When you care about getting a decent amount of horsepower but at an affordable price, the best Windows laptop is probably going to be your best get. The flexibility of the operating system as well as the ever-increasing power of the internal components mean that these laptops are able to rival and often outshine their Apple counterparts. Not to mention, Windows machines come with competitive pricing and elegant design.
Looking at the competition, the best Windows laptops probably have the best value. Sure, the best Macs come with an integration of software and hardware not found elsewhere, but these portables come out on top when you factor in price and performance. You’ll actually find more powerful Windows laptops for cheaper compared to their Apple rivals.
There are so many different options out there that it can be hard to find the one right for you. So, we’ve compiled our list of the best Windows laptops to help you choose. We’ve included flexible 2-in-1 laptops, laptops with touchscreen displays, and powerful gaming laptops to meet just about every need. And, since each device has been reviewed by us, you know that they’re top quality.
Best Windows laptops on Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Some of the best Windows laptops of 2020 are bound to get massive price cuts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This means that you might be able to purchase one on this list for much less, saving you more money to use for something else on your shopping list.
Windows laptops are expensive purchases at the best of times, but Black Friday and Cyber Monday often see hundreds of dollars (or pounds) knocked off the price of brands such as Dell, Alienware, and Microsoft, who all make some of the best Windows laptops on the market right now.
That means it’s worth holding fire in some cases until then. Luckily, with Black Friday rolling around at the end of November and Cyber Monday landing on November 30, you won’t have to wait for long.
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1. Dell XPS 15 (2020)
The ultimate laptop has arrived
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics – NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti | RAM: 8GB – 64GB | Screen: 15.6" FHD+ (1920 x 1200) InfinityEdge Non-Touch Anti-Glare 500-Nit – 15.6" UHD+ (3840 x 2400) InfinityEdge Touch Anti-Reflective 500-Nit Display | Storage: 256GB – 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe | OS: Windows 10 Home
The Dell XPS 15 might just be incredible enough to tempt hardcore Mac users, and it’s easily the best Windows laptop 2020 has to offer. Combining staggering power in a stylish thin and light chassis, this laptop doesn’t hold back when it comes to internals and features that improve your computing experience overall. Among those amazing features are a gorgeous bright display with 500 nits of brightness, an extremely comfortable keyboard, impressive speakers, and a terrific trackpad. We’re not saying that this laptop is perfect, but our coveted 5 out of 5 rating should speak for itself.
Read the full review: Dell XPS 15
2. Asus Zephyrus G14
Leading AMD's charge to mobile dominance
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti — RTX 2060 | RAM: Up to 32GB | Screen: 14-inch Non-glare Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS-level panel, up to 120Hz – 14-inch Non-glare WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS-level panel, 60Hz | Storage: 512GB / 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 | OS: Windows 10 Home
The Asus Zephyrus G14 may be designed like a gaming laptop, but it’s proven itself a more than capable all-around laptop. Whether you are serious about your gaming or need a powerful laptop for productivity or content creation, this is the best Windows laptops to deliver incredible performance as well as an amazing battery life, a fast screen, and a thin and light chassis that makes it super portable. It’s not the cheapest option out there, but you have to pay a premium for quality. And, if you’re an AMD fan, you’ll certainly appreciate the processor under its hood.
Read the full review: Asus Zephyrus G14
3. HP Spectre x360 (2020)
HP’s flagship 2-in-1 gets a 2020 refresh
CPU: 8th-generation Intel Core i7 | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti with Max-Q design | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch, 3840 x 2160 pixels touch | Storage: 512 GB – 2TB SSD | OS: Windows 10 Home
HP’s beloved and highly praised 2-in-1 is back with a vengeance, this time with more powerful components like the 10th-generation Intel Core processors and Intel Iris Plus graphics. Of course, that impeccable 2-in-1 design and pristine gem-cut chassis are back, as are its security features and Bang & Olufsen speakers. That killer combination makes it, now more than ever, one of the best Windows laptops out there. Is it a wonder that this is one of our favorite laptops of 2020? If you care about aesthetics as much as you do performance and overall quality, this is the laptop for you.
Read the full review: HP Spectre x360 (2020)
4. Alienware Area-51m
The best Windows laptop for gaming
CPU: Intel Core i7-9700 – i9-9900K | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 – 2080 | RAM: 16GB – 64GB | Screen: 17.3-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) 60Hz Anti-Glare IPS – 144Hz IPS Nvidia G-Sync | Storage: 1TB SSHD – 2TB RAID0 SSDs + 1TB SSHD | OS: Windows 10 Home
If you want the absolute best notebook for playing games on the go, then here it is – but be warned, this laptop will cause all but the very fattest of wallets to break into a sweat. Alienware’s Area-51m is a startlingly powerful Windows gaming laptop that can be equipped with up to a 9th-gen eight-core Intel CPU and GeForce RTX 2080 graphics.
What’s more, it’s a beautifully made machine, with a superbly slick and clean design, and you can upgrade this gaming notebook going forward (the CPU and GPU can be replaced, which very often isn’t the case in modern laptops). In some ways, then, this is an investment in terms of future-proofing – but as we noted, it’s definitely an expensive outlay. However, it’s always been the case that if you want the best when it comes to gaming portables, you have to pay for the privilege.
