Finding the right Boss Gift or Employee gift is always a problem at this time of the year, so it might prove helpful if you turned towards technology for a solution. Every holiday season has special hot tech gift items that everyone wants to see on their wish list, and this season is proving no different. So this side of a Zhu Zhu Hamster, here are five tech gifts you might consider putting on your list for that favorite boss or employee:

1. E-Readers. In case you're wondering, E-Readers is just as the name indicates, these are hand-held electronic devices which let users read books. They are also called digital or electronic readers. Probably the best known E-Reader is the Amazon Kindle which was introduced in 2007 and according to a recent Time article, Amazon has already sold 1.7 million units. Not to be outdone, Barnes & Noble has launched its own E-Reader call the NOOK , which retails for around $260. There's enough memory for holding 1,500 books (2 GB) and there's a microSD slot which could give you another 16 GB more.

Other companies are also offering E-Readers such as the Sony Reader, Asus Eee-reader and Irex Digital Reader. According to the Association of American Publishers, total revenue from digital-book downloads has risen 149% this year, while they estimate e-book readers sales to top 3 million by Dec. 31. Plus, according to Forrester Research around 1 million of these gadgets could be sold this holiday season, and sales in 2010 are projected to double, to 6 million.

2. Netbooks. These are the smaller cousins of the laptop, often referred to as mini-laptops. They usually have screens of 10 inches, although some displays can be slightly larger or smaller. Netbooks have smaller Intel Atom processors, one GB of RAM and run Windows XP. Prices are well under $500. Keep in mind, the category of "netbook" is a fairly recent one - Asustek launched the netbook category when it released its first Eee PC in the fall of 2007.

Some of the most popular Netbooks include ASUS Eee PC 1000HE, Lenovo Ideapad S10, Acer Aspire One, MSI Wind U100 and the HP Mini 2140. But shop around because there are other very good Netbooks on the market which also deserve a prominent spot under anyone's Christmas tree.

3. Blu-ray DVD Players. Blu-ray technology which offers glorious High Definition 1080p images and Superior sound, is becoming extremely popular with the buying public. Prices for Blu-ray DVD Players are also coming down which is further fueling the demand for these high-tech items of the moment. Keep in mind, to fully enjoy the benefits of a Blu-ray system you will need a full 1080p High Definition Television, the larger the better!

Some of the best rated Blu-ray players include the Sony PlayStation 3, OPPO BDP-83, LG BD390, Panasonic DMP-BD60k and the Samsung BD-P3600 Blu-ray DVD Player. Again, prices have fallen drastically and if you shop around you may even find ones listed for under $100.

4. Smart Phones. PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), also known as smart phones are always an appropriate gift for a boss or an employee. These hand-held electronic devices are becoming even more dazzling and feature rich. Pretty soon, they will probably be bringing you your morning coffee! All joking aside, the smart phone is proving to be a popular gift as prices have dropped. The Apple iPhone has also opened up this market to a broader audience, further fueling the demand for this popular tech gift.

Some of the best rated smart phones and PDAs include the whole Blackberry line, the Palm TX, the Sony CLIE series and of course, the Apple iPhone. Again, shopping around will get you a lower price but be wary of Free PDAs offers in return for a service plan, unless that's what you're looking for.

5. Gaming Laptops. These laptops have high-performance Graphics Chips, fast powerful processors, tons of memory (including dedicated Video RAM), large high resolution displays usually backed up with a Blu-ray Optical drive. Despite their somewhat flashy exteriors, gaming laptops are not only used for gaming, many business people, graphic artists, architects, video producers... enjoy the benefits of having a powerful laptop which can do heavy-duty graphics without crashing. Of course, any boss or employee can also play video games on them too.

Some highly rated gaming laptop include the ASUS G71Gx-A2, Toshiba Qosmio X505 - Q850, MSI GT740, Alienware M17x and Rock X790 (Clevo D900F) which is basically the same laptop as the Eurocom D900F Panther, Falcon Northwest Fragbook DRX and the AVADirect Clevo D900F Core i7. Clevo is the Taiwanese OEM (original equipment manufacturer) of high-end quality laptop components, which these ODMs (original design manufacturers) such as Rock, Sager and Eurocom use to build their gaming rigs.

Check over these five high-tech devices and you may find a suitable boss gift and/or employee gift that will be very much appreciated by the receiver. Shop around and you will probably find many of these tech gifts at a very suitable price; if all else fails, go with the Zhu Zhu Hamster!

4GB DDR3 Memory RAM for Alienware M17x Laptop

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This one's a coin toss between Dell and HP. Heads, you get HP's slightly larger and lush-looking (but, at 2.5kg, a deal heavier) Pavillion Verve, which is perfect for entertainment on the move. Tails, it's the XPS M1330 for what's easily the fastest yet slimmest sub-note we've ever seen. Given that both "slim and light" notebooks sell for $1899, you can't lose either way.

One of the first people to come up with the idea of very cheap laptops was Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder and director of the MIT Media Laboratory. In 2002, Negroponte launched his idea of a $US100 laptop designed specifically for the world's poorest children. The ambitious project aimed to manufacture child-oriented laptop computers that are resistant to dust and moisture, can be operated in sunlight and be powered by hand.

This week she is trying to write a Personal Immigration Story on it for a class assignment, and she says she is especially pleased with the "small keyboard with really squishy keys that are fun to type on." The battery, she notes, lasts all day, but she's having trouble printing the paper.

"We're a minority, but a growing minority," Reinhold said of Macintosh users, who represent about ten percent of total computer ownership.

The criticisms centred on the lack of a DVD drive, missing Ethernet networking port, relatively small 80GB hard drive and the inability to swap the HP DV600 battery.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has logged dozens of reports of the problem lithium-ion HP laptop batteries overheating.

Laptops are generally pokey gaming platforms, since they lack the high-powered chips needed to calculate realistic 3-D environments. Alienware's m9750 laptop busts that limitation, at least if you have the cash. It has a 17-inch screen and can be fitted with dual graphics cards and dual hard drives. All this power means it only lasts 1 1/2 hours on battery, so don't picture yourself gaming on a cross-country flight. And if you're the kind of gamer who likes to trick out your rig, there may be reason to wait. The m9750 looks surprisingly sedate, while Alienware (now a Dell Inc. subsidiary) has some cooler designs coming out next year that use LEDs in the decor to light up the laptop in unexpected ways. (MSRP: $3449 (euro2,337) in recommended gaming configuration)

Also welcome is the flexible battery system that lets you pair a main "extended life" battery with a second modular battery in place of the CD-DVD drive to get 10 hours on a single charge. On its own the standard HP laptop battery is good for about 31/2 hours of solid use.

The gPC stands out from the crowd like a man wearing sandals at cocktail party _ it's cheap and it's different. It's a simple desktop computer that eschews Windows in favour of Linux, the alternative operating system that's widely used by information technology professionals but has struggled for years to gain acceptance in desktops. The gPC is the first Linux computer to be sold in Wal-Mart stores (though only some of them), giving Linux another shot at the mainstream. It's designed to be easy to use and focuses on Google's Web services like Gmail and YouTube. But like some earlier Linux computers, it uncomfortably straddles two worlds: it's a low-end box for computer novices, yet considerable expertise is needed to get the most out of the software.

It would be fairer to compare the X300 with Apple's MacBook Pro series or, indeed, any full-featured Windows laptop. But even then X300 throws a curve ball because it's rare to find such a no-compromise notebook with the X300's 34cm screen, its 1.3kg weight and a profile that gently tapers from 23mm to 19mm.

Last year's massive recall was a major embarrassment for Sony at a time when it has been reviving profits and boosting its image. Tokyo-based Sony has said improvements in production, design and inspection have been made to prevent a recurrence of any laptop overheating problems.

Wozniak agreed with those criticisms, saying: "I don't think it's going to be a hit." He said he liked to burn a lot of DVDs for friends and watched movies on planes, and so needed the ability to swap batteries mid-flight.

"Just wait until somebody with a MacBook Air walks into a meeting room where people are working on some clunky PC laptops. That should get even more folks thinking of switching."

While Rebecca was gaining some affinity for her OLPC, my son Raymond was getting to know the Classmate PC, which run $230 to $300. The rugged blue cover proved to be tough enough for the daily bike commute to school. The magnetic snap, which I thought looked flimsy and therefore doomed, showed no sign of wear despite weeks of constant opening and closing.

Most of those aims have now been met although the price tag has come in at about $US200 ($215) a unit. The laptop is called the XO. It runs on flash memory, which drastically reduces power consumption, and a version of the open-source Linux operating system.

4GB 2x 2GB DDR3 8500 RAM MEMORY ALIENWARE M17 LAPTOP

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Dell's new colourful and dynamic marketing approach is underpinning the company's marketing makeover in a bid to regain their market share and revive flagging sales.

Traditionally the company's marketing messages have placed significant emphasis on a personal computer's price as well as its main features, including processor speeds, graphics rendering and capability, disk space and the capacity of the computer's memory. The change in marketing tactics resulted from the slow down of sales in laptops, personal computers and printers as Dell's competitors began to adopt a more aggressive marketing stance in order to increase their overall market share.

Dell recognised that consumers were becoming more and more aware of how their laptop looked, in terms of design and colour and style. Dell also acknowledged that consumers were now spending even more of their recreational time on their laptops, including playing games or watching videos.

Two of Dell's most popular laptop range are the Studio 15 and Inspiron 15.

Studio 15

The marketing behind the new Studio 15 inspires creativity and great connectivity.

The Dell Studio 15 laptop is Hi-def and has 15.6" LED widescreen design, which is multimedia-rich. The laptop is available in a choice of colours and designs, making it easy to personalise to fit your style. With up to Intel® Core™2 Duo processors, it is seen by many as a breakthrough in notebook performance The laptop offers surround sound with sub-woofer and built-in wireless card. Top this off with an optional backlit keyboard, mobile broadband and Blu-ray disc facility and you have a great product.

Inspiron 17

The new Dell Inspiron 17 is a 17.3" widescreen laptop that gives you the everyday features you need, all at a great value. One of the key marketing messages focuses on the entertainment aspects, including 'on the go' capability and HD ready. View your entertainment on the go with the HD, Once again the laptop is available in a wide range of colours allowing great scope for personalising the laptop to suit you.

