I review a lot of laptops and have been doing so for decades

CNET

TechnologyCNET·Jul 7, 2026·29 min read

I review a lot of laptops and have been doing so for decades

Two laptops recently joined the ranks among my Windows favorites in the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 and Asus Zenbook A16. The OmniBook Ultra 14 offers a choice of Intel Panther Lake or Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 processors, and I tested both. I lean toward the Qualcomm model, but there are reasons to side with Intel. In either case, the laptop offers strong overall performance, long battery life and a fabulous design. Meanwhile, the Zenbook A16 has no right being so thin and light for a 16-inch laptop. It also supplies a gorgeous OLED display and leading AI performance from its Snapdragon X2 chip. Keep reading to see the best Windows laptops that CNET has tested.

8.3/10 CNET Score

The HP OmniBook Ultra 14 is my favorite Windows laptop. With a head-turning design, strong overall performance and long battery life, its It's the closest thing you can get to a MacBook Pro in a Windows machine and a fantastic do-it-all laptop.

Pros

Intel and Qualcomm CPUs offered

Strong overall performance with long battery life

Compact, thin and rigid design

Top-notch keyboard, touchpad

Cons

HP's pricing fluctuates wildly so you may need to be patient before buying

Sharp, polished edges are pointy and prone to scratches

Limited ports

8.1/10 CNET Score

After killing it off last year, Dell turned right around and brought back the XPS this year. The XPS 14 marks a grand return for Dell’s longtime premium laptop brand.

Pros

Sleek, solid design at a reasonable weight

Strong performance with long battery life

Quiet and cool operation

Physical keys have returned to the Function row

Huge, haptic touchpad

Quad speakers produce great sound

Cons

Matches MacBook Pro in price but not performance

Seams along the edges and below the keyboard are magnets for debris

Limited port selection with no adapter included

No fingerprint reader

8.5/10 CNET Score

Based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor, the Zenbook A16 is a rightful successor to last year's excellent Zenbook A14 and one of the best 16-inch laptops you can buy.

Pros

Leading application and AI performance

Thin and light, yet has a rigid design

Huge OLED is crisp, smooth and bright

Good sound from six-speaker array

Cons

Lackluster 3D performance

Meh mechanical touch pad

No room for internal expansion

Beige = boring

8.5/10 CNET Score

Only a few weeks after ceding the battery life throne to Lenovo in our tests, HP has snatched back the crown with the OmniBook 5 14.

Pros

Unbelievable battery life

Sturdy, stylish and compact design

OLED display delivers deep blacks, vivid colors

Generous RAM and SSD for the price

Cons

OLED display isn't the brightest

Slow USB-C ports

8.0/10 CNET Score

The Prestige 14 Flip AI Plus has a Core Ultra Series 3 processor from Intel’s new Panther Lake series and offers an unprecedented combination of 3D graphics power and all-day battery life.

Pros

Playable framerates from integrated Intel Arc B390 graphics

Around-the-clock battery life

Thin, light and quiet

MSI's new Prestige design is huge improvement

Cons

Display is only 60Hz

Bottom panel gets hot during games

Diving-board effect with mechanical touchpad

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Best Windows Laptop for 2026

The best Windows laptops come in all shapes and sizes

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Laptop with best combination of power and battery life

Best budget Windows laptop

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Other laptops we've tested

How we test laptops

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The best Windows laptops come in all shapes and sizes

If you aren't ready to take the plunge with a Snapdragon X series processor and worry about potential Windows-on-Arm compatibility issues, then I have Intel- and AMD-based favorites, from budget models and two-in-one convertibles to high-powered laptops for gamers and creators.

With decades of experience testing and reviewing laptops, my colleagues and I conduct performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET labs and perform extensive hands-on tests to assess the design, features and performance of each laptop we review.

