Laptop Rating System
About our Laptop Rating Method: We use a Five Star Laptop Rating System.
The "star" rating is broken down as follows:
Lacking on several levels of performance and/or features.
Average in its category and classification.
An exceptional product based on performance specs, feature set, and build quality.
A perfect laptop based on performance specs, feature set, and build quality.
Each laptop score is finalized on the following criteria:
Business Performance:
Gaming Performance:
Feature Set:
Graphics Quality:
Connectivity:
Weight / Portability:
Battery Life:
Affordability:
Overall Laptop Rating Score:
Please pay particular attention to the Overall Laptop Rating Score in each review. The overall laptop rating score is the culmination of the below thirty different performance and feature set considerations. Also, please note the classification of each laptop (Ultraportable, Standard, Thin and Light etc.) Laptop weight, profile, and battery life may be important considerations for you based on your individual needs and lifestyle.
Laptop Rating Criteria Breakdown
Our criteria for each rating we perform is listed below.
Processor- Low-end: AMD Duron - Pentium Celeron- Pentium 3.
Processor- High-end: AMD Athalon XP - Pentium 4 - Athalon 64.
Amount of RAM-Low-end: 64 to 128MB
Amount of RAM-Mid-Range: 256MB to 512MB
Amount of RAM-High-end: 512MB to 1GB
Size of Hard Drive-Low-end: 6-10GB
Size of Hard Drive-Mid-range: 10-30GB
Size of Hard Drive-High-end: 40-80GB
Video Memory-Low-end: Shared system memory (Integrated Graphics)
Video Memory-Mid-range: 8MB--32MB Dedicated Memory (Video Card)
Video Memory-High-end: 64MB--128MB Dedicated Memory (Video Card)
Display Size/Resolution-Low-end: 12"-13" (600x800)
Display Size/Resolution-Mid-range: 14"-15" (1024x768)
Display Size/Resolution-High-end: 16"-17" (1400x1050+)
Optical Drive-Low-end: No optical drive or external drive
Optical Drive-Mid-range: CD-RW Drive or CD/DVD Combo Drive
Optical Drive-High-end: DVD-R/CD-RW
Connectivity Options-Low-end: 56K Modem only
Connectivity Options-Mid-range: 56K Modem and 10/100 Ethernet
Connectivity Options-High-end: 56K Modem, 10/100 Ethernet, Wireless (Wi-Fi or Bluetooth)
Ports Availability-Low-end: Basic ports; PS2, Serial, Parallel, VGA
Ports Availability-High-end: Basic ports plus USB 2.0, Firewire, Infrared, Media Card Reader
Operating Platform-Low-end: Windows 98 or Windows 2000
Operating Platform-High-end: Windows XP Home or Pro
Battery Life-Low-end: 2 hrs. or less
Battery Life-Mid-range: 3-4 hrs.
Battery Life-High-end: 4 hrs. +++
Weight-Low-end: 8 lbs. plus
Weight-Mid-range: 6-8 lbs.
Weight-High-end: 5 lbs. or less