Gaming laptops

In the gaming market, Dell has received a hugely positive response to its Alienware High Performance Gaming Systems. In particular, marketed as 'ALL POWERFUL - Introducing the new Alienware M17x, the most powerful 17" laptop in the Universe.' the design is dark, exciting and menacing. The laptop offers the ultimate in hi-def mobile gaming and entertainment powerhouse. The M17X has Intel's fastest Quad-Core Extreme mobile processor providing unbelievable performance for gaming and multimedia. The full range can be viewed at Dell's website.

The brainchild of then student Michael Dell in 1984, Dell grew during the 1980s and 1990s to become (for a time) the largest seller of PCs and servers and one of the biggest household names in home computing. In 2008 Dell was knocked off the top spot in computer-sales by thier closest rival in computer manufacturing and supply, Hewlett Packard. The company currently sells personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, and computer peripherals. Dell also sells HDTVs, cameras, printers, MP3 players and other electronics built by other manufacturers.

4GB 2x 2GB DDR3 8500 RAM MEMORY ALIENWARE M17 LAPTOP

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The X200 Tablet offers easy access to the hard drive and system memory through two access panels. The large panel on the bottom of the X200 exposes the two RAM slots, while the thinner access panel on the HP Pavilion DV1600 Battery edge lets you slide out the hard drive.

The new Eee PC 1101HA Seashell uses a reasonably impressive 11-inch LED-backlit display panel with a 1366x768 native resolution. The glossy screen in the 1101HA offers good color and contrast, though images looked a bit washed out at default settings. Glare and reflections indoors under strong lights or outdoors under direct sunlight can be a problem because of the glossy surface, but the LED backlighting is usually strong enough to overpower any reflections on the screen.

The 18.4" panel on the Satellite P505 has a resolution of 1680x945, which seems lacking for something this large. Most high-end multimedia notebooks of this size usually offer a 1080P display, which takes more advantage of the greater surface area. That said, the panel still looks very nice for viewing games, images, or HD video. Colors appear bright and vibrant, thanks in part to the glossy surface. Depending on the viewing situations, reflections can play a huge role in what you are viewing on the display at any given time. While using this notebook at my kitchen table in front of a window, all I saw was the bright sunlight and slates to the shade reflecting off the screen.

The screen offered on the UL30-series is a 13.3" LED-backlit 16:9 WXGA panel. The display rates slightly above average, with good color saturation and contrast thanks to the glossy surface. Black level s are good with no HP Pavilion DV1500 Battery apparent backlight bleed at high brightness levels. The area that doesn't really shine with this panel are the viewing angles.

Vertical viewing angles show a good amount of distortion with as little as 10-15 degrees movement forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles are better, but still show signs of mild color inversion past 45 degrees. Backlight brightness levels were very good, even at the 70% level we like to use for battery tests. I usually had the screen set at 70% in the office and 40-50% at home with less overhead lighting.

The touch surface is a unique feature for a notebook. On one hand you can directly manipulate objects without a mouse or touchpad, but on the other you have a fixed screen that can't rotate like a tablet. Another inherent flaw of multitouch is that since it uses your finger as the pointer, it will never be as precise or accurate as a pen-input touch surface. This means that the controls are crude at best, using gesture or tap-based commands.

One last design feature that deserves a mention is the M17x's screwless design – there are no visible screws on the M17x (other than the four holding in the name plate). That is quite a design feat and makes the HP Pavilion DV8200 Battery look even sleeker. While not everyone will like the looks, it is hard to deny the quality of the design and build. The M17x is one-of-a-kind and looks much more engaging than past Alienware machines.

ALIENWARE AREA-51M KINGSTON 512MB PC3200 LAPTOP MEMORY

US $19.99 End Date: Tuesday Sep-28-2010 9:47:21 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $19.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Copyright (c) 2009 Titus Hoskins

Finding the right Boss Gift or Employee gift is always a problem at this time of the year, so it might prove helpful if you turned towards technology for a solution. Every holiday season has special hot tech gift items that everyone wants to see on their wish list, and this season is proving no different. So this side of a Zhu Zhu Hamster, here are five tech gifts you might consider putting on your list for that favorite boss or employee:

1. E-Readers

In case you're wondering, E-Readers is just as the name indicates, these are hand-held electronic devices which let users read books. They are also called digital or electronic readers. Probably the best known E-Reader is the Amazon Kindle which was introduced in 2007 and according to a recent Time article, Amazon has already sold 1.7 million units. Not to be outdone, Barnes & Noble has launched its own E-Reader call the NOOK , which retails for around $260. There's enough memory for holding 1,500 books (2 GB) and there's a microSD slot which could give you another 16 GB more.

Other companies are also offering E-Readers such as the Sony Reader, Asus Eee-reader and Irex Digital Reader. According to the Association of American Publishers, total revenue from digital-book downloads has risen 149% this year, while they estimate e-book readers sales to top 3 million by Dec. 31. Plus, according to Forrester Research around 1 million of these gadgets could be sold this holiday season, and sales in 2010 are projected to double, to 6 million.

