Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
EDITORS’ NOTE
November 1, 2025: With this update, we added the Apple MacBook Pro 14-Inch (2025, M5) as our latest Best Content Creation Laptop, replacing the Asus ProArt P16 (H7606). Our remaining picks have been vetted for currency and availability. Since our last update, we reviewed and evaluated 5 new laptops for potential inclusion in this and other roundups. We’re currently testing more than a dozen laptops in PC Labs, including models from Acer, Asus, Dell, and Lenovo.
- Excellent battery life
- Comfortable keyboard and touchpad
- Good speakers and webcam
- Premium metal construction
- Practical port selection
- Half a pound overweight
- Screen could be brighter
With the venerable Asus Zenbook 14 OLED Touch (UM3406) discontinued, we turn to the Dell 14 Plus for a similarly high-end experience at an approachable price. While just above $1,000 at its starting list price, you’ll more often than not find it for less—sometimes hundreds off. At that point, this portable laptop becomes a sharp-screened steal made sweeter by the latest connectivity and lengthy battery life.
Design: Being in Dell’s new midrange (“Plus,” formerly Inspiron) line, the 14 Plus is a decidedly plain laptop, but that’s not to say it’s low-quality. The Dell 14 Plus is nearly light enough to meet our standards for ultraportable laptops, and it comes in a full-metal build, which we’ve come to expect from systems at this level. Dell’s design also includes a decent webcam and speakers for video calls, and comfortable inputs for ease of use. It even has plenty of ports for new and old devices, including Thunderbolt 4.
Display: Dell’s display is sharp, saturated, and eye-friendly. It’s a 1600p IPS panel with an advanced 90Hz refresh rate but without touch controls, sticking to elevating the basics. While it’s not quite as bright as we’d like, image quality remains high, with decent color coverage and contrast. At its sale price, this display becomes quite a rare feature.
Performance: In terms of speed, this is a profoundly midrange system. It’s a decent laptop for homework, paying bills, and web browsing—but not your go-to video editing machine or a gaming rig. Remember: This is a top laptop for most people, not edge cases like multimedia production or playing PC games.
Battery life: This is the marquee feature for the Dell 14 Plus: a long-running 20 hours of battery life. Intel’s Core 200V processors were built with optimum efficiency in mind, and it shows in this battery-test result. Expect this laptop to last more than a full workday off the charger.
Value for money: While its list price to start isn’t extremely competitive, the Dell 14 Plus becomes an absolute steal when found on sale. We’ve seen it for as little as $699.99 from Dell’s own website and outside of a major shopping holiday, like Prime Day. That’s a serious value for what’s on offer here, in a decent price range for students and kids (or bargain hunters).
Casual computer users: With this level of performance capacity, the Dell 14 Plus will best serve mainstream audiences who just want to do basic computing. It’s a right-on machine for home finance management, web browsing, and even basic photo editing.
Students: Kids in school of almost all ages would benefit from a laptop like the Dell 14 Plus. It’s a relatively inexpensive investment with plenty of power for basic homework of almost any grade level. The high-resolution screen will make that experience easier, and its webcam and speakers will make for acceptable remote learning.
AI early adopters: It’s also important to mention that this is a Microsoft Copilot+ PC, meaning it has the AI processing hardware required to access the full suite of Copilot tools in Windows 11. So, this laptop has access to robust local AI features like chatbots, text editing and generation, and video call enhancements.
Class
Ultraportable
Processor
Intel Core Ultra 7 256V
RAM (as Tested)
16 GB
Boot Drive Type
SSD
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
1 TB
Screen Size
14 inches
Native Display Resolution
2560 by 1600
Panel Technology
IPS
Variable Refresh Support
None
Screen Refresh Rate
90 Hz
Graphics Processor
Intel Arc Graphics 140V
Wireless Networking
Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 7
Dimensions (HWD)
0.67 by 12.4 by 8.9 inches
Weight
3.42 lbs
Operating System
Windows 11 Home
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
20:06
Learn More
Dell 14 Plus (DB14250) Review
- Stunning 4K OLED touch screen
- Blazing performance for its size
- Elegant build with snappy keyboard
- Not quite as fast or expandable as heavier rivals
- No USB-A ports or webcam shutter
- Mega expensive, as most mobile workstations are
Dell has grabbed back the mobile workstation crown with its Precision 5690 model, a 16-inch beast with Nvidia RTX Ada graphics and one of the most powerful Intel Core Ultra processors currently available. With that combo, the Precision achieves chart-topping performance despite being just 0.87 inch thin. Speed aside, this workstation has a poppy 4K OLED touch screen housed in a high-end build with a punchy set of keys for fast typists.
Design: With workstation hardware inside and an aluminum and reinforced polycarbonate chassis outside, the Dell Precision 5690 is durable through and through. It passes most MIL-STD 810H torture tests for durability and does it while providing industrial-grade processing and graphics. We wish it had a numeric keypad and maybe a USB-A port to go with the versatile USB-C connections, but it’s hard to complain about a design this impressive.
Display: This workstation’s 16-inch OLED touch screen has 3,840-by-2,400-pixel resolution, so it doesn’t skimp on sharpness or color. It’s a superb screen with richly saturated hues, crisp detail, a 400-nit brightness rating, and included color calibration tools. This panel is pro all the way.
Performance: Every workstation is powerful, but this Dell takes the cake with Intel Core Ultra processors (configurable up to a Core Ultra 9 185H), an Nvidia RTX 5000 Ada GPU for high-end graphics, up to 64GB of RAM, and two SSDs. It’s made to handle demanding tasks in design, rendering, and engineering, and its benchmark results were among the best we’ve ever seen.
Battery life: Workstations aren’t known for lengthy battery life, but with nearly double the stamina of its closest Windows rival, the Dell Precision 5690 is a winner in this area. We just wouldn’t try to carry out too many rendering or data-crunching tasks away from the outlet.
Value for money: This kind of power is never cheap, and with prices reaching more than $6,500, a fully loaded Precision 5690 isn’t either. But professionals need the best, and the quality build and potent performance justify the premium cost, earning it our Editors’ Choice award.
Professionals willing to invest in high performance: The Dell Precision 5690 provides top-tier performance with its powerful Intel Core Ultra processors and Nvidia RTX 5000 Ada GPU, making it an excellent choice for professionals who require high performance for demanding applications. Its robust build quality and advanced features justify the investment, ensuring reliability and efficiency in high-stakes environments.
Workstation users who prize mobility: Weighing just 4.46 pounds and featuring a sleek design, the Precision 5690 is highly portable, making it ideal for workstation users who need to work on the go. The Precision’s powerful performance and compact form allow you to easily transport it to different locations without sacrificing capability.
Professionals who need more than just power: This laptop is perfect for engineers, designers, and pros who require a dependable workhorse for client meetings and presentations. It delivers impressive performance for high-end applications while remaining lightweight and easy to carry without the need for extensive storage or ECC memory.
Class
Workstation
Processor
Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
RAM (as Tested)
32 GB
Boot Drive Type
SSD
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
512 GB
Secondary Drive Type
SSD
Secondary Drive Capacity (as Tested)
512 GB
Screen Size
16 inches
Native Display Resolution
3840 by 2400
Panel Technology
OLED
Variable Refresh Support
None
Screen Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Graphics Processor
Nvidia RTX 5000 Ada
Graphics Memory
16 GB
Wireless Networking
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth
Dimensions (HWD)
0.87 by 13.9 by 9.5 inches
Weight
4.46 lbs
Operating System
Windows 11 Pro
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
17:11
Learn More
Dell Precision 5690 Review
- Lower starting price than the previous-generation 13-inch Air
- Faster M4 processing
- RAM gets a boost, even in the base model
- Improved Center Stage camera
- Quiet, fanless design
- Some ultraportable Windows laptops outpace it
- Battery life falls off a little versus 2024 model
- Display tech remains solid, but is starting to appear dated alongside OLED
The best MacBook for most people continues to be the easiest call to make in this buying guide. Apple’s 2025 MacBook Air is budget-friendlier than before, returning to a three-digit starting price. Meanwhile, its M4 processor update preserves the core Mac experience and introduces advanced AI capabilities. Aside from gaining the MacBook Pro’s improved 12-megapixel Center Stage camera, nothing else has changed about the Air this year. You get the same sharp LCD screen, sublime keyboard, and large trackpad as before. The 13-inch MacBook Air remains a benchmark to which other ultraportable laptops aspire.
Design: Apple’s laptops have led the design charge for 20 years, though the latest MacBook Air carries that torch without doing much new. This year’s model still measures just 0.44 inch thick and weighs a feathery 2.7 pounds. Of course, the laptop still has just two Thunderbolt 4 ports. While still an impressive exterior, this is perhaps the least exciting part of the 2025 MacBook Air update.
Display: Apple’s pride in its display technology shows in how much mileage it draws out of each revision. This year’s MacBook Air has the same 13.6-inch, 2,560-by-1,664-pixel, 16:10 LCD Liquid Retina screen. The panel hasn’t changed a bit with this model, so expect the screen to hit around 363 nits of brightness while covering 100% of the sRGB and 95% of the DCI-P3 color gamuts. True Tone also returns, adapting the screen’s color temperature to ambient light on the fly.
Performance: The MacBook Air’s new M4 processor still drives competitive speeds compared with laptops in its class, and it continues to punch above its weight in demanding tasks like Photoshop. Always look to a MacBook Pro for a dedicated content-creation machine, but the Air will easily handle the odd photo touch-up or video render. M4 also supports Apple’s second-generation ray-tracing techniques, so Mac gaming got a slight boost, too.
Battery life: While we saw a generational decline, Apple’s featherweight laptop line was still impressive in terms of battery life, at 19 hours and 56 minutes, in our rundown test. Nearly 20 hours will get you quite far, but some competitors outlasted it by several hours.
Value for money: This generation’s Air laptop is the most value-packed new MacBook in a while. Thanks to a $100 price cut, it has finally returned to a $999 starting price. Increasing the starting memory capacity to 16GB also makes upgrades to the storage, GPU, or memory more approachable.
Apple die-hards: If you already own an iPhone or an iPad and want to stay within Apple’s ecosystem, or you’ve been an Apple fan for some time, then this decision was already made for you. While Apple’s macOS was already deeply integrated with those devices, the Sequoia update brings full iPhone Mirroring, giving you complete digital access to your iPhone from your Mac desktop.
College students: It’s easy to deduce why you see so many MacBooks on college campuses. They’re reliable, sturdy, and robust computers with excellent inputs and versatile connection options. You’ll often hear of MacBook Air models lasting throughout an undergraduate’s tenure. While you have to get used to macOS if you’re not already familiar with it, some fields of study (particularly media, design, and the humanities) lean on Macs to get students through coursework.
Class
Ultraportable
Processor
Apple M4
RAM (as Tested)
16 GB
Boot Drive Type
SSD
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
512 GB
Screen Size
13.3 inches
Native Display Resolution
2560 by 1664
Panel Technology
LED
Variable Refresh Support
None
Screen Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Graphics Processor
Apple M4 (10-core)
Wireless Networking
Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Dimensions (HWD)
0.44 by 11.97 by 8.46 inches
Weight
2.7 lbs
Operating System
Apple macOS Sequoia
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
19:56
Learn More
Apple MacBook Air 13-Inch (2025, M4) Review
- Smooth everyday operation
- Extensive battery life
- Current Wi-Fi connectivity
- Competitive starting price
- Limited performance headroom
- Dated, somewhat flimsy design
- Lackluster display
- Top configuration is outclassed
It’s well known that bargain-priced laptops are often riddled with compromises, and while this Acer Aspire 3 isn’t exempt from those, we’ve ranked it as the best budget laptop for how it presents relatively few. We especially appreciate this notebook’s lengthy battery life, decent keyboard, and reliable performance for basic tasks. You won’t get a dazzling display or flashy design, but budget-strapped buyers or parents shopping for their young kids will be well served by this Aspire model.
Design: This 15-inch Aspire model is a sub-$500 laptop, so you shouldn’t expect much design flair. It covers the essentials, including a keyboard that makes for fast typing paired with a numeric keypad that’s often missing from 15-inch models. The laptop also features rubber pads on the bottom of the base for added stability. Of course, what you’re after at this price is the basics.
Display: Likewise, Acer’s Aspire display covers the basics required by a screen at this price: full HD resolution and decent brightness for the price, which is helped by an anti-glare finish for improved legibility in bright settings. Of course, this laptop doesn’t cover 100% of any of the three color palettes or gamuts we test for, not that you should expect that this far south of 500 bucks.
Performance: Within its class, this Aspire model produced decent performance numbers in our benchmark tests. While it won no contests, it wasn’t completely blown out, either. We found the Aspire to get by just fine through basic computing tasks such as word processing and web browsing, but we wouldn’t recommend pushing it much further with multimedia content creation or gaming.
Battery life: This is a high point for the Aspire, which lasted longer than any of the laptops we compared it with in our review at 16 hours and 46 minutes. That’s likely thanks to its lower-power processor and relatively dim display when set to the 50% brightness we use for our battery rundown test. Regardless, this laptop is a marathon runner.
Value for money: Here’s where the Acer Aspire 3 excels—almost purely because of its bargain-bin price. With a list price just under $400, we’ve seen it dip below $300 since our review. You won’t find many 15-inch laptops with 16-hour battery life for that little, not to mention one with up-to-date Wi-Fi and reliable everyday performance.
Budget-strapped buyers: Naturally, this is a first stop for anyone who’s hard up for cash. Priced well south of $500 and sometimes seen for less than $300, the Acer Aspire 3 is about as low as Windows laptops go in terms of cost. However, it doesn’t short-shrift budget buyers, especially on battery life and up-to-date connectivity.
Jack or Jill’s first laptop: Due to its low price and, therefore, a lower level of investment in the event of accidental (i.e., careless) damage, this Aspire model is ideal as your kid’s first laptop, particularly for elementary school workloads. Your kiddos also won’t be punished for forgetting to charge the laptop with such long battery life.
Class
Budget
Processor
AMD Ryzen 3 7320U
Processor Speed
2.4 GHz
RAM (as Tested)
8 GB
Boot Drive Type
SSD
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
128 GB
Screen Size
15.6 inches
Native Display Resolution
1920 by 1080
Panel Technology
IPS
Variable Refresh Support
None
Screen Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Graphics Processor
AMD Radeon Graphics
Wireless Networking
802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.2
Dimensions (HWD)
0.75 by 14.3 by 9.4 inches
Weight
3.77 lbs
Operating System
Windows 11 Home
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
16:46
Learn More
Acer Aspire 3 (A315-24P) Review
- Sleek, slim, and light
- Sensibly priced
- Gorgeous 2.8K OLED touch screen
- Above-average audio
- Not Lenovo’s best keyboard
- No USB-A port or SD/microSD card slot
- No mobile broadband option
Lenovo’s latest crack at making the best ultraportable laptop possible led it to its ThinkPad brand. From there, the company crafted a thin-and-light machine that exudes premium style and named it the X9. While it doesn’t quite compete on value or performance, the ThinkPad X9 14 certainly rivals the MacBook Air in design. Bridging consumer and small-business needs, it’s a sturdy and reliable high-end alternative to the Air.
Design: The 14-inch ThinkPad X9 shell is partly recycled aluminum and measures just 0.51 inch thick. Lenovo’s super-thin laptop weighs only 2.74 pounds, tying the MacBook Air in weight and just barely thicker. However, its underside “wedge” hosting its ports allows for a fan-cooled processor inside, which is not a given among ultraportable laptops and allows for a higher power ceiling under sustained loads.
Display: Lenovo all but perfected its OLED display tuning with the ThinkPad X9, presenting an 1800p 14-inch screen whose only color-coverage miss was a “mere” 98% rating for Adobe RGB. It’s also among the brightest laptop screens we’ve tested at 505 nits. Oh, and it’s a speedy 120Hz panel that can adjust the refresh rate automatically based on the content displayed.
Performance: Intel’s Core Ultra 200V “Lunar Lake” processors prioritize efficiency, so set your expectations accordingly for raw output. The ThinkPad X9 chassis’s fan cooling helps it remain competitive, but this laptop won’t win any drag races. With that in mind, the X9 will easily cut through basic computing tasks while slowly sipping on that battery.
Battery life: Speaking of which, the ThinkPad X9 lasted a cool 19 hours and 31 minutes on our battery rundown test. This result is still impressive in 2025 and competitive with the MacBook Air, but ultraportable PC laptops have started to outlast the 20-hour mark at this point. If you’re dead set on breaking 20 hours, for whatever reason, then think twice; otherwise, the battery on this laptop is more than enough.
