General buying advice. The right used laptop is usually the one with enough memory and a fast drive for what you do — not the newest processor.
Start with what you'll do
- Email, browsing, documents: 8GB of memory and an SSD are workable; 16GB is more comfortable with many browser tabs.
- Photo editing, development, many apps at once: 16GB or more, and a recent multi-core processor.
- Gaming: a dedicated graphics card matters more than the processor.
What to check on the listing
- Storage type and size. An SSD makes a bigger difference to everyday speed than most processor upgrades.
- Battery health if you'll use it unplugged — see battery health explained.
- Screen size and resolution, and ports for the monitors and accessories you use.
- Operating system and the "Operating-system activation" line in the test report.
- Condition grade and known faults — a Grade C laptop can be good value if the wear is cosmetic.
Use the store's filters for memory, storage, processor, screen size, and battery health on used laptops, and compare up to four side by side.