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The resolution of the screen installed in the laptop — that is, the size of the screen in pixels horizontally and vertically.

Higher resolution, on the one hand, gives a sharper, more detailed image; on the other hand, it increases the cost of the laptop. The latter is connected not only with the cost of the displays themselves, but also with the fact that in order to work effectively at high resolutions, you need the appropriate filling (primarily a graphics card). This is especially true in games; so if you are looking for a laptop with a high-resolution screen that can effectively "run" modern games — you should pay attention not only to the characteristics of the display, but also to other data (the type and parameters of the graphics card, test results, the ability to work with certain games — see everything below). On the other hand, if the device is planned to be used for simple tasks such as working with documents, surfing the Internet and watching videos, you can not pay much attention to the “hardware” parameters: anyway, they are selected so that the laptop is guaranteed to be able to cope with such tasks on full resolution of the "native" screen.

As for specific numbers, the resolution options that are relevant today can be divided into 4 groups: HD (720), Full HD (1080), Quad HD and UltraHD 4K. Here is a mor...e detailed description of them:

— HD (720). This category includes all displays that have a vertical size of less than 1080 pixels. The most popular HD resolution in modern laptops is 1366x768; in devices larger than 15.6 ", 1600x900 is also often found. Other values quite exotic and are rarely used. In general, screens of this standard are now typical mainly for entry-level laptops.

— Full HD (1080). Initially, the Full HD standard provides a frame size of 1920x1080, and it is this resolution that is most often used in laptop screens from this category. However, in addition to this, other resolution options are also included in this format, where the vertical size is at least 1080 pixels, but does not reach 1440 pixels. Examples include 1920x1200 and 2560x1080. In general, Full HD displays provide a good balance between cost, image quality and laptop hardware requirements. Because of this, nowadays they are extremely widespread; matrices of this standard can be found even in low-cost devices, although they are mainly used in more advanced technology.

— Quad HD. A transitional option between the popular Full HD 1080 (see above) and the high-end and expensive UltraHD 4K. The vertical size of such screens starts from 1440 pixels and can reach 2000 pixels. Note that QuadHD resolutions are especially popular in Apple laptops; most often, such devices have 2560x1600 screens, although there are other options.

— Ultra HD 4K. The most advanced standard used in modern laptops. The vertical size of such screens is at least 2160 dots (up to 2400 in some configurations); the classic resolution of a modern UltraHD matrix is 3840x2160, but there are other values. Anyway, a 4K display allows for high image quality, however, it costs accordingly — including due to the corresponding requirements for a graphics adapter; in addition, to work with high resolutions, it can be more convenient to connect an external monitor to the laptop. Thus, such screens are used relatively rarely, and mainly among premium laptops.

The frame rate supported by the laptop screen. In fact, in this case we are talking about the maximum frequency; the actual frame rate may be lower than this value, depending on the content being displayed — but not higher.

Theoretically, the higher the frame rate, the smoother the movement on the screen will look, the less moving objects will be blurred. In fact, the situation is such that even in relatively modest modern laptops, 60 Hz matrices are installed — in general, this is quite enough for the human eye, since a further increase in speed ( 90 Hz and higher) does not significantly improve the visible “picture”. However, in high-end gaming and multimedia models designed for demanding users, higher values — 120 Hz, 144 Hz, 165 Hz and even higher, namely 240 Hz and 300 Hz.

The colour gamut of the laptop matrix according to the NTSC colour model.

Colour gamut describes the range of colours that can be displayed on the screen. It is indicated as a percentage, but not relative to the entire variety of visible colours, but relative to the conditional colour space (colour model). This is due to the fact that no modern screen is able to display all the colours visible to humans. However, the larger the colour gamut, the wider the screen's capabilities, the better its colour reproduction.

Specifically, NTSC is one of the first colour models created back in 1953 for colour television. It is not used in the production of modern LCD matrices, but is used to describe and compare them. NTSC covers a wider range of colours than sRGB, which is standard in computer technology; therefore, even a small number of percentages in this case corresponds to a fairly wide coverage. For example, a value of 72% or more in NTSC is already considered a good value for use in design and graphics. At the same time, the same NTSC figures on different screens may correspond to different sRGB figures; so if accurate colour reproduction is decisive for you, these details should be clarified before buying.

Also note that among individual monitors, it is easier to find a screen with a wide colour gamut; while it will also cost less than a laptop with similar display characteristics. So choosing a laptop with a h...igh-end screen makes sense mainly when portability is as important to you as high-quality colour reproduction.

The colour gamut of the laptop matrix according to the DCI P3 colour model.

Colour gamut describes the range of colours that can be displayed on the screen. It is indicated as a percentage, but not relative to the entire variety of visible colours, but relative to the conditional colour space (colour model). This is due to the fact that no modern screen is able to display all the colours visible to humans. However, the larger the colour gamut, the wider the screen's capabilities, the better its colour reproduction.

DCI P3 is an advanced colour model primarily used in digital cinemas. It is noticeably more extensive than the standard sRGB, which gives better and more accurate colours. At the same time, in fact, such a model is used mainly for professional film production and other tasks of a similar level; and laptops for such tasks are used quite rarely (although this is also possible). Therefore, coverage according to DCI P3 is very rarely indicated for modern laptops. However it is quite possible to find models on the market with indicators of such coverage at the level of 98% or more, but there are very few of them, and they cost accordingly. So in many cases a more reasonable (and economical) alternative is a separate monitor with good colour gamut; it makes sense to look for a laptop with similar characteristics if the ability to work with colour “on the go”, without being tied to a specific workplace, is fundamen...tally important to you.

The specific model of the processor installed in the laptop, or rather, the processor index within its series (see above). Knowing the full name of the processor (series and model), you can find detailed information on it (up to practical reviews) and clarify its capabilities.

The code name for CPU installed in the laptop.

This parameter characterizes, first of all, the generation to which the processor belongs, and the microarchitecture used in it. At the same time, chips with different code names can belong to the same microarchitecture/generation; in such cases, they differ in other parameters - general positioning, belonging to certain series (see above), the presence / absence of certain specific functions, etc.

Nowadays, the following code names are relevant in Intel processors: Coffee Lake, Comet Lake, Ice Lake, Tiger Lake, Jasper Lake, Alder Lake, Raptor Lake (13th Gen), Alder Lake-N, Raptor Lake (14th Gen), Meteor Lake (Series 1), Raptor Lake (Series 1), Lunar Lake (Series 2). For AMD, the list looks like this: Zen 2 Renoir, Zen 2 Lucienne, Zen 3 Cezanne, Zen 3 Barcelo, Zen 3+ Rembrandt, Zen 3+ Rembrandt R, Zen 2 Mendocino, Zen 3 Barcelo R, Zen 4 Dragon Range, Zen 4 Phoenix Zen 4 Hawk Point, Zen 5 Strix Point. Detailed data on different code names can be found in special sources.

The number of cores in the laptop CPU.

The core is a part of the CPU designed to process one thread of instructions (and sometimes more, for such models, see "Number of threads"). Nowadays, in laptops you can find dual-core, quad-core, six-core, eight-core, ten-core, 12-core, 14-core CPUs. Also note that recently configurations with different types of cores as part of a single CPU are gaining popularity. Such chips are built on a hybrid architecture that combines high performance and energy-efficient cores. They operate at different clock speeds, have different amounts of pre-installed cache memory and are designed to solve different problems. In particular, such CPUs are found in Intel CPUs (from the 12th generation) and Apple.

Theoretically, more cores means higher performance, especially in parallel computing tasks or when processing multiple resource-intensive tasks at the same time. However, in practice this is true only all else being equal – that is, with a similar microarchitecture, clock frequency, cache volumes and other key parameters. Modern CPUs can vary greatly on these parameters – in itself, a greater number of cores does not mean superiority. This is especially true for dual- and quad-core chips: a mobil...e-level CPU (for example, Snapdragon, see "CPU series") with 4 cores may well be inferior in capabilities to a dual-core desktop series chip (like Core i3 or i5, which are often used in universal laptops with the "optimal" set of specifications for different tasks). When evaluating CPUs with two or four cores, it is necessary to look, first of all, at the general set of characteristics. But the presence of six, eight or more cores is almost certainly a sign of a powerful CPU. Such equipment is typical mainly for advanced gaming and professional laptops.

The clock speed of the processor installed in the laptop (for multi-core processors, the frequency of each individual core).

Theoretically, a higher clock speed has a positive effect on performance, as it allows the processor to perform more operations per unit of time. However, in fact, the capabilities of the CPU depend on a number of other characteristics — primarily on the series to which it belongs (see above). It even happens that of the two chips, the more performant in the overall result is the slower one. With this in mind, it makes sense to compare by clock frequency only processors of the same series, and ideally, also of the same generation; and the laptop as a whole should be judged by the complex characteristics of the system, as well as by the results of tests (see below).

Processor clock speed achieved in TurboBoost or TurboCore "overclocking" mode.

Turbo Boost and Turbo Core technologies are used by different manufacturers (Intel and AMD, respectively), but they have the same principle of operation: load distribution from more loaded processor cores to less loaded ones to improve performance. The "overclocking" mode is characterized by an increased clock frequency, and it is indicated in this case.

For more information about clock speed in general, see the relevant paragraph above.