17 Best Cardio Exercises To Do At Home To Burn Calories

Table of Content

• Standing alternating toe touches
• Minute bodyweight cardio workout
• Latest In Fitness
• Why you need cardio and how much
• Box Jump

It is best to begin small, by climbing one stairwell. You can then progress to one-minute increments once you get comfortable. However, do listen to your body and watch out for sharp pains. If you are short on time or you do not have the money to join a gym, doing cardio exercises at home can be an excellent option.

Erin Heger is a freelance journalist located in the Kansas City area. She primarily covers stories related to healthcare policy, maternal mental health, parenting, and personal finance. Her work been featured in The Atlantic, Rewire.News, Refinery29, HuffPost, and more.

Standing alternating toe touches

Try to increase the number you can do over time. For those of you who are ready to step up to advanced cardio workouts at, then you will need a jump rope as well as a kettlebell. It doesn’t have to be heavy—it’s actually best if it’s not because you’re going to do a lot of reps with it.

Cardio exercises have significant benefits for the body including improving heart health, building stamina, and reducing the risk of chronic diseases. According to a report published by the experts atJohn Hopkins Medicine, 30 minutes of heart-pumping cardio exercise per day, at least 5 times a week, is an ideal goal to be healthy. If you enjoy the outdoors instead of working out in a gym, you can easily burn fat and burn calories by combining brisk walking, swimming, or biking with the exercises given below. If you notice that it takes a while to get your heart rate up, then it may be time to increase the intensity.

Minute bodyweight cardio workout

“Lift your hips off the floor and walk backward using your arms and legs, keeping your weight evenly distributed between your arms and legs,” explains Watson. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees and hips bent. Lean forward slightly and brace your core. Exhale and send your left leg behind you and bring your hands to the floor for support in a warrior 3. Take a big inhale and reach out through the top of your head and through your back foot.

Their mortality risk was even lower than participants who engaged in moderate-intensity walking for exercise. In our opinion, all workouts should include kettlebell swings. They do wonders for your posterior chain and shoulders, as well as your core. The showcase kettlebell swings, among many other exercises.

Latest In Fitness

Lower your leg and repeat with the other knee. Stand with your legs together and arms at your sides. ACTIVE is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators. Continue alternating as you increase your speed until it seems like you’re running in place. Completing both sides equals one rep.

Where and how could she get the best deal? Then, after amassing her information, she made her case to me, capping it off with a 30-day free trial and free shipping. As usual, she won, and I went along with the purchase. My thinking was the worst that could happen is that we’d have to pay to have it shipped back to the manufacturer. Begin by warming up with two minutes of jogging in place or jogging around your home. Do 2 sets of 20 reps each, improving the reps to 50 with practice.

How to Do Cardio Workouts at Home With No Equipment

Jump into starting position before jumping back into a squat, reaching your left hand up and right hand down. Brace your core, pull your shoulders down, and swing your arms back. Quickly swing your arms up, jump, and switch legs. Quickly swing your arms upward and jump. Before designing your workout routine, pick an area in your home with enough space for movement. You should be able to lie down, jump and move side-to-side.

Begin in a standing position and move into a supported squat with both hands on the ground. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands behind you. Many athletes do squat jumps because the calves, glutes, hamstrings, core and quads get a good workout.

Let your arms rest beside your body, and keep your feet together. Get down into a quarter squat position very quickly. Swing your arms and push your feet off the ground and jump on to the box.

A whopping 72% said they thought the pandemic would make gyms "a thing of the past." Slam balls are also wonderful at building strength while getting you to breathe extra heavy. They can be used for wall balls, a large medicine ball for an unstable surface, or you can slam them.

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You can cool down the same way and with the same duration from vigorous to light intensity. Reserve the stretching after the cool-down. From a supported squat, plant your palms with your arms extended on the mat. Kick your feet back into a plank position with your toes on the mat.

