Computer Specs & What to Look for in a Laptop

When you're choosing a new laptop or desktop computer, it's important to understand the specs and features you'll see listed by each model. That way, you can be sure to choose the right laptop for your own particular needs. As the pandemic has sent a lot of us home, our computers need to be able to help us work from anywhere, not just the office.

Knowing what processor to go for, how much RAM you'll need and whether or not you require a graphics card are all questions will have a bearing on your setup, and your budget.

We explain some of the key components to look for when picking up your new laptop.

Just want to see the best laptops money can buy? Check out our recommendations for The Best Laptops of 2021

What are Good Laptop Specs?

Processor – The brains of the laptop, the better the processor, the faster your computer will run. For a dependable laptop, an Intel i3 is fine, but an i5 will guarantee good speeds. Laptops with i7 chips cost a lot more, and are more suited to those running design software. Most computer-based jobs won't need too powerful a processor, since text/spreadsheet documents aren't too intensive, but film editors or graphic designers will need a computer with a bit more of a punch.

Screen – Size and resolution of screen will have a big impact on your experience. It's best not to go smaller than a 13-inch screen, though you can live without 4K displays unless you're a professional designer or photo-editor. Full HD resolution is fine.

Storage Space – The amount of space you can use to store your files. It's best not to accept less than 256GB for a solid state drive (SSD, which helps laptops run faster), or less than 1TB for a traditional hard drive (not as fast, but more generous with the storage).

– The amount of space you can use to store your files. It's best not to accept less than 256GB for a solid state drive (SSD, which helps laptops run faster), or less than 1TB for a traditional hard drive (not as fast, but more generous with the storage). RAM – Used for juggling multiple applications at once. More RAM can give you a speed boost. These days, 8GB RAM is the minimum to aim for. 16GB or 32GB is only needed for high-end machines.

– Used for juggling multiple applications at once. More RAM can give you a speed boost. These days, 8GB RAM is the minimum to aim for. 16GB or 32GB is only needed for high-end machines. Graphics card – An additional graphics card is used for things like image editing. If you only need to browse the web, email and stream video, you can live without an advanced graphics card.

Processor

An integral part of the laptop, the processor will determine how powerful your computer is. There are two main players in the laptop space, Intel and AMD, although the vast majority of the models you’ll find on store shelves with feature an Intel chip. These typically come in the flavour of i3, i5, i7 or i9. In the most basic terms, the bigger the number, the better the processor.

An Intel Core i3 processor will be fine for anyone not looking to do much on their laptop outside basic tasks. But, for those needing raw power and a chip that can handle heavy workloads, the i7 is the best choice. It’s also important to check the generation of your Intel processor. Receiving regular upgrades, an i7 processor from 2014 is a totally different beast to one in 2021. Know the latest generation of Intel when shopping around (most devices are on the 10th, with 11th gen chips available in high end products), and don’t get duped into picking up something that is already dated.

While AMD may have struggled with its offerings in the past, its latest Ryzen processors can certainly hold their own against Intel, providing a viable alternative at a cheaper price.

The processor, effectively the brains of the laptop, is seen by many as being the most important part of a laptop, and while that’s true to some degree, it’s also important to match it to hardware that will allow it to work to the best of its abilities, such as RAM and a graphics card. Don’t just buy the most powerful processor you can find and expect to be set.

Looking for the ultimate laptop for school or college? Check out our dedicated guide to school and college laptops.

Screen

There are couple of key points to consider when you're looking at a laptop screen. Firstly, size. How big do you want it to be? A small screen is great for portability, but you might struggle to make out the finer details of a spreadsheet or Netflix blockbuster. Go larger, and you'll bag a sizeable screen, but it may no longer fit in your bag.

Screen resolution is also something to watch out for. It signifies the number of pixels that are shown onscreen – the bigger the number, the higher the detail. Most laptops will have an HD resolution of 1920 x 1080, which is good enough for daily work and movies, but if you're looking to do some gaming or carry our some image editing, then you'll benefit from a higher resolution. The MacBook Pro range for example has its famous Retina screens, which boast a resolution of 2560 x 1600, making for pin sharp images.

You should also consider whether a matt or glossy screen will suit you better. Glossy can look nice, but can be problematic outside when used in bright sun due to screen glare.

Storage – Hard Drive or Solid State Drive?

Storage space on a laptop can be a tricky thing to work out. Do you want all your files accessible locally, or are you happy to make use of the practically infinite space of the cloud?

Do you go for a traditional hard disk (HDD) or a solid state (SSD) one?

It all depends on your needs. If you mainly use your laptop for surfing the web, emailing and writing the odd document, then you won’t need too much space, and chances are it will take you a long time to fill up a fairly typical 500gb hard drive. The rise in digital streaming and cloud storage mean that most of us don’t need as much room as we once did.

However, if you’re the sort of person who hoards movies, music and want all your games installed at once, then you’re going to want to go with a pretty large hard drive. The best way to gauge how much space you need is to look at what's on your current laptop, how much of it you’ll want to transfer over, and then at least double that space.

You’ll have noticed that you get less storage space on an SSD for your buck compared to a HDD. This is because SSDs are faster and can really ramp up the time it takes to load your programs, or even your operating system. The best solution is a SSD/HHD combination, which gives you speed start up times coupled with loads of storage.

RAM

RAM is vitally important in laptops, as it controls the number of functions the machine can do it at once. You might not think it, but your laptop is constantly multi-tasking, juggling your requirements and keeping a several operations running at the same time. With RAM, the more the better, but decking out your laptop with 32GB of RAM can get not only expensive, but also excessive. Get a laptop with not enough RAM though, and it’ll chug its way through every action, and almost weep at being asked to carry out anything vaguely complex.

