Consumer Reports – December 2018

stuf online,” Fisco says, “you don’t need

to have a lot of storage on your laptop.”

That 256GB is enough for macOs or

Windows operating systems (which take

up a minimum of 20GB on their own),

plus a full assortment of applications

and a variety of i les. If you don’t need

to store many photos, videos, or music

i les, you can make do with 128GB—

which could save you about $100.

How Have Chips Changed?

Processors, aka CPUs or chips, are

the brains of any laptop. The majority

of mainstream laptops in stores and

Consumer Reports’ ratings use Intel

Core processors, although you’ll also

i nd laptops with less expensive Intel

Celeron or Pentium processors, and

processors made by AMD.

There are primarily four Core

models, but they have one thing in

common: They combine multiple

processing units, or “cores,” on the

same CPU. These chips are, from least

to most powerful, the Core i3, i5, i7,

and i9. The Core i7 and Core i9 are

aimed at professionals and demanding

gamers, so everyday consumers

can safely focus their attention on

the i3 and i5.

THE BEST CHOICE FOR MOST PEOPLE:

The Core i5 can handle everything most

users will throw at it, and more. The i5

is a “quad-core chip,” with four separate

processing units.

“You can think of it like having

multiple workers,” says Antonette

Asedillo, who oversees computer

testing for Consumer Reports. “Each

worker can be assigned a portion of

a project and work simultaneously,

making the process more e cient.” Not

all applications take advantage of the

multiple cores to speed their operations,

but many do.

The Intel Core i3 is no slouch, and it

would work i ne for most consumers.

But we’ve found that it tends to wind up

in laptops with lower-end specs, such

as older mechanical hard drives and

smaller amounts of memory.

Do I Need Massive Memory?

After wading through multicore

processors and solid-state drives,

it might be a relief to hear that things

are simpler with computer memory,

or RAM. The basics haven’t changed

in decades: Memory is where your

computer temporarily stores i les

that it’s working on. Generally,

more RAM makes things run faster.

But if you’re just using a browser

and reading email, you need less

memory than if you’re using big

graphics programs.

THE BEST CHOICE FOR MOST PEOPLE:

8GB is the sweet spot, our testers

say. That lets you keep multiple tabs

open in Chrome while also listening

to music in Spotify, for example.

Even “heavier” apps, such as

Photoshop, will usually run i ne with

8GB. But if you’re a gamer or graphic

designer, go for 16GB.

Should I Get a 4K Display?

Almost all larger TVs come with 4K

screens these days, and so do a lot

of high-end laptops. These screens

have four times as many pixels as HD

(high-dei nition) screens, and there

are advantages to that: Everything will

look somewhat sharper, it makes it

easier for avid photographers to make

precise edits to their photos, and

many games and movies may

look more detailed.

But there are downsides, too: 4K

displays can cost hundreds more

and make your battery drain faster.

THE BEST CHOICE FOR MOST PEOPLE:

A full HD display (with 1920x1080

resolution) is the best bet, our experts

say. On a laptop’s small screen, the

dif erence in sharpness is subtle, and

for most people the savings in money

and battery life are probably more

important. But if you buy a high-end

machine with an advanced CPU and

lots of memory, a 4K screen may just

come with it.

In that case, relax and enjoy the

added sharpness.

We’ve recently upgraded

our laptop ratings to help

consumers make better, more

informed choices. Going

forward, the Overall Score

will reflect not only the data

recorded by testers in our labs

but also predicted-reliability

and owner-satisfaction data

collected through surveys

of CR members. We believe

the result is a more holistic

picture of product quality

and better reflects how likely

you are to be happy with a

buying decision.

One outcome of this

change is that models from

brands such as Apple—a

manufacturer with Excellent

reliability and owner-

satisfaction scores—can rise

in the ratings, while those from

brands with low satisfaction

scores will tend to drop.

Another change worth

noting: Based on the latest

survey data, Surface laptops

made by Microsoft can once

again be recommended by

CR—their recommendations

were removed in 2017

following that year’s survey.

“Microsoft’s reliability is

now on a par with most

other laptop brands,” says

Martin Lachter, a senior

research associate in our

survey department.

BRANDS

THAT

WON’T

LET YOU

DOWN

ILLUSTRATION:

MARTÍN LAKS

MAN

46 CR.ORG DECEMBER 2018