Another cardio workout at home that might bring you back to your childhood is jumping jacks. Similar to burpees, doing jumping jacks for 10 minutes straight can burn around 100 calories. You can easily integrate jumping jacks into a circuit training that includes some of the other exercises on this page, such as burpees, jumping rope and squat jumps. With no equipment necessary, you can perform jumping jacks anywhere at any time. You can choose any combination of home cardio workouts and alternate them with strength training exercises. At the end, take a 60-second to 2-minute rest break, then repeat.

But research published in Health Psychology Journal has also noted social support can backfire. For example, someone is likely to back out from exercising when pressured by family and friends to work out or criticised for their choice of fitness activity. Bound to your right by pushing off with your left leg.

The Best Brass Cleaners 2022 Reviews by Old House Journal

Table of Content

• How to Clean Brass in 3 Simple Steps
• DIY Brass Cleaner Solutions
• How do I make sure if what I’m cleaning is really brass?
• Step1: Mix Soap in Water
• How Can I Protect My Brass from Tarnishing?
• Things you’ll need to clean brass

We have done all the above methods and they all work just fine. When done, clean or wash your item and dry it with paper towel or piece of cloth. Another thing to look out for is that certain items are brass plated as opposed to solid brass.

Squirt a dollop of ketchup on a rag and rub over the surface, let it sit for a couple of seconds. Wipe off the reside with a damp cloth and buff dry. Squirt some of the ketchup on a clean cloth and rub it on the article.

How to Clean Brass in 3 Simple Steps

Squeeze half a lemon onto a clean cloth and sprinkle salt on top. Rub the cloth over the surface of the brass and then rinse it off. This will really cut through the tarnish but don’t leave it too long. This is a good way of cleaning doorknobs and knockers that you can’t easily soak. You might need to gently work into the tricky bits with an old toothbrush. The combination of lemon and baking soda will solve your problem with ease.

Just don’t forget to wash it off thoroughly with your favorite dish soap. The prepared product is covered with a new protective layer. Make sure you distribute it evenly and do not leave uncovered areas. At the same time, avoid touching dry surfaces with fingers.

DIY Brass Cleaner Solutions

To polish and clean copper pots, you can also use a lemon. If mixed together with coarse salt, it makes for a very stronghomemade copper cleaner. This cleaning solution works for both brass and as a silver cleaner. This cleaner, like the rest, is non-toxic and safe to use around your family.

Polish and buff away grime, reapplying the mixture as needed. Rinse, wipe clean, and thoroughly dry the brass with a clean cloth. Start by squirting a small amount of ketchup onto the brass in an inconspicuous spot, such as the bottom.

How do I make sure if what I’m cleaning is really brass?

That's why it's important to always keep supplies around that will restore your brass to its original gleam. However, how you clean your metal depends on whether it's lacquered or not. Toothpaste helps whiten your teeth, and you can use that same cleaning magic on brass. To clean brass with toothpaste, pick a plain, white toothpaste (you don't need any gels or fancy flavors). They can be used to clean jewelry, coins, silverware, and cutlery as well as eyeglass cleaner.

With a clean, soft cloth, buff the brass until it is dry. Using a clean, dry cloth, buff the brass until it is dry. This recipe is just like the pewter cleaning and polish tips. See our how do you clean pewter recipes for more. However, cleaning the brass around your home doesn’t require a special cleaner. You can make a homemade brass cleaner using simple ingredients that you can find around your house.

Step1: Mix Soap in Water

Thanks to this, you can remove all dirty stains from the surface – even if they’re old. But use this method carefully, to avoid damaging the surface. Using lemon juice and table salt creates the perfect tag team for tackling varnished brass, as well as to polish metal of other types, too.

Moreover, you will not suffer the cost of purchasing a cleaning sponge because its pack comes with a gentle cleaning sponge. Even better, the sponge is reusable to increase its lifetime. This may seem like a silly question, but brass can get exceptionally dirty at times. If it’s been years since you’ve stopped to clean your brass, then it may have developed a thick, dark coating over it. This almost-black coating can make it difficult to discern whether the object in your hands is brass or a different metal like iron or nickel.

