My Dell Laptop Us 5 Years Old . Ait Is Really Slow. Shoul I Get A New One Or Have Mine Cleaned Out?

Laptop buying guide: 8 essential tips to know before y'all buy

(Image credit: Future)

Laptops are meaty enough to comport with you, yet versatile enough to run demanding applications. Notebooks are the best tool for doing serious work or play whether y'all're at home, on the road or in a college classroom. For those reasons, we've compiled lists of the best business laptops and best college laptops, not to mention our best laptops rankings for virtually users.

While standalone tablets and smartphones are always popular, most people realize that everything from typing a inquiry paper to crunching videos to gaming works better on a laptop. So what type of laptop should you go? We put together a laptop buying guide to assistance you out.

There'southward a broad diversity of sizes, features and prices, which makes choosing the best laptop a challenge. That'due south why y'all need to figure out what your needs are.

Quick Tips

These are the nigh important things to consider when choosing a new laptop. For a lot more item, see the sections below.

12.v to fourteen-inch screensoffer the best balance between usability and portability. Larger screens are fine if you don't travel much and smaller models are great for kids.
If you're spending over $600, shoot for these minimum specs: Core i5 or Ryzen 5 CPU 1920 10 1080 screen 8GBof RAM and SSDStorage instead of a hard drive.
ix+ hours of battery life is ideal if y'all plan to take your laptop anywhere at all.
Consider a 2-in-1 laptop (either a bendback or detachable) if y'all desire to utilise your laptop as a tablet. If not, a standard clamshell notebook may be a ameliorate pick.
Chromebooks are expert for kids and students and their functionality is expanding rapidly. Windows 10 laptops and MacBooks both offer plenty of functionality; which platform you prefer is a matter of personal taste.

i. Pick a platform: Windows 10 vs. Mac vs. Chrome OS?

This is not an easy question to answer, especially if y'all're not familiar with both Macs and PCs. But this quick overview of each platform's strengths and weaknesses should help.

Well-nigh laptops come with one of three operating systems: Windows, Chrome Bone or MacOS (for MacBooks only). Choosing the right one is a personal preference, merely here's a quick summary of what each offers.

Windows 10

The most flexible operating arrangement, Windows 10, runs on more than laptop models than Chrome OS or MacOS. Windows notebooks range in price from under $150 to several thousand dollars and offer a wide array of features from impact screens to fingerprint readers to dual graphics fries. 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 betwixt tablet and desktop modes, a revamped First menu with Live Tiles and the Cortana digital assistant.

Since its launch in July 2022, Windows 10 has as well added a host of improvements, including the power to use follow-up questions with Cortana, search your email using natural linguistic communication and utilise your stylus to scribble near anywhere. Windows 10 laptops are great for students, researchers and business concern users, and they're the only machines gamers should consider.

MORE: 100+ Windows x Tips to Help You Master Microsoft's OS

Apple tree macOS

All MacBooks come with Apple'due south latest desktop operating system, macOS Big Sur. Overall, the operating arrangement offers like functionality to Windows 10, merely with a different accept on the interface that substitutes an apps dock at the lesser of the screen for Microsoft'due south Start menu and taskbar. Instead of the Cortana digital banana, Mac users get Siri. They can also perform transactions with Apple Pay, take calls or texts from their phones and unlock their laptops with an Apple Watch.

However, macOS isn't fabricated for touch, because no MacBook comes with a bear upon screen. The latest macOS Large Sur operating organisation brings iPad apps over to Mac (and iPad and iPadOS apps tin run natively on M1 Macs), besides equally huge improvements to both the Safari browser and Siri.

MORE: MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: What Should You Buy?

Chrome OS

Plant on inexpensive Chromebooks such every bit the Samsung Chromebook 3. Google'due south Bone is uncomplicated and secure, but more than limited than Windows or macOS. The user interface looks a lot similar Windows with an application menu, a desktop and the ability to drag windows around, only the principal app you lot use is the Chrome browser. The downside is that many of the "web apps" you apply don't work particularly well offline. However, that's changing as all new Chromebooks, including the high-terminate, Google PixelBook, can now run Android apps.

If you lot need a device to surf the Web and check email, navigate social networks and chat online, Chromebooks are highly portable and tend to offer good battery life at low prices. They are too extremely popular with schools and parents because they are hard for kids to infect with malware and more functional than most tablets. If yous need a Chromebook, wait for one with at to the lowest degree 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. A 1920 10 1080 resolution preferred and 4K is amend merely very uncommon. Pay extra to get a 2-in-1 if y'all plan to use Android apps.

MORE: Best Chromebooks Bachelor Now

two. Decide If Yous Want a ii-in-1

Many PC laptops fall into the category of two-in-1 laptops, hybrid devices that tin switch between traditional clamshell mode, tablet mode and other positions in betwixt such as tent or stand up modes. 2-in-1s mostly come up in 2 different styles: detachables with screens that come off the keyboard entirely and flexible laptops with hinges that curve back 360 degrees to change modes.