2. Netbooks

These are the smaller cousins of the laptop, often referred to as mini-laptops. They usually have screens of 10 inches, although some displays can be slightly larger or smaller. Netbooks have smaller Intel Atom processors, one GB of RAM and run Windows XP. Prices are well under $500. Keep in mind, the category of "netbook" is a fairly recent one - Asustek launched the netbook category when it released its first Eee PC in the fall of 2007.

Some of the most popular Netbooks include ASUS Eee PC 1000HE, Lenovo Ideapad S10, Acer Aspire One, MSI Wind U100 and the HP Mini 2140. But shop around because there are other very good Netbooks on the market which also deserve a prominent spot under anyone's Christmas tree.

3. Blu-ray DVD Players

Blu-ray technology which offers glorious High Definition 1080p images and Superior sound, is becoming extremely popular with the buying public. Prices for Blu-ray DVD Players are also coming down which is further fueling the demand for these high-tech items of the moment. Keep in mind, to fully enjoy the benefits of a Blu-ray system you will need a full 1080p High Definition Television, the larger the better!

Some of the best rated Blu-ray players include the Sony PlayStation 3, OPPO BDP-83, LG BD390, Panasonic DMP-BD60k and the Samsung BD-P3600 Blu-ray DVD Player. Again, prices have fallen drastically and if you shop around you may even find ones listed for under $100.

4. Smart Phones

PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), also known as smart phones are always an appropriate gift for a boss or an employee. These hand-held electronic devices are becoming even more dazzling and feature rich. Pretty soon, they will probably be bringing you your morning coffee! All joking aside, the smart phone is proving to be a popular gift as prices have dropped. The Apple iPhone has also opened up this market to a broader audience, further fueling the demand for this popular tech gift.

Some of the best rated smart phones and PDAs include the whole Blackberry line, the Palm TX, the Sony CLIE series and of course, the Apple iPhone. Again, shopping around will get you a lower price but be wary of Free PDAs offers in return for a service plan, unless that's what you're looking for.

5. Gaming Laptops

These laptops have high-performance Graphics Chips, fast powerful processors, tons of memory (including dedicated Video RAM), large high resolution displays usually backed up with a Blu-ray Optical drive. Despite their somewhat flashy exteriors, gaming laptops are not only used for gaming, many business people, graphic artists, architects, video producers... enjoy the benefits of having a powerful laptop which can do heavy-duty graphics without crashing. Of course, any boss or employee can also play video games on them too.

Some highly rated gaming laptop include the ASUS G71Gx-A2, Toshiba Qosmio X505 - Q850, MSI GT740, Alienware M17x and Rock X790 (Clevo D900F) which is basically the same laptop as the Eurocom D900F Panther, Falcon Northwest Fragbook DRX and the AVADirect Clevo D900F Core i7. Clevo is the Taiwanese OEM (original equipment manufacturer) of high-end quality laptop components, which these ODMs (original design manufacturers) such as Rock, Sager and Eurocom use to build their gaming rigs.

Check over these five high-tech devices and you may find a suitable boss gift and/or employee gift that will be very much appreciated by the receiver. Shop around and you will probably find many of these tech gifts at a very suitable price; if all else fails, go with the Zhu Zhu Hamster!

8GB DDR3 Memory Kit for Alienware M15x Laptop

US $215.99 End Date: Wednesday Sep-29-2010 10:28:47 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $215.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

High-end gaming systems usually come in huge, heavy cases, but the FX530XT packs its muscle into a more standard yet still stylish case that stands just 16.5 inches high.

Gateway shipped our test system with its 2.66-GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor bumped up to 3.2 GHz (covered under the machine's one-year warranty). The CPU and the included 4GB of 667-MHz DDR2 memory helped the PC reach a solid WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 126--putting it right in the middle of our recently tested gaming-PC batch.

The factory-overclocked EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX graphics card turned in frame rates of 152 frames per second in Doom 3 at 1280-by-1024-pixel resolution (with antialiasing turned on) and 181 fps in Far Cry at the same settings. Of the systems in our gaming-PCs chart, the best performer in the same Doom 3 test was the Alienware Area-51 7500, which was equipped with dual 768MB EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX graphics boards; the Alienware achieved 165 frames per second, versus the average of 143 fps for the rest of the gaming-PC field. The Dell XPS 720's 768MB nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX board helped it take the lead in the GPU- and CPU-intensive Far Cry game script; the Dell averaged 202 fps, easily besting the Gateway, which tied with the Alienware at 181 fps.

Our FX530XT's three 5.25-inch external drive bays were filled with a 2X Blu-ray/DVD-RAM drive, a DVD-rewritable drive, and a multiformat media card reader. Twin 150GB, 10,000-rpm Western Digital Raptor hard drives arranged in a RAID configuration occupied the other two bays (you can configure the system with up to three 750GB hard drives).

All of these high-end components packed in a small case come at the expense of expandability. The inside of the case is difficult to work in and has limited room for additional components. Our review system's basic Intel motherboard had three PCI slots, of which two were taken by the modem and the sound card. There is a spare PCI Express slot if you want to install a second graphics board in an SLI configuration.