How Can I Protect My Brass from Tarnishing?

If the brass product has oxidized only a little, then, such a procedure will be sufficient to return an attractive appearance to the object. You need to dissolve laundry soap in a container with warm water and foam it. Then, put brass objects in the container for twenty minutes. You may also use a soft brush to clean dirty areas.

Limit the use of friction or scrubbing sponges on these items. Scrub the brass using the ketchup on the soft towel, carefully removing any layers of tarnish. Rinse the ketchup off the brass or copper using warm water and drying it with a clean cloth. Dip the bristles of a soft toothbrush in the mixture and clean the brass item. Chip away any tarnished brass and rinse the object clean.

Some people want a more authentic, well maintained but ‘aged’ look for their items. If so, they should just use a more gentle polish not very often and apply pressure only to the raised surfaces. For instance, Wright’s Copper and Brass Cream Cleaner’s anti-tarnish formula leaves a protective coating to prevent and delay tarnish from re-tuning.

4 Brilliant Do-It-Yourself Brass Cleaner Solutions

Table of Content

• How to Clean Brass? 4 Perfect Ways to Polish Tarnished Brass
• How to clean brass and keep it in a perfect shape – homemade brass cleaners
• Keep Brass From Tarnishing by Using Linseed Oil
• Tips to Keep Brass Tarnish-free Longer

We’ve listed out some items below to help you on your cleaning journey. Once the brass is polished to your liking, rinse with cool water and dry with a microfiber cloth. For tough spots, you'll likely need to use a bit more effort. Feel free to apply extra dabs of toothpaste to particularly stubborn areas. With a clean cloth, rub some of the mixture onto the brass.

Let the toothpaste sit for a few minutes, and then rinse it off with cold water. Who would have guessed that your favorite burger topping could double as a brass cleaner? Ketchup's mix of tomatoes, spices, and vinegar is a cheap, straightforward way to revive old brass. This simple cleaning hack requires only the condiment and a few clean cloths. If you are lucky enough to own antique brass, be especially careful about cleaning it.

How to Clean Brass? 4 Perfect Ways to Polish Tarnished Brass

Hopefully, you found our brass shining tips useful and are ready to share these ideas with the world. If so, remember to let others know how to polish brass on Facebook and Pinterest. Magnets are attracted to nickel, iron, and cobalt.

Hence, they are very safe for your hands, and you can use them to clean kitchen items. However, they react slowly and may take a few more minutes to remove corrosions compared to the chemical cleaners. Most of the metal cleaners can only clean specific metals. That means, if you have five metallic surfaces, you are likely to need five different cleaners. This explains the reason why most people are shifting to universal cleaners such as this item.

How to clean brass and keep it in a perfect shape – homemade brass cleaners

Instead, to save the lacquered finish, do the same thing you did with the brass-plated objects and use no more than soap and water to clean your item. If the tarnish on the piece has moved beyond the help of soapy water, then you may need to use an acidic cleaner like lemon juice or vinegar. Since this will also likely damage the lacquer, reapply the finish after all tarnishing has been removed. Soak the brass in this mixture soapy water for a while, then use a soft cloth and a soft-bristled toothbrush to work out the buildup and stains. For hard water scaling use a simple solution of vinegar and water.” For other pieces, always wash the brass before polishing.

Apply a thick layer of the mixture to the problematic areas and wait until completely dry. During this time the vinegar will dissolve dense spots and the flour will absorb all the dirt. Take a piece of a soft cloth and take off dried layer. Tarnishes discolor the surfaces, which give items an ugly appearance. Fortunately, you can use chemical-based brass cleaners to remove them. Unlike the cream and concentrated cleaners, the liquid cleaners do not dry even when left unused for a long time.

Keep Brass From Tarnishing by Using Linseed Oil

That’s easy enough to do — all you’ll need is a magnet. If the magnet sticks to your item, it’s not real brass. Brass has become especially popular, which means there are many look-alike surfaces that appear to be brass, but actually aren’t. You should determine the quantity of the cleaner you need to purchase.

