15-inch laptops are actually quite awesome. I believe so because they are neither too large like the 17-inch laptops and neither too small like the 11 or 13-inch laptops thus offering you the perfect size for gaming, working, or streaming.
But laptop display alone isn’t enough. You also need to think about other features like the processor, RAM, graphics card, Cooling, etc. especially if you intend on using the laptop for gaming, programming, and other heavy tasks.
Or you simply could be looking for a decent 15-inch laptop on a tighter budget.
Either way, you are in the right place. In the review guide, we’ll cover the best 15-inch laptops in 2022 for all needs and budgets.
Top 15-inch Laptops for 2022 Compared
Apple MacBook Pro
Asus VivoBook 15
Razer Blade 15
Apple MacBook Pro
Asus VivoBook 15
Razer Blade 15
In-Depth Reviews of 15-inch Laptops
#1. Apple MacBook Pro [Best Overall]
- RAM: 16GB
- Weight: 4.29lbs
- Processor: 9th Gen, i7, 6-cores
- CPU Speed: Up to 4.8GHz
- Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (4GB)
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Display: 16″ (3072×1920)
- Battery Life: 6-7hrs
This is kind of a cheat since this has a 16-inch display, rather than a 15.6-inch one, but it’s close enough. The latest Apple MacBook Pro offers a range of productivity features and is a great option for professionals looking for an all-around, powerful laptop.
What we like
The new Apple MacBook Pro has two very powerful configurations, but the model we’ve selected as our first choice on this list has an Intel Core i7 processor. For just an additional fee, you can purchase the Intel Core i9 variant, but we feel the i7 is already a great choice for most users.
It’s base model also comes with a 512GB SSD, which offers immense speeds and a fairly large amount of storage. With the 16GB RAM on the MacBook Pro, it easily becomes a productivity beast and is one of the best workstations for businessmen and creatives alike.
The MacBook Pro is a graphics powerhouse with the AMD Radeon Pro Graphics GPU, and you can be sure that performing any graphics-intensive tasks will go without a hitch. Another thing that impresses us with the GPU of the MacBook Pro is that you can also run some of your favorite AAA games on their best settings.
It has a full 16-inch Retina Display, which offers high-quality pictures, fantastic color replication thanks to the True Tone Technology in their displays. The MacBook Pro offers 500 nits of brightness as well, which makes it comfortable to work on in bright light and even under direct sunlight.
The sound quality on the MacBook Pro is also fantastic, as it has a full six-speaker system, which easily allows your music to fill the room. It doesn’t sound tinny, nor does it make the chassis rattle when playing audio at max volume.
Current times call for a lot of remote working from most professionals now, and most companies are utilizing online platforms to host their meetings. The MacBook Pro has a decent webcam with a fantastic microphone, so you can be sure you’re covered when you attend your next Zoom meeting.
Apple also integrated its TouchBar into the MacBook Pro, which you can customize with software-specific functions for each program you have installed on your laptop. The TouchBar can adapt easily to whatever software you intend to use, making it a highly versatile add-on to the laptop.
Having a larger laptop doesn’t necessarily mean that it isn’t portable. The MacBook Pro is lightweight for its size, weighing in at just 4.5lbs. It’s also quite thin, so you can easily fit it into your bag if you need to take it with you.
Downsides
Most Apple products are reliable and durable, but the biggest downside to them comes when they break down. If you break any of the components in the MacBook, it is going to cost you quite a bit of money to repair. While repairs quite costly, so are any upgrades that you can have done to the MacBook Pro as well.
Despite being advertised to have a battery life of up to 10 hours, you can only really get about 5 hours of battery life from the MacBook Pro. While it isn’t spectacular, you can’t be surprised by how powerful specs this laptop has.
The speakers on each side of the keyboard make the keyboard area look a little wonky to us. Despite the quality sound system on this, there seems to be too much space around the keyboard and gives it a funny look.
Pros
- Powerful i7 and i9 configurations
- Clear and crisp retina display with True Tone Technology
- Automatically selects GPU when heavy tasks are performed
- Six-speaker sound system provides room-filling sound
- Good webcam and microphone
- TouchBar provides software-based options for quick access
- Can handle AAA games on high settings
- Productivity powerhouse
- Lightweight and portable
Cons
- Upgrades and Repairs are quite costly
- On the Expensive side
#2. Acer Aspire 5
- RAM: 4GB
- Weight: 3.97lbs
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 3200U
- CPU Speed: Up to 3.5GHz
- Graphics: AMD Radeon Vega 3
- Storage: 128GB SSD
- Display: 15.6″ (1920×1080)
- Battery Life: 6-7hrs
The Acer Aspire 5 Slim is one of the most affordable 15-inch laptops on the market, and one of the most versatile products on our list. From the varying configurations to the AMD chipsets being used, the Acer is a great choice for budget-minded users.
What we like
The Acer Aspire 5 Slim comes with varying configurations of both AMD and Intel chipsets, so versatility is a plus with this laptop. The set of Aspire 5 Slims that make use of the AMD chipsets is also much more affordable.
With the AMD Ryzen 3 processor, the Acer Aspire Slim is a great laptop for users looking for a laptop within a more affordable price point. The Ryzen 3 processor and the 4GB of RAM are more than enough to handle a couple of browsing windows and office programs, making it a great choice for your basic computing needs.
The subtle design and build quality of the Acer Aspire 5 Slim is why it’s a great choice for students and professionals looking for an affordable but sturdy laptop. The hinge doesn’t feel flimsy, and even if you picked up the laptop by the corners (which we don’t recommend), you won’t hear any creaks and rattles.
Typing on the keyboard of the Acer Aspire is quite comfortable. The keys don’t require much pressure to trigger and they are quite springy with a good amount of bounce. You can easily work in dimmer rooms as the keyboard is backlit, and you can toggle its settings to keep it on or turn off after a set amount of time.
The display of the Aspire 5 Slim is great. You can view it from just about any angle because it’s an IPS display and offers a full-HD picture. The colors are replicated well on the screen and appear bright and vibrant.
This laptop is one of the more portable laptops on this list, as its battery can last up to 7 hours on a single charge. It also weighs in at just about 4lbs, so won’t notice its weight while carrying it around when you’re on the go.
Downsides
There are a couple of drawbacks to the Acer Aspire 5 Slim, like the majority of the chassis being made of plastic. The plastic build is still quite sturdy, but most users nowadays prefer laptops to have a full aluminum build.
The bezels around the screen aren’t the thinnest either, giving you slightly less viewing space on the display. This makes the display area also look quite dated. Despite the vibrancy and brightness of the colors on the Acer Aspire 5, the screen might appear slightly washed out, making it not the ideal candidate for media editing.
One of our other complaints with the Acer Aspire 5 Slim is that the trackpad feels quite flimsy. The slightest touch on the trackpad often triggers it, and when clicking down on it, the sounds are quite distracting.
Despite the battery life of the Aspire 5 Slim being one of the better ones on this list, charging it up to 100% takes quite some time. For users on the go, we recommend you never leave without charging your laptop to full, so you can make the most of it without having to wait for it to charge up in the middle of your day.
Pros
- Varying configurations are available with AMD or Intel parts
- Costs less than $400
- Lightweight and portable
- Comfortable backlit keyboard
- Great display which can be viewed from any angle
- Battery life lasts up to 7 hours
Cons
- The full plastic build makes it feel cheap
- Thick bezels around the screen
- Display colors are very slightly washed out
- Takes up to 3 hours to charge to 100%
#3. ASUS VivoBook 15 [Budget 15-inch Laptop]
- RAM: 8GB
- Weight: 3.75lbs
- Processor: 10th Gen, i3-1005G1
- CPU Speed: Up to 3.4GHz
- Graphics: Integrated UHD Graphics
- Storage: 128GB SSD
- Display: 15.6″ (1920×1080)
- Battery Life: 3-4hrs
Another affordable yet powerful 15-inch laptop available is the ASUS VivoBook 15. With the varying configurations and options of this highly versatile laptop, the VivoBook is a great option for budget-minded users looking for a great laptop for everyday tasks.
What we like
The ASUS VivoBook 15 is another great laptop with varying configurations, making it highly versatile and customizable for your needs. This VivoBook comes equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB solid-state drive.
It’s a great mid-range laptop, as the quad-core processor lets you do some computing tasks with no problem. Multitasking is also quick and efficient, with little to no lag when running multiple browsing tabs and office software.
