How to Buy a Laptop – Ultimate Guide (2024)
Thanks to Lexar for sponsoring this video! This entire video was shot on an iPhone 15 Pro, recording directly to their Armor 700 SSD. You can purchase the Lexar Armor 700 and get 10% off with code LTTLEXPSSD at: https://lmg.gg/LexarArmor700. (Coupon code is valid from 8/24 to 8/31 and can be applied to the Armor 700 and SL500 portable SSDs.)
Back-to-school season is here! You might need a new laptop, but with all the options out there, it can make your head spin. That’s why we came up with the ultimate guide on how to buy a laptop. Watch along as we give tips on what to look for when purchasing your next laptop.
Discuss on the forum: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1580553-how-to-buy-a-laptop-ultimate-guide-2024/
Check out some laptops you might want to consider:
Budget Friendly Gaming Laptops:
MSI Cyborg 14 – https://lmg.gg/SC7fT
Acer Nitro V 15 – https://lmg.gg/LjSrw
Dell G16 – https://lmg.gg/8jQiV
Thin & Light Laptops:
Acer Aspire 3 15 – https://lmg.gg/4IymH
HP Pavilion Aero – https://lmg.gg/Ai0fE
Framework 13 – https://lmg.gg/tPcrU
Chromebooks:
Acer Chromebook Plus 515 – https://lmg.gg/DdEmz
Creator Focused Laptops:
Dell XPS 9440 – https://lmg.gg/sTyDE
HP Spectre 16 – https://lmg.gg/kMWIz
High End Gaming Laptops:
ASUS G14 – https://lmg.gg/4jd4R
Dell M18 R2 - https://lmg.gg/fTsEC
ASUS Vivobook S 15 – https://lmg.gg/ZMAog
Samsung Book4 Edge – https://lmg.gg/9WxpO
MacBooks:
Apple MacBook Pro M3 14″ – https://lmg.gg/6sNSM
Apple MacBook Air M2 13” – https://lmg.gg/T6F9b
Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.
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MUSIC CREDIT
—————————————————
Intro: Laszlo – Supernova
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKfxmFU3lWY
iTunes Download Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/supernova/id936805712
Artist Link: https://soundcloud.com/laszlomusic
Outro: Approaching Nirvana – Sugar High
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngsGBSCDwcI
Listen on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/UxWkUw
Artist Link: http://www.youtube.com/approachingnirvana
Intro animation by MBarek Abdelwassaa https://www.instagram.com/mbarek_abdel/
Monitor And Keyboard by vadimmihalkevich / CC BY 4.0 https://geni.us/PgGWp
Mechanical RGB Keyboard by BigBrotherECE / CC BY 4.0 https://geni.us/mj6pHk4
Mouse Gamer free Model By Oscar Creativo / CC BY 4.0 https://geni.us/Ps3XfE
CHAPTERS
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0:00 Intro
1:22 What do YOU need your laptop for?
2:30 A “faster” laptop isn’t necessarily better
4:00 How to choose the right CPU
6:47 What about Snapdragon laptops?
8:10 Budget laptops and Chromebooks
10:12 Upgrade your old laptop
12:34 Laptop display tips
17:00 The all-important trackpad
17:30 Keyboard tips
18:23 Weight and battery
19:15 Nice to haves
20:26 Outro
Hey yall, i can’t figure out what wattage/power the GPU of the MSI Katana A15 AI B8VF-437US currently sold at costco is. I’ve been clicking everywhere and just can’t find it :/ anyone know how I’d determine this? other than maybe just buying it, looking in MSI afterburner?
At this point, my advice is to get the cheapest ThinkPad that officially supports Windows 11. No, it’s not going to blow anybody away, and there are certainly better options if you’re more tech-savvy (older, even cheaper thinkpads with Linux). But, for the average person, you’re not going to get much more bang for your buck then a used ThinkPad. It is unfortunate that Windows 10 support is going away in October and that Windows 11 is so restrictive, because there are thousands and thousands of perfectly good machines for about $150 on eBay that could last you 10 years. If you know your way around Linux, I don’t know if I could reasonably recommend anything else to anyone without some specific use case that needs really high-end hardware.
Searching for old corporate lenovo thinkpads to upgrade and game on
What laptop should I get ? Best for business (office, outlook) and video display and editing and music playback through bluetooth connected hifi ?
3:25
what does it mean when there’s a 0 where the 4 is supposed to be💀💀💀💀 like 4300U
Wont change me . . . Im a thinkpad user
Bookmark for later
1:55
8GB of ram is not good enough for 2024? Man, nobody told my poor Yoga with 4GB running Fedora in 2025 hahaha
Great recap!
i got an asus tuf f15 with an rtx3050 so i guess ill pass
Thank you so much for this video. Very interesting.
This is not dummy proof just show me The best overall ,the best for the money overall , and the best for budget categories
Guess Lenovo didn’t make the list. I just sold my mega 7800x3d with 64 RAM, 3TB Storage, PowerColor AMD Spectral 7900xtx, and lot’s of lights. And the OLED g8 Ultrawide Monitor.
I got a "cheap" 650 dollar LOQ, and man I just I’m having more fun here. I can actually move and sit comfortably now while gaming.
Get the one with good graphic cards, vram and TDP
AV1 FTW
Just got my first gaming laptop ebay certified from the Acer store itself. Pristine $650 with tax AND RGB keyboard.
Acer Nitro 5 An515 58 56CH
i5 12500H
16gb ddr5 dual channel
2 m.2 slots
RTX 4050 6gb
Thing is a beast.
Uhhh Linus acknowledge me beo why are you blonde ???
Can someone help me out I need a cheap used laptop under $200 and thats able to run Minecraft (I like simple games don’t judge)
Hey there. I wanna buy a new gaming laptop and I hesitate about the MSI Katana 17 with 1to ssd 16Go ram and RTX 4070 i7 13620h 13th gen
This is genuinely so helpful omg <3 I’ve been trying to figure out what laptop to get for school but it’s been so hard this helped me more than any other video I really appreciate it!
My daughter is 9 years old and shes into coding and robotics. We have signed up for a robotics course that requires a laptop what should i get ?
10:46 Bro, I’m using 4GB DDR3 laptop for about 10 years! So, should I upgrade it?
Please remake you can get a RTX 4070 laptop for 1K USD now
watched this after buying a laptop. I ended up with victus 16 with a RTX 4060 and Ryzen 7 for 1,031$ cause it was on sale with a free monitor to. I’m really happy with it
Had to turn those off after one minute.
The guy sounds like a Barbie Doll.
Mountain like Montreal i love the name
Should I get a MacBook Air m2 for college?
His enthusiasm always makes his videos better
1. Get 1000 dollars (usd)
My laptop broke a few days ago it was using a Intel i5-3340m and 4gb DDR3 ram
Christ ,guys if you’re doing mostly in browser stuff 8gb of Ram IS enough.
What’s the best laptop for bedroom media? 😏
I run WoW on my 2019 dell inspiron 17”. The settings are turned down and the fan is loud, but it runs great
1. Screen size
2. Never buy a "gaming" laptop. Ugly leaf blowers.
..
the rest
you guys are either noobs or anti-consumer
Still using Elitebook 840 G3
4:43 What laptop is that?
10:00 how do you find schools and businesses to purchase from??
hell yeah
i recently found the programm "Alcove" for mac, wich makes the notch less stupid might be worth a look
As a music producer, and I hate to admit it, the MacBook Pro is the only choice.
Ignoring the quality difference, how cheap are the Windows laptops after you pay for all that Microsoft and Adobe Rentware? Not to mention all the software you have to buy to get the 85 Productivity, Creative and Utility Apps that come with your Mac.
Good luck with getting any help or support from your PC seller, after you have paid for your laptop. They don’t want to know you. Compare that to the forever help you get from Apple Stores, even if you have not bought your Mac from them.
0:20 omg thats so fucking true LMAO literally what happened to me when buying the Acer Nitro V16
19:22 the rest of the WHAT makers
Honestly, if you aren’t gonna play heavy games on laptops, don’t bother with a laptop that has a dGPU. It will have significantly worse battery life, lose half its performance when unplugged, and usually have either higher fan noise, more heat felt, or both. With the exception of laptops like the Zephyrus, gaming laptops tend to be worse built as well imo, with a lot of deck flex and usually uncomfortable keyboards. Integrated graphics have gotten good enough for decent gaming. Obviously, they are not gonna beat a gaming laptop at the same price, but you can enjoy it retaining most of its performance unplugged, having way better battery life, and they run 15-30W so they are much easier to keep cool and quiet. And you can use standard USB-C chargers. You know the Steam Deck? Yeah, most higher end integrated graphics are gonna double the performance of that by now.
Good iGPUs to look out for:
Apple – M2 or better
Intel – Arc 130V or better
AMD – 780M or better
can i also reccomend a asus zenbook 14 oled? Its a very good, relatively cheap laptop with decent specs!
I was in the market for a new laptop. My only criteria was that Linux Mint was installed. All I got was a stupid look from the salesman. I took the cheapest Acer and installed Linux myself.
Would like 512g 16g oled or as good as oled colours long battery ,super light and thin . at least 14- 14.5 …been looking and going crazy ..lenovo Acer hp Asus dell …confused like im taking diazepam …any one got any idea with these specs please ???? Cheers btw have no idea about computers. Max 1500Aud and at that price it has to have dimonds and gold on it . Never bought laptop or computer before getting on a bit ..so technology not good at
Why is Zach Sabre Jr trying to sell me laptops.
6:49