Value for money: This is the second area where the ThinkPad X9 doesn’t quite keep up with the MacBook Air; it starts at $1,239. We’d normally say the OLED screen has something to do with that, but we’ve seen OLED on a few under-$1,000 laptops. However, it doesn’t get much more premium in this price range for Windows laptops than the ThinkPad X9.
Frequent travelers: This is the kind of laptop that all but disappears in your backpack, thinner than most paperback books and lighter than some hardcovers. The ThinkPad X9 is also a long-lasting machine with fast charging that can get you back to 80% power in 60 minutes, fitting for someone always on the move.
Screen snobs: Anyone spoiled by their luxe smartphone screen will be pleased by this laptop’s 1800p OLED panel. The screen is sharp and colorful, refreshing at a snappy 120Hz and shining brightly at more than 500 nits. When we say Apple’s rivals are catching up to its Mac displays, we think of laptops like the ThinkPad X9.
Class
Business, Ultraportable
Processor
Intel Core Ultra 5 226V
RAM (as Tested)
16 GB
Boot Drive Type
SSD
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
512 GB
Screen Size
14 inches
Native Display Resolution
2880 by 1800
Panel Technology
OLED
Variable Refresh Support
Dynamic
Screen Refresh Rate
120 Hz
Graphics Processor
Intel Arc Graphics 130V
Wireless Networking
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth
Dimensions (HWD)
0.51 by 12.3 by 8.4 inches
Weight
2.74 lbs
Operating System
Windows 11 Pro
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
19:31
Learn More
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition Review
- M5 is a monster CPU and GPU upgrade
- AI boosted with GPU Neural Accelerators
- Same price as 2024 model
- No changes to outer design
- Connectivity stuck at Wi-Fi 6E, Thunderbolt 4
For the content creation laptop category, we consider several factors, including raw performance, display features, and portability. Apple’s latest 14-inch MacBook Pro nails all of the criteria with its new M5 processor. While we’re getting further away from the last MacBook Pro redesign every year, this model is by no means outdated, nearly qualifying as an ultraportable with power rivaling some of the most potent laptops of its size in key content creation functions. For that, it earned our Editors’ Choice award for compact content creation laptops.
Design: Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro design has remained essentially unchanged for several years, but the current version addresses so many fan concerns that it leaves little to be desired. The all-aluminum build could benefit from an update to its USB-C ports to Thunderbolt 5, currently still on Thunderbolt 4. However, the M5 chip’s power delivery limitations might be at play here, as it lacks the additional cores you’ll find in its Pro and Max variants.
Display: The 3,024-by-1,964-pixel Liquid Retina XDR display returns, this time with a clever trick to boost the brightness of its mini LEDs to 1,000 nits for content in standard dynamic range and up to 1,600 nits in high dynamic range. Apple’s display still rocks our color gamut coverage tests, and it would be a boon to any commute-bound photo or video editor.
Performance: This is where Apple focused its attention on with this update: the new M5 processor. This chip introduces a new architectural feature that integrates an AI-accelerating coprocessor with each of the system-on-chip’s (SoC) graphics processing cores. The performance benefits are twofold: faster GPU-based AI task processing and even faster graphics processing, aided by new machine learning processes like artificial frame generation. The M5’s productivity speeds lead the charts, too, making for an all-around superchip.
Battery life: While the MacBook Pro lasts 4 hours less this year than last year’s model in our battery rundown, it still falls within Apple’s 24-hour promise, and that’s more than you need from such a high-power laptop. Expect to get through most, if not all, of a workday on this Mac’s battery, especially if you plug in for high-intensity output periods, such as project exporting.
Value for money: While Apple’s MacBook Pro laptops have always been expensive, many competitors have also started charging more for their products, which has given Apple room to make big waves with relatively small price reductions. The MacBook Pro’s starting price remains unchanged with the M5 upgrade, and it competes well within its class at this price. Of course, Apple’s storage and memory upgrade pricing at checkout continues its legacy of excess.
Creators on the go: Apple’s newest MacBook Pro is a great fit for anyone who works in media or digital design who needs to get work done remotely or while commuting to the office. (Frequent fliers have also always had the pro Mac laptop top of mind.) If you need to get deadline-driven creative work done on the move without sacrificing power, battery life, or your office studio’s superior displays, the MacBook Pro is the answer—and it’s worth getting used to macOS for.
Sideline computer gamers: This machine’s M5’s graphics boost makes it a good fit for gamers who are Mac loyalists. Apple has been hot on improving its reputation among PC gamers for years, and its massive improvements to graphics processing via AI accelerators give the MacBook Pro M5 a tremendous upgrade. Multi-frame generation is finally available on Mac games, which should dramatically change the conversation as developers adapt to how Apple’s GPUs apply the technology. High-power Macs won’t ever replace gaming PCs, but that doesn’t mean they can’t handle games well enough for the mainstream.
Class
Desktop Replacement
Processor
Apple M5 (10-core)
RAM (as Tested)
32 GB
Boot Drive Type
SSD
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
1 TB
Screen Size
14.2 inches
Native Display Resolution
3024 by 1964
Panel Technology
Mini LED
Variable Refresh Support
ProMotion
Screen Refresh Rate
120 Hz
Graphics Processor
Apple M5 (10-core)
Wireless Networking
Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Dimensions (HWD)
0.61 by 12.3 by 8.7 inches
Weight
3.4 pounds
Operating System
Apple macOS Tahoe
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
24:06
Learn More
Apple MacBook Pro 14-Inch (2025, M5) Review
- Exceptional performance
- Dazzling mini-LED screen
- Potent audio
- Decent battery life
- Mostly plastic chassis
- Loud fans
- So-so keyboard
For most people, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI breaks the price ceiling and keeps soaring into the stratosphere, but that’s what it takes to be the best of the best in terms of power and premium parts. The latest 18-inch Raider earned our Editors’ Choice award for big-screen gaming laptops, the best in its class that we’ve tested so far in this hardware generation. We love it for its breathtaking 4K mini-LED display, Thunderbolt 5 support, Wi-Fi 7 radio, and PCI Express 5.0 storage—and that’s before even getting to the top-end CPU and GPU combo.
Design: The Raider is all about size and stature. With a giant 18-inch screen and weighing a ponderous 7.94 pounds, this laptop isn’t designed to go much of anywhere. Instead, it’s a desktop replacement through and through. This large design allows for several ports, including Thunderbolt 5, as well as substantial cooling to keep its top-end components from overheating during play.
Display: This is one of the stars of MSI’s show: the 18-inch mini-LED screen with a super-sharp 3,840-by-2,400-pixel resolution and speedy 120Hz refresh rate. It’s a regular Rolls-Royce of gaming displays. The screen includes Nvidia G-Sync so that the screen redraws and the GPU frame rate will always match, at up to 120 frames per second.
Performance: Surprising no one, the Raider is an absolute beast at any task you throw at it, short of super-specific workstation applications. It more than doubled the baseline in the PCMark 10 test for general productivity, set the record for our HandBrake video encoding benchmark, and posted extremely competitive frame rates in our gaming benchmarks.
Battery life: You don’t come to a laptop like this expecting high efficiency. Despite its size and power profile, the Raider lasted a few hours longer than some competing 18-inchers (and even a few 16-inch laptops) in our battery rundown video-playback test. And you can just forget about gaming on the battery—keep this laptop on your desk as much as possible, plugged in.
Value for money: A laptop this expensive requires a different approach to evaluating its value than most other kinds of laptops. Rather than comparing it with other laptops, compare it instead with the cost of a comparable gaming desktop setup. Including the top-end screen and high-power components, you’re not paying too much more than it would cost to build such a desktop setup. Regardless, however, this is an expensive machine for deep-pocketed enthusiasts only.
Power-hungry gamers: This laptop’s primary audience is gamers who want peak power from their semi-mobile PC gaming system. The Raider aced all of our performance benchmarks, gaming or otherwise, pairing super-potent parts with a top-notch cooling system to run at maximum output.
Space-starved PC players: Of course, most people will tell you to just buy a gaming-desktop setup for this amount of money, and they would be right. However, what if you just don’t have the space in your home for such a thing, or you need the option to pick up your system and take it to a friend’s house or an esports tournament easily? The Raider shines in those scenarios.
Class
Gaming, Desktop Replacement
Processor
Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX
RAM (as Tested)
64 GB
Boot Drive Type
SSD
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
2 TB
Secondary Drive Type
SSD
Secondary Drive Capacity (as Tested)
2 TB
Screen Size
18 inches
Native Display Resolution
3840 by 2400
Panel Technology
IPS
Variable Refresh Support
None
Screen Refresh Rate
120 Hz
Graphics Processor
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU
Graphics Memory
16 GB
Wireless Networking
Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 7
Dimensions (HWD)
1.26 by 15.9 by 12.1 inches
Weight
7.94 lbs
Operating System
Windows 11 Home
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
5:37
Learn More
MSI Raider 18 HX AI Review
- Capable everyday productivity performance
- RTX 5050 stands up to demanding games with DLSS 4
- Comfortable keyboard with RGB lighting
- Varied connectivity
- Just 512GB storage is tight for modern gaming
- Dim display
- Chunky for a 15-inch laptop
Buying a budget gaming laptop is all about managing compromises while finding the lowest price possible, and the MSI Katana 15 HX makes the fewest compromises to reach a sub-$1,000 price. Bringing the latest in Nvidia graphics tech to buyers at a three-figure price, the newest Katana handles gaming at 1080p better than ever. The MSI just set a new bar for budget gaming laptops to reach, and it’s our top pick for an affordable gamer book.
Design: The design and the display are generally the weakest areas for budget gaming laptops. While the Katana doesn’t escape that trope entirely, it does fairly well. Although this is an all-plastic laptop, it’s built without excessive flex in any area and includes a comfortable keyboard. It’s also relatively portable for its class, making for a fine one-and-only device for cash-strapped buyers.
Display: Screens in lower-end gaming laptops are often the first to take a quality hit when cutting costs, and Katana presents a bog-standard budget gamer screen: a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS panel with a 144Hz refresh rate and middling color coverage. Its heightened refresh rate pushes this screen just above the “1080p/60” minimum spec for PC gaming expected from most players.
Performance: The Katana is impressive in its class for both general productivity speeds and gaming frame rates. The star of the show is its Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 graphics chip paired with DLSS 4 frame generation, which achieves high enough frame rates in high-fidelity games to make use of the laptop screen’s 144Hz refresh rate. Budget-limited customers will be delighted by the broad selection of games these performance boosts make available.
Battery life: Gaming laptops aren’t often favored for their battery longevity, but the Katana reported a decent 8 hours in our battery rundown video test. However, expect this number to drop by more than half while running a game, especially an intense one. You’ll get by on a few commuter rides per day, but don’t forget to pack your charging cord.
Value for money: The Katana offers one of the best values in laptops today, gaming or otherwise. Getting RTX 50-series graphics into the hands of gamers for less than $1,000 is a feat in itself, but doing so while maintaining decent build quality and a potent enough processor to limit bottlenecking is a significant accomplishment.
College students: For the PC gamers among the undergraduate college population, the Katana 15 HX is an excellent all-in-one solution. It can handle most general collegiate work while serving up some serious frag sessions in between classes.
Casual or first-time PC gamers: The new Katana would delight both dabblers in PC gaming and kids hoping for a sweet first gaming laptop. It offers a great gaming experience without requiring a steep investment.
Class
Gaming
Processor
Intel Core i7-14650HX
RAM (as Tested)
16 GB
Boot Drive Type
SSD
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
512 GB
Screen Size
15.6 inches
Native Display Resolution
1920 by 1080
Panel Technology
IPS
Variable Refresh Support
None
Screen Refresh Rate
144 Hz
Graphics Processor
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 Laptop GPU
Graphics Memory
8 GB
Wireless Networking
Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth
Dimensions (HWD)
1 by 14.1 by 10.3 inches
Weight
5.29 lbs
Operating System
Windows 11 Home
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
8:11
Learn More
MSI Katana 15 HX Review
- A nearly perfect portable PC
- Remarkably light
- Gorgeous 2.8K OLED display
- Fine keyboard
- Generous array of ports for its size and profile
- No SD or microSD card slot
- WWAN option not available yet
Once again, Lenovo takes home the honor of the best business laptop ever made with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition. This model takes the same crisp OLED display, light weight, class-leading keyboard, and ample port selection to the next level with a CoPilot+ PC-ready Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor. (The outgoing Gen 12 model was not CoPilot+ PC-compliant.) Lenovo is polishing its top-tier laptop at this point, adding shiny new features on top of a dominant mobile computing platform.
Design: Still a combination of magnesium, aluminum, and carbon fiber, Lenovo’s matte-black beauty is the benchmark for business laptop design. Lenovo somehow made the laptop even lighter this year at just 2.17 pounds, which outclasses Dell’s XPS 13 and Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air.
Display: This version of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon has the same stunning OLED panel as before, with a 2,880-by-1,800-pixel resolution, rich colors, and up to a 120Hz refresh rate. With intense brightness and wide viewing angles, it’s still ready for most working environments, whether in an office or on a jet.
Performance: Last time, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon was a potent performer but not the top dog, and Intel’s “Lunar Lake” platform tells the same story. Lunar Lake, or Core Ultra V200-series processors, are built primarily for AI tasks and overall efficiency, so you won’t see class-leading output here but rather enough to get you by in a standard working environment.
Battery life: This is another area in which we’ve seen massive improvement, thanks to Core Ultra V processing. Whereas the outgoing ThinkPad lasted just 13 hours and some change, this latest model outlasted that by more than six hours. This doesn’t earn it an overall win against its rivals but makes it competitive on daily lasting power.
Value for money: We gave this ThinkPad X1 Carbon another Editors’ Choice award and a five-star rating, a rarity for us, recognizing Lenovo’s responses to previous criticisms on performance and battery life. This will never be the most affordable business ultraportable, but you get what you pay for, and here you get quite a lot for the steep price.
Mobile professionals: If you travel for work or take a long bus or train commute often, this is the ultimate machine for you. With a thin, lighter, and MIL-STD 810H-certified chassis, this ThinkPad is prepared for the rigors of frequent travel. The boosted battery life and performance help keep the latest ThinkPad X1 Carbon’s position as a top business laptop.
ThinkPad loyalists: Lenovo’s ThinkPad brand inspires loyalty and earns it with every X1 Carbon generation. Its iconic design, best-in-class keyboard, distinctive TrackPoint navigation, and impeccable business pedigree inspire professionals to pay more for the full package that the Carbon name promises. That said, this latest model earns and deserves the hype.
Class
Business, Ultraportable
Processor
Intel Core Ultra 7 258V
RAM (as Tested)
32 GB
Boot Drive Type
SSD
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
512 GB
Screen Size
14 inches
Native Display Resolution
2880 by 1800
Panel Technology
OLED
Variable Refresh Support
Manual
Screen Refresh Rate
120 Hz
Graphics Processor
Intel Arc Graphics 140V
Wireless Networking
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth
Dimensions (HWD)
0.56 by 12.3 by 8.5 inches
Weight
2.17 lbs
Operating System
Windows 11 Pro
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
19:49
Learn More
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition Review
- New AI features supercharge ChromeOS
- 12 months free Google One with Gemini Advanced
- Versatile, durable 2-in-1 design
- Intel Core Ultra processing and on-device AI
- Excellent battery life
- Clear, colorful touch screen
- Pen not included
- ChromeOS still has quirks
Acer’s Chromebook Plus Spin 714 represents the upper echelons of what Chromebooks can aspire to through Google’s Chromebook Plus program. In this refreshed version of its leading 2-in-1 Chromebook, Acer equipped the Spin 714 with an AI-ready Intel Core Ultra processor that’s also competitive in raw performance. Winning our Editors’ Choice award for high-end Chromebooks, the Spin 714 is your first-stop premium ChromeOS laptop.
Design: Acer’s Plus Spin 714 is housed in a gray metal shell that measures just 0.71 inches thick and weighs 3.21 pounds with everything inside. The Chromebook has a 14-inch, 1200p touch screen with a 1440p webcam above it. Acer tops off the laptop’s exterior features with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, among other connections, for uncompromised connectivity.
Display: You don’t get much sharper for Chromebooks than a 1200p display, and Acer made sure to preserve those pixels with a layer of Gorilla Glass and antimicrobial protection. Both would be welcome features in a classroom if this laptop weren’t priced as it is.
Performance: Acer’s Spin 714 is a competitive Chromebook in terms of raw speeds, though it didn’t lead in any of our benchmark results. Regardless, its processor will carry out all the usual Chromebook work and grant access to some helpful AI features, particularly Google Gemini
Battery life: At 14 hours and 46 minutes on the battery, the Spin 714 is among the longest-lasting Chromebooks we’ve tested. This should be enough endurance to get through a day of work with some time to spare for light gaming or watching Netflix.
