Choosing the best laptop for you is no small task. You’re laying down hundreds of pounds for something you’ll be using every day, and every person has a different priority, whether it’s gaming, video editing or just sheer portability. Want to know which is the best laptop for you? You can check out our Top 5 pick here, but to whittle down your choices even further, read on for our buyers’ guide.
You can check out our Best laptop Top 5 over to the right, but read on below for the tips to help you refine your choice even further.
Desktop replacement?
The most important decision to make is the screen size of the laptop you need. Anything below 15-inches is ideal for lugging around with you, while 17-inch machines pack plenty of pixels and screen real estate to make an ideal multimedia machine and workhorse without all the cables, but you won’t want to move them around much. 15-inch machines make for the best laptop for both – they’re just light enough to carry around at a pinch, but you can still open enough documents and windows to keep productivity up at your desk.
OS X or Windows 7?
The Mac versus Windows debate has been raging on for decades at this point, and we’re not about to make bold, empirical statements about which is better. But it’s an important consideration to make nonetheless, especially since only Apple sells laptops that run its Mac OS X operating system. Compared to Windows 7, it’s very easy to use, and much slicker as well, but it’s far from ideal for heavy gaming, and if you’re planning on using a laptop for work, your company’s IT department may prefer you to use Windows 7. Windows 7 laptops of a similar specification tend to cost much less than equivalent Mac laptops, so if you’re on a budget the best laptop for you may well be Microsoft powered.
To netbook or not to netbook
If you’re after the best laptop for taking on the road, you’ll need to make another decision too: whether to go with a netbook (Traditionally, low power, 9-12 inches and very cheap) or an ultra portable (Super slim) full size 13,14 or 15-inch laptop. Netbooks really are the ultimate in portability, and can slot even into handbags, but even though they can cost next to nothing, their processing power or lack thereof means they’re not suitable for much more than web browsing and email. A slim full size laptop using a low voltage CPU offers better performance for a bit more money, as well as the option to type at speed with a full size keyboard.
Ports aplenty
When choosing the best laptop, you’ll need to pay close attention to all the slots and drives littered around the edges of the machine. These can vary, and can affect what you intend to use it for greatly. If you’re planning on using it as a desktop replacement, regularly hooked up to speakers, a printer and an external hard drive, say, you’ll want one with plenty of USB ports – smaller laptops tend to pack fewer. A HDMI port meanwhile will let you use any modern TV or monitor as a screen. And a DVD or Blu-ray drive could be important if you want to watch movies or run software bought in shops – however this adds to the bulk of a machine, and many ultra portables forgo one today to save money, size and backstrain.
Performance and power
What processor powers your laptop is very important, and you shouldn’t just judge it by the clock speed. If you’re after performance, Intel’s new Core i3/5/7 CPUs are your best bet, but if you’re just a casual computer user, its older Core 2 Duo platform will still give you plenty of bang for your buck: they’re cheaper and perfectly capable of playing HD video still.
Also give some consideration to the graphics card. If you want to play new games, you’ll need an external GPU, so be prepared to pay extra for a premium which generally also reduces battery life – however a full size laptop without should still be enough if you just want to browse the web, word process and watch BBC iPlayer. Don’t expect HD video to run on a netbook without a GPU however.
