While Apple’s MacBook range dominates international laptop sales, there are so many other laptops that are worth considering. The best laptop for your needs or price point might not necessarily be one of the most popular models, and you might be impressed with what companies like Dell, HP, ASUS, or Lenovo have to offer.
Over the past decade, I’ve bought several laptops, and since 2021 I’ve reviewed many more, and I figure that a good laptop can be broken down into a few core points. Let’s see if we can settle on the best laptop for your needs.
Which laptop brand is best?
There is no ‘best’ laptop brand – while some may be stronger in some respects than others, there are drawbacks to every brand, model, and range. There is, of course, space in this question to consider if Apple is better than Windows. It comes down to personal preference and what you’re used to, but your preferred operating system shouldn’t prevent you from picking a better laptop if it’s cheaper or has more impressive specifications.
Just like when you’re shopping for anything, like a phone or a car, there are advantages and disadvantages to every purchase. Let’s consider size, processing power, graphics, storage, and any additional extras.
Which laptop size is perfect?
Let’s start with the size. Laptop models are sold with size as a defining feature, with manufacturers generally marketing their devices by how big their displays are. Typically, laptops are sold in 13-, 15-, and 17-inch sizes, although there are notable exceptions to this (I’ve previously used 10-inch and 11-inch laptops).
Simply put, the size of your laptop depends on your own preference – a smaller laptop might be better if you’re just using the computer for casual use – stuff like scrolling through social media or maybe writing. Meanwhile, if you’re more interested in streaming content or playing games, you’d be better off with a larger screen. A smaller laptop will fit better into tight spots, like in small backpacks, but a bigger laptop might have a more comfortable keyboard layout. There are tradeoffs for each so it’s worth gauging the size of a laptop by going into a store that has display models, such as JB Hi-Fi or Harvey Norman, and seeing if a model is the right size for you.
How powerful do I need my laptop to be?
A laptop’s power is best considered in terms of its processor (CPU) and RAM. We’ve got a breakdown of the differences between CPU models, but we’ll retread it here slightly with a focus on laptops.
For Intel processors, you’ll usually see the Core series: i3, i5, i7, and i9, ascending in power as the number increases. Intel also has Pentium, N-series, and Celeron chips, though these are mostly reserved for smaller, lower-end laptops (also ascending with a number suffix at the end depending on the power).
Meanwhile, laptops with AMD processors typically include a Ryzen CPU – a Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, or Ryzen 9. For cheaper laptops, AMD usually provides an Athlon processor, which also has a suffix number that increases depending on the power.
Finally, ever since 2020, Apple has been using its own chips (instead of Intel chips which it had used prior). Similarly to Intel and AMD, the bigger number means more power, but when it comes to Apple, there’s the standard ‘M’ chip on offer. The first was the ‘M1’ which is available in some older models, and now we’re up to the ‘M2’. Meanwhile, the ‘M2 Pro’ chip is a bit more powerful, while the ‘M2 Max’ is the most powerful MacBook chip right now. Apple’s M1 Ultra chip is currently unavailable on any laptop (it’s used in the Mac Studio).
It’s difficult to gauge just how powerful you need a processor to be for a laptop, as results will vary from person to person, but we’ll give it a try with some generalisations:
- For basic streaming, social media use, and web use: Ryzen 3, Athlon, i3 Pentium, N-Series, and Celeron
- For light gaming, word processing and big files (like large photo and video collections): Ryzen 5, Intel i5, M2 or M1
- For higher-spec gaming, music creation, and video editing: Ryzen 7, Intel i7, or M2 Pro
- For constant professional use with multiple concurrent processors: Ryzen 9, Intel i9, or M2 Max.
What about RAM?
Having the right amount of RAM matters for having more concurrent things open (such as multiple apps or Google Chrome tabs), but in the laptop space, the right RAM is usually coupled with the right processor. 8GB is pretty much the standard amount for anybody that isn’t doing anything too high-spec, but if you want to get into some video editing, gaming, or big file processing, you’re better off with 16GB. Above 16GB, 32GB is a good pick for an extra kick, and 64GB is great for anybody who wants a mobile workstation. Do you need 64GB for streaming, checking email, and fiddling with Canva online? Absolutely not.
Does my laptop need a graphics card?
Graphics power is a footnote beside processor power (with processors in laptops shipping with onboard graphics potential, albeit less powerful), and is only really worth considering in a laptop if you’re, frankly, going to be using it. The most obvious consumer-level application for an internal graphics card (GPU) is gaming, although if you’re a video producer, graphics designer or an artist, you’d get your money’s worth with an internal GPU. We’ve written about GPU model differences before, but we’ll gloss over it below again.
AMD, Nvidia, and now, Intel, offer graphics cards in laptops, and depending on how demanding your needs are, more powerful GPUs are on offer. Just like with processors, the larger the number included in the GPU model, the more powerful the unit.
- AMD’s major graphics card series is the ‘Radeon RX’ series
- Nvidia’s major graphics card series is the ‘RTX’ series
- Intel’s major graphics card series is the ‘Arc’ series.
Additionally, Apple has been making its own GPUs for years, though these are marketed by their amount of cores. Some MacBook models have multiple choices for cores, but generally speaking, if you’re shopping Apple, you should consider GPU power alongside CPU power, as MacBooks are fairly well-rounded machines.
How much storage should my laptop have?
Storage is a fairly simple point to address – the more, the better, frankly, but you shouldn’t let a higher storage capacity result in too high a price tag. 1TB (1,000 gigabytes) is typically considered fine for most people, but if you’re dealing with a lot of games, video files or, just generally, local files, going up to 2TB may be worthwhile. If you’re saving all of your files to a cloud (such as if you’re using Google Drive or Microsoft’s One Drive), then you should be alright below the 1TB mark.
What about any extras?
Don’t feel like you need to buy a laptop that has any additional quirks, gimmicks, or features just because it’s got them. Think about if you’ll actually put them to use:
- Ports typically matter a lot if you don’t want to use a dongle, but more ports can usually result in a chunkier device
- Your screen resolution (1080, 1440p, or 4K) and type (IPS or OLED) matter a lot if you’re going to be watching lots of content, but better tech will of course drive the price up, as will touchscreen capability
- The aesthetic and feeling of your device, in my opinion, are quite important, but shouldn’t come before any of the earlier performance considerations
- Some laptops come with extra gadgets, such as fingerprint recognition or touchpad screens, which may be worth considering, but will of course increase the price.
And those are the major points when considering a laptop purchase.