The bundled 24-inch Gateway FPD2485W wide-screen LCD produced impressive results, with sharp text and bright, vivid colors. It also detects rotation: When you twist the monitor to portrait orientation, the on-screen display automatically rotates as well. And because the monitor is HDCP-compliant, you can play copy-protected high-def movies directly from a Blu-ray or HD DVD player via the DVI input. The monitor comes by default with a 2.1-channel speaker bar system that clips to the bottom of the monitor; its sound, while adequate for everyday use, isn't particularly loud or impressive. Gateway sells more-powerful sound systems, of course.

The FX530XT costs $4760, which is in line with the costs of most other quad-core gaming systems we've tested. If expansion room isn't an issue for you, this Windows Vista Ultimate system holds tremendous gaming appeal, thanks to its formidable processing power, great graphics performance, and gargantuan wide-screen display.

4GB DDR3 Memory RAM for Alienware M17x Laptop

US $108.99 End Date: Wednesday Sep-29-2010 9:33:18 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $108.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Copyright (c) 2008 Titus Hoskins

RAM or Random Access Memory is critical to gaming laptops. Mainly because the more RAM you have on your laptop or computer, the higher the performance level you can achieve. Higher RAM will increase your enjoyment and let you play even the most challenging 3D games.

Besides the CPU (Central Processing Unit) RAM is probably the most vital element you will have in your laptop or computer. Just as you can't have enough money, so too you can't have enough RAM. The more the merrier. The more RAM you have, the faster your computer will perform.

Most serious gamers know their RAM. They know the difference between static and dynamic RAM. Many can even tell you how SIMM, DIMM and SO-DIMM memory modules are different from each other. Plus, they would all know the importance of VRAM or VideoRAM to the operation of their gaming laptop. Most of all, they know their Graphics Cards or GPUs (Graphics Processing Units).

First, you should realize, RAM is probably the best known form or type of computer memory. Second, RAM is very important in how well your computer can perform the tasks you call upon it to do. The more RAM you have, the more computer tasks and programs you can run at one time.

Nor should you make the mistake that only gamers are concerned about getting enough RAM; professionals who work with heavy graphics such as video editors, architects, layout artists, website designers... are also keenly aware of the importance of having enough RAM to get the job done. Keep in mind, computer technology is advancing at a blistering rate and is constantly changing. Overseeing all these industry standards and technology is JEDEC, which acts like a regulating body for the semiconductor industry. Hey, someone has to keep track of all these forms of RAM!

Basically, you have two kinds of RAM - Static RAM (SRAM) which is faster and more expensive than Dynamic RAM (DRAM). Just as their names suggest, Dynamic RAM is constantly refreshing and is slower and less expensive than Static RAM.

Static RAM is primarily used for cache such in your CPU's speed-sensitive cache.

What confuses most people is the whole range or types of Dynamic RAM, with more in development as we speak. Complicating the matter even further, is the development of RAM for laptops which need smaller and more compact memory modules.

Here are some types of RAM you may or may not have seen or heard of:

FPM DRAM -- which stands for "Fast Page Mode Dynamic Random Access Memory" and was the original form of DRAM. It has a maximum transfer rate of approximately 176 MBps to L2 cache; and if you're wondering what is level 2 cache, this is cache located outside the processor chip. Level 1 refers to internal cache in the processor.

EDO DRAM -- which stands for "Extended Data-out Dynamic Random Access Memory" and is around 5% faster than FPM DRAM. Transfer rate is at about 264 MBps to L2 cache.

SDRAM -- which stands for "Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory" is very common in today's computers. Transfer rate maxes out at around 528 MBps.

DDR SDRAM -- which stands for "Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic RAM" is similar to SDRAM but has higher bandwidth, allowing for greater speeds. Transfer rate to L2 cache is around 1,064 MBps.

DDR2 SDRAM -- which stands for "Double-data-rate Two Synchronous Dynamic RAM", operates the external data bus twice as fast as DDR SDRAM.

DDR3 SDRAM -- which stands for "Double-data-rate Three Synchronous Dynamic RAM" and is an improvement over DDR2 SDRAM. DDR3 allows for chip capacities of 512 megabits up to 8 gigabytes, which gives you the maximum memory module size of a whopping 16 gigabytes.

Memory Modules

RAM modules are mounted on printed circuit boards to be used in personal computers. First, you had SIMMs (single in-line memory modules) which were gradually replaced by DIMMs (dual in-line memory modules). The main difference between them: SIMMs have a 32-bit data path and DIMMs have a 64-bit data path. Now for notebooks, you have SO-DIMMs (small outline dual in-line memory modules) which are smaller and more compact memory integrated circuits.

Of course, like everything in life, there are radically different forms of RAM such as RDRAM which stands for "Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory". This was designed by Rambus and has a high speed data bus nicknamed the Rambus channel. Likewise, you had Rambus in-line memory module (RIMM) and for laptops you had SO-RIMM.

Graphics Card

Next you must know there is something called VRAM or VideoRAM. This is a type of RAM is used for video adapters or 3-D accelerators. VRAM is located in the Graphics Card and is important for high resolution and color depth, both very essential for gamers. Since true multiport VRAM is expensive, some Graphics Cards use SGRAM (synchronous graphics RAM) instead because it is cheaper. Other types of special high speed or multi-port memory include WRAM, DDR2, GDDR3 and GDDR4.