Nearly of these systems are much better at serving one purpose than the other, with bend-backs existence laptops first and detachables offering a superior tablet experience. However, if you don't see the need to use your notebook as a slate, y'all'll ordinarily go more than performance for your money with a traditional clamshell laptop.

More than: Windows Detachables Have Big Battery Life Trouble

three. Choose the Right Size

laptop different display sizes 13-inch 15-inch and 17-inch

Earlier you look at specs or pricing, you need to figure out merely how portable you need your laptop to be. Laptops are usually categorized past their display sizes:

eleven to 12 inches: The thinnest and lightest systems around take 11- to 12-inch screens and typically weigh 2.5 to 3.5 pounds.
xiii to 14 inches: Provides the best residual of portability and usability, particularly if you get a laptop that weighs under 4 pounds.
15 to 16 inches: The about popular size, fifteen-inch laptops usually weigh iv to 5.five pounds. Consider this size if you lot want a larger screen and y'all're not planning to conduct your notebook around often. Laptops with xvi-inch displays are rare but Apple might get the tendency started with its 16-inch MacBook Pro.
17 to 18 inches: If your laptop stays on your desk all twenty-four hours every solar day, a 17- or 18-inch system could provide you with the kind of processing power y'all need to play high-terminate games or practise workstation-level productivity.

four. Check that Keyboard and Touchpad

The most impressive specs in the globe don't mean diddly if the laptop you're shopping for doesn't accept good ergonomics. If you lot plan to practise a lot of work on your computer, make sure the keyboard offers solid tactile feedback, plenty of key travel (the distance the cardinal goes downwards when pressed, usually 1 to 2mm) and plenty space between the keys. If you lot're buying a Windows laptop, be certain it has Precision touchpad drivers.

Await for an accurate touchpad that doesn't give you a jumpy cursor and responds consistently to multitouch gestures such every bit pinch-to-zoom. If y'all're buying a business organisation laptop, consider getting 1 with a pointing stick (aka nub) between the G and H keys so y'all tin navigate around the desktop without lifting your fingers off the keyboard'southward dwelling house row.

five. Pick Your Specs

Notebook components such every bit processor, hard drive, RAM and graphics scrap can confuse even notebook aficionados, then don't feel bad if spec sheets wait like alphabet soup to yous.

Hither are the chief components to keep an centre on.

CPU: The "brains" of your reckoner, the processor has a huge influence on operation, but depending on what you want to do, even the to the lowest degree-expensive model may be expert enough. Here's a rundown:

Intel 11th Gen CPUs: Intel introduced 1th Gen Tiger Lake processors that volition power the next generation of laptops. You can read about these processors in more detail here. To summarize, Tiger Lake --- a ten-nanometer chip --- offers improved integrated Iris Xe graphics with up to iv.8Ghz speeds every bit well every bit Thunderbolt 4 support. The new EVO make sets parameters for elevation laptops, including a minimum of 9 hours of battery life.
Intel Core i9:Supplanting the Core i7 as the summit-of-the-line CPU from Intel, Core i9 processors provide faster performance than whatsoever other mobile chip. Available only on premium laptops, workstations and high-end gaming rigs, Core i9 CPUs are just worth their premium toll if yous're a ability user who uses the most demanding programs and apps.
Intel Core i7: A footstep upwardly from Core i5, models with numbers that terminate in HQ or Grand utilize higher wattage and have 4 cores, allowing for even faster gaming and productivity. There are too Core i7 Y series chips that have lower power and performance. Go on an eye out for CPUs that have a ten in the model number because they are part of Intel'due south latest, tenth and 11th Gen Generation Core Series, and offering better performance.
Intel Core i5: If you're looking for a mainstream laptop with the all-time combination of price and performance, get one with an Intel Core i5 CPU. Models that end in U are the most mutual. Those with a Y in the proper name are depression power and have worse operation while models with an HQ use more wattage and appear in thicker gaming and workstation systems. Intel's newest 11th Generation Tiger Lake CPUs have iv cores, and a number of useful features, including Wi-Fi 6 back up, Thunderbolt four integration and better AI.
Intel Core i3: Performance is just a step beneath Core i5 and so is the toll. If you tin can possibly step up to a Cadre i5, we recommend information technology.
Intel Xeon: Extremely powerful and expensive processors for large mobile workstations. If you do professional-course engineering, 3D modeling or video editing, you lot might want a Xeon, merely you won't get good battery life or a lite laptop.
Intel Pentium / Celeron: Common in sub $400 laptops, these fries offering the slowest performance, but can do if your main tasks are web surfing and light document editing. If you can pay more to get a Core i3 or i5, you lot'd be better off.
Intel Core chiliad / Core i5 / i7 "Y Serial:" Depression-power and low heat allow systems with these processors to go fanless. Performance is meliorate than Celeron, but a notch below regular Core U series.
AMD Ryzen 4000 and Ryzen 5000: A new set of fries that are designed to compete with Intel Core i5 and Core i7. Nosotros've found Ryzen 4000 and Ryzen 5000 chips to outperform equivalent Intel Core processors. For instance, the Ryzen 5 4500U CPU delivers about the same performance as an Intel Core i7 CPU. Not just exercise you go bang-up performance and endurance just Ryzen 4000 and Ryzen 5000-equipped laptops tend to be cheaper than their Intel counterparts.
AMD A, FX or E Series: Constitute on low-cost laptops, AMD's processors -- the company calls them APUs rather than CPUs -- provide decent performance for the money that's good enough for web surfing, media viewing and productivity.
Apple M1: The starting time of Apple tree'southward custom silicon, the ARM-based M1 chip crushes the competition when it comes to raw performance and endurance. Found on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro

MORE: Which Laptop CPU is Right for You?

RAM: Some sub-$250 laptops come with only 4GB of RAM, but ideally y'all want at least 8GB on fifty-fifty a upkeep arrangement and 16GB if you can spend simply a piffling more. For most folks, 32GB or more is more plenty while 64GB and above is reserved for power users.

Storage Bulldoze (SSD): Even more important than the speed of your CPU is the performance of your storage drive. If you can afford it and don't demand a ton of internal storage, get a laptop with a solid land drive (SSD) rather than a difficult drive, because you lot'll see at to the lowest degree iii times the speed and a much faster laptop overall.

Amidst SSDs, the newer PCIe x4 (aka NVME) units offer triple the speed of traditional SATA drives. Sub-$250 laptops use eMMC memory, which is technically solid-country only not faster than a mechanical difficult bulldoze.

Display: The more pixels you take, the more than content you can fit on-screen, and the sharper information technology will look. Sadly, some upkeep laptops all the same have 1366 x 768 displays and and then practise a few business laptops, but if you tin afford it, we recommend paying actress for a panel that runs at 1920 10 1080, also known equally Full HD or 1080p. Higher-end laptops have screens that are 2560 x 1600, 3200 x 1800 or even 3840 x 2160 (4K), which all look sharp but consume more than power, lowering your battery life.

Display quality is nearly much more than resolution. IPS panels range in color and brightness, so read our reviews to find out if the laptop your considering has a adept display. Nosotros typically look for an sRGB color rating of over 100% and brightness great than 300 nits results. If you lot want the very all-time film quality and don't care about battery life, consider an OLED display. You should also continue an middle out for upcoming display technology to hit laptops, including miniLED.

Bear upon Screen: If yous're ownership a regular clamshell laptop, rather than a 2-in-ane, you won't become much benefit from a affect screen and y'all will go one to 2 hours less battery life. On 2-in-1s, impact screens come standard. If you still want a touch screen, check out our best touch screen laptops page.

Graphics Chip: If you lot're not playing PC games, creating 3D objects or doing high-res video editing, an integrated graphics flake (i that shares system memory) will be fine, specially Intel'south latest Iris Xe graphics. If y'all have any of the above needs, though, a discrete graphics processor from Nvidia or AMD is essential.

As with CPUs, in that location are both high- and low-end graphics fries. Depression-end gaming or workstation systems today usually take Nvidia MX450 or GTX 1660 GPUs while mid-range models have RTX 2050 or RTX 2060 and high-end models accept 30-serial fries like the RTX 3070 or 3080 GPUs. Nvidia maintains a list of its graphics chips from low to high cease.

Nvidia's rivals, AMD, is Apple's vendor of choice for graphics cards, although y'all really shouldn't buy a MacBook for gaming. AMD launched the Radeon RX 5600M and the Radeon RX 5700M GPUs last yr. AMD also keeps a list of its graphics cards.

Ports: While the absenteeism of ports is usually not a deal-breaker when choosing a laptop, it's helpful to get the connections you need correct on the system, rather than having to behave a slew of dongles. Nigh mainstream laptops volition accept USB 3.0 ports and HDMI out for video. Yet, an increasing number of laptops use USB Blazon-C or Thunderbolt iii and Thunderbolt iv ports that are USB Type-C compatible.

Getting Type-C is a definite plus because you can apply information technology to connect to universal chargers and docks. If you can wait, USB four will arrive shortly with faster transfer rates and the ability to daisy-concatenation 4K monitors with one cable. Other useful connections include SD card slots, headphone jacks and Ethernet ports (particularly if yous're a gamer).

