The Best Windows Laptop
Its hard to come up with a single complaint about the Spectre x360 14. Its a drop-dead gorgeous machine with a sturdy build and a premium look and feel.
But the Spectre x360 14 isnt just pretty to look at: its also a pleasure to use as a daily work driver. Intels latest 11th Gen processors and Iris Xe integrated graphics deliver snappy performance with no slowdown or freezes that we observed. And we got an average of 10 hours of battery life out of the device one of the best results weve ever seen.
On the outside, the Spectre includes a roomy 3:2 display, and if FHD resolution doesnt suit your fancy, there are OLED and 1,000-nit options available. Theres even a packaged stylus, which attaches magnetically to the side of the Spectre handy if youre using the device as a tablet. Pretty much every other aspect of this laptop, from its comfortable keyboard and smooth touchpad to its bass-heavy audio and practical port selection, rivals or exceeds the best convertibles on the market.
Such an exceptional package of features doesnt come cheap, and many customers will find everything they need in a less expensive product. But the Spectre x360 14 is the new gold standard of Windows convertibles. Overall, its the best Windows laptop you can buy.
What Kind Of Graphics Card Do You Need For Day Trading Computer
If you are using multiple monitors, we have personally used the Nvidia quadro K1200, Its a good basic multi-monitor video card that wont break the banks. Video cards are insanely priced lately. For single monitor setups, the Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1050. If you need additional monitors added simply and easily via USB to HDMI. We are using an external video adapter that connects to your USB port and gives you two extra HDMI connections allowing two extra monitors! We like the ASUS 24 monitors connected to this.
If you plan on using multiple displays, youre going to want a strong graphics card. Your computers graphics card is responsible for displaying all your computers information.
The more powerful the graphics card is, the better graphics and more screens you can have. Youll want to have an Nvidia graphics card that has at least 4GB of its own memory. We stick with Nvidia because of its strong brand name, reliability, and cutting-edge processing. I am personally a fan of the new GTX 2080 series and have been running one in my main tower for 2 years and love it.
You also will need some adapters for the mini-display ports to HDMI and some HDMI cables. Also, you will need a DP to VGA cable and a mini DP to DP cable.
What Kind Of Laptop Do You Need For College Work Really
It truly depends on your major field of study
You might be thinking about what kind of laptop you need for college work as you get ready to go back to school in 2021. It isnt as easy of a decision as one might think. A good student laptop has different requirements than a premium machine for a professional or a gamer. You may be tempted to buy a maxed-out MacBook Pro, for instance, but considering the price, it might not be the most ideal solution.
A powerful laptop might be needed for college work depending on your major. Engineering students will need powerful CPU and GPU to handle their projects, as will anyone doing video editing or 3D design. However, a Chromebook with just 4GB of RAM should be more than enough for any student whose biggest projects consist of term papers.
To help you figure out what kind of laptop you need for college work , weve gathered some tips to guide your search. That way, you can find the perfect notebook for your specific needs, especially since what works for one student might not work for another. In fact, you may end up saving some money by buying a more appropriate laptop for your specific studies.
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Finding The Best Operating System For You
A key aspect in deciding which laptop you should buy it knowing what operating system you would like the laptop to run. All the laptops we recommend have a specific operating system preinstalled. The operating systems we look at are Windows, Apple MacOS, and ChromeOS.
You can install a new operating system yourself, but that is a step too far for this quiz, and if you are comfortable doing so then you are probably not the target audience for this quiz.
If you already know the operating system you would like, then either select the one you would like in the first few questions of the quiz or take a specific quiz, like the MacBook quiz, by navigating through our website.
For those of you who have yet to decide, or are considering a couple of operating systems, then we can help you to decide by asking you questions around how you intend on using the laptop.
Everything You Need To Find A Laptop Youll Love
In this guide we cover the most important things to consider before buying a new laptop, along with all the information you need to make sure your new laptop does exactly what you want it to do.
If you still have questions or want to see the latest features and tech for yourself, why not call into your nearest store and speak to one of our colleagues, who will happily help you find the perfect laptop.
CONTENTS
High powered devices for getting stuff done
Large documents and presentations, complex spreadsheets and basic editing
Easily work on multiple applications at once
For those that work at their computer all day
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Best Laptop For Cricut: What Do You Need To Run Your Machine
You will need a device of some sort to run your Cricut machine whether that is a laptop, desktop computer, or mobile device. So, what is the best laptop for Cricut? What requirements are there for a computer to run your Cricut machine? Do you need a computer or is a mobile device okay? Lets dive in and find out!
