How I Rate and Score Laptops
When I give a laptop a score, you deserve to know how I got there. No mystery, no made-up numbers to push a sale.
This page explains exactly how my scoring works, who does the reviewing, and what sits behind every rating on the site. The goal is simple: you should be able to trust the number.
Who reviews the laptops
Every review on LaptopsExplained.com is written by me, and I’ve spent over 25 years in the computer industry.
That experience covers:
- Computer sales on the retail floor
- Computer repairs and diagnostics
- Working for major IT distributors
This means my reviews are shaped by real hands-on knowledge, not just spec sheets copied off a manufacturer’s website. I know how these machines actually behave once they leave the box, and I know the tricks the marketing teams use to make a laptop sound better than it is.
I also get my hands on a lot of these laptops in person. Through my work in the industry, I have access to plenty of models, so I can examine them up close rather than judging from photos and paper specs alone.
You can read more about me here.
The six things I score
I rate every laptop across the same six categories. Each one is scored out of 10.
- Value for Money – what you get for the price, judged against current market pricing
- Performance – the processor, RAM, storage and graphics working together for real tasks
- Features – the extras that matter, like webcams, security, ports and build perks
- Design and Build Quality – materials, weight, durability and overall feel
- Display – resolution, panel type, brightness, colour and refresh rate
- Battery Life – real-world endurance, not just the manufacturer’s claimed figure
Scoring every laptop on the same six categories keeps things fair. A budget machine and a premium one are both held to the same yardstick.
How I work out the final score
The headline score out of 10 is a straight average of the six category scores. Each category carries equal weight, and I round the result to one decimal place.
Here’s a worked example:
- Value for Money: 9
- Performance: 8.5
- Features: 8.5
- Design and Build Quality: 8.5
- Display: 7.5
- Battery Life: 8
Add those up and you get 50. Divide by 6, and you land on 8.3 out of 10.
That’s it. No secret weighting, no fudging the numbers. If you want to check my maths, you can by all means.
What the scores actually mean
A number on its own doesn’t tell you much, so here’s how I think about the bands:
- 9.0 to 10 – Outstanding. Among the best you can buy in its class.
- 8.0 to 8.9 – Excellent. A strong choice I’m happy to recommend.
- 7.0 to 7.9 – Good. A solid laptop with some compromises worth knowing about.
- 6.0 to 6.9 – Decent. Does the job, but there are better options around.
- 5.0 to 5.9 – Below average. Only worth it at the right price or for a specific need.
- Under 5 – I’d steer you away from it.
A score is always judged against what else is on the market at the time. A laptop that earns an 8 today will score differently in 12 months time as newer models raise the bar.
What goes into each review
My scores are backed by more than a quick look at the specs. Every review draws on:
- Hands-on knowledge built from years of selling, buying, repairing and using these machines
- In-person examination of many laptops, thanks to the access my industry work gives me
- Retail floor observations, so I see how laptops are priced and pitched in the real world
- Industry intelligence from my contacts at Australian distributors and vendors, which helps me understand pricing behaviour, supply trends, and return rates (hello issues)
- Spec verification using manufacturer documentation and trusted sources, so the numbers I quote are as correct as humanly possible
I pay close attention to the details that genuinely affect your experience. For example:
- I always check whether the RAM is single or dual-channel, because single-channel can be a real drag on performance.
- On gaming laptops, I verify the Total Graphics Power (TGP), since the same GPU at a lower wattage can perform very differently. There’s more on this in my gaming laptop buying guide.
- I separate a manufacturer’s claimed battery life from what you’ll realistically get day to day.
If something matters to your buying decision, I’ll tell you straight.
Pricing and value
Value for Money is a real and the most important category for me, not an afterthought, so pricing is something I take very seriously.
- I check prices across multiple retailers, and spend way too much time doing so to be fair.
- I call out inflated reference prices used to make a discount look bigger than it really is.
- I always suggest trying to price match. There’s no harm in asking.
Where a deal looks too good or too dodgy, I’ll say so.
My independence
This is the part that matters a lot, if not the most.
- I am not paid to give a laptop a higher score. Ever.
- A good review or a bad one earns the score it deserves on the numbers.
- I’m happy to point out flaws, even on popular or expensive machines.
My job is to cut through the marketing spin and give you an honest read, the same advice I’d give a mate standing in front of me at the shop.
Keeping reviews current
Laptops, prices and the market all change, especially in the last 6 months. I add a “Last Updated” date to my reviews so you can see how fresh the information is. If a price shifts or a newer model lands, I’ll revisit the review where it makes sense and where possible (I only have so much time, thank you!).
Questions
If you ever want to know more about how I reached a particular score, I’m an open book, just let me know. My scoring is built to be checked, because a rating you can’t trust isn’t worth much at all.
