Laptops Arena

Every notebook that you buy will have integrated speakers. Notebook speakers are different depending on the size and price of the unit. In general, mini laptops (also known as netbooks) have very weak speakers while gaming laptops, just as the Alienware models sometimes have up to 4 integrated speakers and also an integrated subwoofer which offers bass to the sound.

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Most mainstream notebook speakers come in a pair of two but if you are not satisfied with the sound quality or the volume levels which they provide, you can always buy a set of external speakers which will meet your needs. Most of the time, it is actually recommended that you get external speakers because the integrated sound is awful. For the price of $50, you can get a very good pair of notebook speakers, the Logitech V20. Logitech has always made above average speakers with great sound and multimedia controls.

Each of the two speakers is 6 inches tall, 1.5 inches deep and 3 inches wide. With a weight of 1.2 pounds it is clear that these are not portable speakers. One very special aspect of this laptop is that is does not require an AC adapters or other batteries. It simply takes all its power for one of the laptops USB ports. The speakers are recognized immediately by almost all the operating systems. Power for quite a low price. We’re loving it.

The Logitech Z-10s is another wise choice for external notebook speakers. For a price of $46, you get quite a decent sound and you have the same USB connectivity features like the set mentioned above.  Their looks are pretty basic but I guess that sound quality is the only important thing in the end. The speakers do not have any volume control button or dial but they do have a small remote control that slow you to control the volume levels and it has the play, pause, stop, forward and back controls.

The musical note button located below the volume down button on the remote control will allow you to assign a music application. This means that every time you press the musical note button, the preset application will be launched. The fact that is connectible to the unit by one of the USB ports is a great advantage even if it means that you have to keep and USB port occupied all the time.

Another very well known manufacturer of notebook speakers is Altec Lansing. The Expressionist Bass FX3022 is in fact a set of speakers dedicated mostly for PCs but sound enthusiasts will surely want to have a set of these babies attached to their notebooks as well. OK, so the set is a bit pricey at $86 but the quality of the sound provided. Except for the super cool look, the speakers have quite a considerable amount of bass which is good especially when you want to listen to some high quality music or play some shooting games. Yes, external notebook speakers are the best choice to get high quality sound.

In order to increase the functionality of your laptop, there are several notebook accessories which you can buy that can provide different usages for your notebook.

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Because most laptop models have a short battery life, the most important notebook accessories are the power adapters. An ideal and must-have accessory for people that travel a lot and are in need of good battery performance, an universal power adaptor should be kept in handy so they can charge the battery even if they are in a car or an airplane.

Many people are disappointed with a laptop that has a small touchpad. If you are one of them, buying an external mouse will solve this problem. Anyway, even if your laptop has a large touchpad, you will find it more comfortable to use a mouse because it offers more freedom, mobility and accuracy. This is also a great accessory if you are a gamer, as you will never be able to play games with the touchpad.



Other important notebook accessories are webcams. If you have a laptop which lacks a webcam you will probably be disappointed. The webcams are a nice feature because they help you stay in touch with your friends by making video calls. If you don’t have one of these, you can buy an external webcam and attach it to your laptop via USB. That will solve your problem and you will be more satisfied by that because most of the available external Webcam models are more powerful than an integrated one.

If you are a heavy writer you probably prefer having a separate numerical pad on your laptop. Because most laptop models don’t have that (generally they are found on laptops which are 16 inches or bigger), you can buy an external numerical pad and attach it on your laptop via USB. This accessory is helpful because you don’t need to bother using the standard numerical keys which are positioned very uncomfortable around the keyboard.



Other very important notebook accessories are the memory sticks. Memory sticks are great if you are a student or you simply need some files and you don’t want to carry the entire laptop every time with you, you can buy a memory stick which will help you with the file transfer from one laptop to another.

Starting from 256 MB and up to 256 GB these memory sticks are available with many storage capacity options. These memory sticks are very practical because you don’t need to spend your time waiting to burn a CD or a DVD. But the most important aspect is that you can use it whenever you want without changing it.



If music is your main concern and your laptop doesn’t have great sound quality, a great idea for a notebook accessory is a pair of headphones or an external set of speakers. If you want to throw a party or listen to music at a louder volume, these external speakers are essential. There are many types of external speakers so you should not have any problems to choose what you need.

Everybody wants to keep their laptop safe. If you want to prevent your laptop from being stolen (because we’ve noticed that leaving the laptop in a public place has become a nasty habit) you can buy a notebook security cable.



