What to ignore in computer specifications

Computer specifications are written to sell computers. A small number of them determine how the machine will actually feel to use, and the rest are there to make one model look better than another at a similar price.

Here is which is which.

What genuinely matters

Storage type. SSD or mechanical. This affects perceived speed more than everything else combined. Non-negotiable.

Memory (RAM). 8GB minimum, 16GB if you want it to last. Often not upgradeable later, so buy it at the start.

Storage size. 256GB minimum, 512GB comfortable. Also frequently not upgradeable.

Screen resolution. Full HD (1920x1080) or better. Avoid 1366x768.

Build quality and keyboard. Not on the specification sheet at all, and it determines whether you enjoy using the thing for four years. Go and type on it in a shop.

Battery life, if it will leave the house. Assume about half the advertised figure.

That is the list. Almost everything else is noise for typical use.

What to ignore

Processor generation and model numbers. The difference between an i5 and an i7, or between this year’s chip and last year’s, is invisible for email, browsing and documents. Shops lean on this heavily because it is an easy upsell.

Any current i5, Ryzen 5 or Apple M-series is more processor than most people will ever use. If a machine feels slow, the cause is almost always insufficient memory or a mechanical drive, not the processor.

Gigahertz. A higher clock speed does not reliably mean a faster computer across different chip families. It was a misleading number twenty years ago and it still is.

Core counts, beyond a point. Four cores is plenty for ordinary use. More cores help with video editing and similar work, and do nothing for a browser.

Graphics cards, unless you game or edit video. Integrated graphics handle everything else, including 4K video and multiple monitors. A dedicated graphics card in a general-purpose laptop mostly buys you worse battery life.

“Up to” anything. Up to 12 hours battery. Up to 2Gbps. Measured under conditions you will never encounter.

Bundled software value. “Includes $400 of software” means trial versions that expire and nag until they do.

Wi-Fi 7, and other newest-standard claims. Your home internet connection is almost certainly the limiting factor, not your wireless standard. It will not make anything faster.

Where shops make their margin

Worth knowing, because it explains a lot of the advice you will be given.

Extended warranties. High margin, and largely redundant. Australian Consumer Law already gives you rights to a remedy for a reasonable period regardless of the manufacturer warranty, and those rights exist whatever the shop tells you.

Setup services. You are paying $100 or more for someone to remove software the manufacturer paid to have installed, and to click through the initial screens.

Antivirus subscriptions. Commission, and usually unnecessary.

Accessories at the counter. Cables and adapters carry very large margins. Buy them elsewhere.

The processor upgrade. The easiest upsell because it sounds like the important number, and it is usually the least useful place to put an extra $200. That money is far better spent on memory or storage.

How to shop

Decide what you do first, then find the cheapest machine meeting the five things that matter. Do not start from a budget and work down a specification sheet.

Ignore the salesperson’s opening recommendation. Ask instead: “why is this one better than that cheaper one for what I have described?” A good answer is specific. A poor answer talks about processor numbers.

Type on it. Look at the screen. If you cannot try one in person, at least check the weight and dimensions against something you already own.

Wait for a sale. Australian laptop pricing moves considerably across the year.

The question worth asking somebody independent

Before you spend anything, describe what you actually do to somebody with nothing to sell you.

Roughly half the people who ask me what to buy do not need to buy anything. Their machine needs an SSD and an hour of tidying, which costs about a hundred dollars.

The other half get a realistic budget, which is nearly always lower than the one they were quoted.

I sell nothing and take no commission, which is exactly why the advice is worth having. Ask before you buy, not after. There is also a fuller laptop buying guide.