Value for money: This is one of those Chromebooks that challenges the broader value proposition of the category. The Spin 714 is a high-quality laptop for its price, but aren’t Chromebooks supposed to be cheap? Relatively speaking, this laptop is high-value in that it displays lots of high-end performance and features for far less than $1,000.
Google mega fans: If you’re already sold on ChromeOS and own an Android device, the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 represents the finest ChromeOS experience in both hardware and performance. This laptop effectively runs more of the latest Android apps and handles more work at once. The Spin 714 should also support new Google updates containing fresh features for many years based on its next-generation silicon.
AI early adopters: Speaking of silicon, the Spin 714 is one of the first Chromebooks to spearhead Google’s Gemini program. It can access Gemini over cloud servers and take on key processes using the laptop’s neural processing unit, or NPU. Getting AI aspirants off to the races, each Spin 714 sale includes one year of access to Gemini Advanced for more intense interactions and projects using machine learning.
Class
Chromebook, Convertible 2-in-1
Processor
Intel Core Ultra 5 115U
RAM (as Tested)
8 GB
Boot Drive Type
SSD
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
256 GB
Screen Size
14 inches
Native Display Resolution
1920 by 1200
Panel Technology
IPS
Variable Refresh Support
None
Screen Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Graphics Processor
Intel Graphics
Wireless Networking
Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
Dimensions (HWD)
0.71 by 12.4 by 8.8 inches
Weight
3.21 lbs
Operating System
Chrome OS
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
14:46
Learn More
Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 Review
- On-point productivity performance
- Gorgeous, sturdy 2-in-1 build
- Spectacular OLED display
- Excellent battery life
- Click-button touchpad
- A little expensive for the component mix
Our current best 2-in-1 convertible laptop is the Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 10 Aura Edition, which earned our Editors’ Choice award among high-end 2-in-1 laptops for its luxurious build, super-sharp OLED touch screen, and fantastic battery life. This model forgoes dedicated graphics to focus on the ultraportable experience, yet still provides a lot of punch for bursts of high-intensity work or prolonged projects.
Design: Lenovo has long been a leader in 2-in-1 laptop design, and its latest flagship carries the torch for its most recent chassis revision, last seen on the outgoing ninth-generation model. It’s a full-metal ultraportable system, measuring 0.61 inches thick and weighing just 2.91 pounds, and the protruding webcam housing returns to preserve more screen real estate.
Display: This laptop’s 14-inch OLED touch screen is one of its major highlights, shining bright and displaying nearly perfect color coverage. Its color-rich quality makes for a fantastic entertainment device and a cinch for minor content creation projects.
Performance: Our Yoga 9i review unit packs an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor, which is rated for the full suite of Microsoft Copilot functions in Windows 11 via its neural processor. The Yoga didn’t dominate our performance benchmarks, but it posted high enough numbers to instill deep confidence in its capabilities, leading in the PCMark 10 productivity simulation, too.
Battery life: This is where the Yoga excels. In our battery rundown test, it ran for nearly 22 hours, longer than any 2-in-1 laptop we tested and second only to even more efficient Snapdragon-based systems. This is a long-lasting show-binging laptop or a power-sipping photo editor and digital drafter—take your pick.
Value for money: As Lenovo’s top-end convertible laptop line, the Yoga 9i starts out at a premium price, but as tested, it offers a decent value for the experience it provides. This 2-in-1 looks and feels just like laptops that cost $1,000 more, making the Lenovo 9i a relative steal.
Flush, fashionable laptop fans: Clad in a gorgeous full-metal shell and adorned with the highest-end parts inside and out, the Yoga 9i is an understated, sleek affair that gives off demure, well-to-do vibes. It’s just about as close to a MacBook or iPad as a 2-in-1 laptop can reach.
Amateur creators and TV bingers: The OLED touch screen, refreshing at 120Hz, is a dream for both relaxed TV streaming fans and motivated creators at home. The dynamic color coverage pops in both scenarios, and the 120Hz refresh rate provides smooth video and more realistic drafting with the included stylus.
Class
Convertible 2-in-1
Processor
Intel Core Ultra 7 258V
RAM (as Tested)
32 GB
Boot Drive Type
SSD
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
1 TB
Screen Size
14 inches
Native Display Resolution
2880 by 1800
Panel Technology
OLED
Variable Refresh Support
None
Screen Refresh Rate
120 Hz
Graphics Processor
Intel Arc Graphics 140V
Wireless Networking
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Dimensions (HWD)
0.63 by 12.4 by 8.7 inches
Weight
2.91 lbs
Operating System
Windows 11 Home
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
21:56
Learn More
Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 10 Aura Edition Review
- Gorgeous OLED touch screen
- Kickstand cover and above-average keyboard included
- Dual high-quality cameras
- SD card slot
- Affordable price
- Pen not included
- Scanty port selection and no headphone jack
- Arm software compatibility concerns
- No WWAN option
The Asus ProArt PZ13 is our pick for the best Windows tablet due to its exceptional value, high-quality OLED display, and solid performance tailored for creative professionals. It’s a great, competitive alternative to the Microsoft Surface Pro 11, especially with its included keyboard cover and kickstand. This versatile tablet wowed us with sturdy design, a premium display, and great Snapdragon-powered performance while remaining budget-friendly. And with nearly 18 hours of battery life and a combination of accessories and features that will appeal to the most demanding creative pros, the ProArt PZ13 earns its spot as the best Windows detachable tablet available today.
Design: The ProArt PZ13 features compact dimensions (0.35 by 11.7 by 8 inches) and a lightweight design (1.87 pounds) that enhance portability, but the aluminum chassis and Gorilla Glass front ensure durability and a premium feel. The magnetic kickstand and keyboard cover provide stability and usability, although the absence of a bundled stylus is a drawback.
Display: The tablet boasts a stunning OLED touch screen with a resolution of 2,880 by 1,800 pixels, delivering vibrant colors and deep contrasts. The Pantone-validated display offers exceptional color coverage, outperforming many competitors, including the Surface Pro’s IPS panel, and the high contrast ratio makes it suitable for various lighting conditions.
Performance: Powered by an eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus processor, the PZ13 is positioned as a capable device for multitasking and creative applications. While it lagged behind competitors in synthetic benchmarks, subjective performance was strong, with the tablet feeling responsive during everyday tasks and moderate multitasking. The Hexagon NPU provides 45 TOPS of AI processing power, making it suitable for AI-enhanced applications, though it still trails behind more powerful chips like the Ryzen AI 9.
Battery life: The ProArt PZ13 demonstrated impressive battery life, outlasting its rivals by over three hours during video playback tests, making it a reliable choice for on-the-go use.
Value for money: Even at more than $1,000, the ProArt PZ13 is competitively priced, especially considering the included accessories, which are often sold separately with competitors. The combination of a high-quality display, solid performance, and included keyboard cover makes it a strong value proposition, even despite the lack of a stylus and the limited port selection.
Creative professionals: The ProArt PZ13’s stunning OLED screen and Pantone validation make it an excellent choice for graphic designers, digital artists, and even video editors—anyone who needs a vibrant, high-quality display for color accuracy and detail. Additionally, its portability allows creative professionals to work on projects in various locations, whether in a studio, at a client meeting, or while traveling.
Business multitaskers: The ProArt PZ13 is well-suited for professionals who need a reliable and portable device for presentations, meetings, and remote work. Its detachable design allows for easy transitions between tablet and laptop modes, making it convenient for on-the-go productivity. The high-quality display is ideal for showcasing presentations, while the solid performance and excellent accessories ensure smooth multitasking with business applications.
Class
Detachable 2-in-1
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (X1P-42-100)
RAM (as Tested)
16 GB
Boot Drive Type
SSD
Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested)
1 TB
Screen Size
13.3 inches
Native Display Resolution
2880 by 1800
Panel Technology
OLED
Variable Refresh Support
None
Screen Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Graphics Processor
Qualcomm Adreno GPU
Wireless Networking
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Dimensions (HWD)
0.35 by 11.7 by 8 inches
Weight
1.87 lbs
Operating System
Windows 11 Home
Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes)
17:47
Learn More
Asus ProArt PZ13 Review
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The Best Laptops for 2025
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Buying Guide: The Best Laptops for 2025
Details, details, and more details! Buying the best laptop for you can be maddening, given all the specifications and features you’ll encounter in your search. Which class of laptops is best for you depends on your budget and how you plan to use it. Take a systematic approach when shopping—here’s how to make a smart pick.