For using that, your notebook will need to have a Kensington Lock slot. These security cables basically act like a bicycle lock only this time it’s attached to your desk so no one will run off with it. Anyway, these notebook accessories are very helpful to you. The mobility of your laptop will be increased and you will be more satisfied by your machine.

When it comes laptop accesories, we are talking about gadgets that help increase that functionality of your laptop. Accesories can be anything from special laptop bags to external laptop speakers and keyboards. Accesories are not neccesary but they sure are useful, even if your laptop can run just fine without them. In general, accesories like speakers or headphones cand be generally used for different laptop models as they are not built for one specific design. If we are reffering to laptop bag, they need to have certain dimensions to beter suit the sie of your laptop. To be a bit more specific, let’s talk about HP laptop accesories.
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For $56 you can buy the Acoustic Research ARW200 surround headphones which were created to make you enjoy the sound effects of a movie as if you were  at the cinema. It can simply be connected to your HP laptop though one of the available USB ports. This set of headphones doesn’t do a very good job at blocking the outside noise but for a good pair of headphones you have to pay over $150. The nice thing about the ARW200 is that they have a special protective case for those moments when you’re traveling and need to carry the headphones with you in a bag full of other stuff. The two plastic arms make the headphones adjustable in size and they can also be folded.

They are very easy to install and even if you gift them to a person that barely know how to use the computer, they won’t have problems in using them. All you have to do is connect them to you HP laptop using an USB port and set the PC DVD player for 5.1 audio and that does the trick. Every earpiece has a set of three speakers: the surround, the center channel and the subwoofer. Even they look a bit too fragile for some people’s taste; they are powerful when it comes to the sound output. When headphones have larger ear cups it usually means the sound is better and this is why this little gizmo is so amazing. It’s really hard to describe a sound experience in words so maybe if you buy these headphones from a regular store, you get eh chance to try them out and see for yourself what the big deal is. They are not the best laptop headphones out there but they do produce decent sound for the money you pay.



As we have explained in our previous articles, an overheated laptop is not cool. So here we go with another idea of HP laptop accessory, the notebook cooling pad. The $40 Zalman ZM NC1500 is one of the most useful accessories you could get for your laptop. This cooling pad has 2 huge and powerful fans that will do a great job at keeping your laptop under normal temperature. The speed is also adjustable so you can use it at the maximum capacity only when you feel it’s really necessary, like when the temperature in the room is really high or when you are really stressing out your laptop. It has a weight of 1.8 pounds and the dimensions are 13.6 x 11.8 x 2.0 inches so it can support laptops that are even 17 inches in size.  What this cooling pad is to blow air inside your laptop in order to cool in down. If you use the cooler at maximum settings, the noise can be a bit disturbing if you are used to working in a really quiet environment. You have a special dial that allows you to control the speed of the fans.



On the back of the cooler you will find 2 USB ports (one of which always has to be used with the cable that connects it to your laptop) and the power button accompanied by a power indicating LED. If you check out other cooling pads available in online stores, you will notice that this cooler is a bit more expensive than others but it also has more features that other laptop cooling pads to and the fact that it can support bigger and wider laptops, add a value to the total price.

It doesn’t matter if your HP laptop has an integrated webcam or not. The HP Elite Autofocus external webcam makes a beautiful accessory for people who like to stay in touch using video calls. Normally, a laptop webcam has between 1.3 and 3 megapixels. This $48 webcam has 12 megapixels which means images broadcasted on Skype should be as clear as watching a movie on DVD. The dimensions of this webcam are 7.0 x 6.2 x 2.2 inches and it really looks like it can match any HP laptop model. It even has integrated stereo speakers and three launch buttons which are programmable and they can take photos and even give you access to video recording and instant messaging programs. If you want to move the webcam around you will be happy to know that you have 3.3 feet of cable which is a little too much for a webcam that usually stays on the top edge of display.



This webcam is compatible to most instant messaging programs.  Just like many other webcams this one also has special effects that make video chatting more fun. You can also receive the HP Photosmart Essential software. ArcSoft WebCam Companion 2 is another program that allows you to edit the photos taken with your webcam and even share recordings on a user friendly interface. It does not have many options therefore it will not confuse many people. During some tests the image quality of the webcam is not worth $48. It does not act like a 12 megapixel webcam even If the specs tell us that it is one of the best webcams on the market. You could buy Logitech webcams which are far better and sometimes, even cheaper.