Read the full review: Alienware Area-51m
5. Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition
A seriously powerful pro laptop
CPU: 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8750H | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q – NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Studio Edition | RAM: 32GB | Screen: 15.6" OLED 4K Touch 60Hz, factory calibrated | Storage: 1TB SSD | OS: Windows 10 Home
Razer’s idea of taking its famous gaming laptop and turning it into one of the best mobile creative workstations on offer has paid off. Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition would have taken the mantle as the best laptop for engineering students, if it wasn’t held back by its premium price. Without a doubt, this model was designed with creators in mind, rocking powerful graphics cards and an absolute stunner of a 4K display. Sure, you’ll be spending a lot of money to take this laptop home. But, make no mistake, it will be one of the smartest investments you’ll ever make.
Read the full review: Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition
6. Microsoft Surface Go
The best Windows laptop for students
CPU: Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 615 | RAM: 4GB – 8GB | Screen: 10-inch 1800 x 1200 touchscreen | Storage: 64GB eMMC – 128GB SSD | OS: Windows 10 Home in S mode
While some students might want to pick up our best overall Windows laptop at the top of this article (or best all-rounder that follows it), not everyone can afford to splash out on a dearer machine. And for those with a strapped student budget, this Microsoft hybrid is a great choice for university, college or indeed school.
Essentially, this is a more affordable version of the Surface Pro, but running Windows 10 Home in S mode (although you can easily upgrade away from that). And like that Microsoft tablet, you also have to shell out for a Type Cover keyboard which is a separate (but necessary – if you want a 2-in-1 laptop) accessory.
Still, the Surface Go base model is nicely affordable even given the extra cost of the keyboard, and it’s supremely compact and portable, with an impressive screen and the ability to tackle general computing tasks with aplomb (and even run Minecraft nicely).
Read the full review: Microsoft Surface Go
7. Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX531GX
The best Windows laptop for heavyweight computing
CPU: Intel Core i7-8750H | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 (Max-Q) | RAM: Up to 24GB | Screen: 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS, 144Hz | Storage: 1TB SSD – 512GB/1TB SSD | OS: Windows 10 Pro
Maybe you’re not in the market for a full-on workstation, but would prefer a notebook that runs Windows 10 Pro which can cut through heavyweight computing tasks, yet is actually designed to be a very capable machine for gaming? Then look no further than this Asus Zephyrus laptop.
The GX531GX comes packing an Intel Core i7-8750H six-core CPU backed with Nvidia RTX 2080 Max-Q graphics. It can also cram in up to 24GB of system RAM, yet this notebook is also nicely slim and portable – Nvidia’s Max-Q technology helps there, of course.
With all this power at your fingertips, you can tackle heavyweight computing tasks such as video editing, and relax playing the latest and greatest shooter when all the work is done. However, as is always the case when high performance meets portability, you’re going to pay a considerable asking price.
Read the full review: Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX531GX
8. Dell XPS 13 (2020)
Still one of the best laptops of all time
CPU: 10th generation Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel Iris Plus | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) – 4k (3840 x 2160) | Storage: 256GB – 2TB SSD | OS: Windows 10 Home
The Dell XPS 13 (2020), much like its predecessors, earns a well-deserved spot among the best Windows laptops. It keeps everything we've come to love from Dell's flagship 13-incher, from the gorgeous and light design, to the powerful modern components that power it. The Dell XPS 13 now rocks 10th-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors and a bezel-less ‘Infinity Edge’ display, which means the Dell XPS 13 (2020) is a brilliant performer, while remaining thin and light. What’s more, there’s a wide range of customization options, so you can really make the Dell XPS 13 the best laptop for your needs.
Read the full review: Dell XPS 13
9. Acer ConceptD 7
A mobile workstation for creatives
CPU: 9th-generation Intel Core i7 | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 – 2080 | RAM: 16GB – 32GB | Screen: 15.6" 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) 16:9 IPS | Storage: 1TB SSD | OS: Windows 10 Home/Pro
The formidable Acer ConceptD 7 is capable of handling complex and demanding tasks such as intensive video editing and 3D design, thanks in large part to its Nvidia RTX graphics. Clearly designed specifically with creative professionals in mind, it boasts that sheer power you’ll only find in workstations and gaming laptops. Beyond that excellent performance it delivers, it also offers decent port selection, a minimalist solid white design and that stunning Pantone-validated 4K IPS display. Obviously, it’s still pretty pricey, but no professional’s tool comes cheap. If you’re looking for a Windows-powered MacBook alternative for the creative tasks, this is the best Windows laptop for you.
Read the full review: Acer ConceptD 7
10. Lenovo Yoga C940
The Lenovo Yoga is back and it means business
CPU: Up to 10th Generation Intel Core i7 | Graphics: Intel Iris Plus | RAM: Up to 16GB | Screen: 14" UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS, touchscreen, glossy, HDR 400, 500nits – 14” FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, touchscreen, glossy, 400 nits | Storage: Up to 2TB SSD PCIe | OS: Windows 10 Home
The Lenovo Yoga C940 may have its share of flaws – the battery life in this model has taken a dive, for instance, and that soundbar could have been better. However, it’s an incredibly capable addition in a long line of flagships from Lenovo, touting more powerful components inside as well as some pretty nifty features. Those features include its pen garage on the back, which charges the stylus whenever it's docked. That keyboard, which is quite comfortable, is also worth mentioning. If you’re looking for a productivity machine, this is a great contender.
Read the full review: Lenovo Yoga C940
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