Most users will find that 8GB of RAM is fairly standard, and will serve them perfectly well for day to day duties. If you think you might need a bit more grunt down the line, look for a laptop which enables you to add your own RAM in the future. This is an easy operation of undoing a few screws and slotting it in – you don’t need to be a tech wizard to speed up your laptop.

Read our guide to the Best Laptop Brands

Graphics Card

Do you need a graphics card? If you’re an avid gamer or someone who wants to edit a lot of images and video, then the answer is yes. If you’re mainly emailing, surfing and writing the odd office document, then no.

There’s two things to know about graphics cards on laptops. Unlike desktops PCs, they’re practically impossible to retrofit, and they’re expensive. This means that if you want one, not only do you need to buy a laptop with one installed from the off, you also have to make sure that it’s future proof and will stand you in good stead for a few years. Thanks to the 21st century gold rush for bitcoin, prices for graphics cards, which are a core component for mining, are now inflated.

While this is bad news for gamers and designers, it’s an important reminder that picking the right laptop with the right graphics card is key, because if it’s struggling a year down the line, you’ll most likely need to replace the whole unit to upgrade.

Laptop Buying Guide 2023

Whether you are a student, a working professional, or a gamer, laptops are one of the must-have needs nowadays. There is nothing to deny if I say, laptops are just like one of the columns of our daily life’s backbone. Especially for working professionals and students. But choosing a laptop, that can fulfill all the requirements without wasting any money on extras or unwanted features is a pretty difficult thing.

It is indeed a confusing decision when it comes to just choose just one from hundreds of thousands of options out there. But you know what, your work of choosing the best laptop for yourself can get a whole lot easier if you perfectly know what you need and what you don’t. And if you also have a basic knowledge about the laptop’s hardware then what left is just swiping left or right, and shortlisting those who match your needs and comes in your budget.

That means if you have a proper vision of what your needs are and what you’re looking for in your next laptop, it’s just a matter of seconds to choose a laptop that is best for you. But most of the laptop-buying aspirants lack this kind of clear vision which often leads to a wrong purchase of a laptop that they carry with them for at least the next 3-4 years. But it’s not rocket science to under your own needs and some basic terms about a laptop.

You just need a proper guide that can clear all your doubts about what you need on a laptop and what you don’t. And I am glad to say that you’re at the absolute right place to get guided to your next laptop purchase. This article is all about guiding you to your best laptop and making your next laptop purchase a perfect fit for you and your pocket. It is a very comprehensive and in-depth laptop buying guide that will definitely help you in your laptop buying decision.

Comprehensive Laptop Buying Guide

Laptop Buying Guide

The first and foremost thing to start with is to know your needs, requirements, and your usage of the laptop. This is the primary thing that will further clarify things like how much you should spend on your laptop, for how long you are gonna use this laptop, etc. So, let’s start with the primary thing.

Know Your Requirements

The laptop market is flooded with an extremely wide variety of products and the situation “One thing fits all” can never happen here. Hence, you can’t blindly choose the most expensive laptop assuming expensive is better. Every laptop has its own strength and weaknesses, and evaluation of these strengths and weaknesses is really very important. And to evaluate them you’ll have to decide which feature you need the most and which is just gonna be a useless one for your workflow.

For instance, if you’re a blogger, writer, or novelist, you will need a laptop that has the best possible keyboard. Similarly, if you’re a gamer, then absolute beast set specifications are a must-have thing. If you’re a graphic designer, then you should look for a color accurate and bright display which is a touch screen. And if it’s a 2-in-1 convertible then it will further add value to your productivity.

Set your Budget

The next thing that will make an impact on your decision is your budget. You should set a budget for your laptop after knowing your needs. Your requirements will tell you which type of laptop is for you and how much spending on that laptop is a wise decision. Let me explains with an example. Suppose your needs made you decide that you have to go with a gaming laptop, then you should be ready to spend a pretty hefty amount of money as a good and decently future-proof laptop is gonna cost you $1500+.

Similarly, if your needs told you that you need a laptop that has a good battery life and should be lightweight you can opt for a mid-range laptop at around $500-600. It is very difficult for me to guide you on your budget as it’s your money and it totally depends on you that how you wanna spend your bundle of currency.

Future Proofing

Are you buying a new laptop to keep it for the short term? This question might seem a bit silly but suppose you need a laptop just until you pass out from your college. Or maybe your laptop met an accident and you are looking to buy a new one in the mid of your course. In that case, spending money on a laptop that will last you more than your required term will just be a waste of money.

A laptop with a promise of future-proofing will make you buy a laptop which currently packs the latest specification. Because the old hardware might not be able to handle the future workload. Also, the latest technology comes at a much higher price. Hence if in case your vision is not to use the laptop for the long term then investing in decent previous-gen hardware will not just get your work done but will also make you save some extra bucks for your much better future purchase.

Warranty & Discount Deals

While deciding to purchase a new laptop always consider the outlook of there is an upcoming festival season or sale, like the Christmas, Back to school, and Black Friday sales. At this most of the top laptop brands like HP, Dell, Lenovo, Apple, puts their products on sale at a discounted price or additional benefits. If there is any such sale or holiday within a short time then I would definitely recommend you to wait until then.

Laptops are made to make the work mobile and handy, making the users carry them with themselves. But carrying things around with you also increases the chances of your laptop to the met accident. If this is so, then definitely consider spending some extra bucks on warranty extension. This is because initially spending some extra bucks will prevent the highly expensive repair cost in the future.

