It's become a rite of passage in many families: When you graduate from high school, you get a new laptop. Especially if you're going to college.

So if your grad will be attending college, start shopping at that school's site. It may list laptop requirements for its students. And prices at the college bookstore often are lower than at big-box electronics stores.

Next you must choose an operating system. Microsoft Windows is the most popular, but your graduate may prefer a Mac. The open-source Linux is also available on some laptops.

Macs can run Windows, thanks to Apple's included Boot Camp. But you'll have to buy a copy of Windows.

WINDOWS LAPTOPS

You'll have many choices in Windows laptops. Expect to pay between $800 and $1,200 for a decent one.

Look for a laptop with AMD's Turion or Intel's Core 2 Duo processor — powerful, dual-core, 64-bit processors. There are different speeds of these processors, but you don't need the fastest one available.

Opt for Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate over other versions of Vista. They're not only a better experience, but include Windows Media Center, which lets the laptop record television.

Do not accept less than 2 gigabytes of RAM. If your grad is into heavy photo or video editing, go for 3GB. The hard drive should be 120GB or larger.

If the student will be editing videos or photos, opt for a dedicated graphics card. Expect to pay about $100 for that.

Look for a DVD or Blu-ray disc drive and plenty of USB ports (aim for four or more). Ethernet and Wi-Fi are necessities. Opt for 802.11n wireless.

You don't want the laptop to be too heavy to tote. Anything more than 6 pounds can be a burden. Aim for one with a 13- to 15-inch wide screen — with an LED display if possible (it's brighter than an LCD screen and increases battery life).

The battery life should be at least three hours. Buy a spare battery, if necessary. A TV tuner card, which lets you watch TV on the laptop, is a nice addition. It's also needed to take full advantage of Windows Media Center.

MAC LAPTOPS

There are MacBooks and MacBook Pros. There is also the pricey new MacBook Air.

The midrange MacBook ($1,299) should suit most students. It has a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It also has 2GB of memory, a 160GB hard drive and a DVD burner. Wi-Fi is built-in; it uses 802.11n.

MacBooks weigh in at 5 pounds. The wide screen is 13.3 inches, but is not an LED screen. The graphics are integrated into the motherboard.

The more powerful MacBook Pro comes in three versions, starting at $1,999. You can choose from models with 15.4- or 17-inch wide screens, at 5.4 and 6.8 pounds, respectively.

The 15.4-inch displays use LEDs. A 17-inch LED display will cost an extra $100.

The entry-level MacBook Pro should do any student just fine.

All MacBook Pros feature 2GB of RAM and Intel Core 2 Duo chips at varying speeds. They also have DVD burners and dedicated graphics cards. The hard drives start at 200GB. Wi-Fi is 802.11n.