Your Graphics Card will be the heart of your gaming machine. Most gamers go for the top brands such as NVIDIA (GeForce) and ATI (Radeon) - the higher number series card usually means higher the performance. For example, at the time of writing, Nvidia has released the GeForce 9800 GX2, which is basically dual GeForce 8800 GT in one card. This will also give you DirectX 10 Graphics. Wait a couple of months and there will probably be something faster and more powerful on the market.

If one Graphics Card is good, then two or more would be even better. That's why you have SLI (Scalable Link Interface) technology which allows for the linking of two or more video cards together to get a single output. PCI Express, is another expansion card interface format which was introduced by Intel in 2004.

How Much RAM Do You Need?

As already mentioned, the more RAM you have, the better your computer will run. You will be able to perform more tasks and do them faster if you have plenty of RAM. Actually, upgrading your RAM to a higher level will usually give you a whole new computer.

There are recommended minimum requirements if you want to run certain programs or operating systems on your PC or Laptop. For running Windows XP, Microsoft recommends 128MB as the minimum RAM requirement, again more is better.

For Mac OS X systems you will need a minimum of 128 MB but for optimal performance try 512 MB. Linux will work nicely on a system with only 4 MB of RAM.

For Windows Vista - Microsoft recommends at least 1Gig of RAM but many users have reported that 2 to 3 Gigs of RAM makes Vista a much more easier beast to handle. Vista probably needs all the good press if can get.

For Gaming Laptops: How Much RAM?

Again the more the better, gaming laptops need a lot of RAM since you have heavy video graphics and images. Serious gamers usually buy as much RAM as they can afford, choosing the fastest machines with the latest Graphics Card. Laptops with four Gigs of RAM are becoming common, with many gamers opting for 8 Gigs.

At the time of writing, what levels are we currently at in regards to laptops and RAM? Well, the new Alienware Area-51® m17x Notebook comes with the following specs: An Intel® Core" 2 Extreme processor with up to 4GB DDR2 667MHz memory, sporting Dual Nvidia® GeForce® 8800M GTX. This machine also has the Killer" K1 Gaming Network Card plus the ultra-life-like environments generated by the Ageia PhysX" processor. You should also note that Ageia was recently (Feb. 2008) acquired by Nvidia.

Perhaps, in regards to RAM, the wisest route to take is to buy a laptop or PC where you can easily upgrade or expand the RAM if you need more memory. Changes are, wait a few months and you will probably need to increase your RAM.

4GB 2x 2GB DDR3 8500 RAM MEMORY ALIENWARE M17 LAPTOP

US $98.00 End Date: Saturday Sep-25-2010 8:00:43 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $98.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Copyright (c) 2008 Titus Hoskins

As a general rule, gaming laptops are not cheap, they are usually the most expensive laptops you can purchase. If you go with a fully-loaded high-end gaming machine from the popular brand-name makers you will likely have to dish out 4 to 6 grand for the top rigs.

However, since all laptop prices have been falling at a steady rate in recent years, if you shop around you can find a half-decent gaming laptop at a reasonable price. Here we're still talking about $1500 to $2500 for a good quality gaming notebook. Although there are probably cheaper ones to be found if you look in the right places.

Now, the main reason gaming laptops are so expensive is because of the high-end components and high-end specs that's needed to produce a superior gaming machine. In a gaming laptop you need top-level Graphics (CPUs), High Processor Speeds, tons of RAM, high-end HD Displays and high-end Optical Drives featuring Blu-ray and the like.

Of course, if you're buying a flashy brand-name gaming laptop like those produced by Alienware or Rock, you will be paying extra for all that style and flash. Now, if money is no object, going with these top brand-names could probably be your best bet if you're playing the name game. Also keep in mind, you don't always have to buy the really expensive "flag-ship" models; going with an entry-level gaming laptop from Alienware or Rock can make them more affordable for the average gamer.

However, if you're on a really tight budget (and who isn't these days) then you have other options when buying a completely good quality gaming laptop. You might not get all the "bells and whistles" but you will get a fast, high-performance gaming machine that will let you play the latest 3D video games on your laptop.

Before you even begin your search, you will have to decide whether or not you're ruling out the possibility of purchasing a refurbished or even a used gaming laptop. If you know what you're doing, some excellent bargains can be had with online auction sites like eBay. Just make sure you thoroughly check out the seller and product before you buy.

Refurbished laptops is another option you can take, just make sure you have some iron-clad guarantees or warranties if you're buying a refurbished gaming laptop. Also remember, check around in your own local area... in hard economic times many perfectly good gaming notebooks may be offered for sale so check your local newspaper ads and online places like Craigslist to see if you can pick up a quality gaming rig at a very reasonable price.

Next, if you're in the market for new gaming laptop, there are several lower price models you could consider.

Gateway P-7811FX ($1,449)

The Gateway P-7811FX is one rather inexpensive laptop you should check out if you're searching for good gaming laptop at a reasonable price. It sports a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor with 4GB, 667MHz DDR3 memory, 200GB 7200rpm, Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTS and a HD-friendly 1920x1200 17.1 inch display.

Which is great value for your money and if you're on a tight budget, you should consider this one.