Connectivity: If you need to use your laptop on the go, consider buying a notebook with 4G LTE or 5G back up. Y'all'll have to pay for a information subscription plan, simply this will permit you to access the net away from a router. If you want a laptop with the latest and greatest connectivity options, find i with Wi-Fi vi support. Wi-Fi 6 offers increased theoretical throughputs and a more stable connection than 802.11ac.

We too advise looking for a laptop with Bluetooth 5, the latest standard that offers improved connectivity with Bluetooth-enabled devices, like mice and headphones.

DVD/Blu-ray Drives: Few laptops come with optical drives, because all software and movies are downloadable, though we've kept track of the laptops with DVD drives. However, if you really need to read/write discs and your laptop of pick doesn't come with a born DVD bulldoze, you can ever buy an external ane that connects via USB for under $20.

6. Don't Skimp on Bombardment Life

If yous're buying a large, beefy notebook or a gaming rig that you'll employ only on a desk about an outlet, you don't accept to worry about battery life. However, if you programme to use the laptop on your lap, even if information technology's at dwelling and or work, you'll want at to the lowest degree 7 hours of endurance, with 8+ hours beingness platonic. To determine a notebook'southward expected battery life, don't take the manufacturer'south word for it. Instead, read third-political party results from objective sources, such every bit our reviews.

More: Laptops with the Longest Battery Life

vii. Plan Based on Your Upkeep

These days, you lot can buy a usable laptop for under $200, merely if you can budget more than, you'll go a system with better build quality, stronger performance and a improve display. Here's what you tin get for each cost range.

$150 to $250: The least-expensive notebooks are either Chromebooks, which run Google'due south browser-centric OS, or low-end Windows systems with minimal storage and slower processors, such equally the HP Stream 11 and the Dell Inspiron 11 3000. Employ these as secondary computers merely or give them to the kids.
$350 to $600: For well under $600, y'all can get a notebook with an Intel Core i5 or AMD A8 CPU, iv to 8GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive, all respectable specs. However, at this price, most notebooks don't have an SSD, a full-HD display or long battery life. At that place are a few notable exceptions, such as the Acer Aspire Eastward 15 and Asus Chromebook Flip C434.
$600 to $900: As you get in a higher place $600, you'll start to see more premium designs, such as metal finishes. Manufacturers also get-go to add together in other features as you climb the toll ladder, including college-resolution displays and SSDs. The Lenovo IdeaPad 530s and Asus ZenBook UX333FA are great examples of laptops that offer all these perks for less.
Above $900: At this price range, expect notebooks that are more than portable, more powerful or both. Wait higher-resolution screens, faster processors and maybe discrete graphics. The lightest, longest-lasting ultraportables, like the Apple tree MacBook Air and the Dell XPS 13, tend to cost more $i,000 (although you lot can get the Dell for less if y'all don't opt for a touch screen). High-end gaming systems and mobile workstations commonly cost upward of $1,500 or fifty-fifty as much as $two,500 or $iii,000.

More than: Best Laptops Under $500

8.Mind the Brand

Your laptop is only as skilful as the company that stands backside it. Accurate and timely technical support is paramount, which is why Laptop Mag evaluates every major brand in our annual Tech Support Showdown. This by year Apple came in first place, followed by the big story of the year: Razer, while Dell rounded out the top three.

Back up is merely part of what makes a notebook brand worth your money. Y'all also accept to consider how the manufacturer stacks up to the competition in terms of design, value and selection, review operation and other criteria. In our 2022 Best and Worst Laptop Brands report, HP placed first, followed by Asus and Dell. We've also rated gaming laptop brands, with MSI taking first place and Acer and Alienware rounding out the top 3.

Laptop Guide

The All-time & Worst Laptop Brands
Laptop Tech Support Showdown: Secret Report
Should I Buy a Chromebook? Ownership Guide and Communication
Laptops with the Longest Battery Life
Chromebooks vs. Windows 10 Laptops: What Should You Buy?
Out of the Box Tips: Set Upwardly Your New Laptop Similar a Pro
The Best Time to Buy a Laptop
Chromebook vs. Tablet: Which Should You lot Buy?
Laptop Buying Tips for Students
10 Key Features to Look for in Your Laptop
How to Purchase a 2-in-ane Laptop Hybrid
USB Type-C FAQ: Everything You Need to Know
How to Get Rid of Your Quondam Laptop
Laptop Warranties: What They Embrace
Which CPU is Right For Yous?

Phillip Tracy is the assistant managing editor at Laptop Mag where he reviews laptops, phones and other gadgets while covering the latest industry news. After graduating with a journalism caste from the University of Texas at Austin, Phillip became a tech reporter at the Daily Dot. In that location, he wrote reviews for a range of gadgets and covered everything from social media trends to cybersecurity. Prior to that, he wrote for RCR Wireless News covering 5G and IoT. When he's not tinkering with devices, you tin can find Phillip playing video games, reading, traveling or watching soccer.