It seems simple enough: how do you measure a laptop computer to see if it fits in a specific laptop bag? It doesn’t make sense when you see that 14″ or 17″ size and then neither the length nor the width is equal to that number. Still scratching your head? Here’s how it works.
The measurement that all laptop manufacturers use is the diagonal of the screen. Check out the above image. The diagonal is the measurement that goes from the upper corner to the opposite lower corner. Now that you’ve revisited high school geometry, how does that relate to knowing if your laptop fits in a specific laptop bag?
Here’s the big news: it is a guide, but every laptop in a specific size has different dimensions because of the design of the plastic and screen dimensions. So, if you want to know if your laptop will really fit in that laptop sleeve, you need to measure the length, the width and the depth, just like a box, and then compare those measurements to the size of the bag. Maybe now it makes sense why a 15.4″ Mac fits different bags than a 15.4″ Dell or a 15.4″ Toshiba.
I’m interested in your Zeyner backpack. I have a 17″ laptop, and I wanted to make sure it would fit, before buying. Here’s the dimensions of it, 16 x 12.7 x 2.1 inches. Can you let me know?
Barry
My high school sent me measurements & requires I purchase laptop sleeve prior to receiving it. Hence, I cannot measure it diagonally myself. I am being issued a Fujitsu Tablet PC Lifebook T901. The school measurements are screen 13.3 inches, 12.6 long, 9.6 wide and 1.5 ht. I was interested in the Isis Polka laptop sleeve 13″ to 14.5″ , description on site read 10″x12″x1.5″ for this style. Will this fit my school’s measurements?
Unfortunately, it will not. You need to go up to the next size. Your computer is 12.6″ x 9.6″, and this sleeve is only 12″ long.
my screen is 17.3″ but when I measure, LxWxD i get, 14.5x10x1.5
do I go with a sleeve that fits a 17.3 laptop or one that fits the dimensions? THANKS!
Go with the dimensions (in your case 14.5 x 10 x 1.5). The 17.3 refers to the screen diagonal – the upper left to the lower right corner.
I have 15.6 inch screen, but in search results it shows me the bags for 15.4inch. Will those bags fit 15.6 inch screen in them?