Even if you overclock the AMD Ryzen 5 processor, the ASUS VivoBook doesn’t run the risk of overheating. It has a great thermal system to keep it cool, and when the fans do start spinning, it’s very quiet.
The build quality of the ASUS VivoBook 15 is fantastic. The hinge on the screen doesn’t feel loose, and the aluminum chassis feels sturdy and gives it a sleeker feel. While we have the Slate Gray color listed down here, the VivoBook comes in a variety of other colors, like Transparent Silver, Coral Crush, and Peacock Blue.
The keyboard on the VivoBook 15 feels firm, and each key has just the right amount of bounce to it. Even with the evenly spaced keys, the VivoBook comes with a number pad as well, which makes any number crunching task much easier. The trackpad is great, as it doesn’t require too much travel distance to use, and it’s got the right amount of sensitivity.
Fortunately, the display of the VivoBook is quite bright, so working in brighter spaces is much easier. The IPS panel makes the screen viewable from just about any angle. The sound quality from the speakers is also quite good. While it can’t fill the room like a MacBook, it doesn’t sound tinny.
The ASUS VivoBook 15 is also extremely portable, as the laptop itself weighs in at just 3.5lbs. The charging cable of the VivoBook is also very portable, so keeping both the charger and the laptop in your bag won’t weigh you down.
Downsides
The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics card makes use of about 2GB of the VivoBook’s RAM, only leaving you with 6GB of RAM to work with. While this doesn’t take away from the overall experience, this does mean that you won’t be able to run as many programs simultaneously.
Despite the fantastic keyboard of the laptop, it isn’t that easy to read the characters on the keys. The silver gloss over the keyboard doesn’t highlight each character well, even with the backlight, making it quite difficult to read.
The battery doesn’t impress us, lasting only up to 5 hours long with moderate use. Fortunately, the VivoBook’s power brick is quite light, so it’s easy enough to carry around without it taking too much room.
With the sound system of the VivoBook 15, you might hear some rattling when you play audio at the full volume.
Pros
- Varying configurations are available with AMD or Intel Parts
- Lightweight and Portable
- Great thermal management system
- A sturdy aluminum build
- Backlit keyboard and number pad
- Bright display which can be viewed from any angle
Cons
- Silver gloss on the keyboard doesn’t highlight the characters
- The display is only in standard HD, not full-HD
- Only has 4hrs of battery
- Loud volumes make the chassis rattle
#4. Acer Nitro 5 [Budget 15-inch Laptop for Gamers]
- RAM: 8GB
- Weight: 5.06lbs
- Processor: 9th Gen, i5-9300H
- CPU Speed: Up to 4.1GHz
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 1650 (4GB)
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Display: 15″ (1920×1080)
- Battery Life: 4-5hrs
You would expect most gaming laptops with powerful specs to come at a much higher price point, yet Acer comes with a fantastic gaming laptop under $1000. The Nitro 5 is the perfect laptop for gamers and professionals looking for a powerful laptop within a tight budget.
What we like
At its base configuration, the Acer Nitro 5 is one of the best gaming laptops you can get at an affordable price. The Nitro 5 comes with an Intel Core i5 processor, which gives you enough power to play some of your favorite games at high or ultra settings.
This model of the Acer Nitro 5 comes with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, which gives you plenty of space to store your games. While you’re sure you won’t experience any lag whatsoever with this configuration, you also can upgrade both the storage and memory to maximize your use of this laptop.
Whether you’re using the laptop to play your favorite games or run your software for work, the Nitro 5 comes equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Graphics card that can handle just about any graphics-intensive task you throw at it.
Its display can be viewed from any angle because of the IPS panel, and also replicate color well without any backlight bleed, giving you more immersive viewing experience. The GPU and the display quality of the Nitro 5 make it a graphics-powerhouse, so playing your favorite games, and editing and rendering photos and videos should go smoothly.
The Acer Nitro 5 sports a more subdued gamer look. While the laptop keeps the red trimmings around the trackpad, keyboard, and along the hinge, this laptop doesn’t stand out as much as other gaming laptops.
One of the things Acer got right with this affordable gaming laptop is the keyboard. The emphasis around the WASD keys is nice, and with the red backlight, you’ll find playing your favorite games in the dark quite enjoyable.
