We don’t run a lab and we don’t buy laptops to test them. Our picks come from three kinds of evidence: what owners report after real use, what the software or school says the laptop must have, and short checks in stores. Every claim on a guide says which one it rests on.
The stamps on every page
- Owner report
- Counted from what owners posted after using the laptop. We say how many owners and where their posts came from.
- Handled in store
- We used the display unit in a store. We say which store and when. It’s a first impression, never a test.
- Spec only
- Too few owner reports to say anything yet, so you’re seeing the maker’s figures, not ours.
- Withdrawn
- Discontinued or replaced. Kept for people who already own one.
What owners report
We read what owners write in public: maker communities, enthusiast and trade forums, and retailer reviews. We look for posts about one exact model from people who have used it for a while, and we leave out duplicates and anything that reads like a paid or free-product review.
When a guide gives a share of owners, such as how many mention fan noise, it says how many posts that share comes from and over what dates. Small samples are labelled as small.
What the software asks for
Most of our guides start from a program: exam software, tax and accounting software, CAD, mapping, games. We read the software maker’s own system requirements and, for schools, the program’s technology page. We link each source and say when we checked it. If your program’s or employer’s page says something different from ours, theirs wins.
What we do in a store
When we can, we spend about ten minutes with the display unit and the same checklist every time: hinge, keyboard, trackpad, screen, ports, fan noise and build. We note the exact model on the shelf tag. A display unit isn’t a laptop you’ve lived with, so we call this a first impression, never “tested”.
Where we use AI
We use AI tools to help collect and sort owner posts and to draft pages. Before a page goes live, each figure on it is checked against the source it cites, and those sources are listed on the page. If a figure can’t be traced to an owner post, a requirements page, a store visit or a spec sheet, it doesn’t run.
What we won’t do
- Say we tested a laptop we only read about
- Invent owners, reviews, ratings or scores out of ten
- Let a brand or retailer pay to change a pick
- Repeat a “was” price we never saw a laptop sell at
Corrections
Found a wrong number, or a requirement that has changed? Tell us. We fix it, date the change and note it at the bottom of the page.
How we make money
When you buy through a link on our site, the store may pay us a commission. You pay the same price, and it never decides which laptop we pick. How we make money