What Are the Types of Laptops You Can Buy?
Let’s start with a rundown of the main types of laptops on today’s market.
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General-use laptops: Most laptops out there fall into this class. They are capable of everyday computing tasks like web browsing, document editing, light content creation, and casual gaming. Expect baseline specs, passable features, and graphics acceleration that relies on the CPU. (More on that later.) They start as low as $300 and top out around $1,000.
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Ultraportables: These laptops, generally under 3 pounds, have thin and light designs, making them easy to carry while commuting or traveling. Like general-use laptops, most lean on CPU-integrated graphics, but you might get some better features, like extra-sharp screens, touch-input support, and premium build materials. The prototype ultraportable is Apple’s iconic MacBook Air, which starts at $1,000. Most Windows ultraportables cost $700 or more.
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2-in-1 laptops: Tablets and laptops in one, the 2-in-1 category is split into two subcategories: convertibles and detachables. Most convertibles are clamshell-style laptops with a 360-degree rotating hinge. You can use the laptop in “tablet mode,” with the keys behind the screen, or propped up in an inverted V. Detachables are souped-up tablets with keyboard covers that snap off, and kickstands that prop them up. As a rule, all 2-in-1 laptops, whether budget or high-end models, have touch screens.
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Gaming laptops: Discrete graphics processors from AMD, Intel, or Nvidia enable gaming laptops to play PC games at varying levels of fidelity and frame rate. You can spend anywhere from $800 to more than $4,000 on a gaming laptop. (Generally speaking, the quality of gameplay and the visual sharpness rise with the price.) Some approach ultraportable status (the smallest have 14-inch screens), while the beefiest feature gigantic 18-inch displays.
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Business laptops: These range from general-use models to high-style, premium ultraportables. (Some are 2-in-1s, too.) Because of this, we look at business laptops through the lens of several subcategories, like budget, ultraportable, detachable, and convertible. Most distinguish themselves with special security software, hardware, or firmware features that protect sensitive company information or resources.
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Mobile workstations: These are business laptops, but with dedicated work-grade GPUs with special drivers for rendering professional 3D or special-effects projects, working with machine-learning models, and performing other forms of GPU compute. Few cost less than $1,500, and they can exceed even the most powerful gaming laptops in price.
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Chromebooks: Chromebooks run exclusively on Google’s ChromeOS, based on its Chrome web browser and a suite of browser-based web apps. They rely on cloud storage for storing most files and feature only minimal local storage. Few cost more than $700, making them ideal budget alternatives.
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MacBooks: Apple’s two laptop lineups serve different audiences. MacBook Air is for everyday, mainstream users; Air models are punchy and reliable enough to serve well in the classroom and the office. Some consumers might want a MacBook Pro for amateur content creation, but these higher-power MacBooks are for students and professionals in advanced computing fields, with upper Pro models competing with the workstation crowd. Expect prices from $700 for the earlier-generation MacBook Air to more than $4,000 for the most decked-out Pro.
How to Choose the Best Laptop in 2025: Every Factor to Consider
Now that we’ve covered the major types of laptops available, let’s explore the specifics you’ll need to decide on before pressing the Buy button. In the main part of the guide, we’ll get into each consideration in detail, but here’s a TL;DR summary of what we’ll cover:
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Brands. Acer, Apple, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and MSI are all worthy leading laptop brands, with strengths in their own areas, but buying on brand alone can mean you miss some great alternatives and values. We break that down in more detail shortly.
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Battery life. In general, mainstream and thin-and-light machines will last the longest off the plug, and gaming laptops and workstation models will be shorter-lived on a charge. But battery life depends heavily on how you use your machine and its particular component makeup. Consulting our reviews and their benchmark tests is essential as a yardstick for relative longevity.
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Price. This is the squishiest factor of all. We define budget Windows laptops as models at $500 or less, but premium Chromebooks are available in the $400 to $600 range. A decent mainstream ultraportable should set you back between $700 and $1,100. Gaming laptops range from $700 (basic) to $4,000 or $5,000 (very much kitted-out). Mobile workstations can be similarly sky’s-the-limit. Apple’s MacBooks start at $999 new.
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Size and weight. Assess these based on how often you’ll carry your machine. Most gaming machines weigh between 4 and 6 pounds, mainstream machines from 3 to 5 pounds, and the better class of ultraportables between 2 and 3 pounds. Overall size is proportional to the screen size, and bigger-screen models tend to weigh more. Also, factor in the weight and bulk of the AC adapter. (Some gaming laptops have real whoppers.)
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Displays. IPS panels are the middle-ground standard to look for these days, with brilliant OLEDs or mini LED panels being the premium choices. Seek out a minimum screen resolution of 1080p (1,920 by 1,080 pixels). A 60Hz refresh rate is acceptable for an everyday laptop; look for at least a 120Hz or 144Hz rate in a gaming model. Avoid TFT screens except in the very cheapest laptops. Most mainstream ultraportables have 13- or 14-inch screens; desktop replacements are in the 15-to-17-inch range; and most gaming models and workstations have panels from 15 to 18 inches, with a handful smaller.
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Processing power. This is a complex area. Short version: With Intel and AMD chips, generally look for “3”-class processors (Core i3, Core 3, Ryzen 3) in budget machines, “5”-class ones in mainstream laptops, and “7” or “9” in high-end power models. But this is not comprehensive or absolute. Chips with numbers ending with “H” (or “HS” or “HX”) are a higher power class than ones ending in “U” or “P.” Snapdragon X chips are a class of their own related to Windows on Arm PCs, and Apple’s MacBook chips rise from M1 to M4 (the generation number) and offer upper-tier Pro and Max variants in each. Benchmark tests in our reviews will tell you much more in a relative sense.
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Graphics power. The big differentiator here is getting “integrated graphics” from AMD or Intel, which feature in most mainstream laptops, versus a discrete graphics chip or GPU (Nvidia’s RTX or GeForce RTX, or less commonly, AMD’s Radeon RX) in a gaming laptop or workstation. In the simplest terms, higher GPU series numbers (GeForce RTX 4060 versus RTX 4080, say) should be faster in a given graphics family and generation, but it’s nuanced; reviews matter here, too.
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Memory and storage capacities. Look for at least 8GB of main system memory in any Windows or Mac laptop, with 16GB preferred. More than 16GB is relevant primarily for content creation pros, workstation users, and heavy multitaskers; 4GB might suffice in a budget Chromebook, but nothing else. As for storage, a 512GB SSD is a decent balance in a mainstream laptop; don’t opt for less than 256GB except in a Chromebook, and look for at least 1TB in a gaming machine. (Games eat a lot of space.)
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Ports. Look for a mix that matches the peripherals or displays you might attach. Having both USB Type-A and Type-C is ideal, plus a full-size HDMI output for a second monitor. (Note: Many machines piggyback display output on USB-C ports these days.) Headphone/mic jacks are common; Ethernet ones, less so.
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Wireless connectivity. Wi-Fi 6 support should suffice for most users, with Wi-Fi 6E a premium feature and Wi-Fi 7 the cutting edge. All laptops released today will also support Bluetooth.
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Operating systems. This is very much a personal preference. Windows 11 is today’s default for most buyers, but Apple users may prefer macOS for its familiarity and deep bench of handy built-in applications. ChromeOS features in low-cost Chromebooks that emphasize in-browser web work and cloud storage. A last option, Windows on Arm, is emerging in the latest Copilot+ laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors; it’s mostly indistinguishable from Windows 11, apart from some limitations around program compatibility.
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Refurbished models. A refurbished laptop can net you a great deal, but refurbishers’ standards and condition-grading scales aren’t consistent. Insist on a good return policy if you roll the dice on one; getting a refurb from a laptop manufacturer is often safer than a third party.
Which Brand of Laptop Is the Best?
Choosing a laptop based on what might be the “best” laptop brand isn’t the best initial approach—assess laptops model by model instead. Some brands have reputations for what they’re best suited for. But going by those alone can mean you miss a winner from a different brand.
For instance, Apple has long been known for its MacBooks’ particular aptitude for creative professionals, from writers to photo/video editors and even digital designers. Meanwhile, Lenovo is best known for its class-leading keyboards and its ThinkPad business machines. As a last example, brands like Acer and Asus, while they have high-end models, tend to dominate the midrange and budget sectors with value-minded systems. Other major makers of first-rate laptops include HP and MSI. But you’ll find tons of crossovers in all of these assessments that make relying solely on brand almost meaningless.
