Aug 27, 2026 · 32 min
Laptop buyers face higher prices and tougher RAM tradeoffs
How to buy a laptop when everything’s expensive
With prices rising and memory shortages reshaping value, the right laptop increasingly depends on workload, age, and willingness to buy used.
- 1Windows buyers should increasingly treat 16GB of RAM as a baseline, while Apple’s M-series machines can remain capable with less.
- 2Used and certified-refurbished laptops can stretch a budget, but buyers must verify condition, pricing, and hardware generations carefully.
- 3Gaming shoppers pay primarily for graphics performance and should expect compromises in display settings, portability, build quality, or battery life.
Don't miss
Antonio DiBenedetto’s laptop-buying rubric brings together price, performance headroom, screen quality, and the risks of compromised budget machines.
The brief
Rising prices and limited RAM have made laptop shopping less about finding a universally good deal and more about matching hardware to the work it must handle.
Antonio DiBenedetto argues that 16GB is increasingly important for Windows laptops, while Apple’s M-series machines can remain usable with 8GB in some cases.
Used and certified-refurbished laptops offer an escape from inflated new-device prices, but third-party marketplaces demand careful checks of condition, history, and value.
For gaming, the GPU sets the ceiling: modest hardware can handle indie and older titles, while demanding modern games require lower resolution or graphical settings.
The practical buying rule is to preserve performance headroom, avoid compromised screens, and compare any Black Friday discount with historical pricing before waiting.
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