If you feel like spending more money on HP laptop accessories you should start off by buying a special laptop bag or a cool laptop sticker which protect your notebook from scratches and any other small shocks.

There are too many articles that focus on different laptop model reviews when they should also focus on the laptop parts, on what’s inside the laptop. If you know how different laptop components interact, you could be able to fix a possible hardware problem without having to take your laptop to a service and waiting for days until it’s repaired at a booming price.
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It’s important to know about laptop parts and how they work because you will find out different way of protecting your laptop. Take the processor for instance. The processor is also called a CPU, which is short for central processing unit. This processor is actually a chip that controls movement and processing of data. It’s like the heart of the computer. It is attaches to the motherboard of the laptop, which can also be considered the brain. Every other components and programs has to pass though the processor in order to carry out their functions.

Every bit and piece of data that is pulled either from the RAM or from any other hardware part has to be processed. There is a special socket that helps the processor to stay connected to the motherboard. There are instructions related to every task, instructions that the CPU reads before sending it back to the RAM. These instructions that the processor receives are related to data transportation and calculations. There is a trail that all the pieces of data have to follow before they are executed and this trail is called the system bus. The processor is the one that makes sure the data is transferred though this system bus. The processor can read two types of data and handle them as well. First comes the data that has to be processed. Second in line is the programming code, represented by a list of instructions referring to the way in which the data needs to be processed. The CPU is the only part that can interpret the language. The same programming code is the one that gives out information to the CPU about the route that the data has to follow within the system bus. The processor can handle these 2 different types of data until the information is no longer needed (when you close a certain program).



Laptop batteries come in all shapes and sizes but you may be surprised to know that this is a laptop part that your laptop can do without! You don’t need a battery for your laptop to function because you have a power adapter which, connected to a power outlet, will provide enough electricity for your laptop to properly function. Actually, it is recommended that you take out the battery from your laptop when it’s connected to the power outlet for 2 main reasons. The first one is because when the laptop battery is charging, it produces a significant amount of heat. This heat output, combined with the heat that other parts of your laptop produce, can add up a total temperature which is critical and can damage your laptop parts. The other reason is that battery will have a god life for months to come if you don’t keep it in the laptop while the unit is connected to a power source. If the battery gets used to being charged constantly, it will only last for a short while when you remove the power jack from the unit. If you are ever in need of replacing the battery if your laptop made sure you buy the right one because they are specific for every laptop model. When your laptop runs on battery power, the life of the battery depends on a variety of factors.



These factor are numerous, like the level of brightness set on the display, or the number and intensity of the applications you are running, or the exterior temperature in the working environment, or if the wireless card is turned on or off. This is why different laptop models and even different versions of the operating system have several power management profiles. For example, if the power management profile is “high performance” this means that your laptop will use the processor and other hardware components at their maximum capacity but this is shorten the battery life. If you have chosen the “power saver” profile, your laptop will run slower but the battery life will improve considerably. Tell me the truth, how many of you knew these tricks?



The sound board, or audio board, is connected to the motherboard in most laptop models. When different laptop parts are connected to the motherboard, they are more difficult to remove and replace because they need to be re-soldered.  Just like any other laptop components, audio boards can also fail. The most common symptom of audio board failure is the lack of sound from the headphones or the internal speakers.  The first thing you should do is to check if the volume level is not set to the lowest point or even muted. If this was not the problem, you could try and reinstall the sound driver. Laptop drivers can be found on the internet for every laptop model and they are usually available directly on the manufacturer’s website. Sometimes, you have to reinstall the whole operating system in order to get the speakers to work. If all these methods do not generate any kind of positive result, this could be a sign that it’s time to replace the sound board with a new one.



As you can see, in some cases you don’t need to take your laptop to the “doctor” to figure out what’s wrong with it. We don’t recommend you start opening up your laptop if it’s still in the warranty period as you may void the warranty. But the first thing you should do when you notice that a certain piece of hardware in your laptop has stopped working is to check the drivers of that component. Sometimes, reinstalling the driver can do the trick and save you a lot of headache, time and money.