Understanding Laptop Specs And Their Importance

Now when you’ve analyzed your requirements, budget, usage, and buying time period, it’s time to understand the basic terms used in the specs sheet of the laptop like the CPU, GPU, RAM, Storage, etc. This will help you in understanding the value of the laptop and answer whether the laptop is for you or not. So, let’s get started.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The CPU stands for Central Processing Unit and as its name suggests, it is the main unit inside the laptop that is responsible for all the major processing. The performance of the laptop directly depends a lot on the CPU. The powerful the CPU is, the faster the laptop will be. You can call CPU, the brain of your laptop and hence, the intelligence and processing speeds is decided by the CPU.

Intel CPUs

There is a wide variety of laptop CPUs out there and surprisingly most of these CPUs are made by only two major companies- Intel and AMD. Talking specifically about intel CPUs, most of the popular laptop brands uses the company’s Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 CPUs of different generations. At the time of writing this article, the 11th gen Intel CPUs are the latest ones. The increasing order of performance of these processors is- Core i3

AMD CPUs

Coming to AMD’s team, the company is more popular among budget-conscious consumers who look for the best value for their money. AMD’s processors are comparatively cheaper than Intel’s and most of the PC builders prefer to go with the AMD processors. But this article is about laptops, and AMD processors are pretty popular here as well. AMD offers CPUs with an integrated Radeon graphics processing unit and calls it the APU. It saves the money of adding a discrete GPU while still maintaining the performance.

AMD’s Ryzen series of CPUs are most popular and they sell the Ryzen 3, 5, 7, and 9 variants of them. The Ryzen 3, 5, and 7 are the ones that are used in the laptops and its increasing order of performance is Ryzen 3

Graphical Processing Unit (GPU)

The CPU of the laptop handles most of the processing tasks but it’s not enough for a machine if the machine is meant to perform graphically intensive tasks like video rendering, 3D modeling, gaming, etc. In one such case alongside a good CPU, a dedicated GPU is also needed. The GPU stands for graphical Processing Unit and is only meant to come into action when any graphically intensive load is to be handled.

Most of the thin and light laptops don’t come with any discrete GPU in them but it doesn’t mean that they don’t have any GPU in them. GPUs are necessary and hence such laptops come with integrated GPUs that are bundled within the processor. Intel offers HD Graphics and Iris Graphics in the form of integrated graphics. Similarly, AMD also bundles GPU within the processor and calls it Radeon graphics.

The is one more very prominent player in the GPU market, Nvidia. Most of the dedicated GPUs inside the computing machines come from the house of Nvidia. Nvidia RTX and MX graphics cards are the two most widely used GPUs inside laptops. The RTX GPUs are more aggressive towards processing and comes with 6-8GB of VRAM. Whereas the Nvidia MX series of GPUs are for supporting tasks like video editing, rendering, etc. They are not meant to do gaming and come with 2-4GB of VRAM.

RAM

RAM is another very important hardware that plays a big role in deciding the laptop’s daily performance. The better the RAM is the smooth will be the performance of the laptop. RAM stands for Random Access Memory which is temporary memory and is used to store data of the applications and windows while using them. There are two aspects of the RAM that should be taken into account.

The first is the size of the RAM and the second is its speed. If the RAM capacity is not enough then it will not be able to hold the sufficient amount of data of various software and will limit you with a selected number of applications to use at a time. A properly working laptop that can serve very nice multitasking should have at least 8GB of RAM. It should be enough for works like writing, blogging, normal medical students, etc.

However, if your requirement asks for heavy usage and multitasking like gaming, video editing, etc. then opting for 16GB or 32GB of RAM would be a good option. Next is the speed of the RAM. The RAM should be fast enough for a quick read and write the data leading to fast opening and closing of the apps. RAM comes in different frequencies and DDR ratings. For a laptop to have good and reliably fast RAM it should at least be of the DDR4 category.

The RAM comes in different frequencies like 1600MHz, 2400MHz, 3200MHz, etc. The higher the frequency, the faster the RAM will be but it will also cost more. Hence a perfect balance b/w the money and specifications are required. For e.g. for normal working usage, a RAM of 1600MHz is enough. However, if your usage makes you work with things like 4k video editing, 3D Modeling, etc. they definitely opt for high-frequency RAM.

Storage (HDD & SSD)

There is nothing extraordinary to understand, what storage is. It is just a digital space where you store all your data. The storage inside the laptops usually ranges from 256GB to 1TB or even 2TB. It is obvious that more the storage is better it will be for you to store more and more data. But what if I tell you that capacity is not the only thing you should look for.

Actually, you should give priority to the speed of the storage over its capacity. This is because faster storage inside your laptop will lead to a faster read and write of the data and things like copy-paste, windows boot-up time and installation of software become really fast. SSD or Solid State Drives are the modern form of fast internal storage and are more than 2x faster than a normal HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

Also, for the best value for money package, one should opt for a laptop that consists of a combination of both, SSD and HDD. If such a combination is not available in your budget they always give priority to faster SSD storage over high capacity HDD storage. This because you can buy an external HDD for you anytime in the future if you run out of storage.

Display

There is nothing to explain about what a display on a laptop is and how it looks like. But what you should know about the display is its resolution and the display technology used. The laptops come in display sizes like 13.3-inches, 14-inches, 15.6-inches, 17-inches, etc. And depending upon the size of the display, its resolution should also be taken into account.

