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They’re also immune to jolts and bumps that might crash a spinning platter’s heads. 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. If you’re not picky about image quality, though, a lower-resolution display might be an acceptable sacrifice in the quest to save money. The two main downsides to the Triton 300 SE are its 14-inch screen that may be tight for some gamers, and a 512GB SSD, which is potentially cramped for large game libraries. Unless you can't overcome these drawbacks, the Triton 300 SE is definitely for you, the gamer seeking a laptop at the nexus of affordability and performance.
The idea is to push the laptop to its limits and then compare it against others we’ve tested. Chromebooks, on the other hand, go through a series of web-based tests. It wouldn’t be fair or possible to run the same kinds of tests on a Chromebook, as they’re Chrome OS-based machines. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of each test and the reasons why we run them.
Best High-End Gaming Laptop
Get AppleCare+ to extend your coverage and reduce the stress and cost of unexpected repairs. The new Apple M1 chip with a Retina display is all you need to run Mac OS, and upgrade your MacBook Air to the next level. With Windows and Chromebooks , you get an amazing variety of devices at a wide range of prices. If you're looking for a gaming laptop bargain, the G15 is the way to go. If you can afford to spend a couple of hundred dollars more, the G16 is a better bet for longevity. Either way, you'll be getting a good gaming laptop for the money, but we strongly recommend waiting for a sale.
A 12th Gen Intel CPU, a sharper webcam, and more display options cement the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon's place as the finest laptop for business—and likely the finest laptop, period. In terms of sheer performance and versatility, the Surface Laptop Studio is arguably Microsoft’s best notebook yet. Thanks to its durable, flexible hinge, this 2-in-1 works well as a laptop for everyday multitasking, a sturdy drawing tablet and a stand-up display for giving presentations or watching movies. Regardless of operating system, we put each laptop through our standard battery test, which involves charging the laptop to 100%, setting brightness to 50% and engaging airplane mode to ensure connectivity is off.
Best Chromebook
If you want to save money with a more modest mid-range option, get the Acer Swift 3 14 , a thin and light 14-inch Windows laptop. It feels sturdily built, it's easy to carry around, and its battery lasts nearly 14 hours of light use. The display looks sharp and provides enough room for split-screen multitasking, although it doesn't get very bright, meaning you might have some visibility issues in well-lit settings or outdoors in broad daylight.
One of the provided presets, "ComfortView," provides low blue light to ease eyesight during long work hours. The ergonomics of bending over and looking at a laptop all day can lead to neck and back problems, while laptop users also lose screen real estate compared to desktop users. Either way, they have started noticing the limitations of working all day on a small screen . NP13V1AV013P with i7-8th gen processor and original 8GB memory on board; I’ve been advised there’s no way to upgrade to 16GB memory – is this true, and how if I really want to upgrade this. Once you get over that shock, it shouldn’t be hard to pick which model is ideal for your needs based on our criteria for work, budget, and gaming. Avoid cramped or uncomfortable keyboards with some due diligence and research ahead of time.
Best General-Purpose MacBook
The 14-inch screen functions with a touchscreen for working on any kind of project. There's plenty of storage with the 512GB of SSD storage available, too. Dell’s stunningly slim design does come at the expense of an equally slim port selection, as you get just two USB-C ports, a microSD card slot and a headphone jack. The inclusion of a microSD port gives it a slight edge in expandability over the MacBook Air, and Dell deserves credit for including a USB-C to USB-A adapter for your older accessories. But if you’re a power user who uses a variety of peripherals and monitors at once, you’ll probably need to spring for adongle or USB-C dock.
TheDell XPS 13 starts at $949.99, which gets you an 11th-gen Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of solid-state drive storage and a 13.4-inch, 1920 x 1200 non-touch display. We reviewed a slightly higher-end $1,322 model, which packs a faster Core i7 processor, a bigger 512GB SSD and a touch screen. Dell’s notebook comes in silver and black by default, but we recommend springing the extra $50 for the gorgeous Arctic White variation. 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.
Best Budget Laptop
For example, we carefully measure the average brightness and color quality of each laptop's display using our in-house light meter and colorimeter. To evaluate overall performance we run our machines through tests that include Geekbench 5 , as well as various 3DMark tests to measure graphics capabilities. We also run a file transfer test to measure how fast a machine's hard drive is, and a custom battery test that has the machine browse the internet over Wi-Fi until it runs out of juice.
Some of these are not technically laptops in the pure sense, but rather tablets with detachable keyboards. Unless you’re specifically looking for a part-time tablet or the lightest possible laptop, avoid these designs. 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.
This computer is perfect for anyone working in any part of your life. For gaming, look for screens with a high refresh rate of 120Hz or faster so games look smoother while playing. For content creation, look for displays that cover 100% sRGB color space. For anything more demanding, you'll need to invest more money for discrete graphics like Nvidia's RTX 30-series GPUs.
That’s more than a full work day, so it should theoretically get you through long flights or a day of classes. Alternatively, you can check out our review of the Acer Aspire 5 for the latest updated version of this laptop. However, we didn’t feel that the upgrades—as well as the price hike—warranted replacing our original best budget pick.
A lifelong PC builder, he currently serves as a senior editor at Tom's Guide covering all things computing, from laptops and desktops to keyboards and mice. All of these lab tests are complemented by our hands-on review process, in which reviewers spend time putting each laptop through its paces while working, watching movies, listening to music, and playing games. The HP Elite Dragonfly is one of those laptops that sets a new standard for the entire category. And while the Dragonfly feels nice and light at 2.5 pounds, it also feels impressively sturdy, has an oleophobic coating to prevent fingerprints, and uses recycled ocean-bound plastics to help the environment. The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 is the latest in the company’s line of 2-in-1 Surface Pro tablets. This iteration includes an 11th generation Intel CPU, a 13-inch 120Hz display, two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a removable SSD.
And, just like all the previous models, this portable seems to do everything right. It’s a powerful, fully-featured machine that’s also slim, lightweight, and stylish. Its small size and lightweight design make the Surface Pro 8 ideal to use at home or on the road. The front-facing and rear cameras are also fantastic, providing clean detailed images. Unfortunately, the Surface Pro 8 disappoints as a gaming device and didn't live up to the promised 16 hours of battery life in our testing. Despite some of those qualms, the Surface 8 Pro is arguably the best Surface Pro yet.
PC Equalizer - GUI
Increased system memory of 16GB or more, having a speedy SSD for storage and a faster processor such as an Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 will all help you get things moving faster, too. Deciding between MacOS and Windows laptop for many people will come down to personal preference and budget. You can sometimes find it discounted or you can get educational pricing from Apple and other retailers. But, in general, it'll be at least $1,000 for a new MacBook, and the prices just go up from there. It was the most impressive laptop we tested in terms of display, CPU, battery life, and features.
You can use it for extending the main 14-inch display so it works like one large screen, or use it for apps that would normally be buried behind what you're working on. If that's not enough, it's pen-enabled so you can write and draw on it with the included pen. Plus, Asus' ScreenXpert software lets you turn it into a giant touchpad, a number pad or even a tool deck for Adobe Creative Cloud software. In 2020, Dell made the laptop smaller while making the screen larger and increasing performance for both CPU and graphics-intensive tasks. For 2022, it made theXPS 13 even smaller and lighter, kept its $999 starting price the same and dropped in the latest 12th-gen Intel processors.
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