• 13 to 14-inches: Provides the best balance of portability and usability. Laptops with 13 or 14-inch screens usually weigh between 3.5 and 4.5 pounds and fit easily on your lap while still providing generously-sized keyboards and screens. Shoot for a system with a total weight under 4 pounds if possible. If you're willing to pay a premium, you can also find extremely lightweight systems with these screen sizes, including the 2.6-pound Dell XPS 13 and 2.9-pound, 14-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon.