Nine things to consider before buying a new laptop

Thinking about a new laptop for work, study, or just relaxing at home? Here’s how to pick the right one – with clear, practical advice (and no information overload). And yes, it’s worth a little research before you click “buy now!”

1. Set your budget

Before you start shopping, decide what you can comfortably spend. There are great laptops for most price points, but it’s easy to get carried away. Setting your budget first helps you focus on the features that matter most to you.

2. What will you use it for?

Are you working from home, studying, gaming, streaming, or doing a bit of everything? Your answer will help you focus on what’s important in a new laptop.

• Remote workers and students: Look for a great webcam, a reliable mic, a comfortable keyboard, and USB-C charging. Good battery life and a professional look (no flashy colours or bulky power adapters) are also a good idea.
• Movie fans and streamers: A crisp, bright display and decent speakers make all the difference. For the ultimate movie-watching experience, consider an OLED screen if your budget allows.
• On-the-go users: Light weight, small size, and long battery life matter most. A laptop you can throw in a bag and use easily on a train or aeroplane will make all the difference. For the best portability, aim for a laptop under 1.5kg and with at least 8 hours of battery life.
• Gamers: You’ll want a discrete graphics card (GPU), a higher refresh rate screen, and good cooling. If you’re a serious PC gamer, you’ll already have a good idea of what you need. But if you’re buying for a relative who enjoys more than just casual gaming, look for a laptop with at least an Nvidia RTX 4060/5060 GPU or equivalent.
• Creatives: High colour-accuracy screens and more RAM are key for editing photos and videos. You may also need a more powerful processor – our advice is to research recommended machines for the software you use most.

Tip: Jot down your top three needs before shopping. It’ll help you focus on the right laptops for you.

3. Performance specs (made simple)

It’s easy to get confused by technical details, but the basics are quite simple.

For most people, any new laptop from a major brand will have a processor (CPU) that’s more than powerful enough for web browsing, streaming, office work, and even light creative tasks.

For memory, look for 8GB of RAM as a minimum, but 16GB is a smart upgrade if you do a lot of multitasking and want your laptop to feel speedy for longer. You’re unlikely to need 32GB or more unless you’re into serious gaming, video editing, 3D modelling, running virtual machines, or similar – and you’ll probably know if you’re one of these people.

All new laptops now come with SSD storage, which makes loading quick and silent. For storage size, 256GB is enough for most, especially if you use cloud storage for your files and photos. If you want to keep lots of videos, games or large projects on your laptop, go for 512GB or even 1TB for more breathing room. Checking how much storage you currently use on your old laptop or phone is a good guide to what you’ll need next.

If you’re into gaming, creative work (like video editing), or other graphics-intensive tasks, then it’s worth looking for a laptop with a discrete graphics card (GPU), and a processor model that meets your needs.

Tip: Any modern processor from Intel, AMD, Apple or Qualcomm will be good enough for most people.

4. Ports and connectivity

It’s easy to overlook, but make sure your laptop has the ports you’ll need for your favourite accessories – whether that’s USB-A (‘old-fashioned’ USB), USB-C, HDMI, an SD card reader, or a headphone jack. Some slim laptops skip these, so check before you buy.

Make a list of the accessories you use most often and check any laptop you’re considering has the right ports.

Tip: A laptop with USB-C charging means you can often use the same adapter to charge all your devices.

5. Display quality (and what are nits?)

A sharp, bright display makes everyday use and movie nights much better. Here’s what to look for:

• Resolution: Full HD (1080p) is usually enough, but a higher resolution is great for detail lovers.
• Brightness (nits): The higher the “nits”, the easier it is to see your screen in bright rooms or sunlight. (And yes, we’re talking about screens, not special shampoo!). 250-350 nits is typical, but more is handy especially if you work outdoors or in brightly lit rooms.
• Matte or glossy screen: Glossy screens often look clearer and more vibrant but can suffer from reflections. Matte displays are better at absorbing light, but the display might not look quite as sharp.
• Refresh rate: This is how many times the image on your screen refreshes every second. 60Hz (60 times per second) is standard, but 120Hz+ is great for gaming or ultra-smooth scrolling.

And what about screen size? Choosing the right size of display is often a weigh-up between portability and usability. If you’re happy to have small text and icons on your screen, or you don’t have too many windows open at once, you’ll be OK with a 13/14-inch screen. If your eyes aren’t what they once were though, or you like to keep lots of windows open, you may be happier with a larger 15/16-inch display. Just remember that larger displays mean more size and weight to cart around.

Modern laptops do allow you to adjust your scaling settings, so you can scale up even the smallest display to your heart’s content, but remember, the bigger you make your on-screen elements, the less ‘stuff’ you’ll actually be able to see.

Tip: If you want to watch HDR shows and movies, look for a bright mini-LED or OLED screen.

6. Build quality, keyboard and warranty

A sturdy build and a solid warranty can save headaches down the line. Test the hinge, keyboard, and touchpad if you can – cheap laptops sometimes cut corners on these. And a comfortable keyboard is especially important if you’ll be doing lots of typing.

Tip: Look for at least a one-year warranty and check reviews for any red flags on durability or keyboard comfort.

7. Do I need the latest model?

For most people, the latest laptop isn’t a must. Last year’s models are still fast, reliable and can be much better value. Unless you need the very latest features, it’s always worth looking for deals on recent models.

8. Don’t rely on AI recommendations

AI chatbots can be helpful for talking through your needs, but asking “Which laptop should I buy?” without knowing what features you actually need can sometimes be a mistake.

If you use AI to help, tell it exactly what you need: what you’ll use it for, your must-have features, and your budget. That way, you’re more likely to get helpful, tailored advice. And if it’s searching the web for you, make sure to remind your AI friend to include the latest special offers and discounts.

9. Which operating system?

Windows, Mac, Chromebook? Choose the one you’re most comfortable with. Windows is super-flexible, Mac is user-friendly and popular with creatives, and Chromebooks are great if you’re always online and mostly use web-based apps.

Some readers may find this comment controversial, but there really is no “best” OS – just the best one for you.

That said, we wouldn’t recommend Linux unless you’re happy tinkering – and if you’re an experienced Linux user, you probably don’t need this guide anyway!

Bonus: Are ‘AI’ features worth it?

Some new laptops include AI features like smarter video calls, noise cancellation, smart assistants, or photo editing. These aren’t essential for everyone yet but might be worth considering if you want to future-proof your laptop.

If you see terms like “AI PC” or “Copilot+”, it means the laptop is ready for these new features – but don’t feel pressured if they’re not important for you right now.

A great laptop deserves great broadband!

No matter which laptop you pick, even the best one can’t shine without fast, reliable broadband at home, so make sure your connection is up to scratch too.

To get the best out of your new device, check out Zen’s latest award-winning broadband packages.