With this cleaner, the maintenance of brass cookware is easy and fast. It perfectly process the surface without leaving scratches, removes dirt, blackening, patina, and forms a beautiful shiny protective layer. This highly effective product is suitable for cleaning and polishing kitchen utensils. It is also ideal for cleaning and polishing door handles, curtain rods, chandeliers, fixtures, and other things. As well as erase the discoloration made by high heat or food spills.

Also, corrosions are impossible to remove with mild cleaners. Fortunately, you can use brass cleaners to clean these materials. Moreover, this cleaner is straightforward to use. Its container has an ergonomic design, while the lid is relatively easy to remove. Just shake it, open the lid, pour some on the sponge, rub the sponge on the surface, and that’s it. Thus, you don’t need any other detergent cleaners because this product will restore the high-quality shine of your items all by itself.

Typically zinc or steel is coated in brass plating to give the appearance of brass without the high cost of pure brass. Plating has a shorter lifespan, and the thinner it is, the more quickly it will deteriorate. Also, some companies produce cleaners that can only clean brass-based materials, which are known as brass-only cleaners. You should only consider these polishes if all of your surfaces are made of brass. These cleaners have a creamy form and come in a tin with a wide lid.

Brasso is great for to bring back shine to door knobs and locks. Bar Keepers Friend tackles both rust and tarnish on brass pieces. Twinkle Brass & Copper Cleaning Kit actually has an anti-tarnish ingredient that extends the treatment, making it ideal for outdoor pieces. Blue Magic is great for getting rid of tarnish and oxidation and works well on brass jewelry, the rim of a watch face, or a vintage tea set. You can also rub it with a thin coat of linseed oil. If not linseed oil, go for olive oil or mineral oil.

If you aren’t convinced about the quality and safety of the mentioned methods, you can use various brass cleaning products. By carefully following the manufacturer’s instructions, you can professionally clean brass elements at home. It’s still a more cost-effective option than taking your brass accessories to an expert.

The white was freaking me out a little and I didn’t want to tarnish it further. So, in case this method wasn’t working, I rinsed it off. I suds it up with Dawn dishwashing soap, then rinsed and dried the barrel. This might surprise you, but yes, you sure can clean brass using just toothpaste. All you need to do is to use reusable paper towels like a clean cloth to put a small amount of toothpaste onto your brass.

Best Laptop for 2022: The 14 Laptops We Recommend

Table of Content

• The Best Laptop Deals This Week*
• Apple 13.3" MacBook Pro (Mid
• Best All-Around Windows Laptop
• Best Affordable Laptop

Standout features include a gorgeous 13-inch display, fast performance, a comfortable detachable keyboard with a built-in stylus slot, useful security features, and a class-leading webcam . These are all packaged in a sleek metal chassis that can easily be slipped into a backpack or purse. If you want more dedicated business features, the Surface Pro 7+ offers a more enterprise-focused take with the last-gen Surface Pro design.

The display isn’t bright, though, limited to just 250 nits, but as long as you don't use it in direct sunlight, it should be enough for everyday use. To find the best laptops, we combined our extensive first-hand experience with in-depth research to determine our picks for the best laptops you can buy today. Getting into laptop-processor specifics can get you pretty deep in the weeds, but for a good overview that doesn't overwhelm, check out our guide to choosing a laptop CPU that fits what you do. If you want a 2-in-1 tablet and don't mind spending extra for a keyboard cover and other accessories, this is it. It's simply the best, combining the iconic Windows tablet with smooth pen integration and an updated thin-bezel design. If you're looking for a gaming laptop bargain, the G15 is the way to go.

The Best Laptop Deals This Week*

However, some lines of laptops from these manufacturers have a particular pedigree for reliability and durability. Check what ports the laptop has, and if it can accommodate the peripherals you need to attach. If you have an external hard drive, make sure it has enough connectors for it and your other accessories.

