← All categories

Investigation category

Laptops

A laptop is bought once and configured once. The investigation happens before, not after.

Ultrabooks, professional laptops and workstations, investigated on sustained performance rather than launch-day benchmarks.

Investigate a Laptops Purchase →
Slim aluminium laptop photographed in a dark room
Biggest risk: Under-configuring memory or storage on a machine that can never be upgraded.

What we check for Laptops

01

CPU

Sustained performance under real workloads, not peak boost figures.

02

GPU

Whether the graphics tier matches what you actually intend to run.

03

RAM

Capacity today and whether it can ever be changed.

04

Storage

Drive speed, capacity and replaceability.

05

Display

Brightness, colour and panel type against your working environment.

06

Battery

Real-world runtime reported by owners, not the rated figure.

07

Thermals

Noise and throttling under sustained load.

08

Upgradeability

What can be serviced, and what is soldered for life.

09

Price

Configuration value against the sampled typical range.

Typical subjects

MacBook Pro 14"Ultrabook with OLED panelMobile workstationBusiness laptop

Questions

Questions about laptops.

Read the full FAQ →

Don't just buy.
Know what you're buying.

Before you spend your money, investigate the purchase.

Investigate a Product