The best laptop for you.Toshiba and Dell
Laptop
Laptop
Laptop
Laptop
Laptop
Laptop
The
best laptops for you.
We should buy original products we test and receive no
advertising. This means we're completely positive when we recommend models that
are standout choices with high. scores.
"Recommended" have received high evaluation
scores.
Back to top. We expect good products for you.
Stay with us.
Take advantages of these free perks to get the most of your
buying experiences: goods buying advices, daily news articles, videos, email
newsletters, and other!
Get helpful advice so you can always make the right
decision.
Back to top
We are an independent, nonprofit
organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer,
and healthier world.
Copyright © 2006-2016 Consumer Report.
Inc. No reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission
BEST
LAPTOPS
Essential Tips to Buy a Laptop:
Compact sufficient to bring with you, yet
versatile sufficient to run demanding applications, a laptop is the best tool
for doing many serious works or plays sitting at home and sitting on the road.
While standalone tablets and smart phones become always popular, most people think
that everything from typing a research papers to crunching videos to gaming
work better on a laptop. So what type of laptop should you buy?
There are many kinds of sizes, features and prices
that make choosing the right laptop a challenge. That's why you need to figure
out what your needs are. To make the right call, So follow the steps by steps.
A) Pick a Platform: Mac, Windows or Chrome OS?
It is not an easy question to answer, particularly
if you're not known with both Macs and PCs. But this quick overview of every
platform’s powerful and weaknesses should help.
Most laptops have 3 operating systems: Windows,
Chrome OS or Mac OS X (for Mac Books only). Choose the right one is a personal
laptop.
a) Windows 10
It is the most flexible operating system, Windows
appears on many more makes and models than Chrome OS or Mac OS X. Windows
notebooks range in prices from under $200 to several thousand dollars and offers
a wide array of features from touch screens to fingerprint readers to dual
graphics chips. Windows 10, the latest version of Microsoft's flagship
operating system, provides a number of improvements over Windows 7 and 8,
including the ability to switch between tablet and desktop modes, a revamped
Start menu with live tiles and the powerful Cortana digital assistant. Since
its launch in July 2015, Windows 10 has also added a host of improvements,
including the ability to use follow-up questions with Cortana, search your
email using natural language and use your stylus to scribble almost anywhere.
b) Apple OS X El Capitan
All MacBooks come with Apple's own operating
system, Mac OS X El Capitan. Overall, the operating system offers similar
functionality to Windows 10, but with a different take on the interface that
substitutes an apps dock at the bottom of the screen for Microsoft's Start menu
and taskbar. IPhone or iPad users will appreciate iOS-like features such as
Launch Pad for your apps, superior multitouch gestures, and the ability to take
calls and text from your iPhone. However, OS X isn't made for touch, because no
MacBook comes with a touch screen.
c) Chrome OS
Found on inexpensive "Chrome books"
such as the Lenovo 100S Chrome book, Google's OS is simple and secure, but
limited. The user interface looks a lot like Windows with an application menu,
a desktop and the ability to drag windows around, but the main app you use is
the Chrome browser. The downside is that there are few offline apps and those
that exist don't always work well. However, the operating if you need a device
to surf the Web and check email, navigate social networks and chat online, Chrome
books are inexpensive and highly portable, and they offer good battery
life. Google is also planning to add the ability to run Android apps,
which would suddenly make this platform a lot more useful for the masses.
B) Decide If You Want a 2-in-1
These days, many PC laptops fall into the
category of "2-in-1s," devices that can switch between traditional
clamshell mode, tablet mode and other positions in between such as tent or
stand modes. The 2-in-1s generally come in two different styles: detachable
with screens that come off the keyboard entirely and flexible laptops with
hinges that bend back 360 degrees to change modes. Most of these systems are
much better at serving one purpose than the other, with bend-backs being
laptops first and detachable offering a superior tablet experience. However, if
you don't see the need to use your notebook as a slate, you'll usually get more
performance for your money and a better productivity experience with a
traditional clamshell laptop.