The company's flagship 14-inch Yoga 9i Gen 7 has an updated look with comfortable, rounded edges and 12th-gen Intel processors that give it a big multicore performance jump. A beautiful OLED display and improved audio make it excellent for work, video conferences and entertainment. Lenovo includes an active pen and a laptop sleeve to complete the premium package. The Dell XPS 13 is a perennial favorite for its size, weight and performance and just overall good looks. For 2022, Dell made the XPS 13 even smaller and lighter, kept its sub-$999 starting price the same and dropped in the latest 12th-gen Intel processors. The design is still great (though there's no headphone jack; a USB-C adapter is included instead) and the battery life is long.

Apple 13.3" MacBook Pro (Mid

In this price range, you'll also find faster memory and ssd storage -- and more of it -- to improve performance. First of all, from the spec sheet, the MacBook Air seems under-qualified when compared to the big boys like the Surface Book 2 and Matebook X Pro. Okay, but the trade-off here is the ultra-portability of the MacBook Air, the clean and focused macOS ecosystem, and the damn sheer unadulterated sleek styling of this laptop.

For people with similar needs but larger budgets, an Apple MacBook might be the way to go, assuming you’re cool with running your day-to-day computing life on macOS. No laptop is perfect, but the 2022 Dell XPS 15 OLED gets most of the wish-list items right for a general-use desktop-replacement laptop for power users. But this big, authoritative classic is an ace at content creation tasks, and it looks great in silver or white.

Best All-Around Windows Laptop

Photographers will benefit from a built-in SD or microSD card reader for more convenient image uploading. And if you plan to use your laptop in a public, unsecured location, a security notch for fastening a physical locking cable is very useful. These fall into two types, the Kensington-cable style and the Noble-lock style. Make sure the notch type matches the kind of cable you intend to use to tether the machine to an immovable object. If video output matters to you, check for a dedicated port like an HDMI connector, especially if you plan to connect your laptop to your TV, desktop monitor, or a lecture hall A/V system.

The HP Pavilion x360 is among the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy in 2022, and with comparable features to our best budget laptop offering, it ticks a lot of boxes as a great affordable laptop, too. It has a solid mid-range Intel Core i7 12th generation processor, and half a terabyte of fast SSD storage, giving it snappy operation in day- to-day use and a fast startup time. The 14-inch 1080p display is crisp thanks to the high pixel density at this size, and with over 10 hours of battery life, there's more than enough to finish a full workday at the office or in lectures. For graphics or scientific work, a 3K or 4K display provides more real estate still, as well as sharper text and more detailed visuals.

In such a case, I recommend you to take a look at other decent options. For example, the Asus ZenBook 15 is equipped with a 10th Generation Intel Core processor, 16 GB of RAM, a 1 TB SSD and a powerful video card. The 15-inch HP Pavilion is a great office computer, which proves that it is possible to get a premium-quality device without spending a fortune. The elegant design of this laptop is modern and attractive, and the overall performance is amazing. While it has some downsides, such as poor brightness or lack of some ports, I definitely recommend the HP Pavilion 15-cs3019nr as a good option for those who need to work from home.

It didn't get the updated design of the Air this year, but its performance remains outstanding. There are arguably a ton of gaming laptops out there that can outperform this one, but are any of them as portable as this? Yes, gamers do love themselves some big-screen gaming, but this ASUS ZenBook really does get an "A" for effort. Like the Surface Book 2, we only looked at the smaller version of the HP ZBook x2 G4. There's a 15" version that is slightly more premier than this version, but under 14", this is a comparable experience. I won't bore you with specs but I will say that you can tell you're dealing with a workhorse here when all the configurations start with Intel Core i7 processors.

The one concern for creatives will be the display, but if that’s crucial for you consider the OLED panel option or perhaps an external display. The HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook Enterprise is the best option available today. Boasting Intel vPro security, a Titan C chip, and a fingerprint sensor the Dragonfly far surpasses the security of your average Chromebook. A free year of Parallels for Chromebooks gives you full access to any Windows apps you might still need.

