Update: Since redesigning this page with information on a number of new and updated tests, we've now updated this space with our new, more consistent product rating methodology for our many buying guides. computer products TechRadar believes in evaluating products based on their value proposition. As such, we consider computing devices including laptops, convertibles and desktops of all sizes based on their own price and other options available on the market. Our review process is also backed by rigorous testing to determine the quality, performance, and battery life of each machine.
Build quality
We start by looking at the design and build quality of a laptop to see how durable it is to the touch and whether it serves its intended purpose. Overall build quality is important, so we go to great lengths to test each system for overall strength and durability. We are also evaluating the functionality of all ports, switches, and locks. Screen quality is taken into account, with controls for brightness, hue regularity, as well as any identified dead pixels. The last part of our early tests looks at the weight of the machine and its relative portability. Next, we rate the overall usability of the machine, including the quality of the keyboard, trackpad, and general user interface.Update and optimization
Before you begin test each laptop by updating the system with the latest patches, firmware updates, and drivers. No device remains frozen in time, and while that means benchmarks are an ever-changing—and often increasing—target, it's part of our technological advancement. To give each machine the benefit of the doubt, we also turned on "high performance mode" before testing. This ensures that the integrated graphics, as well as all the other components inside the laptop, work at their best performance. Similarly, we put laptops in "balanced mode" in power options before battery tests to ensure they don't die prematurely in a setting not intended for use. in the battery.Laptop and desktop benchmarks explained
Because each device is tested against the same set of benchmark tests, its performance can be easily compared to competitive products. Each review is accompanied by the test results of this machine, as well as comparisons with its closest competitors. Before the hands-on part of our tests is covered, the laptop will spend up to 72 hours going through a series of benchmarks to check overall performance. Each machine is set to the same high performance level for all tests except battery life. In this way, we can judge how efficiently it will work to its full potential. We use a series of synthetic tests to measure the components of a laptop. The first, PCMark 8 Battery Life, tests the endurance of the device's battery. We then continue with an anecdotal battery test that further simulates actual use: video playback. (These two elements are detailed in the sections that follow this one.) PCMark 8 performance is also run at the highest performance settings, testing your processor and its ability to multitask and render complex files and graphics. Meanwhile, 3DMark is specifically designed to test the power of laptop graphics processors with various 3D modeling and game physics tests. Specifically, we're running the Sky Diver tests (intended for gaming laptops). and low power devices), Time Spy (DirectX 12 compliant) and Fire Strike (pushing the higher end) 3DMark on each gaming device. We then evaluated the processor's multicore performance via Cinebench, which measures various hyperthreading capabilities, as well as the graphics performance of the processor. Geekbench 3 is also used to measure multi-core and single-core processor performance. Finally, if we're looking at a gaming laptop or desktop, we're using benchmark tools found in Grand Theft Auto V and The Division for PC, to really tax those dedicated graphics chips. Both tests are run at their highest and lowest settings at 1080p resolution, to give an idea of where the device's power limits are in the most common pixel count. Each of these performance tests is run at least twice to ensure an accurate result. If two results for a test vary by more than 100 points, we run the test three times and record the average.PCMark 8 battery life explained
This software tests mobile performance and battery life by simulating common overhead tasks like video chat, web browsing, and document creation when the system is offline. First, all laptops are set to Balanced in power options, if possible. We're also tweaking some advanced settings, including telling the screen and hard drives to never sleep, setting the critical battery level to 5%. Most importantly, this test is done with screen brightness and system volume at 50%, no active radios but Wi-Fi. Any additional lighting is also turned off. With the laptop battery fully charged, we disconnected the main power. PCMark 8 simulates daily use until the battery is almost dry. When complete, PCMark 8 provides an estimate of the total battery capacity in hours and minutes based on how quickly power was depleted during the test. Here's how we came to interpret scores based on past data:- 2 hours - This is not a very energy efficient machine or was not designed for endurance.
- 3 hours: Ultrabooks typically reach the end of this period, as do high-resolution laptops.
- 4 hours: Only the most durable laptops can reach this endurance level or more, although the trend starts around 5 hours in 2017.
Anecdotal explanation of battery life
In addition to using PCMark8 to create a synthetic measure of battery life, we also test the laptops' lifespan over a typical day of use through a common task: video playback. In this real-life test, we run continuous 1080p video on a loop through VLC player and measure the time until the battery is fully discharged in hours and minutes. We run the laptop on a full charge until the machine finally shuts down after the battery dies completely. This test is also done with screen brightness and system volume set to 50%, no active radios but Wi-Fi. Any additional lighting is also turned off and the power settings are set to Balanced if possible.How LaComparacion ranks its IT buying guides
How LaComparacion ranks products in its IT product buying guides depends largely on the scores each product receives. This helps keep our recommendations consistent, but there are a few more details:- No product that gets less than 3.5 stars in a review can be included in a buying guide.
- The rankings are determined by the score and any additional rewards the products have received, in descending order.
- The scoring ties are automatically broken with any additional awards through the following hierarchy: Best in Class, Editor's Pick, Recommended, and Great Value.
- Ties in scoring and awards are broken by exercising editorial judgment, based primarily on value.
- All products that have not yet been rated in a buying guide are automatically rated the lowest until they receive a full review and are rated accordingly.