How we test laptops at ZDNET in 2025

We test dozens laptop every year at ZDNET and our testing process uses a dual approach. On one hand, we run a series of benchmarking programs to collect important system data and metrics. Otherwise, we approach laptops the way any average consumer would, considering ease of use, style, durability, and battery life.

Also: Best laptops: Tested and reviewed by experts

Our core testing philosophy is simple: while data collection is imperative, numbers are not the whole story. Laptops can be very personal and so the visual, human element cannot be overlooked, and we take that into account when writing our reviews.

How we test laptops in 2025

You only get one first impression, and when we review a new laptop, we always keep initial impressions in mind before diving into the data. As we set up the laptop’s operating system, connected to Wi-Fi, and logged in with any relevant credentials, we took note of how smoothly the boot process went. Is it quick and painless? Or is it a lot of clicking to go through all the product offers and bloatware? (Windows 11I’m looking at you.)

We give all the devices we test an equal footing by starting with the latest updates to the device’s operating system, as well as all relevant drivers. for GPU, BIOS and hardware. It can be easy to ignore these updates, but you don’t need me to tell you that not updating your computer can lead to some strange behavior.

Core components of laptops

These are the most important core system metrics we look at during testing:

• Processor (CPU): This is the “brain” of the laptop, and one of the most important factors determining performance. The four largest manufacturers that make most of the CPUs in laptops today are Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Apple (in their machines only).

• DAM: Random access memory acts as your computer’s short-term memory and participates in multitasking as you edit documents, run multiple applications, and most importantly — browse the web. The amount of RAM your computer has is measured in gigabytes (GB) and starts at 8GB, then goes up to 32GB or more.

• Warehouse: Also measured in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB), where one terabyte is approximately 1,000 gigabytes. This is the storage bank where files, documents, photos and videos are stored on your computer. Most laptops today come with at least 128GB of storage, some can go up to 1, 2 or more terabytes.

• Graphics processing unit (GPU): Whether integrated into a CPU or a dedicated graphics card, how well a machine handles graphics is an important factor when performing demanding visual tasks like video editing, rendering and all. Gaming of course.

• Display: The size of the screen (measured diagonally from corner to corner) also determines the overall size of the laptop and is almost always included in the model name. Screens run a wide range of colors as they often play a large role in the cost of a laptop. On lower-end machines, you’ll see lower brightness (measured in “nits”) and lower resolution. Higher-end laptops often have OLED screens, which are often the most pleasing to the eye, along with high refresh rates (120Hz or higher).

• Port selection: Different people will have different needs when it comes to ports. We always determine what’s available and how port selection fits the device’s target use case.

• Physical form factor: Finally, the overall appearance and physical form factor of the laptop includes its weight, thickness, keyboard and touchpad feel, and whether it has a screen that can be folded to form a laptop. tablet or touch screen or not.

What makes a laptop recommended by ZDNET?

Obviously, there are many factors that go into the final assessment of a laptop beyond simply “good” or “high performance.” Yes, feature sets are ultimately subjective, but we recommend a laptop when it meets the following requirements:

• Expected: First and foremost, is the laptop performing as expected? If a laptop is marketed as a gaming console, how well does it run high-end games? If it’s a laptop designed for creators, will it handle video and photo editing effectively? Understanding what a laptop is designed to do — and how well it performs in that regard — goes a long way toward being recommended.

• Value: The value of a laptop is not just about how good it is at its price. A more accurate way to judge its value is to look at how well it performs in its price point. A $500 laptop will look like a $500 laptop. Like a $1,000 laptop should feel twice as fast. We pay special attention to laptops that deliver more performance than their price suggests.

• Efficiency: No need to beat around the bush anymore. When it comes down to it, laptops are highly recommended show. They are fast, effective and easy to use. Whether that means browsing the web easily on a $300 Chromebook or rendering 4K video projects on the top-end MacBook Pro, the scale is different but the core idea is the same: high performance is weak key factor.

• Excellent: A highly rated laptop will punch above its weight in many respects. We want to highlight laptops that not only meet the standard but exceed it in design, battery life, display, performance or value.

Benchmarks and system data

To gather detailed information about a laptop, we run several different diagnostic programs that provide quick summaries of the computer’s hardware and software. There are quite a few programs that can do this: SiSoftware Sandra is one such trustworthy program, as well GPU-Zprovides all the details you could want about your computer’s graphics processor.

We then run a series of benchmark tests that put the computer’s hardware through the wringer to see what they’re capable of. Cinebench is one of the most commonly used hardware test suites, testing the rendering performance of laptops on single and multiple core CPUs, then comparing these numbers with other machines. PCMark 10 is another powerful suite of benchmarking tools that covers a variety of tasks performed in the modern workplace.

Also: Best OLED laptops: Tested and reviewed by experts

Geekbench is another industry-standard testing program that provides scores for your laptop processor’s performance in a variety of use case categories. For example, how well the CPU handles common everyday tasks like file compression, navigation, and browsing in productivity workloads as well as developer and machine learning workloads.

Other benchmarking software applications we regularly use include 3DMarktest your laptop’s graphics performance (especially important for gaming laptops) and JetStream2a browser-based benchmarking tool that we run on Chromebooks.

After completing multiple metrics-driven tests, we will compare the test results with the manufacturer’s claims. In most cases, the data is close to the advertised numbers, but occasionally we will see some outliers that prompt additional investigation or testing, note this in the final evaluation of the device. bag.

Finally, depending on any appropriate use cases, we may further test the laptop’s performance in specific areas. For example, if a machine is aimed at creators, we’ll run photo and video editing software, while testing a gaming laptop wouldn’t be complete without launching some games.

In these cases, we pay special attention to the performance of the laptop’s GPU, how the display handles rendering tasks, and performance when multitasking while running performance testing software. selective.

How we test laptop batteries

Battery life is one of the things that all consumers care about. No matter what type of device you’re using and whether it costs $300 or $3,000, if your laptop is broken it’s useless.

We approach testing the device’s battery in a similar way. Basically, the idea is to let the laptop run as long as possible at a moderate load. First, we made sure that screensaver and hibernation were turned off, as well as any battery-saving performance modes (although running tests in that mode is also valuable; this is just a separate test).

Also: Laptops with the best battery life: Tested and reviewed by experts

We then set the display’s brightness and audio to 50%, turned off any RGB backlighting or keyboard, loaded the YouTube live stream in Chrome, set a timer, and waited for it to finish. In my experience, battery life is one of those metrics that has changed a lot over the past few years, and it just keeps getting better. With new innovations in AI-powered chips, battery life has exploded to levels that just a few years ago were considered nearly impossible.

With this in mind, it’s more important than ever to test every laptop we review to get to the bottom of manufacturers’ sometimes “ambitious” claims.

Human factor

As we mentioned earlier, metrics and system data are important, but numbers alone don’t give you the whole picture. This is where we weave in our personal experiences with the device and tap into real-life use cases that consumers really care about.

Laptop manufacturers always keep a specific demographic in mind when they design a new model, so this is where knowledge of that aspect of marketing comes into play. If a computer is designed specifically for video and photo editors, how well do industry-standard programs like Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and OBS really run?

Also: Best lightweight laptops: Tested by experts

For productivity-focused laptops, how long do their batteries last? Can they multitask on three screens as advertised?

Ultimately, our goal here is to break down the capabilities of each laptop we test into easy-to-understand terms that real people might find useful. There’s a lot of noise and confusion when navigating the laptop and desktop consumer markets, so we hope to bring an intuitive element to the entire process by leveraging decades of experience. century of our group.