Which laptop should I buy?
Laptop reviews compare everything against everything, so every model sounds like a compromise. The question they cannot answer is what you need. A student writing essays and a video editor need different machines, even at the same price.
A decision matrix starts from your use. Weigh the things you would notice every day, score each model, and ignore the specs you would never feel.
Open the tool with this question filled in. Two to five minutes, no account.
Start this decisionWhat should you weigh?
Five factors cover most versions of this decision. Rename them, drop the ones that do not apply, and add your own. Phrase each so a higher score is always better.
- Performance
- Enough for the heaviest thing you do weekly, not the benchmark chart.
- Battery life
- Real-world hours from reviews, on a workload like yours.
- Low price
- What you pay, including the charger, bag or dongles you would need.
- Light weight
- Matters a lot if you carry it daily, very little if it lives on a desk.
- Screen
- Size, brightness and resolution for your eyes and your work.
What does it look like worked out?
Three laptops: a thin ultrabook, a workstation, and a budget model. Weights run 1 to 10, scores 1 to 5.
| Factor | Weight | Ultrabook | Workstation | Budget model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance | 8 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Battery life | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| Low price | 6 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Light weight | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Screen | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Total | 103 | 76 | 96 |
Each total is score times weight, added down the column.
Ultrabook wins by 7 points. The ultrabook wins, and the workstation comes last despite the top performance score. For this buyer, battery and weight matter nearly as much as speed, and the workstation gives up both.
Change the weight on low price from 6 to 10, keep every score the same, and Budget model wins instead, 116 to 111. The options did not change. One judgement about what matters did.
Where do people go wrong?
Buying for a rare task. If you edit video twice a year, weight performance for the other fifty weeks.
Scoring specs you cannot feel. A faster chip you never wait on scores the same as a slower one that also never makes you wait.
Common questions
- What should I look for when buying a laptop?
- Performance for your heaviest regular task, battery life, price, weight and screen. Weigh them by how you use it, then score each model.
- Which laptop is best for college?
- Usually one with long battery life and low weight, since it travels all day. Price often matters most of all. Put your own weights in and check.
Ready to weigh your own?
The question and starter options come filled in. Change anything. AI suggests factors; the answer comes only from your weights and scores.
Start this decision