The laptop has a dual-fan ventilation system, which is supported by NitroSense and CoolBoost technology. NitroSense gives you the option to adjust your system’s CPU and GPU, and CoolBoost gives you the ability to adjust the fan’s maximum speed.
Downsides
Despite being a great gaming laptop for budget-minded users, compared to other gaming laptops, it’s quite underwhelming. Nothing about it exceeds our expectations, and this laptop gives you just what you expect for its price.
The overall feel of the build is quite flimsy because its entire build is made of plastic. This all-plastic build also gives the Acer Nitro 5 a much cheaper and flimsier feel to it. The thick plastic bezels around the display of the Acer makes it look a lot more dated as well and takes away from its viewing area.
If you’re particular about the display of your laptop, then you’ll have an issue with the Nitro 5’s brightness. This screen doesn’t get very bright, so you’ll find yourself struggling using it in bright lighting or outdoors.
You don’t expect to play games on a gaming laptop with a trackpad, but even with your everyday office and browsing tasks, the trackpad of the Nitro 5 is pretty bad. It takes quite a bit of travel distance, and the trackpad itself isn’t very responsive.
The audio quality from the built-in sound system doesn’t impress either, with below-average sound quality. Your gaming experience won’t be as immersive unless you plan on using a pair of high-quality earphones.
While we don’t normally expect gaming laptops to have the most fantastic battery life, but the Acer Nitro 5 only lasts a little under 4 hours with moderate use. If you plan to play some of your favorite AAA games on this laptop, you’re going to have to keep it plugged in.
Pros
- The powerful gaming laptop for less than $1000
- Available with varying configurations
- Responsive keyboard with highlighted WASD keys
- Full-HD display with clear images and fantastic color replication
- Great thermal management system, supported by NitroSense and CoolBoost
Cons
- Thick bezels
- The trackpad isn’t very responsive
- Poor Speakers
- Less than 4 hours of battery life
Check out more about the Acer Nitro 5 and its gaming properties below.
No products found.
#5. HP Envy X360 [Best Convertible 15-inch Laptop]
No products found.
The HP Envy X360 is one of HP’s higher-end convertible laptops that outclass its Pavilion series. While you don’t find many two-in-one 15-inch laptops, the HP Envy X360 is one of our recommendations for several reasons.
What we like
The HP Envy x360 is a convertible 2-in-1 laptop that’s great for students or workers alike. The laptop has an AMD Ryzen 5 quad-core processor, which lets you get your work done with ease. Computing tasks are easy enough for this laptop to do.
It also has 8GB of RAM, meaning you can run multiple programs, software, and browser tabs with no problem whatsoever. The 256GB SSD in the Envy X360 also ensures that you won’t have to wait long periods for your laptop and programs to load up.
The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics also lets you play a couple of games on medium or low settings, so if you’re someone who casually plays an occasional game of League of Legends, you can get away with playing it on the HP Envy X360.
The build quality of the HP Envy X360 is fantastic. The laptop sports an all-aluminum chassis, which is extremely sturdy, and doesn’t creak or rattle. The 360-degree hinge is solid, and you won’t feel like you can easily wear it out, especially if you’re fond of using the laptop in tablet mode.
You can expect an extremely clear picture from the display of the Envy X360. This is paired with extremely narrow bezels around the screen, with a high screen-to-body ratio, giving you a much larger viewing area. The display area itself is an IPS touchscreen WLED display, which is quite responsive to touch, and makes navigating the laptop a lot easier.
The display also has an IPS panel, making it easy to view from any angle. The brightness is good, so working in brighter areas shouldn’t be too much of a problem, and the display is protected by guerilla glass.
With a Bang & Olufsen sound system, you can expect high-quality sound from the HP Envy X360. It doesn’t fill the room by any means, but it does give you quality sound if you’re casually listening to music as you work or streaming your favorite shows on Netflix.
The HP Envy X360 is also extremely portable. The laptop itself weighs just 3lbs, so you won’t feel its weight in whatever bag you carry it in, and the battery life is fantastic. It can last up to 9 hours long on a single charge with moderate use, making it one of the longest-lasting laptops we have on this list.
Drawbacks
The placement of the speakers on the HP Envy X30 is somewhat awkward to us. It’s placed above the keyboard area of the laptop, which gives you a fuller sound but gives you less space for the keyboard and trackpad.
