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The laptop – the quintessential American work machine. While there are countless models on the market – we’ve gone through thousands of online reviews, tested different machines – and arrived at the best laptop for you.
Whether you’re a gamer, a traveler, or someone who works at home – we’ve got you covered. These are our top picks.
Our Top Pick
ASUS C302CA-DHM4 Chromebook
This affordable Chromebook has a touchscreen, flip capabilities, and can convert easily into a tablet. With a full HD display, and a great keyboard – it is the best value for the price, and unless you want to spend two to three times more (or you want an Apple OS) – this likely is the the best pick for you.
Other Great Picks
Acer Predator Helios 300
If you’re a gamer – you have to check out the Acer Predator Helios. Loaded with an Intel core processor, a great graphics card, and with over 680 stellar online reviews – it is an unbeatable gaming laptop in this price range. Highly recommended.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 Platinum
The Surface 2 is a great laptop – which is very overloaded for the price range. It’s very compact, yet still offers plenty of horsepower for more advanced computer work. Short of very intensive video editing – this laptop can handle anything you throw at it. Highly recommended, especially for the price.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus S GX701
If you want a deluxe laptop that can handle it all – grab this ASUS machine. With a rainbow keyboard, tons of power under the hood, and a bent towards gaming – you truly can’t go wrong.
Huawei Matebook 13 Signature Edition
This loaded (but affordable) laptop from Huawei is very reminiscent of the Apple MacBook. The only complaint our staff had after testing it – was that the vents are not very good, when trying to work with the laptop on your chest or stomach. Avoid that, and you have a fine laptop to work with – for far less than most, at this level of performance.
Samsung XE500C13 Chromebook 3
This Chromebook from Samsung is an amazing machine for the price – which makes it our top budget pick. For the cost of your monthly cell phone bill, you can have a brand new laptop. Pretty hard to beat that kind of value.
Dell XPS 13 9360 Laptop
This great all-around machine from Dell has everything most people want – it’s powerful, portable, sleek-looking, and has great battery life. The only reason you’d want to upgrade past this level of spending, is if you want to play high-end games, or need to do intensive video editing.
Apple MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro is used by many of the staff in our office – and for good reason. It’s reliable, durable, and offers great battery life. The only downsides – you have to use Apple’s operating system and software (could be a big change, if your previously used to Windows) – and the price is slightly higher than similar Windows machines. We still think it’s worth it, and the MacBook Pro is by far our daily choice for frequent office or home use (if you’re willing to spend a little extra).
ASUS ZenBook 14
The ZenBook is the answer to the MacBook Pro, from ASUS. Similar in many ways, and with great performance – we recommend it for anyone looking to have a MacBook Pro experience, but stay within the Windows ecosystem.
HP 2-in-1 Spectre x360
With a great touchscreen, this 2-in-1 machine from HP is a workhorse. While the price is slightly higher than we’d like to see – if you’re looking for a high-performance 2-in-1 Windows machine – the HP Spectre is it.
What Is A Laptop?
When the personal computer started taking over the world in the 1980s, there was really no such thing as a laptop. All computers were big, bulky, and required a more advanced knowledge to operate.
But the 1990s changed all of this (especially with the internet), as rapidly more and more people started to realize just how revolutionary the personal computer was. With this develop, came laptops.
Taking all the advanced (and expensive) hardware of the huge home personal computers, and shrinking it all down to something that fit in your backpack – it was a monumental leap forward. Now, it’s almost a cliché to see a college student with an Apple MacBook Pro, or designing with a Microsoft laptop.
Put simply – a laptop is the best way to do your work – while still being mobile. You don’t need a huge monitor, any special devices – just a power cord. And if your battery is charged – you don’t even need that.
How We Tested For The Best Laptop
After aggregating tens of thousands of actual user reviews, and countless hours of testing – we feel confident in being able to recommend the best laptop for you. Whether you are a gamer, someone on a budget – or you want the Rolls Royce of laptops – we have just the model for you.
We put heavy emphasis on actual user reviews for laptops, as they are a device that may first work great – but break down somewhere along the line. How the company handles this when it happens, factored into our score.
The MacBook Air comes in a variety of colors including rose gold.
Should I Get A Mac Or PC Laptop?
Apple and Microsoft have almost always been the leaders in home computers – and laptops are no different. Typically, those looking for more creative applications (like music recording and video editing) – have leaned towards Apple laptops.
This is because Apple has great applications for creatives, like Final Cut Pro and Logic. However, Microsoft-based laptops are less expensive, and offer a huge amount of compatibility (especially for gaming).
Whether Apple or Microsoft is right for you, ultimately comes down to your personal needs and preferences. Google has also started making their own laptops, but these are specialized machines, that have not yet gotten a huge market share.