You'll find a good number of recommendations here but I also have more specific picks in different categories, starting with the best overall laptop, the best gaming laptop, best cheap gaming laptop, best laptop for college students and best two-in-one laptop. If you narrowed it to a specific brand, check out our picks for the best Asus laptop, best Dell laptop, best HP laptop and best Lenovo laptop. Beyond Windows, I have recommendations for the best MacBook and best Chromebook.

Pros

Intel and Qualcomm CPUs offered

Strong overall performance with long battery life

Compact, thin and rigid design

Top-notch keyboard, touchpad

Cons

HP's pricing fluctuates wildly so you may need to be patient before buying

Sharp, polished edges are pointy and prone to scratches

Limited ports

Why we like it

It gives you the choice between Intel Core Ultra and Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 processors. I tested both versions, and each offers a good balance between peppy, everyday performance and great battery life. If I had to choose, I would go with the Snapdragon X2 model, but there are reasons for Intel as well. I also like both inputs devices; the keyboard and touchpad are excellent.

Who it’s best for

If you like the idea of Apple's MacBook Pro but want that premium design, strong overall performance and lengthy battery life in a Windows machine, the OmniBook Ultra 14 is the move I'd make. You don't necessarily need to spend the $3,000 or more on a loaded config like the models I tested -- a still well-equipped system for closer to $2,000 will meet most people's needs.

Who shouldn’t buy it

Creatives and gamers willing to spend $2,000 or more on a laptop will not be impressed with the OmniBook Ultra 14’s integrated graphics options and will need to forego its compact, thin design for a chunkier laptop that has a dedicated GPU.

Get it now

Pros

Sleek, solid design at a reasonable weight

Strong performance with long battery life

Quiet and cool operation

Physical keys have returned to the Function row

Huge, haptic touchpad

Quad speakers produce great sound

Cons

Matches MacBook Pro in price but not performance

Seams along the edges and below the keyboard are magnets for debris

Limited port selection with no adapter included

No fingerprint reader

After killing it off last year, Dell turned right around and brought back the XPS this year. The XPS 14 marks a grand return for Dell’s longtime premium laptop brand.

Why we like it

The XPS 14 corrects many of the errors of the Dell 14 Premium, including the most egregious ones, while coming in at a reasonable weight and retaining a solid, well-built chassis. Physical keys returning to the Function is another move in the right direction. Based on Intel’s latest Panther Lake processors, the XPS 14 delivers strong overall performance and long battery life.

Who it’s best for

Creators and other power users who want the power and style of a MacBook Pro in a Windows laptop.

Who shouldn’t buy it

If you are OS agnostic, the MacBook Pro offers better performance and battery life for the same price.

Pros

Leading application and AI performance

Thin and light, yet has a rigid design

Huge OLED is crisp, smooth and bright

Good sound from six-speaker array

Cons

Lackluster 3D performance

Meh mechanical touch pad

No room for internal expansion

Beige = boring

Based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor, the Zenbook A16 is a rightful successor to last year's excellent Zenbook A14 and one of the best 16-inch laptops you can buy.

Why we like it

The Asus Zenbook A16 has a lot going for it. It boasts leading AI performance and is fast with non-AI tasks, too. It offers good battery life, has a beautiful 3K OLED display and is the lightest 16-inch laptop I've ever tested.

Who it’s best for

Anyone who wants a big, 16-inch laptop that they can take with them. The 16-inch OLED provides a wonderful work surface, and the sub-three-pound weight makes the Zenbook A16 an easy travel companion. Plus, it’s well equipped to last a long time. With its stellar application and AI performance, the Zenbook A16 is a modern laptop well equipped for today's demands and those of tomorrow. Because even if you aren't using your laptop to perform AI tasks now, you might next week, next month or next year.

Who shouldn’t buy it

While the Snapdragon X2-based Zenbook A16 outpaced competing Intel Panther Lake laptops in AI and application performance, Qualcomm's Adreno graphics chips can't match Intel's integrated GPU in 3D performance. The Zenbook A16 model I tested costs $1,700, which is pricey for a laptop with little to no gaming capacity.

Pros

Unbelievable battery life

Sturdy, stylish and compact design

OLED display delivers deep blacks, vivid colors

Generous RAM and SSD for the price

Cons

OLED display isn't the brightest

Slow USB-C ports

Only a few weeks after ceding the battery life throne to Lenovo in our tests, HP has snatched back the crown with the OmniBook 5 14.

Why we like it

For starters, it runs and runs (and runs and runs). It’s the current battery life champ, lasting more than 28 hours in testing. In addition to record-setting battery life, the OmniBook 5 14 offers a simple, elegant design and easy-to-carry weight -- plus, an OLED display that delivers stellar contrast and vivid colors. It also supplies an ample 32GB of RAM and a roomy 1TB SSD, neither of which is a given in a laptop that costs less than $1,000. It has a full price of $1,100 but can usually be found for hundreds less from HP.

Who it’s best for

For students and others constantly on the go, the OmniBook 5 14 is a fantastic pick at a great price. With HP's discount at the time of this writing, pricing starts at $660. With upgrades, my test system system is on sale for $1,200.

Who shouldn’t buy it

If you are concerned about Windows-on-Arm compatibility issues, then you should skip the Snapdragon X-based OmniBook 5 14 and go for an Intel- or AMD-based laptop.

Pros

Playable framerates from integrated Intel Arc B390 graphics

Around-the-clock battery life

Thin, light and quiet

MSI's new Prestige design is huge improvement

Cons

Display is only 60Hz

Bottom panel gets hot during games

Diving-board effect with mechanical touchpad

The Prestige 14 Flip AI Plus has a Core Ultra Series 3 processor from Intel’s new Panther Lake series and offers an unprecedented combination of 3D graphics power and all-day battery life.

Why we like it

It’s the first laptop with integrated graphics I’ve tested that delivers playable 3D frame rates in AAA titles. So, without needing a dedicated GPU, the Prestige 14 Flip AI is compact, portable and quiet during operation. These are not things that usually describe a laptop capable of playing games. And it offers incredible battery life -- calling it “all-day” battery life undersells it.

Who it’s best for

Anyone who wants a do-it-all laptop with enough power for gamers and creators inside a compact, lightweight design with luxuriously long battery life.

Who shouldn’t buy it

If you're shopping for a true gaming laptop, then you’ll still want a model with dedicated Nvidia RTX graphics that supplies higher frame rates. You’ll also want a display that’s faster than the 60Hz panel found here.

Pros

Exceedingly long battery life

Competitive performance for the price

Useful port selection

Cons

Dull display

Dull design

This recent release from Acer's budget Aspire line is based on an Intel Lunar Lake CPU. Its Intel Core Ultra 5 226V features a neural processing unit (NPU) capable of 40 trillion operations per second for local AI processing, which happens to be the minimum requirement for Microsoft's Copilot Plus PC platform. The Aspire 14 AI is on sale for $619 at Amazon and only $500 at Costco, making it easily the cheapest Copilot Plus PC I've reviewed.

Why we like it

The Aspire 14 AI is a great pick among budget laptops. Its performance and battery life exceed what you can expect for the price and the design is nearly the same as you get with Acer's more expensive Swift models. You're forced to sacrifice display quality to hit such a low price but that's an item that's usually not very high on a budget shopper's priority list. More important is getting a modern CPU that delivers sufficient performance for everyday use that's also efficient to allow for lengthy battery life -- plus a bit of future-proofing with its AI capabilities.

Who it's best for

With the lengthy battery life we've come to expect from Copilot Plus PCs and with application and AI performance that's competitive with pricier models, the Aspire 14 AI offers great value for budget shoppers looking for a Copilot Plus PC.

Who shouldn't get it

If you care about the overall look of your next laptop and have the money, you can find more exciting designs. Spending more will also get you a brighter display with better color performance.

Pros

Gorgeous 16-inch, 4K OLED touchscreen

Strong component lineup, including RTX 5070 GPU

Slim and light given the size and what's under the hood

DialPad controller on touchpad is useful

Cons

Runs hot and loud

3D frame rates are good but not great

Display bezels are a bit thick

Stylus not included for the touchscreen

The ProArt P16 delivers a big, beautiful 16-inch 4K OLED alongside enough graphics horsepower to provide the performance in Adobe and CapCut that creators crave inside a reasonably slender, lightweight chassis.

Why we like it

The ProArt P16 series is built around a powerful AMD Strix Point processor, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. Our P16 test system also features an RTX 5070 GPU from Nvidia's latest series along with an ample 32GB of RAM and a roomy 2TB SSD, a welcome inclusion for video editors and gamers who tend to require capacious storage. The port selection is fairly standard, but includes an SD card slot -- something creators will appreciate.

Who it's best for

Creators and media editors. The ProArt P16 is an extremely capable workday companion that can also double as a suitable gaming machine for anything short of 4K.

Who shouldn't get it

Gamers looking to squeeze out the highest frame rates possible from an RTX 5070 laptop.

Pros

Excellent fast, calibrated OLED screen

Well designed

Performance vs. size reasonably balanced

Good port selection

Cons

Battery life is just okay

Big power brick

Bottom and hinge areas can get hot

Settings in Armoury Crate software can get confusing

The Zephyrus G16 we tested is relatively pricey at $2,700 for an upscale configuration with a 16-inch OLED screen, RTX 4080, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H.

Why we like it

The ROG G16 configuration my colleague Lori Grunin tested isn't cheap but a good all-around system for gaming and creative work. She liked the huge, calibrated OLED display and performance from the pairing of the Core Ultra 9 CPU and RTX 4080 graphics. The port selection was also a positive.

Who it's best for

Gamers who want a large screen for a more immersive gaming experience, and creators who will make use of the calibrated OLED display. Solid configurations start at $2,000, so you don't need to spend as much as the model we reviewed. If you have a smaller budget, then peep our picks for best cheap gaming laptop.

Who shouldn't get it

The Zephyrus G16 is a great pick for gamers, but its little sibling -- the G14 -- is a little more highly rated because of its more general-use advantages, like size, weight and lower price.

Pros

2.5K OLED display is crisp, bright and fast

Snappy keyboard feels fast for games

Thin and light for its size

Free M.2 slot to add second SSD

Cons

Short battery life

No biometrics for easy, secure logins

Lacks fast Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 ports

Always-on power button LED is annoying

The Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 is overkill for most budget gaming laptop shoppers, in terms of price and features. But if you view it as two laptops in one -- a competent gaming laptop with a reasonably large 15.1-inch display and a general-use laptop that's thin and light enough to carry around more than occasionally -- then its price begins to look like a great value.

Why we like it

It provides great performance for the price, and the 2.5K OLED display is outstanding. The Legion 5i Gen 10's OLED wins the Triple Crown for displays: a high resolution for crisp text and images, a speedy refresh rate for smooth movement and a high peak brightness that allows colors to pop. It's one of the best laptop displays I've ever seen.

Who it’s best for

It's a great pick for gamers, but it's more than just a gaming laptop. Creators engaged in color-accurate work will love the bright, high-res OLED display and the laptop's portability relative to other gaming laptops.

Who shouldn’t buy it

If you need a portable laptop with good battery life, then most gaming laptops, including this one, are the wrong choice.

Pros

Beautiful OLED display

Compact package with sleek aesthetics

Record-setting battery life

Great audio and webcam

Cons

Mechanical rather than haptic trackpad

No HDMI port or SIM card reader

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is greater than the sum of its parts. Based on a common Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor, its component lineup is not all that unusual. But placed inside a sleek and compact enclosure and outfitted with a beautiful 2.8K OLED display becomes a truly exceptional two-in-one.

Why we like it

This 14-inch ultraportable two-in-one is well-crafted, well-specced and remarkably well-priced. We love the trim and sturdy chassis, beautiful 2.8K OLED display and unique rotating soundbar that produces robust audio output. And the Yoga 9i runs and runs and runs.

Who it’s best for

The Yoga 9i is perfectly tailored for remote or office workers -- or really anyone who wants a modern laptop that can also rotate into a tablet. Its record-setting battery life will let you leave the charger at home for days at a time and makes up for the fact that this premium two-in-one lacks a premium haptic touchpad.

Who shouldn’t buy it

Anyone who demands a haptic touchpad in a premium laptop. And students and other budget shoppers can save some money and still get a great package with Lenovo’s mainstream Yoga 7 series.

Pros

Incredibly thin and light without feeling flimsy

All-day-and-all-night battery life

OLED display at this price is a nice surprise

Ample RAM and storage for the price

Cons

Meh performance from Snapdragon X CPU

Meh mechanical touchpad

Meh speakers

Built around an Arm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor, the Zenbook A14 is the extremely light and incredibly long running. It weighs less than 2.2 pounds and offers a battery life of more than 24 hours.

Why we like it

Its Ceraluminum shell allows the Zenbook A14 to be exceptionally light yet rigid, and its 14-inch OLED display is excellent. It also serves up ample RAM and storage for the price.

Who it's best for

Students and anyone who is regularly on the road for their job. If portability is paramount, then the lightweight, long-running Zenbook A14 is the pick.

Who shouldn't get it

If you are concerned about Windows-on-Arm compatibility issues, then you should skip the Zenbook A14 and find an Intel- or AMD-based laptop.

HP OmniBook 3 16: Powered by a Snapdragon X chip, HP's budget 16-inch laptop can run for nearly a day and a half on a single charge. It's also fairly portable for its size and elegant for its price.

Lenovo Yoga 7A 2-in-1 16: This 16-inch 2-in-1 pairs Ryzen AI performance with a gorgeous OLED touchscreen, but integrated Radeon graphics and some cut corners keep it firmly in "prosumer" territory.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x: For its portability and daily productivity, it's a winner. Potential Windows-on-Arm issues and modest graphics chops, however, keep it from being a true all-arounder.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x Gen 11: This slender laptop's second-gen Snapdragon X2 chip has truly impressive performance, but you'll need to keep looking if you're after strong graphics performance.

Dell XPS 16: It costs as much as Nvidia RTX models but lacks RTX graphics. Still, the XPS 16 is a strong overall performer with a thin-and-light design.

Acer Swift Edge 14 AI : It’s a sleek and solid OLED laptop but forces some compromises.

Alienware 18 Area-51: It's a dazzling and heavy-duty (emphasis on "heavy") showcase of laptop technology for deep-pocketed gamers.

GeekBook X14 Pro: Geekom’s first laptop is impressively thin and light but battery life disappoints. And I detest the touch pad.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 16 2-in-1 Gen 10: Lenovo's low-cost, 16-inch two-in-one is a versatile machine but it forces you to live with more than a couple of compromises in the design.

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Pro 16 Aura Edition: Centered around a gorgeous 16-inch OLED display, this kick-ass Yoga laptop provides the performance and build that graphics pros demand.

Microsoft Surface Pro (12-inch): The 12-inch version of Microsoft's detachable two-in-one will suffice for most users, but getting nickel-and-dimed by optional accessories that feel quite necessary is annoying.

The review process for laptops consists of two parts: performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs and extensive hands-on use by our reviewers. This includes evaluating a device's aesthetics, ergonomics and features with respect to price. A final review verdict is a combination of both objective and subjective judgments.

We test all laptops with a core set of benchmarks, including Primate Labs Geekbench 6, Cinebench 2024, PCMark 10, a variety of 3DMark benchmarks (whichever can run on the laptop), UL Procyon Photo and Video (where supported), and our own battery life test. If a laptop is intended for gaming, we'll also run benchmarks from Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Rift Breaker (CPU and GPU), Assassin's Creed Shadows and F1 24.

For the hands-on, the reviewer uses it for their work during the review period, evaluating how well the design, features (such as the screen, camera and speakers) and manufacturer-supplied software operate as a cohesive whole. We also place importance on how well they work given their cost and where the manufacturer has potentially made upgrades or tradeoffs for its price.

The list of benchmarking software and comparison criteria we use changes over time as the devices we test evolve. You can find a more detailed description of our test methodology on our How We Test Computers page.

There are a ton of laptops on the market at any given moment, and almost all of those models are available in multiple configurations to match your performance and budget needs. If you're feeling overwhelmed with options when looking for a new Windows laptop, it's understandable. To help simplify things for you, here are the main things you should consider when you start looking.

Price

The search for a new Windows laptop for most people starts with price, and prices have been going up due to tariffs and the global memory shortage. If the statistics chipmaker Intel and PC manufacturers hurl at us are correct, you'll be holding onto your next laptop for at least three years. If you can afford to stretch your budget a little to get better specs, do it, which holds whether you're spending $500 or more than $1,000. In the past, you could get away with spending less upfront with an eye toward upgrading memory and storage in the future. Laptop makers are increasingly moving away from making components easily upgradable, so again, it's best to get as much laptop capability as you can afford from the start.

Generally speaking, the more you spend, the better the laptop. That could mean better components for faster performance, a nicer display, sturdier build quality, a smaller or lighter design from higher-end materials or even a more comfortable keyboard. All of these things add to the cost of a laptop. I'd love to say $500 will get you a powerful gaming laptop, for example, but that's not the case. Right now, the sweet spot for a reliable laptop that can handle average work, home office or school tasks is between $700 and $800 and a reasonable model for creative work or gaming is upward of about $1,000. The key is to look for discounts on models in all price ranges so you can get more laptop capability for less.

Operating system

Choosing an operating system is part personal preference and part budget. For the most part, Microsoft Windows and Apple's MacOS do the same things (except for gaming, where Windows is the winner), but they do them differently. Unless there's an OS-specific application you need, go with the one you feel most comfortable using. If you're not sure which that is, head to an Apple store or a local electronics store and test them out. Or ask friends or family to let you test theirs for a bit. If you have an iPhone or iPad and like it, chances are you'll like MacOS too.

When it comes to price and variety (and PC gaming), Windows laptops win. If you want MacOS, you're getting a MacBook. Apple's MacBooks regularly top our best lists, but the least expensive one is the M1 MacBook Air for $999. It is regularly discounted to $750 or $800, but if you want a cheaper MacBook, you'll have to consider older refurbished ones.

Windows laptops can be found for as little as a couple of hundred dollars and come in all manner of sizes and designs. Granted, we'd be hard-pressed to find a $200 laptop we'd give a full-throated recommendation to, but if you need a laptop for online shopping, email and word processing, they exist.

If you are on a tight budget, consider a Chromebook. ChromeOS is a different experience than Windows. Make sure the applications you need have a Chrome, Android or Linux app before making the leap. If you spend most of your time roaming the web, writing, streaming video or using cloud-gaming services, they're a good fit.

Size

Remember to consider whether having a lighter, thinner laptop or a touchscreen laptop with a good battery life will be important to you in the future. Laptop size is primarily determined by screen size, which factors into battery size, laptop thickness, weight and price. Keep in mind other physics-related characteristics, such as an ultrathin laptop isn't necessarily lighter than a thick one, you can't expect a wide array of connections on a small or ultrathin model and so on.

Screen

When it comes to deciding on a screen, there are a myriad number of considerations: how much you need to display (which is surprisingly more about resolution than screen size), what types of content you'll be looking at and whether or not you'll be using it for gaming or creative work.

You really want to optimize pixel density, which is the number of pixels per inch the screen can display. Although other factors contribute to sharpness, a higher pixel density usually means sharper rendering of text and interface elements. (You can easily calculate the pixel density of any screen at DPI Calculator if you don't feel like doing the math, and you can also find out what math you need to do there.) We recommend a dot pitch of at least 100 pixels per inch as a rule of thumb.

Because of the way Windows and MacOS scale for the display, you're frequently better off with a higher resolution than you'd think. You can always make things bigger on a high-resolution screen, but you can never make them smaller -- to fit more content in the view -- on a low-resolution screen. This is why a 4K, 14-inch screen may sound like unnecessary overkill, but may not be if you need to view a wide spreadsheet, for example.

If you need a laptop with relatively accurate color, that displays the most colors possible or that supports HDR, you can't simply trust the specs. This is because manufacturers usually fail to provide the necessary context to understand what the specs they quote mean. You can find a ton of detail about considerations for different types of screen uses in our monitor buying guides for general-purpose monitors, creators, gamers and HDR viewing.

Processor

The processor, aka the CPU, is the brains of a laptop. Intel and AMD are the main CPU makers for Windows laptops, with Qualcomm as a new third option with its Arm-based Snapdragon X processors. Both Intel and AMD offer a staggering selection of mobile processors. Making things trickier, both manufacturers have chips designed for different laptop styles, like power-saving chips for ultraportables or faster processors for gaming laptops. Their naming conventions will let you know what type is used. You can head to Intel's or AMD's sites for explanations so you get the performance you want. Generally speaking, the faster the processor speed and the more cores it has, the better the performance will be.

Apple makes its own chips for MacBooks, which makes things slightly more straightforward. Like Intel and AMD, you'll still want to pay attention to the naming conventions to know what kind of performance to expect. Apple uses its M-series chipsets in Macs. The entry-level MacBook Air uses an M1 chip with an eight-core CPU and seven-core GPU. The current models have M2-series silicon that starts with an eight-core CPU and 10-core GPU and goes up to the M2 Max with a 12-core CPU and a 38-core GPU. Again, generally speaking, the more cores it has, the better the performance.

Battery life has less to do with the number of cores and more to do with CPU architecture, Arm versus x86. Apple's Arm-based MacBooks and the first Arm-based Copilot Plus PCs we've tested offer better battery life than laptops based on x86 processors from Intel and AMD.

Graphics

The graphics processor handles all the work of driving the screen and generating what gets displayed, as well as speeding up a lot of graphics-related (and increasingly, AI-related) operations. For Windows laptops, there are two types of GPUs: integrated or discrete. As the names imply, an iGPU is part of the CPU package, while a dGPU is a separate chip with dedicated memory (VRAM) that it communicates with directly, making it faster than sharing memory with the CPU.

Because the iGPU splits space, memory and power with the CPU, it's constrained by the limits of those. It allows for smaller, lighter laptops, but doesn't perform nearly as well as a dGPU. There are some games and creative software that won't run unless they detect a dGPU or sufficient VRAM. Most productivity software, video streaming, web browsing and other nonspecialized apps will run fine on an iGPU.

For more power-hungry graphics needs, like video editing, gaming and streaming, design and so on, you'll need a dGPU; there are only two real companies that make them, Nvidia and AMD, with Intel offering some based on the Xe-branded (or the older UHD Graphics branding) iGPU technology in its CPUs.

Memory

For memory, we highly recommend 16GB of RAM (8GB absolute minimum). RAM is where the operating system stores all the data for currently running applications, and it can fill up fast. After that, it starts swapping between RAM and SSD, which is slower. A lot of sub-$500 laptops have 4GB or 8GB, which in conjunction with a slower disk can make for a frustratingly slow Windows laptop experience. Also, many laptops now have the memory soldered onto the motherboard. Most manufacturers disclose this, but if the RAM type is LPDDR, assume it's soldered and can't be upgraded.

Some PC makers will solder memory on and also leave an empty internal slot for adding a stick of RAM. You may need to contact the laptop manufacturer or find the laptop's full specs online to confirm. Check the web for user experiences, because the slot may still be hard to get to, it may require nonstandard or hard-to-get memory or other pitfalls.