We mentioned that HP’s display is protected by guerilla glass. Its display is extremely reflective, so working under direct lighting might be difficult for some users because of the glare. The easiest fix to this is simply buying a matte screen protector for the laptop.
Pros
- Powerful specs at an affordable price
- Solid, aluminum chassis with a sturdy 360-degree hinge
- Portable and lightweight
- Bang & Olufsen sound system provides clear and crisp sound
- Clear and crisp guerilla glass display
- Up to 9 hours of battery life
Cons
- Placement of the speakers leaves less room for the keyboard and touchpad
- Glossy guerilla glass display makes the screen prone to glare
No products found.
#6. Razer Blade 15 [for Gaming]
- RAM: 16GB
- Weight: 4.56lbs
- Processor: 9th Gen, i7-9750H
- CPU Speed: Up to 4.5GHz
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (6GB)
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Display: 15.6″ (1920×1080)
- Battery Life: 4-5hrs
If you’re looking for an all-around, top-tier, powerful gaming laptop, then you won’t have to look any further than the Razer Blade 15. Razer is known for its gamer-centric technology, and the Razer Blade is no exception to their high-quality standards.
What we like
What makes the Razer Blade 15 one of our favorite 15-inch laptops is that it’s not just a gaming laptop. The Razer doesn’t need to be used primarily for gaming, as its specs make it a great choice for professionals looking for a laptop that can handle their software with no hiccups.
This model comes with an Intel Core i7 processor, which can handle just about any task you throw at it. The Razer Blade 15 is a device that can run AAA games on ultra-settings or your heaviest software, so you’re sure you can work hard and play harder.
With the 16GB RAM, multitasking is seamless. This laptop is one of the best on the market for running games and processor-intensive software. Not only that, but the 256GB SSD also makes it so that you can start this laptop up in a matter of seconds. If these specs don’t impress you, then you can just as easily upgrade both the memory and storage to a much larger capacity.
The display quality is great, with fantastic color reproduction, so you’re sure to be immersed while playing your favorite games. The display also has a matte finish, so you won’t have to worry about any glare if you work in bright lighting.
While you can pay a little bit more for an NVIDIA RTX GPU for the Razer, you won’t be disappointed with what comes with this model. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Graphics is sure to run your games with no frame rate drops and no lag.
The Razer Blade 15 is extremely sturdy. It has an all-aluminum build, which doesn’t creak and rattle when you move it around. The hinge is sturdy, and it doesn’t feel like it would wear out quickly. Despite being a gaming laptop, the Razer Blade 15 weighs in at just 4.6lbs. You have a lot more space under the hood for more powerful parts and specs, yet the Razer manages to stay light and portable.
As for the Razer’s keyboard and trackpad, both are built fantastically. We only have one qualm with the keyboard of the Razer, which is the placement of certain keys. Other than that, the keyboard is backlit, making it much easier to work in the dark, and the trackpad works perfectly.
You can also expect the Razer Blade 15 to last up to 5 hours long with moderate use. While this doesn’t match most of the other laptops on this list, it’s quite impressive for a gaming laptop. This is one of the more portable gaming laptops we have reviewed.
Downsides
The only real downside we’ve found on the Razer Blade 15 is the issue with the placement of the arrow keys on the keyboard. They’ve placed the up-arrow key in between the shift key and the ‘?’ key, which makes the user prone to making a couple of typos.
Pros
- Powerful specs for gaming or graphics-intensive software
- A more powerful GPU is available at a slightly higher cost
- All-aluminum body for a sturdy build
- Lightweight compared to other gaming laptops
- Comes with facial recognition technology for added security
- Fantastic display with 144hz refresh rate
- Customizable RGB and performance toggle with Synapse
- Impressive battery life for a gaming laptop
Cons
- Arrow keys on the keyboard are placed awkwardly
#7. ASUS ZenBook 15 [for Artists]
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The ASUS ZenBook 15 is one of our top recommendations for professionals looking for a powerful device to get the job done. As one of the top ultrabooks out on the market, we’ve listed it down as one of our top choices for users looking for an all-around, powerful, 15-inch laptop. Here’s more about it.
