Which laptop should you buy? Ask the people who own one.
We count what owners report after weeks of use, check what your school, job or software actually needs, and turn both into straight picks. Every number shows where it came from.
Find your guide by what you'll use it for
Students & schools
Laptops for school programs and majors with software rules: exam software like Examplify, why Chromebooks and S mode fail, and what each program asks your laptop to do.
Work software
Laptops for jobs that run Windows-only or heavy software: QuickBooks Desktop, Drake Tax, Xactimate, Case CATalyst, Power BI and big Excel files.
Creative & 3D
Laptops for 3D, CAD, mapping and video: SketchUp, Rhino, Fusion 360, Pix4D, DJI Terra, DaVinci Resolve and Blender, sized by what each program asks for.
Kids & family
Laptops for kids' games and family crafts: Roblox Studio, Minecraft, The Sims 4, Cricut Design Space and embroidery software.
Garage & hobbies
Laptops for the garage, the church media desk and the DJ booth: VCDS, FORScan and HP Tuners, golf simulators, ProPresenter, Serato and rekordbox.
Every claim carries a stamp that says where it came from
We don't run a lab and we never say we tested a laptop. Each figure on a guide is marked with one of these.
- Owner report
- Counted from what owners posted after real use. We say how many owners and where.
- Handled in store
- We used the display unit in a store. We say which store and when. A first impression, not a test.
- Spec only
- Too few owner reports yet, so you're seeing the maker's figures, not ours.
- Withdrawn
- Discontinued or replaced. Kept for people who already own one.