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 View All rounder laptops. High performance. Our highest performing devices, with advanced graphics solutions Creative tasks like photo and video editing, 3D design and more Lots of heavy apps open at that same time For those that demand the highest performance possible View High performance laptops.

There are three main operating systems, each with their own benefits. Windows Works with all your Apple devices: OS X is designed to work flawlessly with other Apple devices, so if you have an iPhone or iPad transferring files, contacts and apps between them is simple.

Ideal for design: Some of the most popular design software, such as Photoshop and InDesign, is optimised for OS X and can give you improved stability and performance. Chrome OS. Return to top. Types of laptops There are different types of laptops to suit different people and uses - have a look at the varieties below to see which one suits you best. Windows laptops. Gaming laptops. Processors The processor is the brain of your laptop. Whenever you move the mouse, open a program, or load a file the processor makes it happen.

On our product pages we give you all the information necessary to decide whether a processor is powerful enough for your needs. How many cores do I need? What is the clock speed? What is the memory cache? Before tasks are managed by the processor, they queue up in the memory cache. A bigger memory cache allows the processor to work through demanding tasks quickly.

You only really need to worry about this if you plan on running professional-level creative software like Cubase or Photoshop - if you are, look for 4 MB and over. What does memory RAM do? Before they reach the processor computing tasks are stored in the RAM, where the processor picks them up and makes them happen. More RAM allows the processor to take on more at once - vital if you use demanding software. How much memory RAM do I need? Below is the amount of RAM we recommend for different activities.

Browsing the web, updating social media, watching video clips. Researching and writing essays, creating spreadsheets, working on presentations and other office work. Streaming HD films, editing photos - hobby, editing videos - hobby, music production - hobby, gaming - casual.

Graphic design, editing photos - professional, editing videos - professional, music production - professional, graphic design - professional, gaming - enthusiast, CAD design. Screens Screen size is a great way to quickly narrow down the huge amount of choice you have when looking for a new laptop. Until recently the most common laptop size was Which screen size will work for me? View all 12"laptops and below View all 13" and 14" laptops View all 15" and 16" laptops View all 17" laptops and above.

Storage Storage refers to the amount of space your laptop has for software, documents and everything else you save. What is a hard disc drive HDD? What is a solid-state drive SSD? What is a solid-state hybrid drive SSHD? What is an embedded multi-media card eMMC? Screen resolution. Connectivity Connectivity refers to the way your laptop connects to the things around it, including the internet, external storage, screens and other devices.

There are a number of key features to look out for. What is AC WiFi? What is a USB port? What is HDMI? What is VGA? Extra features Along with the main components and features, there are a few other things you might want to consider before choosing your laptop. Do I need a laptop with a long battery life? Do I need a lightweight laptop? View all lightweight laptops View all super lightweight laptops. Is design important? Laptop design has improved dramatically over the last few years, with some particularly design-focused machines becoming incredibly desirable for their looks alone.

Do I need dedicated graphics? How do I get improved audio? Along with high-quality speakers, laptops with improved audio also feature more options to fine tune the sound to your preferences. Branded audio is a great feature for anyone that loves music. Office software. Internet security and antivirus. Avoid risky websites and dangerous downloads.

Keep your kids safe from inappropriate content with parental control. Protect your PC and mobile devices with the same product.

How can I get my software? Extra storage. The Cloud The Cloud is another term for online storage. View all Cloud Storage External storage External storage gives you huge amounts of space to store data. View all mice and keyboards View all webcams View all headsets and microphones. Why should I add a Care Plan to my purchase? Learn more about laptop care plans Get some care and repair service. Get OTP. Store Locator. Create Wishlist. Buy Online. Back Submit. Thank you for creating your desired wish list.

Relevant offers for the selected products will be emailed to you shortly. Recommended Articles. For browsing websites, watching videos online, or doing office work. If you're used to typing on a laptop keyboard that stretches all the way to the edge of the chassis, you're probably going to find laptops that opt for the same or a similar layout to be easier to type on than the alternatives.

Even if you're not versed in the technical details, there's a good chance you've seen the stickers plastered on all new laptops for the silicon giant's Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors. For many users, an Intel Core Processor offer the best performance when it comes to multitasking and multimedia tasks. Core i3-based notebooks are generally found in entry-level systems, while Core i5 makes up the majority of mainstream computers. Core i7-based systems are for those of you who want the best performance from your laptop.

However, note that with a Core i7-based system, heat coming through the base of the laptop can be cause for concern, especially if you plan to actually use the laptop on your lap a lot of the time. Some larger laptops also now incorporate Intel's i9 Core processors.

Laptops running on i9 Core processors are even more powerful than laptops running on i7 Core processors. They're able to rival desktops for performance but they do come with a significantly-higher cost than a laptop with an i7, i5 or i3 Core Processor. There are a few caveats here but since laptops powered by AMD's Ryzen Mobile chips tend to be slightly cheaper than their Intel counterparts, they can represent better value for money. Just be sure to read up on our breakdown of the differences first.

Meanwhile, gamers should look at dialing things upwards all the way to 32GB or beyond if they want the best experience. More RAM allows for more applications to be run at the same time and for more data to be quickly accessible by the system at any one time, which comes in handy for tasks such as editing photos or video content.

There are a few interesting terms that you might see when looking into RAM specs, here's what you essentially need to know about them. There's also usually a number attached. This acronym stands for Double Data Rate and the number that comes after it refers to the generation of component design. As a rule, higher numbers are better than lower numbers here and most motherboards can only support certain generations of RAM.

Thankfully, since you're looking at buying a laptop, you don't have too much to worry about here since no sane OEM is going to stick incompatible RAM into a prebuilt machine. The number that comes after the DDR designation is a little more significant. That's the transfer speed. Similar to the clock-speed on a CPU, this number measures the default theoretical maximum transfer speed. Again, higher is better here. Higher speeds means stuff happens faster.

Another detail to note here is whether or not the RAM in your laptop is single or dual-channel. In most everyday use cases, this might not make a huge difference but, if you're trying to weigh up your options, a laptop with dual-channel is generally more desirable than one with an equivalent amount of single-channel memory clocked at the same transfer speed.

This is because dual-channel RAM is able to transfer a greater amount of data at once. In conclusion, while having more RAM is always going to be better than having less RAM, most users aren't going to feel the difference between having 16GB and having 32GB unless they're running the kinds of RAM-heavy applications where that 16GB or a secondary channel is going to make a big difference.

Since RAM is relatively cheap and often easy to upgrade in modern laptops, it's usually smarter and safer to buy for what you know you need here rather than what you might. This is because they can be slow, somewhat bulky, and produce noticeable heat and noise. Read more The best tablet of Apple vs Sony vs Samsung. In addition, SSD storage is also often more expensive in terms of dollars-to-gigabytes than traditional hard drives.

This allows consumers to get the speed benefits of keeping their operating system on SSD storage while also having adequate storage space for the rest of their data. If you opt to go for something with this dual-drive setup, you'll generally want an SSD with a minimum of GB of storage and a secondary drive with no less than 1TB.

Alternatively, if your laptop only has a single SSD drive at its disposal, you'll want to make sure if includes no less than GB of storage space. The newest, fastest laptops also have NVMe solid-state drives which are even faster than traditional SSDs but also more expensive. If you're buying a new laptop in , you'll want one with an SSD.

However, that being said, don't feel overly pressured to spend extra on the latest model here. While it is true that more recent SSDs boast better speeds than older models, the biggest advantages you're enjoy here are tied more to the fundamental advances that SSDs offer over traditional hard drive storage. Manufacturer-quoted battery life is almost never indicative of what the real-world experience of using a laptop is like.

There are simply too many variables that affect battery life. There is the screen brightness, the screen resolution, the number of applications you have running in the background plus whether or not you actively remain connected to Wi Fi networks or Bluetooth devices.

The operating system a laptop runs on can also play a major role in determining battery life. If you run programs that need lots of processing, stream lots of online video, play graphics-intensive games or if you transfer lots of files over a wireless network, then your battery will drain a lot sooner than what the vendor has quoted. Often called "the brick", this is the block and cord that you use to plug your laptop into a standard wall socket. If your laptop battery won't last long enough for you to leave the brick at home, you'll have to take it with you for recharging, and this can add considerably to the overall weight you have to carry around.

Having a long working time between charges is particularly important for an ultraportable. After all, they lose portability points if you have to also carry the power supply unit and cable with you to charge them. Ideally you want to have a full day of working on-the-go without having to plug it in, but this will depend on what else you have plugged into the laptop drawing power from it.

If you intend to be on the move much of the time, don't get weighed down by having to lug your laptop's power supply unit and cable with you. Look for a model with a long battery life and quick recharge time.

You really don't want to have to to carry the external power supply unit and cable with you. Our battery life tests look at a heavy-usage scenario, to give you an idea of the worst results you're likely to get, though for most people the average daily use will give better life. If you intend to be mobile much of the time, then a long battery life and quick recharge time is important. 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, This is backwards-compatible with previous standards including the previously most popular The emerging standard for newer laptops is Wi-Fi 6 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 there's no "right way up" , but its appearance can be deceptive, as the same-shaped plug is used for several different standards — USB 3. The faster 10Gbps version of this is USB 3. There's also USB 3. Plug in a Thunderbolt device, such as an external SSD, and you have the fastest connection in town.

One of the keys to USB-C's swift adoption is its versatility — the same port can transfer both power and data at the same time and it can also mimic a whole range of other ports — including USB 2. However, stick with the manufacturer's cables and avoid cheap third-party cables and chargers or you may risk damaging your computer and peripherals or worse. Laptops can loosely be classified into several unofficial categories of laptop to suit a variety of needs, though these categories aren't clearly defined.

Many laptops can match the power of mid-range desktop computers, even in the ultraportable category. Laptops come with a screen, keyboard and trackpad built in, though you can usually plug in external devices to use the laptop as a desktop computer.

If you want to regularly use your laptop as a desktop PC then plugging in an external display monitor, keyboard and mouse may improve usability. Most laptops can run the full version of Microsoft's Windows and some may have the option of using Linux or you might download and install it yourself.

Apple laptops run macOS formerly OS X and Intel-based models can also be set up to run Windows using Apple's bootcamp utility to help with the installation.

This gives you the ability to run either macOS or Windows each time you reboot the computer. Alternatively, Intel-based Macs can use a virtualisation program such as Parallels Desktop for Mac , VMware's Fusion or Oracle's Virtual Box software, to run one or more versions of Windows or Linux as 'virtual machines', in addition to the native operating system.

Some Microsoft laptops and tablets run Windows 10 S mode, which is an optimised mode of Windows 10 designed to be more secure and power-efficient. However, it can only load programs that are available on the Microsoft Store online. Windows 10 S mode can be upgraded at no cost to the full Windows 10 Home or Pro at extra cost but only once. If you do it, there's no going back.

Most tablets run iOS or Android, which may not include your preferred programs. Laptops have one notable drawback. Upgrading most laptop components is difficult and in most cases impossible for the average person , as the slim body leaves no room for adding extra components. Plus, many parts are built in permanently and not designed to be replaced. You can usually upgrade the storage though, but that could involve a trip to the maker's workshop.