What we like
While the ASUS ZenBook remains to be one of the pricier laptops on this list, it doesn’t disappoint with the specs and features this laptop has to offer. Other laptops with similar specs would cost a lot more than the ASUS, and that’s why we’ve chosen it.
The Intel Core i7 processor makes the ASUS ZenBook one of the powerhouse laptops on this list. You can expect fantastic performance from this laptop, and with the 16GB RAM, you can pull up multiple software windows and browser tabs without any hiccups.
Its 512GB SSD impresses us with storage capacity and speed as well. The ASUS ZenBook 15 starts up almost immediately and loading your programs and files will go by in a breeze. Even if it isn’t a gaming laptop, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU can give you great gaming experiences with some of your favorite titles.
If there’s something we love on the ASUS ZenBook 15, it’s the 4K Ultra-HD Display. Images and videos appear a lot more vivid and much clearer, and the colors are reproduced fantastically.
With a 92% screen-to-body ratio and extremely narrow bezels around the display, the ASUS ZenBook 15 offers a much larger viewing area. You can be sure you won’t miss a single detail when watching your favorite movies and shows.
Working in the dark is also quite convenient thanks to the backlit keyboard. The keyboard itself is extremely easy to use; the keys are well spaced from each other and they have the right amount of bounce to them.
The trackpad of the ASUS ZenBook 15 is quite interesting. As a trackpad, it functions extremely well; it’s responsive and doesn’t require too much travel time. What makes the trackpad interesting is that it has a touchscreen function. The touchscreen trackpad works similarly to the Apple TouchBar, where it makes navigating different applications much easier.
Portability is a big factor in the ZenBook series. Because the laptop weighs in at about 4lbs and is extremely thin, it fits into any bag you have, and you won’t feel its weight bear you down. Despite its battery life, the ZenBook charges to full battery in under two hours.
Downsides
Despite the fantastic specs of the ASUS ZenBook 15, there are a couple of things that take away from this laptop. With its powerful specs, you can expect that this laptop is going to get quite hot, and it does. The issue lies in the fact that the ZenBook 15 does not have sufficient thermal management to keep the laptop cool.
The touchpad’s touchscreen capabilities are quite impressive, but we feel that it’s more a feature to show your friends, rather than make use of daily. While it’s quite useful with certain apps or navigating certain menus, it doesn’t seem to be the most useful feature of this laptop.
Working on the ZenBook in bright lighting is next to impossible. While the display itself is bright and clear, the glossy finish on the screen makes its display extremely reflective and prone to glare.
Pros
- Portable and lightweight
- Powerful specs for heavy software
- Fantastic 4K UHD Display with narrow bezels
- Comfortable, backlit keyboard
- ScreenPad’s touchscreen capabilities work similarly to Apple’s TouchBar
- Quick to charge to 100%
Cons
- The reflective display makes working in the light difficult
- Only 4 hours of battery life
- Gets quite hot when running heavier programs
See the ScreenPad 2.0 in action below
How to find the right 15-inch laptop
Even if you already decided to buy a 15-inch laptop, it can still be quite hard to select the one that’s just right for you.
Firstly, you have to know what is going to be its main use. Are you looking for a gaming laptop that’s capable of running all the newest video games, or are you just looking for a laptop to help you with school work? Whatever it is, you still have to consider many things.
The components you should focus on the most include the CPU, the RAM, the storage, the display resolution, the GPU, as well as others.
CPU
The first, and most important thing to consider is what kind of CPU does the laptop use. When it comes to the CPU, most laptops either come with an Intel Core or an AMD Ryzen. There are some differences between them, but in general, both are great options and are worth buying. When selecting which exact CPU model to get, it mostly comes down to your budget.
Getting a CPU with a high number of cores and a high clock speed is recommended as it will last longer and deliver better performance. Unfortunately, those kinds of CPUs are usually expensive. If you are willing to pay a bit more, Intel Core i7 or Ryzen 7 would be a great choice, as they are the latest generation and provide the best experience altogether.
If you are looking for a middle-of-the-pack CPU that doesn’t cost a lot but is still reliable and offers good results, Intel Core i5 is a perfect choice. For anyone on a tight budget, any newer-gen Intel Core i3 or Ryzen 3 should get the job done.