Usually, budget laptops of smaller screens come with a resolution of 1366×768 or 1600×900 which is an average and not so impressive display resolution. While buying a laptop always consider buying a laptop with at least a full HD resolution 1920×1080 pixels. In order to feel a crisp quality and image free of jagged edges, the pixel density should be high and a display with low resolution can never deliver that pixel density.

Always prefer to have at least Full HD resolution on a laptop screen. However, if the laptop has a bigger screen like 15-inches or 17-inches then you can also go for a 2k display (2560×1440 pixels). 4K resolution on a laptop is kinda overkilled and can be neglected in my opinion. However, if your work doesn’t allow you to compromise with the display then you can definitely opt for it. After resolution, now comes the display quality which is equally, or even more important than the resolution.

Laptops usually come with IPS LCD display panels which are definitely good for most of the works one performs on a laptop. But there are also better display technologies like the AMOLED, OLED, and POLED, and Retina displays which are meant to serve the best possible viewing angles and color accuracy. Such display panels prove to be a really good option for those who are into some sort of content creation work like video editing, photo editing, etc.

Battery

A laptop is not meant to be used with an AC adapter plugged in all the time. It is to deliver mobility to the user and hence a laptop should have good battery life. There should be enough battery capacity in the laptop so that you can hang around with it for a least a couple of hours.

Midrange laptops come with average battery life which is rated 40 o 50 Whr (Watt-hour) and lasts around 5-6 hours in light usage. If your workflow does allow you to plug in the charger occasionally on a single day then this much battery is just fine for you. But in my opinion, if you’re buying a laptop then you should opt for a good battery as long battery life provides a lot of flexibility and mobility in your work.

However, when it comes to works like high-end gaming, 3D Modeling, etc. laptops work better on direct AC power instead of on battery power. This will unwantedly make you put the laptop connected to the electric socket while working. Long battery life should be a priority for users like students, medical aspirants, doctors, bloggers, and travelers.

I/O Ports & Connectivity

Port selection has been seen pretty good in Windows laptops. The new-gen MacBooks lack behind in terms of ports. For instance, the latest 2020 Apple MacBook Air and Pro comes with just 2 and 4 USB-C ports respectively followed by a 3.5 mm audio jack. On the other hand, the Windows laptops come with a lot of options alongside USB-C.

You will see ports like HDMI, SD-CARD reader, Ethernet, Full-size USB-A ports, etc. Such a set of ports prevents the laptop user to live a dongle life where they carry a dongle with them wherever they go in order to connect different external hardware. But it’s also true that USB-C is the future and has the potential to replace all kinds of ports as it serves a very high speed of data transfer.

USB-C port is getting universal on all kinds of digital devices so having this port on your laptop also makes it to be future-ready. It also allows the user to just bring one single cable to charge and connect different devices. Hence, always look for at least one USB-C port on your laptop. Wireless connectivity also plays a major role in which Bluetooth and Wi-Fi play a major role.

Having good Wi-Fi will always serve better internet connectivity and Bluetooth also serves as a good way to connect wireless keyboard, mouse, and file sharing. Hence look for a laptop which at least provides Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 6 as wireless connectivity.

Evaluating The Laptop’s Value

Now when you’re all done with your homework and now understand your requirements and specs of the laptops, it time to shortlist some of the laptops that you think suit your requirements, budget and meets your specs sheet’s checklist. And in order to do that you’ll have to evaluate the value of the laptop. You can do the initial shortlist by going thoroughly at the specs of the laptops.

Value is a pretty subjective term and this definition may vary from person to person. This is because different consumers have different requirements and budgets. Hence your definition of a value-for-money laptop can be different. It mostly depends on your needs and budget. Since it’s a general buying guide for the best laptop. Here is a general list of things that one should consider while evaluating the value of the laptop.

Performance Of The Laptop

Performance is the main thing one should consider based on its use case. The performance of a laptop basically depends on three components – CPU, GPU, and RAM. Some works ask for a good RAM, some ask for more cores on a CPU, while some ask for a dedicated graphics card. After analyzing your requirements and workflow, you can opt for a combination that suits you the best.

For instance, a coder or gamer should have at least an 8th gen Intel Core i5 processor for a decent performance while gaming and works like completing assignments, coding, etc. On the other hand, having at least an Nvidia Geforce RTX 1650 dedicated graphics card is a must for entry-level 1080p gaming. Other than gaming, a dedicated GPU will also be needed for tasks like fast rendering of videos and Blender projects. For such works, you can have at least 2GB of the dedicated graphics processor on your laptop.

Video editing and Adobe after effects also ask for at least 4 or 6 cores of a new generation processor. A multicore processor also provides an upper hand in such works. And for productivity works like photo and video editing, a DDR4 RAM type RAM of at least 8GB is a minimum go to. However, for more intensive tasks like music production, 3D Modeling, and Adobe After Effects one should go for 16 or 32GB of RAM.

Build Quality

The build quality of a laptop doesn’t play a big role in decision-making. However, I would still recommend you to consider this. Many of the professionals and students use to carry their laptop with them and this thing increases the chances of your laptop to meet an accident. In that case, a robust quality laptop with a solid build will be able to withstand.

Young man wearing a hoodie breaking through his computer with his fist

Also, a well-built laptop with proper weight distribution also makes the user experience pretty good. A well-balanced laptop can easily be handled on your lap. Laptop users who are travelers, doctors, or students should bring their attention towards the build quality. However, if you’re looking for a laptop for things like gaming then you can remove this factor from your checklist while evaluating a laptop.