If knowing the top laptop brands still drives you, go with the wisdom of the crowd: See what you can find within our running Readers’ Choice: Best Laptop Brands series, which polls readers like you to name their favorite laptop brands for specific use cases and scenarios.
What Is the Longest-Lasting Laptop?
Many of the best laptops can last the better part of a workday away from an outlet. You’ll find exceptions. A leading laptop with a 4K display and a powerful CPU may last less time, and gaming laptops deplete far sooner than most other machines. And when playing demanding GPU-taxing games? Gaming laptops run out of juice faster than most. Much depends on how you compute; even powerful laptops have become adept at sensing when maximum power isn’t required, reducing various components’ consumption.
This is where PC Labs’ battery testing comes in. We evaluate battery life by playing a locally stored video file nonstop at middle brightness. An excellent result suggests that the laptop can adapt its power use to the task at hand; our testing lets you compare the potential of the machines you are considering. We evaluate all laptops using this test.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Measuring battery life is never an absolute, though, since it depends on how you use your laptop. Your usage profile probably doesn’t match our test—or anyone else’s—to a T. So you’ll want to look at tested battery life in a relative, not absolute, sense.
If you’re keeping score, HP’s OmniBook X AI (based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite CPU) and the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (the M3 model) are today’s longest-lasting laptops we’ve reviewed, enduring 30 hours on our battery rundown test.
How Much Will the Right Laptop Cost?
Don’t care about cutting-edge design and robust components? A cheap laptop could suffice. Today’s market is flooded with basic but full-featured models under $500. “Shopping holidays” like Prime Day and Black Friday, and actual holidays like Presidents’ Day, bring frequent sales, discounting some of these models even further.
Most handle word processing and email checking just fine, but they’ll struggle with heavier tasks, such as keeping many web browser tabs or memory- and CPU-demanding programs open simultaneously. Look at our reviews to compare performance. PC Labs has tested many late-model budget laptops; some are classic clamshells, and others are convertible or detachable 2-in-1s. (See a few of our top cheap laptops in our lineup of favorites.)
Spending closer to $1,000 unlocks many of the cutting-edge features modern laptops offer: slim, sturdy aluminum chassis, brilliant touch-enabled 4K displays, powerful processors and graphics chips, and all-day batteries. Some leading laptops bring these features closer to $800; check brands like Acer, Asus, and HP.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
A major caveat: In this price range, you’ll have to settle on what the most essential features are for you. You might land a beautiful 4K display or a cavernous terabyte of solid-state storage, but probably not both.
You can choose almost any combination if your budget is $2,000 or more. That said, even the most powerful laptop that money can buy must still obey the laws of physics. Powerful hardware generates heat, and the cooling mechanisms required to address that heat take up space. Hard-core gamers who want a large display and a screaming-fast graphics processor that requires bulky cooling pipes and fans won’t find it in a thin, light laptop.
IT-manageable, security-conscious business laptops—models made primarily by Dell, HP, and Lenovo—have their own pricing dynamic and tend to cost a bit more, all else being equal. That’s because of their premium warranty or support plans, enterprise-specific silicon focused on manageability or security, fingerprint or face-recognition login features, and more rugged build quality.
What Is an Ideal Weight and Size for a Laptop?
Most people searching for the best laptop should choose one that measures about half an inch thick and weighs 3 pounds or less. These are the maximum dimensions and heft a laptop can have to be considered ultraportable, and for most users, portability is the key to maximizing use and enjoyment.
Aiming for that weight and thickness usually means a laptop with a 13- or 14-inch screen, although a few models with 15-inch or larger screens qualify. At most screen sizes, you can find models in conventional “clamshell” laptop or 2-in-1 designs.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Some Windows laptops and ChromeOS laptops do have smaller 11-inch or 12-inch displays, often not technically laptops in the classic sense but rather tablets with detachable keyboards. Avoid these designs unless you’re looking for a part-time tablet or the lightest possible laptop. They’re lighter than most 13-inch ultraportables, often less than 2 pounds, but they’re not as effective at being tablets as the Apple iPad is, and their detachable keyboards mean typing on most of them tends to be subpar.
At the other end of the size spectrum are 17-inch and 18-inch laptops. They mostly appeal to hard-core gamers, but you can find the occasional 17-inch productivity machine or workstation if you like a larger screen for other reasons. A 17-inch or 18-inch laptop can closely mimic a desktop experience at the expense of size and weight. Most 18-inchers are meant for gaming; the larger panels complement the latest GeForce and Radeon GPUs, which use the extra chassis space for cooling. These monsters from Alienware, Asus, and Razer tackle the hardest graphics tasks to date to varying effects.
Some of these designs can exceed 6 pounds and measure more than an inch thick. If you plan to park your gaming rig on your desk and seldom move it, a 17- or 18-inch model is a possibility to maximize the screen space. Otherwise, most gamers should stick with 15- or 16-inch designs.
What Kind of Laptop Screen Should You Get?
The best laptop screens have become more pixel-dense over the past decade, producing crisper text and sharper images, often with better-looking colors. Displays are sometimes measured in pixels per inch (ppi), but native resolution, expressed in horizontal by vertical pixels, is the most popular method.
Most laptops have screens with at least “full HD” resolutions. Also known as “1080p” displays, they comprise 1,920 by 1,080 pixels (or sometimes 1,920 by 1,200) and most commonly employ LCD panels built on in-plane switching (IPS) technology. IPS screen quality varies, but these screens maintain image color when viewed off-center. Thin-film transistor, or TFT, technology predates IPS and has faded out due to its inferior viewing angles.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Only the very cheapest laptops still use TFT (resolutions of 1,280 by 720 and 1,366 by 768 pixels are common here), which cannot touch the crisp text and vivid colors found on smartphones or TVs. If you’re not picky about image quality, though, a lower-resolution display might be an acceptable sacrifice.
For the crispest text and details, common resolutions beyond 1080p include 1440p (2,560 by 1,440), 1600p (2,560 by 1,600), and 4K or 2160p (3,840 by 2,160). Some high-end screens still use IPS panels, while others use OLED technology. OLED screens command a premium for their inky blacks and luxurious colors. A few premium laptops have moved to mini LED backlighting technology for finer control over color depth and image brightness, especially boosting HDR content.
Regardless of the specific screen tech, people who plan to use their laptops in brightly lit rooms or outdoors will want to make sure that the panel has a maximum brightness level of at least 500 nits.
Finally, gamers and video content creators must pay attention to the refresh rate, or how often per second the screen redraws content, measured in hertz. A 60Hz rate is standard, with 120Hz and 144Hz common in gaming laptops and reaching as high as 360Hz. Unless you’re an esports gamer seeking extreme frame rates, don’t worry about going past 144Hz. And before you pay a significant premium for a high-refresh screen, be sure the graphics chip, or GPU, is muscular enough to push your games at a high enough frame rate to make a difference. A high-refresh screen won’t confer many benefits if you play games at 60 frames per second or lower.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
If you want to take advantage of the touch-screen support present throughout Windows and ChromeOS, seek out a touch-enabled laptop and perhaps even a digital stylus to write or draw on it. Some Windows laptops come in touch- and non-touch versions, so check specs carefully. Touch panels tend to be glossy screens; most matte screens designed to filter out glare from ambient lighting aren’t. Most gaming laptops lack touch panels, and Apple MacBooks don’t do touch screens at all.
What Is the Best Processor for Your Laptop?
Most $1,000 ultraportables use Intel Core processors or, less commonly, AMD Ryzen CPUs. All of these offer plenty of power for everyday computing tasks, but remember that higher CPU model numbers in a given family of chips typically indicate more processor cores, higher maximum clock speeds, and sometimes even multithreading. With multithreading, each CPU core can run two sets of software instructions simultaneously instead of just one. Modern software is designed to take advantage of as many CPU cores as possible so it can run faster on multithreaded chips.
Meanwhile, budget laptops typically use AMD Ryzen 3 processors, or Core i3 or newer Core 3 chips in Intel’s case. These typically have just a few individual cores. At the other end of the spectrum, high-end powerhouse laptops have workstation-class Intel or AMD CPUs with double-digit core counts. However, expect to see many new Intel-based machines employing Core Ultra processors; these are the firm’s successors to the Core i series, with an increased focus on AI processing.