That’s also a good target amount for heavy multitaskers, PC gamers, and people who surf the web with many tabs open. Modern web browsers loading multimedia-rich sites and web apps are voracious consumers of memory. Most laptops above entry-level come with solid-state drives , which use memory cells instead of a spinning platter to store data. Since information stored in cells is much faster to access, SSDs are the best and most common drive configuration.

The M2 can struggle a little with getting hot during extensive heavy compute loads, even though Apple has a passive heatpipe cooling solution to offset the chip’s heat. Since thermal throttling can happen, this laptop is best suited to more lightweight tasks, even if it can blaze through short-run demanding tasks if the need should arise. The best gaming laptop title usually goes to the most powerful gaming laptops, and that's understandable. But more modest gaming laptops like this Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 are arguably better for general use, as they not only deliver excellent gaming performance, but also have longer battery life and a lighter chassis. The Razer Blade 15 is one of the best gaming laptops ever made, and this configuration impresses.

If you’re an Apple die-hard, or even just ambivalent towards Windows, then the M2 Apple MacBook Air is the general-use laptop we recommend. But it's not the cheapest Mac laptop; that would be the M1 version of the MacBook Air, which starts at $999 and might be a better choice if you prioritize saving money over the additional benefits that the M2 provides. This laptop is for those who are set on ChromeOS as the preferred or required environment, but would like laptops with Windows-level quality and performance.

Best Affordable Laptop

A laptop won’t revolutionize the minutiae of your life the way a smartphone can. You can’t easily whip one out to kill time in the elevator, capture a breathtaking sunset, or pay for a cup of coffee. That said, what games you play and what content you create -- and the speed at which you do them -- is going vary greatly depending on the components inside the laptop. MacOS is also considered to be easier and safer to use than Windows, especially for people who want their computers to get out of the way so they can get things done.

The best laptops of 2018: The top laptops at all prices, Chromebooks, hybrids, gaming laptops and laptops for students

Table of Content

• HP Pavilion 15 15.6″ IPS Touchscreen Full HD
• Huawei MateBook X Pro
• Apple MacBook Pro 13-Inch (2022, M
• and the winner is: The Lenovo ThinkPad T480s

The added screen size and reduced bezels make for a more modern look, while the rounded edges give it a much more tablet-friendly feel backed up by some of the new software touches in Windows 11. For creatives or prolific note-takers, the new Slim Pen 2 combined with the Type Cover gives you a built-in stylus with a tactile feel that makes for an improved inking experience. This is a blend of performance and portability that few Windows laptops can challenge, so for those that can live in the macOS ecosystem, this belongs at the top of your list. Our lone complaint with the Air M2 is that the SSD has a slightly slower write speed than its predecessor, but it is still well above average and not something that should sway you against it.

With prices starting at $1,000, you shouldn't expect niceties like OLED screens or best-of-breed networking, but Lenovo still delivers plenty of bang for the buck. Inside are an Intel 12th Generation Core i5 processor, an included stylus and note-taking app, and a generous port selection. The design isn't the sleekest on the market, but the aluminum construction is sturdy and durable.

HP Pavilion 15 15.6″ IPS Touchscreen Full HD

It launched at a whopping 849 Euros (~$971), but prices have now fallen below 500 Euros (~ US$572). The device is not free from weaknesses, but it has now become the best value smartphone that one could currently buy. Most ultraportable laptops have non-removable, sealed-in-the-chassis batteries.

The HP Omen 15 is noteworthy in that it’s specifically designed for gaming use. While it can be used for typical surfing and documentation, it features an HP Wide Vision HD camera, along with a Dual Digital microphone. If your profession at home requires you to have a lot of interaction with your clients through video chatting platforms, this is the ideal choice for you. It has a USB-C and mini display port, allowing you to hook up to 3 external monitors. If you prefer some game time at the end of your busy workday, you’ll be able to execute multiple gaming commands at the same time. It comes equipped with a 26 key rollover, preventing ghosting while playing.