Storage

You'll still find cheaper hard drives in budget laptops and larger hard drives in gaming laptops, but faster solid-state drives have all but replaced hard drives in laptops. They can make a big difference in performance. Not all SSDs are equally speedy, and cheaper laptops typically have slower drives. If the laptop only has 4GB or 8GB of RAM, it may end up swapping to that drive and the system may slow down quickly while you're working.

Get what you can afford, and if you need to go with a smaller drive, you can always add an external drive or two down the road or use cloud storage to bolster a small internal drive. The one exception is gaming laptops: We don't recommend going with less than a 512GB SSD unless you really like uninstalling games every time you want to play a new game.

Which is better: MacOS or Windows?

Deciding between MacOS and Windows laptops will come down to personal preference and budget for most people. Apple's base model laptop, the M1 MacBook Air, starts at $999. You can sometimes find it discounted or you can get educational pricing from Apple and other retailers. In general, it'll be at least $1,000 for a new MacBook, and the prices just go up from there.

For the money, you're getting great hardware top to bottom, inside and out. Apple recently moved to using its own processors, which resulted in across-the-board performance improvements compared to older Intel-based models. The company's most powerful laptop, the 16-inch MacBook Pro, still hasn't been updated to Apple silicon.

Again, that great hardware comes at a price. Also, you're limited to just Apple laptops. With Windows and Chromebooks (more on these below), you get an amazing variety of devices at a wide range of prices.

Software between the two is plentiful, so unless you need to run something that's available only on one platform or the other, you should be fine to go with either. Gaming is an advantage for a Windows laptop.

MacOS is also considered to be easier and safer to use than Windows, especially for people who want their computers to get out of the way so they can get things done. Over the years, Microsoft has done its best to follow suit and, with Windows 11 here, it's trying to remove any barriers. Also, while Macs might have a reputation for being safer, with the popularity of the iPhone and iPad helping to drive Mac sales, they've become bigger targets for malware.

What brands make the best Windows laptops?

The biggest two brands by market share are Lenovo and HP. Each offers a wide variety of models, from thin-and-light ultraportables to larger, more powerful models for gaming content creation. Lenovo’s ThinkPads have long been a favorite among business laptops, and its Yoga models are usually highly rated two-in-one laptops.

Dell is third behind Lenovo and HP and is in the midst of a major rebranding effort. Familiar names like Inspiron and XPS are going away in favor of a simplified structure where its laptop will be labeled as Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max. Dell’s Alienware line of gaming laptops will continue.

HP is also shaking up its laptop lines. It has shuttered its Pavilion, Envy and Spectre brands in favor of OmniBook consumer models and EliteBook business models. Its Omen brand will continue as the home for its gaming laptops. I liked the first OmniBook laptop I reviewed and look forward to testing more.

Asus and Acer round out the top five among Windows laptops manufacturers, with Asus making many of our favorite gaming and content-creation laptops and Acer dominating the budget space.

How much RAM do I need in a Windows laptop?

RAM is where the operating system stores all the data for currently running applications, and it can fill up fast. After that, it starts swapping between RAM and the slower storage drive. We recommend at least 16GB of RAM unless you are buying a budget laptop for the most basic of tasks. And for mainstream laptops, 32GB of RAM is becoming more common. Buy as much RAM as you can afford up front because most laptops these days do not provide a way to add more memory after purchase.

What is the ideal screen size for a Windows laptop?

For most people, a 14-inch display offers the best balance between portability and productivity. With today’s taller 16:10 aspect ratio, a 14-inch display is appreciably larger than the 13.3-inch, 16:9 display on older laptops. A 14-inch, 16:10 display provides enough screen space while still keeping the weight around 3 pounds.

Only choose a 16-inch display if you are looking for a true desktop replacement and will use the laptop primarily at home. And if you need a laptop for constant travel, an ultraportable with a 13-inch, 16:10 display is a good fit, but there are also 14-inch laptops that weigh less than 3 pounds so don’t feel as if you need to sacrifice screen size for a lighter travel weight.

View original source — CNET ↗

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