RAM
When it comes to RAM and how much of it is enough for you, it also comes down to how you are planning to use it. The general rule is that 8GB of RAM should be more than enough for most users who are using their laptops casually and aren’t performing very complex tasks.
If you are a really light user, you might even get away with 4GB of RAM, but if you plan on using the laptop for a couple of years, it is not recommendable. On the other hand, if you’re a heavy user, or you’re a hardcore gamer, having 16GB would ensure that your laptop runs smoothly for years to come and that it will support any apps that come in the meantime.
Storage
When it comes to storage, you’ll have a choice between SSD or HDD. Although HDD was more popular before, nowadays SSD is a way better option.
It mainly comes down to speed and SSD is leagues above HDD in this department. The amount of storage you need will depend on the types of activities you’re planning to do on your laptop.
The minimum amount of storage to consider is 256GB, but it is only recommended to light users, who don’t plan on downloading loads of video games or other files. If you have a lot of photos, videos, or music, getting a laptop with 512GB of storage is heavily recommended, as it will make sure you have enough for years to come. This is also a great amount for casual gamers, who play a couple of games. If you are constantly doing complex projects, which require a lot of storage, you should aim for 1TB.
Display
If you intend on spending a lot of time in front of the screen, it’s important to ensure the best possible viewing experience. This includes choosing a display with the highest resolution and highest refresh rate. You should aim for laptops with a full-HD display, as they aren’t really expensive and provide great quality. Also make sure they are IPS, as this will deliver great image quality even if you are looking from an angle. You should also look for a laptop with at least a 120-hertz refresh rate. It will give you the smoothest and crisp-free animations and leave you with less eye strain. If your budget allows you, you could also try to find a laptop with a 4K display, it’s usually an OLED display like on many flagship smartphones, and is undoubtedly the best possible option. The cheaper option would be TFT. It’s still solid while looking straight at the screen, but it can get a bit worse if you’re looking from the side.
GPU
When it comes to GPUs if you are a casual user an integrated graphics processor (IGP) which comes with the laptop should be more than enough. Something like Intel’s HD Graphics is a great choice. On the other hand, if you are a gamer you will definitely need a discrete GPU. Even a budget gaming GPU like a GeForce M series massively outperforms the IGP. If you’re looking for high-end GPUs, the best options available are Nvidia’s GeForce RTX GPUs. The kind of games you usually play should impact your decision when choosing an exact model, as there are many with their strengths and weaknesses.
Other
The other main thing to consider is the operating system. There are 2 options, Windows and macOS. If you’re looking for a gaming laptop, your choice will always be Windows. But if you’re a casual user or plan to use the laptop for school, it’s good to research both of them and find out which suits you better. Although you have to keep in mind that Mac laptops are usually more expensive than their Windows counterparts.
FAQ
Q1. What are you using the laptop for?
One of the first things you should be asking yourself is what you need this laptop for. If you need something for light schoolwork and internet browsing, you’ll be looking at much lower specs at a cheaper price point. If you need it for gaming or running software with high system requirements, then you’ll be looking at more expensive, premium, top-tier laptops.
Q2. Does my screen quality and resolution matter?
Yes, it does. Having 15 inches of display gives you a lot of room to work with, and you can’t expect to have a low-resolution screen spread out on a high-resolution area. Whether you use the laptop to work, play games, or stream your favorite movies and shows, you’ll want to be able to make the most of your screen and viewing area.
Q3. Which is better, AMD or Intel?
Once again, this depends on your preferences and what you need the laptop for. AMD offers fantastic CPUs (and GPUs) for entry and mid-tier devices, but if you’re looking for top-notch, powerful specs, Intel is the way to go.
Q4. Do I need a touchscreen?
A 15-inch display laptop might be awkward to use as a tablet, but this once again boils down to your preferences. If you’re fond of tablets and want to use the laptop to take down notes or create art, you might prefer getting your hands on a convertible laptop with pen compatibility.
Q5. Why don’t most laptops have CD drives anymore?
With how technology has evolved over the last few years, CDs have been declining in popularity. Sure, lots of software companies still require you to use one, but many are making the transition to online installers for their software. Even with transferring files, you’re more likely to store your files onto a clip-drive or an SD card, and most laptops now offer a variety of ports, like Thunderbolt ports, USB-C slots, and SD/Micro SD card readers.