Display Quality

One of the main output devices on a laptop is its screen and no other part of a laptop comes into use more than its screen. A bad screen can ruin the whole laptop usage experience no matter how good your laptop’s performance is. Hence a laptop should be opted with a good quality screen along with a good resolution. While buying a laptop, always look for a display that has at least Full HD resolution 1920×1080 dimension of pixels.

As for the display quality, most of the laptops come with an IPS LCD display which is more than enough for most of the normal works like writing, assignments, web browsing, taking notes, etc. But many also use their laptops for more color-accurate works like color grading in videos, photo editing, and 3D animations. For such things, it requires a much more color-accurate and high-resolution display.

Hence opting for an OLED, AMOLED, or Ratenia displays will be a good option. One more thing, many use their laptops by connecting with an external monitor. If the maximum of your time is going to be on an external monitor then you can compromise slightly on the display.

Keyboard Quality

This may not seem to be a crucial thing to consider while buying a laptop but trust me a good keyboard is very important. Especially, for writers, bloggers, and students for taking notes. I have used a laptop with a keyboard that had no backlit and I missed light illumination so much. Especially while working in improper lighting conditions like dark rooms or outside after sunset.

You can look for a decent white backlit keyboard on a laptop. And if you’re buying a gaming laptop then it will automatically have RGB illumination here and there including the keyboard. Also, due to compact size, laptops come with low profile keyboards with less key travel so don’t expect a mechanical keyboard on a laptop.

Battery Backup

I have already covered most of the aspects of the battery early in this article. still, while evaluating a laptop always consider a laptop that serves a long battery backup. Budget laptops don’t come with a very impressive backup. They are capable of serving just 5-6 hours and if that is enough for your usage then you can have that much battery on your laptop. But you’ll find best-in-class battery life on ultrabooks like Macbooks, Dell XPS laptops, LG Gram laptops, etc.

They easily last for more than 10 hours. The 2020 Apple MacBook Pro has been rated to deliver 20 hours of backup which is insane. In my opinion, if you’re a student, traveler, or someone who doesn’t like to be attached to the wall while working, definitely invest in a laptop with good battery life. However, if you’re a gamer or someone who does heavy graphics-related work on your laptop, you will have to compromise on battery.

Form Factor

If you’re a traveler, you can’t carry around a bulky laptop. Or if you’re a gamer, you can’t have a specifications-loaded laptop in a compact size. Hence, deciding a specific form factor for your new laptop is important. In the market, you’ll see laptops under the categories – ultra-slim, regular, 2-in-1, and desktop replacement, etc.

And based on your use case and requirement you should choose one. Ultra Slim laptops, as the name suggests, are usually thin and light laptops that are easy to carry. Such laptops are just a perfect fit for users like college students, businessmen, travelers, bloggers, etc. They are great in battery backup and can last you one day easily.

Regular Form Factor laptops are just simple ones with dimensions like 1-inch thickness, 4-5lbs bulky, and loaded with I/O ports. These laptops are quite heavy and are not that comfortable to carry. These laptops cost pretty little and offer good specifications.

2-in-1 Form Factor in a laptop gives a lot more flexibility in work. These are two devices packed in one body, just like its name flaunts. These are also called convertibles as they can be converted from a laptop to a tablet.

These laptops come with a touch screen and their screen can rotate 360-degree, allowing you to use the laptop as a touch screen tablet. There are also laptops with a detachable screen, making it more convenient to use them as a tablet. The laptops are just a perfect fit for art students, artists, doctors, and other digital content creators.

Desktop replacement laptops are meant to serve as a powerful workstations. Heavy gaming laptops are the perfect example.

Operating System

There are mainly three Operating systems over which maximum laptops run, namely Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS.

Windows OS is one of the most common and widely used operating systems on the planet. Almost all the major laptop brands sell their laptops with preinstalled windows. It is made by Microsoft and since it is used worldwide on maximum computers, it serves a better connect with external PCs.

macOS is Apple’s answer to windows PC. macOS is only available on Apple computers like MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac. If you’re in the Apple ecosystem then there is no chance to look at the windows operating system. macOS works just like a charm with the rest of its apple products and provides an extremely seamless workflow.

ChromeOS is the Google-made operating system used in laptops. You can call it the android operating system for laptops. This OS runs android apps and works fine for normal users who usually manage excel, sheets, and casual web browsing. This OS is not made for professionals, gamers, video-photo editors, etc.

I/O Ports

The next thing is how good the laptop is at accepting the external hardware. The ports selection on a laptop must have all the basic ports like HDMI, USB-C, USB-A, Ethernet, 3.5mm audio port, and a charging slot. Many of the mid-range laptops provide almost all of these but the USB-C port is still a luxury for some reasons. It is still mostly available for inexpensive laptops.

In this case, expensive laptops come with a more compact and slim design, leading to the disappearance of big ports like Ethernet, USB-A, etc. But USB-C allows a wide variety of data transfer and hence can serve as a multipurpose port to replace the rest of the ports. It is getting universal to all types of devices and hence you should give priority to a USB-C port on a laptop.

Look For Upgradability

If you’re purchasing a laptop with a long-term perspective are currently not able to spend a lot to check all the boxes of your checklist then please do invest in a laptop that has future upgradability. For example, if you are not able to spend 16GB of RAM as of now the look for a laptop that comes with an extra RAM slot so that you can upgrade the laptop RAM in the future.

Similarly, you may run out of storage if you’re going with an SSD-based laptop with less storage due to budget constraints. Having a laptop with an empty slot for HDD or SSD will serve you the flexibility to upgrade the storage in the future. Unfortunately, ultra-slim laptops don’t usually come with any kind of upgradeability. Almost all the components are sorted on the motherboard and can’t be upgraded.

