The entire selection of laptops featured in our list has undergone thorough practical testing carried out by the team at Mashable. We examined the construction of each laptop and utilized them for various real-life tasks over multiple weeks. These tasks varied, from working on different types of documents, checking emails, streaming videos, snapping photos using their inbuilt webcams, engaging in video calls, listening to music on Spotify, gaming (if applicable), and exploring any distinctive software features they were marketed to possess.

Furthermore, every laptop on our list was subjected to standard industry benchmark software. These benchmarks help replicate real-life tasks to generate scores that we can use to compare different laptops. This is a recent addition to our testing strategy, and it will feature in all our forthcoming laptop reviews.

Evaluating Performance

We assess the overall performance of gaming laptops by utilising the Windows compatible Primate Labs’ Geekbench 6. This software measures the processor’s performance in common tasks, and we document the multi-core scores in our reviews – the higher the score, the superior the performance.

To gauge the graphical abilities of gaming laptops, we play the game Cyberpunk 2077. We chose this game because it is a graphically demanding AAA title that pushes many systems to their maximum performance capacity. If the laptop includes a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics card, we play Cyberpunk once with DLSS tech off and again with DLSS on using the High preset without ray tracing. This helps us assess the machine’s raw GPU power and its AI upscaling performance. We then run the 3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark for gaming PCs and record their scores – again, higher is better.

Battery Life Assessment

For typical laptops we review, we expect to see around nine to ten hours of battery life, with over twelve hours being exceptional. Gaming laptops, however, only need to last a minimum of two hours per charge to receive our approval, though four hours or more is a bonus. For Chromebooks, the expectation is eight hours, but nine to ten hours is more desirable.

To standardize our battery life testing, we perform a video rundown test on MacBook and Windows laptops where we play a looped 1080p version of the open-source Blender movie, Tears of Steel, at 50 percent brightness. For gaming laptops, we use PCMark 10’s battery life test, and for Chromebooks, we use CrXPRT 2’s test.

Going forward, we will be using the Tears of Steel rundown test on all standard laptops. For gaming laptops, we will continue to use PCMark 10’s battery life test.

Concluding Remarks

After thorough hands-on performance testing and benchmark assessments, we make our final suggestions based on whether we believe they represent good value for their cost. Occasionally, a laptop with a higher price tag may still receive our approval if its design and performance are exceptional enough to warrant the extra cost.

We feel it’s important to note that the laptops featured in our list aren’t the only ones we have evaluated. We tirelessly test and assess new models across various categories, and many do not make it to the final selection. Thus, you can expect this guide to be regularly updated as we continue to identify new potential candidates.