Qosmio X305 ($1,500 - $2000)

Toshiba has recently launched its Qosmio X305 series of gaming laptops featuring two NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS SLI graphics cards. With Intel Core2 Duo Processor P8400 and 4GB PC3-8500 DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM memory - these beauties can handle the most demanding Direct X 10 games and applications.

Throw in Toshiba great 17" Diagonal TruBrite Widescreen Display for full 1680 x 1050 (WSXGA+) resolution and 4 Harman/Kardon speakers with a Subwoofer and you have a good quality gaming machine at a reasonable price.

Know Your Clevo

Furthermore, experienced gamers know their "Clevo" - this is the Taiwan-based notebook maker ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) who supplies many of the Brand-name Boutique OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) like Falcon, M-TECH, Sager, Rock... with the necessary components and models. By comparing the prices on these Clevo models offered by the different OEMs, you can find the cheapest price that's offered. You can save hundreds, if not thousands off by shopping around and finding the best priced Clevo.

These are just but a few examples of finding a relatively cheap gaming laptop, if you're on the hunt for a good quality gaming rig. But there are many more out there, so shop around and cover all your bases.

Happy hunting!

4GB 2x 2GB DDR3 8500 RAM MEMORY ALIENWARE M17 LAPTOP

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Copyright (c) 2008 Titus Hoskins

For a great gaming laptop you need high performance processors, dedicated graphics cards and a lot of system memory. These days top gaming laptops are using dual or even quad processors and hooking up two or more graphics GPUs thru SLI configurations to get the ultimate gaming performance.

Most gamers look for Nvidia and ATI as their choice of Graphics Cards which uses dedicated memory (RAM) and pulls additional system RAM when needed thru HyperMemory (ATI) or Turbocache (Nvidia). You need at least 2 Gigs of RAM, although most high end laptops now come with 4 or more Gigs of RAM. Note: 32-bit Operating Systems ONLY recognizes up to 3GB of RAM, while you need 64-bit systems to take full advantage of 4GB of RAM.

Sound and visuals are very important to gamers so you have to check for superior display qualities and top sound systems. So look for display technologies like CrystalBrite (Acer) or X-Black (Sony) for better viewing. Also look for high resolution (native 1,920 x 1,200) screens, 64 bit systems, DirectX 10 Graphics, Blu-ray or HD playback...

With all these considerations in mind, here's a short list of a few top gaming laptops you should consider if you're in the market. Keep in mind, although prices are coming down, be prepared to pay top dollar for all that high-end gaming hardware, especially if you're looking at the more popular well-known brands. Also please note stated prices are rough estimates at the time of writing; so check each manufacturer's online site for exact prices and configurations.

1. Alienware Area-51 m17x ($4,749)

Alienware has always been the established leader for superior gaming machines. Unfortunately, while they make some of the best gaming rigs, you will have to pay for all that performance and for all that style. Many believe Alienware is too overpriced for what you get. However, if money is no object, Alienware should be your first consideration for a gaming laptop.

Currently, one of their fastest machines is the Area-51 m17x which sports some impressive specs:

CPU: Intel® Core® 2 Extreme X9000 2.8GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)

Memory: 4GB? Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 2048MB

Hard Drive: 250GB (250GB x 2) 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection

Graphics: 512MB NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 3600M

OS: Microsoft® Windows® Vista® Ultimate with Service Pack 1 Display: 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p) with Clearview Technology Weight: 10.5 lbs

But don't expect long battery life as gaming laptops are usually power-hungry creatures that burn up your power source very quickly. While still mobile, this laptop serves more as a desktop replacement than a portable laptop, same said for most of the gaming laptops here. However, you won't look any cooler than when you're lugging this rig around, not that looks should count but they often do. Shallow world.

2. Rock Xtreme 780 X9100 (£2300 British Pounds or $4,210 USD)

Offering some serious competition to the Area-51 m15x is the Rock Xtreme 780 X9100. This is the follow-up to the very high ranked Xtreme 770 which you may also consider. The 780 sports the new Intel® Core2 Extreme processor and the latest gaming technologies.

CPU: Up to Intel® Core® 2 Extreme processor X9100 (2 x 3.06GHz) 6MB Level 2 Cache

Memory: Up to 4GB DDR3 1066Mhz RAM

Hard Drive: Up to 320Gb 7200rpm SATA

Graphics: NVIDIA 9800M GTX 1GB GDR3

OS: Microsoft® Windows® Vista® Home Premium

Display: 17" WUXGA+ X-Glass TFT Screen (1920 x 1200) Weight: 8.4 lbs

You should know Rock (Rockdirect) is a leading UK laptop manufacturer and was recently acquired by the Stone Group. It should be business as usual since the Stone Group is also a leading hardware specialist and laptop manufacturer. Rock has a solid reputation for bringing the latest innovative notebook technology to customers. Perhaps better suited for European buyers with its "3 Year pan-European Collect & Return Warranty" - although gamers this side of the pond shouldn't necessarily rule out getting a rock.

3. Gateway P-7811FX ($1,449)

The Gateway P-7811FX is an inexpensive alternative to all the pricey gaming laptops you might be considering. If you're looking for a good gaming machine, yet want to stay within a limited budget, this laptop may have your name on it.

CPU: 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400

Memory: 4GB, 667MHz DDR3

Hard Drive: 200GB 7200rpm

Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTS

OS: Microsoft® Windows® Vista® Premium (64-bit) Display: 17.1 inches HD-friendly 1920x1200. Weight: 9.0 lbs

This gaming laptop offers great value for your money and well worth your consideration, especially if you're on a tight budget.

4. Sager NP9262 ($5879)

In case you want to go in the other direction and break the bank, the Sager NP9262 maybe calling your name. Built on the Clevo D900C / D901C (Worlds 1st Quad Core Laptop) the NP9262 sports some very impressive gaming specs.

CPU: Intel® Core® 2 Quad Processor Q9650 / 12MB L2 Cache, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB

Memory: 8GB memory available on NP9262 with 64bit edition of Windows VISTA

Hard Drive: 320GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive + other HD choices

Graphics: Dual Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTX Graphics with 1GB DDR3 Video Memory in SLI mode

OS: Windows® Vista® ULTIMATE 32/64-Bit Edition Display: 17" Wide Viewing Angles WUXGA LCD with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1200) Weight: 11.55 lb

5. Dell XPS M1730 ($4,000)

Some gamers wouldn't be caught dead mentioning Dell and gaming laptops in the same breath. There's no accounting for gaming snobbery or brand name bias. However, Dell which now owns Alienware and some of that style must be rubbing off since the XPS M1730 is one of the most striking gaming laptops you can buy; looks do count and this one leaves all takers in the dust. If you can get over the idea of having a Dell in the first place, the XPS M1730 also sports some very impressive gaming specs.

CPU: 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900

Memory: 2GB of 667MHz

Hard Drive: 400GB (2x200) at 7,200rpm

Graphics: Dual 256MB Nvidia GeForce 8700M GT in SLI (scalable link interface)

OS: Windows Vista® Home Premium Display: 17 inches 1,920x1,200 resolution Weight: 11.1 lbs

These are just some of the top gaming laptops on the market. Any one of these rigs will give you half decent gaming. There are probably a lot more cheaper gaming laptops out there and it does pay to shop around. And as you probably already noticed these gaming rigs are geared around Intel and Nvidia, but you shouldn't rule out AMD and/or ATI based systems. For Mac lovers, you should look at the Apple MacBook Pro - and remember you can also run Windows to play games!

Furthermore, one of the major drawbacks of going with any gaming laptop (rather than a PC) is that there is very little room for expansion... you need a system that can be easily upgraded mainly because by the time you buy it, your system will probably be out of date. That's a bit exaggerated, but it is always a good idea to go with a gaming system that you can easily upgrade when the need arises or as you can afford it.

Also some gamers dislike Vista as an Operating System for gaming and quickly switch back to Windows XP. This is simply done, however some current laptops/PCs won't accept XP so check this out BEFORE you buy your machine.

In addition, if some of these gaming rigs look very similar, you should know that Clevo is the ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) based in Taiwan that sells barebones and computer components to all these boutique brand OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) like Falcon, Sager, M-TECH, Rock... Clevo is considered by many gamers to produce the top laptops in regards to superior quality and build. A prudent gaming laptop buyer would always cross-reference these Clevo products in order to find the best deal.

4GB DDR3 Memory RAM for Alienware M17x Laptop

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Even if you ask the new gamer next to you which gaming notebook he or she admired most, she/ he will say Alienware Area 51M. This gaming notebook/ laptop have stood the test of time. It is produced by the company called Alienware which is one of the US computer hardware companies that is partly owned by Dell.This computer is not only made for gamers but also to those who do multitasking on their computers. After all, the alien 15M machines aren’t for average word processing laptops but intensive gaming machines. This means that when it comes to office work, they are the best laptops because of their memory but that memory will be idle if you don’t engage in multitasking or gaming..It has got a lot of power with the Pentium 4 3.4GHz processor and a full GB of RAM for terrific speed.

The average battery life of an Area51M is good compared to the task waiting for this machine. But most gamers on this computer don’t leave the source of power. Working far from the source means that there is a high chance of loosing your work as this machine uses a lot of energy.For those who work on budget, Area 51M is not for them because they start at $2000 which is a lot of money compared to other laptops which are sold at less than $500. But if what you want is an Elienware notebook Computer, then you have to look for the money and get your high end machine. After all everything sweet must come at a cost.If you don’t mind which type of gaming laptop is good, you can cross the bridge. Some other companies make the machines that are almost to the standard of Area51M. Such laptops include Rockdirect Laptops.Rockdirect gaming notebooks are another group of notebooks which are also in the gamers front pages. Rockdirect gaming laptops are from a British company but their machines are also good as far as gaming is concerned.

They have been in the business of gaming laptop for very long time and I think that’s why they are very expensive.Those who are on budget should consider using Dell gaming notebook computers A year ago Dell introduced its XPS second generation gaming laptops which got many relived because the prices of these notebooks were lower compared to Area51M.It is not a laughing matter with the introduction of Dell XPS Gen2 laptops, Dell has managed to enter the market of gamers with the big bang and it is like it is not yet ready to go back soon.For those who like gaming I hope will agree with me that if you want to buy a high end gaming notebook, you need to buy the one that is upgradeable so that in future you will be able to use and move with other if you have to stay up-to-date with gaming technology in this global village.