Deciding when to buy a new laptop computer

A lot of thought goes into deciding to buy a new laptop computer, as well as choosing which device to purchase. This year, technology news provider CNET reports, consumers have a bit more to think about with the impending releases of both Intel's Ivy Bridge processors and the Microsoft® Windows® 8 operating system.

Both the software and chipset are set to launch at some point in 2012, but months apart from each other. That means consumers who don't want to wait for both on one device will have to decide which is more important to them, CNET says.

"There are always new processor upgrades, spec bumps and price drops. However, two big, impending waves are about to crash on the PC world at the same time: Intel's next-gen Ivy Bridge processors and Microsoft's Windows 8," the report states.

Microsoft recently launched the consumer preview version of Windows 8, and Intel® is expected to debut Ivy Bridge some time this summer. The full release of Windows 8 may not be widely available to consumers before the third quarter, according to CNET.

The consumer preview of Windows 8 was launched during the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Microsoft took the opportunity to show off the new OS on notebook computers set to be released this year, CIO magazine reports.