Huawei MateBook X Pro

Steer clear of the older 802.11b/g/n standards that are still available on some budget machines, if you can, as those can result in lower throughput speeds and less reliable connections. Gaming laptops typically feature higher-powered CPUs, usually denoted by an "H" in the CPU's model name. These require more cooling hardware and consume more energy, but they offer performance that's closer to that of a desktop PC.

Otherwise, an Intel Core i7 or Core i9 will offer similar performance, and typically lower prices and better battery life. At 3.2 pounds, this laptop is lightweight and portable enough to take with you wherever you go. The G14 laptop embodies all that and then some, with a great blend of performance and portability, a winning combination that helps make this model a good choice for students, too. Inside, this laptop has an AMD Ryzen HS CPU with AMD Radeon 6700S graphics—an efficient pairing of powerful gaming components to enable AAA gameplay at high detail settings, and esports gaming at high frame rates and resolutions.

Apple MacBook Pro 13-Inch (2022, M

It's lightweight, it's error- and virus free, for the most part, and it doesn't require a tech nerd to install programs. If web-based collaboration is key to your workflow, a Chromebook could be enough, and because Chromebooks don't need powerful hardware to run most web apps, they generally cost a lot less than other business laptops. Some Chromebooks designed for work do have beefier processors and more memory. Our general takeaway, though, is that under most circumstances, they tend to work better as adjunct than primary machines in most businesses. Most business PCs come with integrated graphics chips, which are a lightweight graphics-acceleration solution that's part of the main CPU.

Just know that the less RAM in the system, the slower and less responsive the system overall. Arguably the most important factor in keeping your laptop lasting for years to come is taking care of it. You can also consider a laptop carry case or sleeve to help protect it during transit and to avoid any aesthetic damage from drops and bumps. This HP 14 has a modern look, with trim bezels and a slim chassis, but it won't stand out in the sea of MacBook clones.

The M2 can struggle a little with getting hot during extensive heavy compute loads, even though Apple has a passive heatpipe cooling solution to offset the chip’s heat. Since thermal throttling can happen, this laptop is best suited to more lightweight tasks, even if it can blaze through short-run demanding tasks if the need should arise. The best gaming laptop title usually goes to the most powerful gaming laptops, and that's understandable. But more modest gaming laptops like this Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 are arguably better for general use, as they not only deliver excellent gaming performance, but also have longer battery life and a lighter chassis. The Razer Blade 15 is one of the best gaming laptops ever made, and this configuration impresses.

A laptop won’t revolutionize the minutiae of your life the way a smartphone can. You can’t easily whip one out to kill time in the elevator, capture a breathtaking sunset, or pay for a cup of coffee. That said, what games you play and what content you create -- and the speed at which you do them -- is going vary greatly depending on the components inside the laptop. MacOS is also considered to be easier and safer to use than Windows, especially for people who want their computers to get out of the way so they can get things done.

To determine real-world performance, we task the laptop to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution and to duplicate a 25GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics test includes the Assasin's Creed Valhalla benchmark with medium settings at 1080p resolution. We put each laptop through extensive benchmark testing — both synthetic and real-world — before they end up in the hands of our reviewers. We evaluate each aspect of the laptop, including its performance, battery life, display, speakers and heat management. The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 improved on what was already a winning formula with the original ThinkPad P15 with upgraded performance and stellar battery life for the 1080p model.

Aiming for that weight and thickness, in most cases, will limit the laptop’s screen size to 13 or 14 inches, although a few models with 15-inch or larger screens now fit into the ultraportable category. At most of these screen sizes, you can find models in either the conventional “clamshell” laptop shape or a 2-in-1 convertible design. The latter has a hinge that rotates the screen 360 degrees so you can use it as a makeshift tablet or prop it up like a tent for watching movies. Business laptops are in a class of their own, with a specific set of design and feature needs to satisfy office-dwelling professionals. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon hits all of those marks better than any others, a fantastically designed laptop with a top-notch keyboard, good performance, and the requisite supporting connectivity and extras. Simply put, it’s fast, well-made, portable, very long-lasting, and loaded with connectivity options.