How we tested
Mashable staff subjected every laptop on this list to rigorous hands-on testing that inspected them for build quality and used them for a variety of real-world tasks over a period of several weeks, including working with different types of documents, checking email, watching videos, taking photos with the webcam, participating in video calls, listening to music (via Spotify), playing games (where available), and experimenting with the proprietary software features and use cases they claim to support.
Additionally, all of the laptops we feature here are built to run industry-standard benchmarking software. We run these benchmarks to replicate real-world tasks and generate scores that make it easier to compare the performance of different laptops. We’ve recently started incorporating these benchmarks into our testing, and going forward you’ll probably see them in all our new laptop reviews.
Performance Benchmarks
To evaluate the overall performance of your Windows laptop, Primate Labs Geekbench 6measures how well a processor performs in several common tasks. In the review, we record each multi-core score. The higher the score, the better.
To know the graphics performance of a gaming laptop, play Cyberpunk 2077 We chose this game because it is a graphically intensive AAA title that will push the performance limits of many systems. If your laptop has a discrete/dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics card (as opposed to an integrated GPU built into your CPU), Cyberpunk We ran two tests, once with DLSS tech turned off and once with DLSS turned on, using the High preset without ray tracing, which tests the raw GPU power of the machine and its performance with AI upscaling, respectively.
Following this 3DMark Time Spy Benchmark your gaming PC and record your score. Again, the higher the better.
Battery Life Benchmark
The Windows laptops we review should ideally have a battery life of around 9-10 hours, with 12+ being ideal. Gaming laptops are a different story: to earn our approval, they need to last at least 2 hours on a single charge, with extra points if they hit the 4-hour mark.
So far, we’ve evaluated the durability of laptops in a few different ways (more on this later). We’ve done tests on the Asus Zenbook Duo, Lenovo Legion 9i, and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3. UL Solutions PCMark 10 Battery life test at maximum brightness. This benchmark runs a series of apps and functions until the machine grinds to a halt.
We ran the video rundown test on an Acer Swift X 14, an HP OmniBook X, a Yoga 9i and a Surface Laptop 7, playing the 1080p version on a loop. Tears of SteelA short open source Blender movie, 50 percent brightness.
To standardize battery life testing methods, Tears of Steel We will be doing a rundown of all Windows laptops from now on, and for gaming laptops we will be using PCMark 10’s battery life test.
lastly
After evaluating a laptop’s real-world performance and benchmark test results, we make a final recommendation based on whether it offers overall value for the price. Sometimes an overpriced laptop can be tolerated if it looks and works so well that it’s worth the trouble of hunting for a sale (as is the case with the Legion 9i).
It’s worth mentioning that these aren’t the only Windows laptops we’ve tried. We’re constantly testing and rating new models in different categories, many of which don’t make it to the final selection. With that in mind, you can expect this guide to continually evolve. We’re always on the lookout for new top contenders.