Pricing

Last but not the least, pricing of the laptop will decide whether to go with the selected laptop or not. Final comparison b/w the laptops will be done on the basis of their pricing. This will reveal how much actually a laptop is providing in comparison to the other one at the same pricing. It’s just simple. Look for as many features as possible at as low pricing as possible. This is the only rule which will increase the chances to get the best possible bang for your buck. But it can be very subjective to value a laptop based on the price.

For example, if you’re ready to spend a few grand on a MacBook, you’ll find an Alienware providing more specs and hence more value for a less price. But you’ll not get that premium aluminum build, long-lasting battery, macOS, and reliability of the Apple brand. Hence you should first evaluate the whole package before comparing the price. At present, you can get a great performing laptop at $700 to $800 the why users are spending thousands of dollars on premium laptops. This is because those laptops are serving value as per their requirements.

Which Laptop processor to go with?

Laptops are limited in space and battery power. Hence, the processors used on laptops are tuned to work at low TDP to prioritize efficiency over raw power. Intel and AMD CPUs come with suffixes like “HK” and “U” in their model number. For example, Intel Core i9 9980HK and AMD Ryzen 7 3750H. This suffix draws different meanings depending upon the manufacturer. Generaly, “U” stands for ultra-low voltage and is good for thin and light laptops and 2-in-1s.

These processors draw less power and hence can be beneficial for getting long battery life. Intel CPUs come with “H” or “HK” are heavy-duty processors and are designed for works like AAA gaming, 3D Modeling, 4k Video editing, etc. These laptops draw more power. Almost twice as compared to the “U” processors. More cores and threads on a CPU make it more feasible for works like video editing, gaming, and other productivity tasks.

Which Graphics Card Is Good For Your Laptop?

The laptops with an integrated graphics card are enough for normal to moderate workloads. However, gaming laptops and laptops for video editing and 3D Modeling demand discrete GPU cards. Most of the laptop manufacturers prefer to embed Nvidia GPUs and I personally also recommend going with an NVIDIA GPU. Nvidia GPUs come in two versions – Max Q version and Max P version.

The Q version GPUs are focused on efficiency while the P version draws more power. The Max P GPUs come with a high TDP rating and hence consumes more power as compared to the Max Q GPUs. But the performance difference is not that huge. The Max P version performs around 10% better than the Max Q version of the same GPU. Hence, it’s a wise decision to go with a Max Q version GPU on a laptop.

This will serve you better backup along with very a very less compromise in the performance. While looking for a gaming laptop, one should at least go for a GTX 1080. However, for future-proofing and high frame rates, opt for an RTX 2070 or 2080. This will allow you to do 4k gaming with constant 60fps on most of the AAA titles.

How Much RAM Is Enough For You?

RAM requirements vary from one laptop to another. Some use the laptop for video editing, photo editing while some use it for casual web browsing and notes making. But an 8GB of RAM on a laptop is a strong recommendation from my side. There are smartphones in the market that are coming with up to 16GB of RAM. Then how can one think about a laptop with 4GB of RAM?

Hence you should have at least 8GB of RAM on your laptop. There is no doubt that 4GB of RAM will be just fine for casual web browsing and media consumption but the laptop is more than and should be ready for at least occasional tasks like sheets, and docs handling, and presentation. I would recommend you to go with 4GB of RAM only if you’re extremely tight on budget.

Moving forward, if your work requirement engages you in CAD software then opt for at least 16GB to 24GB of high-speed DDR4 RAM. You can go beyond this depending on the scale of your daily work. Most of the gaming PCs come with 64GB of RAM, then you can go for 32GB without having any doubt in your mind if you do extremely heavy works like 4K editing, AAA gaming, 3D Modeling, etc.

Windows V/S MacOS

This is one of those controversial questions whose answer is still unavailable. Actually, there is no single answer to it. Both the operating systems have their own specific usabilities. Most of the enterprise apps are designed for windows and Linux. Hence, using a windows laptop will always be feasible for college work.

But what after college. Well, windows is a pretty widely used operating system and serve a better scope of connectivity and accessibility to the other computers. On the other hand, macOS is only available on Apple computers like iMacs and MacBooks. Apple is known for its strict privacy rules and less vulnerability to third-party viruses and malware.

macOS is very successful in keeping your privacy and data safe and secure. It also encourages you to a more seamless and very convenient Apple ecosystem of devices which is nowhere available on Windows to that extend. As for the software, both macOS and Windows are almost on the same page. Both have a pretty big set of software including popular ones like Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro, MATLAB, Blender, etc.

However, for gaming Windows is a better machine as macOS is not for gamers. It is for professionals who are into productivity works like video editing, 3d modeling, coding, etc. Even most of the professions in my circle are also macOS users and they also recommend the same. I have recently switched to a new 2020 MacBook Air and I am personally in love with it. If you’ll ask me I would surely recommend you to have a macOS machine if you’re also into productivity works.

What About ChromeOS? Is It For you?

ChromeOS is a very lightweight and android-like operating system that is usually used on laptops for normal usage. If you’re going with a budget laptop, then definitely you’re not going to heavy tasks and gaming. You are buying it for normal computer usages like excel and sheet maintenance, note-making, presentations, web browsing, etc.

All these things are easily possible on ChromeOS. Additionally, being a lightweight OS, it doesn’t acquire a lot of hardware resources and also serves as a good battery backup. Hence, if your vision is strictly towards a laptop for extremely normal pc work and media consumption then ChromeOS is a very good option.

Some Quick Tips For Choosing The Best Laptop

Here are some of the crucial and essential tips one should be aware of before buying a new laptop.

13 to 14-inches screen with a Full HD resolution of 1920×1080 pixels serves the best possible value. Larger displays lead to less pixel density and hence provide relatively less sharp picture quality.

If also have to need to use a tablet the better to go with a laptop with a 2-in-1 form factor. It will work as both and will save you extra bucks on two separate devices.

If you have a budget of $600 to $700 then you should consider the following specs on a laptop: intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5. 13 to 14-inch 1080p display. Minimum 8GB of RAM. Prefer SSD storage over HDD. At least 5-6 hours of battery life. A good webcam for attending video calls.

Invest in a laptop with 9+ hours of battery life if you are a traveler or someone whose workflow asks for mobility because cannot plug in your laptop frequently.

Chromebooks are considerably cheaper and are a perfect fit for media consumers, kids, and school students.

Windows and macOS laptops come with loads of functionalities and should be chosen based on matters of personal taste.

Always watch proper review videos of your selected laptop before buying. It will further reveal the pros and cons of that laptop and reveal its real-life performance and usability.

Wrapping Up

To sum up the complete laptop buying guide, the whole juice says that it is extremely important to have a clear vision of your needs. The purpose of your next laptop will decide the factors like what specs you need and what should be the budget of that kind of laptop. If you would know the things like for what the laptops are going to be used, for how much time in a day, etc.

It will be a whole lot easier to filter out the important and useless features from the laptops. I am hoping this comprehensive laptop buying guide was informative enough for you and will add some value to your life. If it was helpful for you in making your decision then I would appreciate your greeting in the comments below.

The best business laptops in 2023

The best business laptops might cost a bit. But they can help you or your employees remain productive, whether you're working from an office, or working from home. So in the long term, they're a great investment.

So, what constitutes the best business laptop? It needs to be thin and light enough to be easily portable. It needs to be sleek and professional-looking. The screen should be large enough to display documents on. And the keyboard should be comfortable enough to use for a whole work day.

It should offer enough power to be able to run office apps and display presentations, and ideally, the highest-end models should be able to handle more demanding jobs, such as video editing. Plus the battery should be powerful enough to last an entire work day without needing to be plugged in.

For more advice on buying a laptop, we also have guides to best laptops for video editing and the best student laptops.

The best business laptops in 2022

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(Image credit: Dell)

01. Dell XPS 15 (2022) The best business laptop overall Specifications CPU: Intel Core i7-i9 Graphics: Iris Xe graphics or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 RAM: 16-64GB Screen: 15.6" LCD, resolution from 1920 x 1200 to 3840 x 2400 Storage: 512GB-4TB Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Fast processors + Beautiful display + Amazing battery life Reasons to avoid - Expensive

Dell is the top dog when it comes to making slim, stylish and utterly desirable Windows laptops, and the XPS 15 is their brilliant flagship. Take this device out in any office or meeting, and you'll get a lot of appreciative looks. But it's not just about aesthetics. Dell has packed the XPS 15 with some of the most powerful mobile components you'll find in any laptop right now, so it'll easily handle pretty much any task you need to use it for. It's so powerful that you can even play games on it pretty effectively, and it's great for photo and video editing too.

All this power is packed into a stylish body that's thin and light, making it ideal if you're often working out and about. Its 15.6-inch screen is bright and vibrant, and it's backed up by a comfortable keyboard and excellent speakers. All this, plus Dell's famous build quality and support, makes it expensive, but worth it.

(Image credit: Lenovo)

02. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 (2022) The second best business laptop overall Specifications CPU: 11th gen Intel Core i5-i7 Graphics: Intel Iris Xe RAM: 8GB-32GB Screen: Touchscreen, 14-inch, 16:10, resolution 1920 x 1200p to 3840 x 2400 Storage: 256GB-1TB SSD Today's Best Deals View at (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Great performance + Fantastic battery life + Thin and light Reasons to avoid - Only integrated graphics

Lenovo make excellent laptops for business use, and this new model is a great example of that. It's thin and light, with an excellent battery life, which makes it perfect for business people who travel a lot for work.

It packs a speedy Intel i7 CPU and Intel Iris Xe graphics, has some great built-in security features and can be fitted with up to 32GB of RAM. The build quality and after sale support means this is a laptop you can confidently use for work day in day out as well.

However, for creatives, you may want to bear in mind that it only comes with integrated graphics. This means for graphic intensive tasks like 3D rendering and animation, or CAD use, this may not be for you.

(Image credit: Acer)

03. Acer Swift 3 The best budget business laptop Specifications CPU: Up to Intel Core i7-8565 Graphics: Nvidia GeForce MX150, Intel HD Graphics 620 or AMD Radeon Vega 8 RAM: 4-8GB Screen: 14-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) ComfyView IPS – 15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) Storage: 128GB – 1 TB HDD, 16 GB Intel Optane Memory Today's Best Deals View at (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Great value + Superb keyboard and trackpad + Excellent performance Reasons to avoid - Looks a little plain

Short on cash? The Acer Swift 3 is a fantastic business laptop for people who want to keep costs down. It's one of the most affordable Windows laptops out there, but it doesn't skimp on performance. In fact, it can go toe-to-toe with more expensive laptops, even though some of its hardware is showing its age a bit (it was first released in 2020).

The keyboard and trackpad are both comfortable to use, and while the chassis is a little plain, it feels robust enough that you won't worry about carrying it around with you. The 14-inch 1080p screen means working on this laptop doesn't feel cramped, and it offers enough power to handle pretty much any day-to-day office task you require of it. For heavy-duty use, however, you'll want to splash out on something a bit more capable.

(Image credit: Future)

04. MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022) The best Apple laptop for business use Specifications CPU: Apple M2 (8-core) Graphics: Integrated 10-core GPU RAM: 16GB Screen: 13.3-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 Retina display (backlit LED, IPS, 500 nits brightness, wide color P3 gamut) Storage: 1TB SSD Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at (opens in new tab) View at John Lewis (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + High-end performance + Lots of storage + Great keyboard Reasons to avoid - Lack of ports

Do you desire an Apple laptop above all else? Many do, partly as a fashion statement, partly because they're just so powerful and reliable.

The MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2020) is by far the best business laptop Apple has made, so if you have your heart set on using a MacBook for work, this is the one to get. It's super-powerful, thanks to its Apple-designed M2 chip, and has the longest battery life ever seen in a MacBook. This thing is seriously impressive when it comes to battery, and means you can work on it all day without needing to plug it in.

As is usual with MacBooks, it also has a gorgeous Retina screen, while offering a sleek and stylish design that Apple is renowned for. The Touch Bar, a slim touch display that runs along the top of the keyboard, is a great feature, as it displays context-sensitive buttons and shortcuts that change depending on the app you're using. With the right apps, it can be a real boon to your productivity.

The only real downsides are the price and the lack of ports: just two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports (one of which is used for power), an audio jack and that's it. Read more with our MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022) review and our MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air comparison.

(Image credit: LG)

05. LG Gram 17 (2022) The best business laptop with a large screen Specifications CPU: Intel Core i7 Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics RAM: 16GB Screen: 17-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS LCD Storage: 1TB Today's Best Deals View at (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Very light and thin + Excellent battery life + Big bright screen Reasons to avoid - Average speakers

If you're after a business laptop with a large screen then the LG Gram 17 is our top pick, because despite its size, it remains thin and light enough to easily carry around.

Packed with some of the latest mobile tech around, including 11th generation Intel processors, Iris Xe graphics, 16GB of RAM and speedy SSD storage, this is a great performer. Battery life is also phenomenal, easily lasting around 12 hours on a single charge. Best of all, it's also incredibly light at just 2.98 lbs (1.35 kg), yet doesn't feel at all flimsy. You honestly won't expect a laptop with a 17-inch screen of feeling this light, which is a credit to LG's engineers.

(Image credit: Future)

06. Gigabyte Aero 17 (2021) The best business laptop for creatives Specifications CPU: Intel Core i9-10980HK Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q 8GB RAM: 64GB Screen: 17.3-inch UHD 4K OLED, HDR400, 100% Adobe RGB, Pantone-certified Today's Best Deals View at Scan (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Gorgeous display + Plenty of ports Reasons to avoid - Gets hot

The Gigabyte Aero 17 (2021) is one of the most powerful business laptops you'll find at the moment, combining a 10th generation Intel Core i9 processor with 8-cores, along with the Nvidia RTX 3080; one of the best graphics cards around right now. This makes it a brilliant business laptop for people working in a creative industry that needs to handle lots of graphically intensive workloads.

Perhaps its biggest selling point is the stunning 4K HDR screen, with 100% Adobe RGB coverage, and which is Pantone-certified as well. This ensures your creative work is going to look its very best, and keeps the colours as accurate as possible.

It also packs loads of ports, so you can plug in your memory cards and peripherals without needing adaptors. It may be overkill for many people, but if you want cutting edge performance, this is the laptop to get. For more details, see our Gigabyte Aero 17 review.

(Image credit: Future)

07. Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) The second best Apple laptop for business Specifications CPU: Apple M2 (8-core) Graphics: Integrated 8 or 10 core GPU RAM: 8GB-24GB Screen: 13.6-inch, 2,560 x 1,664 LED-backlit display with IPS technology Storage: 256GB-2TB SSD Today's Best Deals Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Silent use + Amazing battery life + Cheaper than MacBook Pro Reasons to avoid - Lack of ports

The MacBook Air (M2, 2022) is similar to the MacBook Pro, above, but about $100/£100 cheaper. It's another great choice for business use, thanks to its powerful Apple-designed M2 chip. Its fanless design also means that it is pretty much completely silent when in use. And as with previous MacBook Airs, it features a gorgeous thin and light design that makes it easy to carry around with you, which makes it a great choice for businesses people who like to travel a lot.

The fanless design means it can't quite keep pace with the MacBook Pro in heavy use cases, but for day-to-day use, the MacBook Air is a great affordable alternative to the MacBook Pro 13-inch. For more details, read our MacBook Air (M2, 2022) review and our MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air comparison.

(Image credit: Asus)

08. Asus ZenBook 13 (2021) A stunning business laptop Specifications CPU: 11th-generation Intel Core i3 – i7 / AMD Ryzen 5000 Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics / AMD Radeon RAM: 8GB - 32GB Screen: 13.3-inch, OLED 1080p, 400 nits Storage: 256GB - 1TB SSD Today's Best Deals View at (opens in new tab) View at Laptops Direct (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Gorgeous OLED display + Excellent battery life Reasons to avoid - No headphone jack

The Asus ZenBook 13 is a business laptop that can easily go head-to-head with any Apple MacBook when it comes to pure design and power. You can choose between an AMD Ryzen 5000 series processor, or Intel 11th gen CPU, and both of these offer excellent performance.

It also has an absolutely stunning 13.3-inch OLED screen and one of the best battery lives around. You can configure it up to 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage, which makes this a brilliant laptop for working on, especially if you want to multitask, or store lots of large files. And that means it's a great choice for creatives looking for a classy business laptop.