C) Choose the Right Sizes
Before you look at specs or pricing, you need to
figure out just how portable you need your laptop to be. Laptops are usually
categorized by their display sizes:
·
11 to 12 inches: The
thinnest and lightest systems around have 11- to 12-inch screens and typically
weigh 2.5 to 3.5 pounds,
·
13 to 14 inches:
Provides the best balance of portability and usability, particularly if you get
a laptop that weighs under 4 pounds.
·
15 inches: The most
popular size, 15-inch laptops usually weigh 4.5 to 6.5 pounds. Consider this
size if you want a larger screen and you're not planning to carry your notebook
around often.
·
17 to 18 inches: If your
laptop stays on your desk all day every day, a 17- or 18-inch system could
provide you with the kind of processing power you need to play high-end games
or do workstation-level productivity.
D) Check That Keyboards and Touchpads.
The most impressive specs in the world don't mean
diddly if the laptop you're shopping for doesn't have good ergonomics. If you
plan to do a lot of work on your computer, make sure the keyboard offers solid
tactile feedback, plenty of vertical travel (distance the key goes down when
pressed, usually 1 to 2mm) and enough space between the keys.
Look for an accurate touchpad that doesn't give
you a jumpy cursor and responds consistently to multitouch gestures such as
pinch-to-zoom. If you're buying a business laptop, consider getting one with a
pointing stick (aka nub) between the G and H keys so you can navigate around
the desktop without lifting your fingers off the keyboard's home row.
E) Pick Your
Specs
Notebook components such as processor, hard
drive, RAM and graphics chip can confuse even notebook aficionados, so don't
feel bad if spec sheets look like alphabet soup to you.
Here are the
main components to keep an eye on laptops.
·
CPU(central processing unite):
The "brains" of your computer, the processor has a huge influence on
performance, but depending on what you want to do, even the least-expensive
model may be good enough. Here's a rundown.
a) AMD A series or
Intel Core i3 / i5: If you're looking for a mainstream laptop with
the best combination of price and performance, get a Core i5. Core i3 is a
small step down. AMD A series CPU (central processing unite
is are less common, but promise similar performance.
b) Intel Core i7:
High-end performance for gaming rigs and workstations. Models with numbers
that end in HQ or K use higher wattage and have four cores, allowing for
even faster gaming and productivity.
c) AMD E Series or
Intel Pentium/Celeron: Found on low-cost laptops. It provides just
enough performance to enable basic tasks such as video viewing, document
editing and Web surfing.
d) Intel Atom:
Also found on low-cost laptops and 2-in-1s. It offers basic performance but
more battery life than Celeron/Pentium.
e) Intel Core m3 / m5
/ m7: Low-power and low heat allow systems with these processors
to go fangless. Performance is better than Celeron, but a notch below Core i3 /
i5.
·
RAM: Some sub-$250
laptops come with only 2GB of RAM, but ideally you want at least 4GB on even a
budget system and 8GB if you can spend just a little more. For most users, 16GB
or more is overkill.
·
Storage Drive (aka Hard Drive):
Even more important than the speed of your CPU is the performance of your
storage drive. If you can afford it and don't need a ton of internal storage,
get a laptop with a solid state drive (SSD) rather than a hard drive, because
you'll see at least three times the speed and a much faster laptop overall.
Among SSDs, the newer PCIe x4 (aka NVME) units offer triple the speed of
traditional SATA drives. Sub-$250 laptops use eMMCs memory, which is
technically solid-state but not faster than a mechanical hard drive.
·
Display: The more pixels
you have, the more content you can fit on-screen, and the sharper it will look.
Most budget and mainstream laptops have 1366 x 768 displays, but if you can
afford it, we recommend paying extra for a panel that runs at 1920 x 1080, also
known as full HD or 1080p. Some higher-end laptops have screens that are 2560 x
1600, 3200 x 1800 or even 3840 x 2160, which all look sharp but consume more
power, lowering your battery life.