Regardless of which CPU a laptop has, it’s typically designed to use less power and generate less heat than its desktop counterpart. In the latest mainstream, lightweight laptops, Intel laptop CPUs typically consume 15 watts (W) of power (or less) up to as much as 45W for the highest-end mobile chips.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Gaming laptops and mobile workstations typically feature higher-powered CPUs, usually denoted by an “H,” “HS,” or “HX” in the CPU’s model name. These require more cooling hardware and consume more energy, but they drive performance closer to that of a desktop PC. You’ll find H-series CPUs from both AMD and Intel.
Apple is in its fourth generation of M-series silicon for MacBooks. Apple’s MacBook Pro laptop models contain some variation of its M4 processors. Meanwhile, you can get the basic M4 chip in the latest 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air laptops.
Getting into laptop-processor specifics can get you pretty deep in the weeds, but for a decent overview that doesn’t overwhelm you, check out our guide to choosing a laptop CPU that fits what you do. As a rule of thumb, though, Core Ultra-family chips are Intel’s latest, while the Ryzen AI 300 and Ryzen 8000 series are AMD’s newest offerings. Chips with a “U” in the model number are typically lower-powered CPUs for thin machines, and the “H” chips indicate power-user machines. A newer CPU variant is the Snapdragon X Elite and Plus family from Qualcomm, powering some recent AI-equipped models that run a special Arm-based version of Windows. (See more about these in What Is an AI PC?)
Which Graphics Chip Should You Get in Your Laptop?
A graphics processor built into the CPU (also known as an “integrated graphics processor,” or IGP) is perfectly adequate for most everyday laptop use. You’ll know you’re looking at an IGP if you see a reference to Intel’s Arc Graphics, HD Graphics, UHD Graphics, or Iris as the graphics solution on an Intel-CPU laptop (or Radeon Graphics on an AMD-based laptop). An IGP shares the CPU’s processor cores, memory, or both. The amount of memory available to the integrated graphics chip is usually fixed, so increasing the system memory won’t result in better graphics performance.
Most gamers will want to consider a discrete GPU with dedicated graphics resources. Even a budget gaming GPU will offer an immense advantage over an integrated graphics processor when playing 3D games. Hard-core gamers should look for Nvidia’s latest GeForce RTX GPUs at the high end. The very latest chips in the GeForce line are the RTX 50 series, with names like GeForce RTX 5080 and 5090.
With gaming laptops, the level of GPU you need is deeply tied to the frame rate you want to run at the laptop’s native screen resolution and the kind of games you play. That’s where our reviews come in handy. We test with demanding gaming and industry-standard benchmarks to give you a relative sense of a laptop’s graphics performance. Check out our roundups of the best gaming laptops and budget gaming laptops for much more beyond our picks here. PC Labs has tested all of the latest gaming laptops across the market, from budget models to cost-no-object deluxe ones.
How Much Storage and Memory Does Your Laptop Need?
All modern laptops above entry-level now use solid-state drives (SSDs), which store data using memory cells instead of spinning platters (the classic hard drive). SSDs’ much faster access times make them a vast improvement. They’re also immune to jolts and bumps that might crash a spinning platter’s heads.
Note that not all laptop SSDs are created equal. SSDs that use the more modern, generally faster PCI Express NVMe standard, as opposed to the older, slightly slower SATA interface, are preferable. (PCI Express SSDs are rapidly taking over the field.) Either is far better than a third type, a not-quite-SSD: the much slower eMMC, a kind of flash storage drive found in budget machines. (If your budget laptop has 32GB or 64GB of storage, it’s probably eMMC. Check the specs.) Traditional spinning hard drives are now rare in new laptops, and eMMC is the slowest and least desirable flash tech.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The minimum amount of storage space to consider is 256GB. This will accommodate operating system updates and large apps with room left over. Look for at least 512GB for multimedia storage and some PC games. You’ll find 1TB or even roomier SSDs at the high end, which are increasingly required for PC gaming, but going beyond 1TB can add a lot to the overall cost. It’s more cost-effective to get a 512GB or 1TB SSD and add an external drive if you need additional space.
While a laptop’s SSD stores your data, its system memory (or RAM) works with the CPU to run apps and helps define its multitasking capacity. While you might squeak by with 8GB of RAM, 16GB is essentially the floor now for RAM capacity, especially for heavy multitaskers and PC gamers. A minimum of 16GB of RAM reduces the chance of slowdown while browsing resource-hungry websites and allows you to run multiple apps at once. It’s also necessary to run the various AI tasks that modern laptops can do.
Beyond 16GB is mostly needed by content creators or high-end PC gamers; meanwhile, steer clear of anything with less than 8GB of RAM. Even Chromebooks, which are designed to demand fewer computing resources than Windows laptops, suffer from less than 8GB of RAM at a minimum.
What Kind of Connectivity Does Your Laptop Need?
Starting with wireless connectivity, the latest mainstream Wi-Fi standard is 802.11ax (or Wi-Fi 6), an important feature to look for. Steer clear of the older 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5). Today’s high-end is Wi-Fi 6E, with the cutting-edge Wi-Fi 7 showing up in mostly premium devices. The latter reduces latency and provides access to additional bandwidth with a compliant Wi-Fi 7 router.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Serious gamers should consider a laptop with a Killer Networks setup, which more granularly prioritizes wired or wireless gaming traffic. Business users and gamers may also want a dedicated Ethernet jack. Most gaming machines will have one, and some gamers insist on wired Ethernet rules for competitive online gaming. Some leading laptops implement Ethernet as a full-size or fold-out jack; others may come with an adapter that routes Ethernet through a USB port. Others leave wired Ethernet up to you to add via an accessory.
As for other physical connections, pay attention to a laptop’s USB port type and quantity. Look for laptops with both USB Type-A and Type-C ports. USB-A is the familiar rectangular connector that has been around for decades, while USB-C is smaller, pill-shaped, and sometimes accepts the laptop’s charger.
Some budget laptops may only have USB-A ports. On the other hand, some ultra-thin designs only have USB-C ports, so you’ll need dongles to connect USB-A peripherals you own. A mix is what you want.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Check for an HDMI or DisplayPort connector for video output, especially if you plan to connect your laptop to your TV, desktop monitor, or lecture hall A/V system. DisplayPort video outputs are sometimes implemented on laptops via USB-C ports to save space.
Photographers may benefit from a built-in SD or microSD card reader for image uploading. Finally, if you plan to use your laptop in an unsecured location, a Kensington-cable style or a Noble-lock style security notch for fastening a physical locking cable is helpful. Make sure the notch type matches the kind of tethering cable you intend to use.
Are Refurbished Laptops Worth Buying?
Every manufacturer and reseller has different standards for refurbishing used laptops. It is best to buy any refurbished machine directly from the manufacturer’s online store rather than a reseller.
Some resellers or third parties will rate their refurbished stock with a grade. (It pays to ask who has done the refurbishing—the manufacturer or the reseller.) Refurbished laptops are sold and rated with grades of A, B+, B, C, and so on to reflect their wear and tear. However, it’s generally up to the reseller what the grade means. We strongly recommend insisting on an ironclad return policy in the case of purchases like these if you decide to roll the dice. You could end up pleasantly surprised, but usually, a refurbished laptop deal that looks too good to be true…is.
Should You Get a Longer Laptop Warranty?
Most laptop makers offer one-year warranties on parts and labor. These standard plans are limited, so they won’t cover accidents like spilling a drink on the keyboard or dropping the system on the sidewalk. Fortunately, your credit card issuer likely covers such mishaps for a short period after you buy a new product, and it also may extend the manufacturer’s warranty. (For example, many Mastercard accounts include a doubling of the standard warranty period up to one year.) Check your account benefits guide for details.
If your credit card issuer doesn’t cover you, some top laptop makers will happily sell you extended warranties. Apple, Dell, HP, and Lenovo all offer a wide range of extended warranties and coverage for accidental damage. Expect to spend $100 to $300 for these options. Our rule of thumb is that if a warranty costs more than 15% of the laptop’s purchase price, you’re better off spending the money on backup drives or services that minimize downtime.
Of course, you can’t put a price tag on peace of mind. You’ll encounter instances when the logic board or the display—the most expensive parts of a laptop—fail, and while rare, such a catastrophe can cost you half of what the laptop is worth in repair costs.
Ready to Buy the Right Laptop for You?
Shopping for a leading laptop is an exercise in patience. An ultra-competitive market means that even if you’ve got specific requirements, you can almost certainly find a handful of excellent models that will meet them and another handful of perfectly serviceable but ho-hum models that will, too. Now that you know which specifications to look for, parsing the good from the bad will be much easier.
