HP Pavilion Dv3z in Laptop Computers

Screen Size: The size of a notebook computer's LCD Screen, measured diagonally.

Processor Type: One of the most important components of any computer system, the processor performs the system computations. There are two companies that produce the majority of the processors on the market: Intel and AMD. Each company manufactures a number of different processor series. Most processors only have one core but dual core processors are now out on the market and offer twice the computing power.

Installed Memory: Usually used in reference to the system RAM (Random Access Memory). RAM comes in the form of chips and is used to temporarily store information. It can be written to and read from, and is measured in Megabytes (MB) or Gigabytes (GB). 1 GB = 1024 MB. Common memory technologies in use today are SDRAM, DDR-SDRAM, and DDR2.

Hard Drive Size: The Hard Drive is the main storage device. Information is written to a magnetic disk to be retrieved at a later time. The amount of information that can be stored on a hard drive is measured in Gigabytes (GB). The speed of the drive is measured in RPMs (Revolutions per Minute). The higher the RPMs, the faster the hard drive can transfer information.

Operating System: The program used to issue the commands that run the computer. Common operating systems in use today are Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.