the things that you should consider.
1) Multi-core processor is essential. The faster the better. Core2Duo processors are really good on laptops. PM is highly optimized for multi-core or multi-cpu systems.
2) As much RAM as you can afford. You can bump up the memory cache in PM and get even faster browsing.
3) The fastest bus speed you can find. In the current crop of systems the bus speed tops out at 667 MHz. Desktops can go much higher topping out at over 1000 MHz. PM moves a lot of data from RAM to CPU and back again and the bus speed is the limiting factor here.
4) Good quality video card. PM draws a lot of graphics and the video card can have a lot of impact on overall performance.
5) Hard drive speed is important, but not nearly as important as the above three items.
Like I said, a MacBook Pro makes an excellent Windows PC. They have Core2Duo processors, can have up to 4 GB of RAM, have a nice NVidia 8600M video subsystem, and the LED backlit display is nice.
HTH,
-Kirk