Best Laptop Processor
Choosing a laptop with a blazing fast processor is hands-down the best decision you can make. If you need to save money – downgrade all the other options available, but keep the fast processor.
Why is this so important? Because a processor is essentially the central “brain” that runs the entire computer.
If it’s slow – the whole laptop will run slow. If there’s a problem with the processor – good luck getting the rest of the computer to work.
Best Laptop RAM
RAM is the second most important feature to look for, in a laptop. That’s because it is the second most important element to determine your laptop’s speed.
When you are multitasking, the RAM will be what controls how fast your computer can switch between applications. RAM is also vital because it is the laptop’s most important form of short-term memory.
Best Laptop Hard Drive
On-board storage used to be far more important for computers than it is now. Nowadays, most consumers store things in the cloud, so hard drive space isn’t nearly as important.
That being said, since the cost has come down so much, it never hurts to have extra space available. If you are a musician or video editor, you will absolutely need as much hard drive space as possible.
Best Laptop Display
A laptop’s display can be another make-or-break factor – no one wants to stare at a screen that hurts their eyes all day. Laptop screens have gotten increasingly more impressive – packing more pixels into the same size display.
What does this mean for the end user? It means a better display, for the same (or less) amount of money.
Most noticeably, colors have gotten richer, text has gotten sharper, and images have gotten clearer. Two factors are important for a display – pixels per inch (PPI) and native resolution.
These two elements both measure the amounts of pixels on the screen. The higher the number of pixels, the clearer the display.
Best Laptop Battery Life
Battery life is very important for a laptop. If you hate being tethered to a power outlet, you’ll want great, long-lasting battery life.
The average battery life of a laptop is 8 hours, but in some cases multitasking with very demanding activities (gaming or video streaming) can drain the battery faster. Of course, there is really no way to tell with absolute certainty how long your battery will last – until you start using the laptop on a regular basis.
Best Laptop Warranty
Looking for a good warranty is absolutely crucial for a new laptop purchase. While most machines are built to last – there are also many things that can go wrong with a computer.
Look for a long-lasting warranty, and one that covers a multitude of issues. It is always a bad idea to not purchase a warranty with a laptop – as it is a bigger purchase, and getting the warranty only costs a few extra dollars.
Best Laptop Ports
While many different types of ports used to be common on every laptop – recently Apple and other manufacturers have started to remove many ports. This is a little bit annoying for some consumers, as they may still have plenty of older devices that need to be connected.
Always be sure to look at what ports are available on your new laptop, before purchasing. If you need more than is found in the device, be sure to get an adapter, which will only cost a few extra dollars.
Best Laptop Size
The size of your laptop will be important – especially if you travel frequently. Some consumers prefer a larger display (us included) – but sometimes a very portable laptop is better.
The MacBook Air, for example, is quite small. This may make it easier to travel, and small laptops can even fit inside a woman’s purse.
Other laptops that are very portable include certain Chromebooks, as well as IdeaPads. The one downside to smaller laptops, is that they typically don’t have as much processing power and RAM.
Best Laptop Weight
Weight is less of a concern for a laptop, but it still may factor in. Bigger laptops weigh in at around 8 pounds, but the smallest laptops are often less than 3 pounds.
Should I Get A Refurbished Laptop?
It may make fiscal sense to look at buying a refurbished laptop – but in our experience it hasn’t been worth it. There are simply too many things that can go wrong.
Additionally, these laptops are typically no longer under warranty, and they won’t have the processing power of a new laptop. While there may be rare exceptions to our experiences with refurbished laptops – we still recommend that you skip the possible headaches associated with them.
Budget For A Laptop
While there is a huge range of prices for laptops, most quality machines will cost between $200 and $3,000. Of course, this runs the gamut from very basic models, to the top-of-the-line choices.
You can continue to add additional RAM in most laptops, which will further enhance the speed, without breaking the bank. Unlike some purchases, we do recommend spending a little bit more upfront on a laptop, as the improved performance and quality will pay huge dividends for your work.
How Do I Choose The Best Laptop For Me?
When it comes to finding the right laptop for you, you should factor in what your exact needs are, what your budget is, and how much you will be using the machine. If you’re a video editor or musician – you will need a maxed out laptop, with lots of hard drive space, RAM, and a blazing fast processor.
But if you’re a college student and only need a laptop to write papers on – you can get by with a $200 or $300 model. However, we recommend spending a little bit more upfront on a nicer machine, as it will pay off in the long run.
The Best Laptop
There you have it – our picks for the best laptop. Whether you’re a hardcore gamer, a businessman, or a college student – there is a laptop on the market for you.
Be sure to choose a model that has a great warranty, a brand with excellent customer service, and a fast processor. Of course, there are a ton of great consumer items besides laptops – so be sure to take a look at our other picks in the electronics category.