Let’s talk about Compaq laptop repair. Why Compaq? Well, before it was taken over by HP, the Compaq laptop models were really problematic machines. This company has made some pretty unhappy customers. Now, their products have improved ever since HP took over the company but there still are some problems that may come up, just like in the case of any laptop in this world.
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When we refer to Compaq laptop repair, we are thinking of all kinds of problems that may come up with these laptops. We cannot write an article that explains how to repair any damaged part in just any Compaq laptop so we’ve made some research and we are going to show common problems on some Compaq laptop and how they can be fixed. For instance, it is possible to replace one single key on you Compaq Presario 2500 keyboard (you can do this on many other laptop models as well). The shape of the white hinge which is right under the key is very important and it may be different from one model to another. In our case, the white hinge has a centered round hole in it and 2 other holes, one is bigger and is shaped like a square and the other is smaller and it has a rectangular shape. Place the hinge so that the squared shape is on your right side. The left side of the hinge (the smaller one) needs to go over a metal hook which is located at the base of the keyboard, where the missing key is.  You can place it there from a 45 degrees angle. Next, the hinge has to be stretched so you can connect to the right metal hinge at the base of the keyboard. When this white hinge has been connected to these two metal hooks, it is now in the right place and you can start placing the missing key. Align that key and press firmly as all four corners will produce a clicking sound. There you have it; you’ve replaced a key on your Compaq Presario 2500 keyboard.

If you have ever had any kind of motherboard problems and need to substitute this component with a new one, here is some information that can guide you through this process. We have read that this method can work for the following laptop models: HP G50, HP G60, HP G70, Compaq CQ50, Compaq CQ60 and Compaq CQ70.  The first step to dissembling your laptop is by removing the battery. Also make sure that your laptop does not have the power adapter plugged in so no electrical power is running though the machine. We don’t want any unfortunate accidents. You then have 3 main covers that you want to remove: the wireless cover, the memory cover and the hard drive cover. Now we have 3 screws which are keeping hard drive attached to the laptop. Remove them. This will disconnect the hard drive from the motherboard. To “get rid” of the memory you need to remove both of the memory modules. When you get to the wireless card, you will notice that there are two antenna cables which need to be removed first. After disconnecting those 2 cables, you have 2 screws that you need to unscrew so you can remove the wireless card from the laptop.



The DVD optical drive is connected to the laptop with the help of only one screw. After you have removed that screw, you can gently pull the optical drive away from the laptop. Next you have to remove all the screw on the bottom of the laptop (I counted a total of 15 screws left but this number may vary according to your laptop model). Next, you have to disconnect the CMOS battery cable to detach it from the motherboard. Next step is to lift the keyboard. This can be done easily but you have to be cautious not to cause any damage or cracks into the keyboard. You can start from the top and the keyboard can then easily be detached from the bottom by lifting it up. Underneath the keyboard there is a cable connector (right above the touchpad). This connector needs to be unlocked or else you cannot remove the keyboard. There is a white locking clip which needs to be moved towards the display about 3 millimeters in order to unlock the cable. Pay attention because the locking clip has to remain attached to the connector base. Then you can release that cable which now allows you to completely remove the keyboard.



The power button connector cable will be revealed after removing the keyboard. The cable that needs to be removed is blue. Next you can remove the plastic cover that surrounded the keyboard. On your left side, where the keyboard used to be, you will see the black video cable and the webcam cable. Disconnect both of them. On the upper right corner, you can see the wireless antenna cables. Pull them carefully though the opening located in the top cover. Now you must remove the 4 screws that are securing the display hinges so you can remove the LCD from the laptop. Above the touchpad, there is a small blue cable. That is the touchpad cable which also needs to be disconnected. Next, you should have about 4 screws that are keeping the top cover assembly into place. You guessed it! Those go off as well. The top cover assembly needs to be gently separated from the base of the laptop. Be careful with cracks. You can use something like a credit card to split those 2 apart but be careful with sharp object or you may end up scratching the laptop.



The left speaker is secured by one screw which needs to be removed as well. The motherboard is now revealed (and you’d better have but all those screws and cable in a container because losing them is not indicated – you do have to put this laptop back together again). There are 4 screws that need to be removed from the motherboard, as well as 4 cables that need to be carefully disconnected. Now you can remove the motherboard from the notebook’s base. The cooling fan cable needs to be disconnected from the motherboard. Here, we have another 4 screws that are keeping the cooling assembly attached to the motherboard. Remove them as well. After you have removed the cooler, it is time for the final step. The power jack may not be soldered to the motherboard and this saves up some time for you. The power jack cable can be easily unplugged from the motherboard and you can substitute it for a new one. Now you can use a new motherboard and to out everything back together, just read this article from bottom to top.