Things To Consider When Buying A New Laptop
Laptops were hot tickets here last month as people switched to working, playing and studying at home.
Retailers and PC makers said there was a spike in laptop sales after the circuit breaker measures, which closed schools and non-essential work premises, were announced on April 3.
Electronics retailer Courts said it saw “overwhelming demand for laptops because of the work-from-home situation”. Online retailer Lazada said sales of laptops, particularly gaming laptops, increased by 80 per cent in the week following the circuit breaker announcement, compared with the previous week.
Ms Emma Ou, Singapore country manager for PC maker Asus said: “The demand has been high for the first week of April, but gradually went down as all the offline information technology retail shops were closed.”
Mrs J. Jones, a public relations executive, said her employer recently decided to buy laptops for those working from home. “We are moving towards virtual events that require my colleagues to have laptops, instead of their existing iPads, to work effectively,” she said.
But there may not be a similar spike in notebook sales this month despite the extension of the circuit breaker period till June 1.
Mr Loo Wee Teck, head of consumer electronics at market research firm Euromonitor International, said: “Parents rushed to the stores when schools switched to home-based learning. But the school holidays have started and those who needed notebooks would have bought one earlier.”
2. SCREEN SIZE
5. CPU
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The Best Laptop For Business Travel
In many ways, the ThinkPad X1 Nano is a run-of-the-mill ThinkPad. Its got a solid sturdy chassis, discrete clickers, a physical privacy shutter, a red TrackPoint in the middle of the keyboard, and all kinds of business-specific security and management features.
But the Nano is special because its the lightest ThinkPad Lenovo has ever made. Its also one of the lightest laptops you can buy, at just 1.99 pounds. Youre not sacrificing performance to get that mindblowing weight: The Nano kept up with our heavy testing workloads without any fan noise or noticeable heat. If youre looking for a reliable business laptop that will feel like nothing in your briefcase, this is the one for you.
Do I Want A Hybrid Laptop Or A Traditional Laptop
You’re already familiar with traditional laptops that open on a hinge, but now there’s another breed of hybrid laptops to consider. Hybrid laptops, also called convertible laptops or 2-in-1s, are laptops that double as stand-alone tablets.
Some hybrid laptops’ screens detach completely from the keyboard, while others have hinges with a 180-degree range of motion, so you can fold the laptop inside out and use it as a tablet. Employees who travel a lot or currently switch back and forth between a laptop and a tablet may be a good match for a hybrid design. However, you should be aware that a 2-in-1 with high specs will cost more than a standard-hinge laptop with the same specs.
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Looking For Portable Storage
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi speed is important because fewer laptops come with a built-in ethernet port for plugging into your local wired network.
If this is the case, you may be able to purchase a USB-to-ethernet adapter of the same brand or a third-party alternative.
In either case, look for a laptop that supports the current Wi-Fi standard, 802.11ac, now rebranded as Wi-Fi 5. This is backwards-compatible with previous standards including the previously most popular 802.11n, but is much faster.
The emerging standard for newer laptops is Wi-Fi 6 which is faster and designed to support more devices than Wi-Fi 5.
USB-C connectivity
Connectivity on laptops these days is all about USB-C, the new low-profile standard that’s becoming common on more models. A USB-C plug is slimline and easy to use , but its appearance can be deceptive, as the same-shaped plug is used for several different standards USB 3.1 Gen-1 and Gen-2 and Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4.
Most USB-C ports will be either USB 3.1 Gen-1 which is rated at 5Gbps , the same speed as USB 3.0. The faster version of this is USB 3.1 Gen-2 . There’s also USB 3.2 Gen-2×2 . Then there’s the blazingly fast Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4.
Avoid cheap third-party cables and chargers or you may risk damaging your computer or worse
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Acer Chromebook Spin 713
Tired of trying to work on documents or spreadsheets on a small widescreen display? The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 uses one of Acer’s bright VertiView displays, a 13.5-inch 2,256×1,504-pixel touchscreen with a 3:2 aspect ratio. As the name implies, it gives you more vertical room to work, but it still has the width of a typical 13.3-inch laptop with a 16:9 ratio. Between that and its battery life, which lasted nearly 13 hours in our tests, you’ll be able to get more work done in a day with this Chrome OS laptop — and it’s still thin and light enough for an everyday carry.
The latest version of this Chromebook is the first to receive Intel’s Evo verification, which means you’ll be getting the best possible mobile experience with this model. It’s also the first with Thunderbolt 4 support, which lets you connect to multiple external displays as well as providing fast data speeds and networking.
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Check That Keyboard And Touchpad
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 key travel and enough space between the keys. If you’re buying a Windows laptop, be sure it has Precision touchpad drivers.
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 between the G and H keys so you can navigate around the desktop without lifting your fingers off the keyboard’s home row.
Australia’s Best Laptop Brand
So which brand of laptop should you buy? We’ve identified the best laptop brand based on our test results for laptops and feedback from our members on their experience with the brand.
As well as testing more than 106 laptops since 2019, we surveyed our members about the laptops they own. We use this data to determine which brands are the most reliable, and which have the best customer satisfaction. This feedback, and our test results, are combined to determine the best laptop brand of 2021.
Best laptop brand for 2021: Apple
Apple is the best laptop brand for the past 12 months. The tech giant beat out the likes of Microsoft, ASUS, Acer, Lenovo, HP and Dell for the top spot, with strong scores in our test results in addition to being a reliable brand with highly satisfied customers.
To find out which specific laptop models we recommend based on our test results, and to make sure you buy the best, click on the ‘Recommended’ box in the filters section of our laptop reviews.
Best laptop brand 2021 scores
1. Apple 84%
5. Dell and HP 71%
5. Lenovo 70%
It’s important to note that the performance of specific product models may vary quite significantly, so don’t assume that one brand’s products are the best across the many different features, functions and price points.
For comprehensive details on every laptop we’ve tested, see our laptop reviews.
Total computing portability is enticing enough, but what other benefits can a laptop offer?
Energy use
Size
Range
Performance
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What Kind Of Graphics Card Do You Need
Not a gamer, video/photo editing or 3D rendering pro? Then ignore this section as pretty much any graphics card built into today’s PCs handle basic web browsing, basic browser games, high-resolution video and office applications.
If you need a bit more oomph for your graphics, then there are a few things you should know:
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Avoid any integrated graphics such as Intel Iris or AMDs integrated Radeon graphics. These are relatively slow graphics chips that are enough for your daily workload but not enough for real gaming or other more elaborate multimedia tasks.
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Always go with a dedicated graphics card, such as NVIDIAs GeForce 10 series or AMDs Vega 56/64 or their mid-range Radeon RX 500 or 400 series. Well show you what to pick below
What’s The Best Laptop For Home Travel Or Both
The pandemic changed how and where a lot of people work. The small, ultraportable laptops valued by people who regularly traveled may have suddenly become woefully inadequate for working from home. Or maybe instead of needing long battery life, you’d rather have a bigger display with more graphics power for gaming.
If you’re going to be working on a laptop and don’t need more mobility than moving it from room to room, consider a 15.6-inch laptop or larger. In general, a bigger screen makes life easier for work and is more enjoyable for entertainment, and also is better if you’re using it as an extended display with an external monitor. It typically means you’re getting more ports, too, so connecting an external display or storage or a keyboard and mouse are easier without requiring a hub or dock.
For travel, stay with 13- or 14-inch laptops or two-in-ones. They’ll be the lightest and smallest while still delivering excellent battery life. What’s nice is that PC-makers are moving away from 16:9 widescreens toward 16:10- or 3:2-ratio displays, which gives you more vertical screen space for work without significantly increasing the footprint. These models usually don’t have discrete graphics or powerful processors, though that’s not always the case.
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Model Number And Serial Number
Determining your computer model number and serial number helps you troubleshoot the computer and can also help you find the latest drivers and other updates for your computer. With desktop computer, many manufacturers list the information on the side of the computer, like the Hewlett Packard computer sticker shown to the right.
Laptop, netbook, and hybrid computers often have the model and serial number on the bottom of the computer. If you cannot find this information, manufacturers like Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Acer also have tools on the computer and websites to help identify your computer.
Check Out The Top Of Your Keyboard
Now that I think about it, isnt it obvious? The most accessible place to find the model of your laptop is on the palm rest of the keyboard. The model may be etched on the palm rest or written on a sticker.
However, in some laptop brands, the model may be etched on the keyboard bezel of the laptop.
It is important to note that not all laptops have a laptop model indicated on top of the keyboard.
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Searching For The Best Laptop For Online Classes
Just like any purchase you want to make sure that you’re getting the most bang for their buck. In particular, durability and mobility should be top priorities. It would be worth looking into laptop screen sizes as well, because laptops are often catergorized by their screen size. It’s not a bad idea to test the laptop out instead of shopping online for one. This way you can start typing and using the touchpad to getter sense of if it’s the best laptop for you. Ask yourself is the cursor too senstive? Is it easy to navigate? Here are some additional key features to look for when researching laptops: