Laptop Buying Guide (2025): How to Choose the Right PC (Step-by-Step Guide)

For some people, it may be useful to think through the program that you need to run and better operating systems will help you identify the devices you need. And let’s not forget: Chromeos and Linux are still alternative options. Therefore, here is how the four operating systems available.

Windows: Windows is a strong virtual operating system. Windows is the broader and most used operating system, and supports the largest number of applications and devices. This may be required in your workplace or because you need to run a specific application. But more importantly, for the purchase of a laptop, it gives you go with Windows 11, the largest set of devices to choose from. Due to its open nature, new laptops come out throughout the year, starting from cheap laptops to the gameplay for games. There is even a variety of 2 -in -1 laptops that must be observed, with adventure designs and integrated touch screens. Regardless of your budget, you will have an easier time to find something in the environmental Windows system that suits you.

McCosApple’s MacOS is more suitable for beginners more than Windows, but is tightly associated with the company’s devices. Your purchase options are limited to Macbooks. Since Apple uses its chips and Macbooks is a completely different monster, we have a separate guide to choose the best MacBook devices. If you have already been purchased in Apple Ecosystem with iPhone or iPads, MacBooks has many software features (such as Airdrop and comprehensive control) that are legally comfortable.

Chromosome: If you can do most of the laptop tasks in the web browser and try to provide some cash, the Chromeos is a good option. Chrome (called Chromebooks) is also among the cheapest (and less power) you will find, so the operating system is also worth considering a narrow budget. Although Chromebooks are often linked to school laptops, the dirt that is loaned to high schools, they have grown to become more than that. The appointment of “Chromebook Plus” was launched in late 2023, a way to emphasize high -verdicts that use faster processors, more memory, more storage, and best video cameras, such as Samsung Galaxy Plus. The same restrictions are still present. You cannot run the Creative Adobe or Microsoft Office suite. Some applications, especially Office, have an Android phone/tablet/tablet version may Be able to install on Chromebook (or web version), but I found that Android applications do not work well. Read our best chromebooks guide for more.

Linux: If you do not need MS Office and do not mind the learning curve, you can install Linux on any piece of laptops that have been created at all. As with Chromeos, Catch here is that common applications like MS Office and Adobe’s Creative Suite do not support Linux. However, there are free and open source alternatives such as Libreoffice and Darktable (Adobe Lightroom) and GIMP (Adobe Photoshop). See the best Linux laptop guide for some of our preferences. And if you are wondering about the support of Linux on the new CPUS Snapdragon X from Qualcomm … it is in business. There is a trial version of Debian that you can firm now, but it is still harsh around the edges. The Qualcomm road map indicates that full support may be at least at least six months.

Understand the names of processors (central processing units)

Once you know the operating system you want and you have an idea of ​​the program you will run, you can learn the minimum specifications of the devices you will need. The first thing we propose is to look at the processor, which is also referred to as the chip or central processing unit. These days, there are four competitors in the laptop space that you need to know.

For decades, some things in Tech were distinctive like the Intel “Core I” brand. CPUs are complex (usually include a series of numbers), but you can always know that Core I7 was faster than Core i5. Intel introduced a new brand in 2023, which exchanged “Core i5” to “Core Ultra 5.”

The latest generation of Intel chips, for example, is the fifteenth generation of processors, also known as Intel Core Ultra Series 2. You will know that you are getting the latest chips according to the first number in SKU. For example, the most common laptop chip in this line is the basic Ultra 78V. Once you are in the right generation, the message at the end of SKU is also very important, especially in this current generation of chips. Here is the simplest collapse: