You asked the IT guy what laptop to buy, so here’s the answer I give most people

I get asked this question all the time:

“What laptop should I buy?”

And usually, that's the entire question.

No budget. No requirements. No idea what they're actually going to use it for. Just: What laptop should I buy?

If you give me absolutely nothing else to work with, my default answer is probably going to be a Microsoft Surface Laptop.

And here's the part that might be a little different: I probably won't tell you to buy the newest one.

You Probably Don't Need the Newest Laptop

People tend to shop for computers the same way they shop for phones. They pull up the manufacturer's website, find the newest model, and assume that's what they should buy. Don't get me wrong, you absolutely can buy the newest one if that is what you want to do. You really cannot go wrong with the newest Surface Laptop. I don't think you need to.

I'll usually start looking a generation or two behind whatever Microsoft is currently selling. Once a newer generation comes out, perfectly capable older models start getting discounted, cleared out, refurbished, or sold secondhand.

That's where you can sometimes get a lot of laptop for a plum steal.

And unless something substantially changed between generations, the person asking me probably isn't going to notice the difference anyway.

But First: What Are You Actually Doing With It?

After giving my knee-jerk Surface recommendation, this is the question I'm going to ask:

What do you want to do with it?

That's way more important than asking what brand you want.

Are you browsing the internet?

Writing papers?

Working in Microsoft Office?

Watching Netflix?

Doing schoolwork?

Programming?

Working remotely?

Taking it on airplanes?

Editing a few pictures?

If that's roughly your world, I'm probably sticking with my original recommendation.

Get the Surface.

If you tell me you're trying to play the newest AAA games, render complicated 3D models, do serious CAD work, train AI models locally, or spend all day editing 4K video, now we're having a completely different conversation.

The Surface isn't automatically a bad computer for demanding work. It just isn't what I'd buy specifically for those jobs.

Why I Like the Surface Laptop

For the average person, I think Microsoft got a lot right with the Surface Laptop.

They're small.

They're light.

They're slick.

They have good displays.

They don't take up half your backpack.

And they're fantastic travel computers.

I've carried around enough computers to appreciate a laptop that actually behaves like a laptop instead of a portable desktop workstation. If I'm sitting in an airport, working from a hotel, throwing it into a backpack, or just moving around the house, I don't necessarily want a giant gaming laptop and its enormous power brick following me around.

I want something I can grab and go.

That's where the Surface Laptop shines.

Don't Buy More Computer Than You Need

This is probably the biggest mistake I see people make when buying computers.

They shop by specifications instead of requirements.

They'll ask whether they should get the model with more cores, more graphics performance, 32 GB of RAM, or some other upgrade without ever stopping to ask whether anything they do actually needs it.

Sometimes the answer is yes.

A lot of times, it isn't.

If your most demanding application is Chrome with 19 tabs open because you refuse to close anything, you probably don't need a $2,500 workstation.

Spend your money where you'll actually notice it.

For a normal everyday laptop, you need something that feels good to mess around on. Something that fits in your lap, has a good battery, fits well in any backpack, and if you can get all that into a clean slick look, all the better. 

So Which Surface Should You Buy?

This is where I wouldn't give somebody a specific model without knowing more.

I'd start with the Surface Laptop lineup, then look backward a generation or two and see what's available.

Then I'd compare:

• RAM
• Storage
• Processor
• Battery condition if it's used or refurbished
• Overall condition
• Price

For most people, I'd prioritize 16 GB of RAM before worrying about having the absolute newest processor. I'd also make sure you're buying enough storage for how you actually use your computer.

Then I'd compare the price against the newest equivalent model.

If last year's laptop does everything you need and costs hundreds less, I know which one I'm buying.

When I Wouldn't Recommend One

This is rare when talkingtThere are definitely situations where my recommendation changes.

Tell me you want a gaming laptop and we're going to start talking about dedicated GPUs.

Tell me you're doing serious 3D rendering and we're looking at workstation-class hardware.

Tell me you're doing heavy video production and now processor, GPU, memory, storage speed, cooling, and screen quality become much bigger parts of the conversation.

There isn't one universally "best" laptop.

There's a best laptop for what you're trying to do.

But that's exactly why the Surface Laptop is my default answer when someone doesn't give me any other information.

It covers what a huge percentage of people actually need a laptop to do, comes in a package that's easy to live with, and you don't necessarily have to spend a fortune to get one.

My Answer

So, if you walk up to me tomorrow and say:

“Hey, what laptop should I buy?”

I'm probably going to say:

“I'd look at a Surface Laptop.”

Then I'm going to ask:

“What are you trying to do with it?”

If your answer doesn't include gaming, 3D rendering, or another seriously demanding workload, there's a pretty good chance my recommendation isn't going to change.

And before you spend full price on the shiny new model, we're going to look at the previous couple generations.

Because the best laptop isn't necessarily the newest one.

Sometimes it's the really nice one everybody forgot about when the new model came out.