The Top 10 Best Laptops
Do you want to buy a laptop, but are daunted by the sheer number of choices out there? We winnow down your options to the top 10 best laptops available today.
Shopping for a laptop these days is a pretty daunting task. The sheer number of laptops available online or in a store's electronics section is enough to make your mind spin. Most people have a general idea of what their laptop should look like and what they want in terms of features, but are often intimidated by the choices available. That's where we come in.
The editors of PCMag.com test hundreds of systems each year to help you find the best laptop. There are a lot of laptops out there, from the large-screen desktop replacements to the lightweight ultraportables, and even netbooks, but all share common features. In this story, we help you narrow your choices by collecting the top 10 laptops on the market today.
Featured in this storyHP Pavilion dv7-6163cl
The HP Pavilion dv7-6163cl supplies quad-core performance, switchable graphics, booming audio, and a sleek aluminum chassis at a fair price, making it the affordable media center laptop to beat.
Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Late 2011)
The Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch gets new hardware and software, including a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, AMD Radeon GPU, and OS X Lion, while keeping everything that works well, like the thin and stylish unibody design.
Asus Zenbook UX31
The Asus Zenbook UX31 is the clear leader in the nascent ultrabook category, with better overall performance and battery life than any competitor. It also has a brilliant display, superb sound, and solid construction.
Asus U56E-BBL6
The Asus U56E-BBL6 budget laptop has all the desired features, including a fast Core i5 processor, cutting-edge features, and best-in-class battery life, sold for a price few can pass up.
Acer Travelmate 8481T-6440
What little the Acer Travelmate 8481T-6440 business laptop gives up in horsepower, it gains back with a sleek, ultrabook-like design (low volt processor requires fewer clunky cooling fans) and over 11 hours of battery life.
Lenovo IdeaPad V570-1066AJU
The Lenovo IdeaPad V570-1066AJU offers excellent performance and a good feature set, for a price few can pass up
Lenovo ThinkPad X220 TabletThe Lenovo ThinkPad X220 takes top honors among tablet PCs, combining choice aspects of a capable ultraportable business laptop with a multitouch Windows tablet.
Dell Inspiron 14z (Core i5)Aside from a few minor annoyances, the Dell Inspiron 14z (Core i5) is a stylish, powerful, and battery-efficient mainstream laptop.
Lenovo ThinkPad T420s
The Lenovo ThinkPad T420s is an amazing device when you realize that its power, feature set, and battery yields are usually found in much heavier laptops.
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Thunderbolt)
The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Thunderbolt) is a formidable player in the ultraportable space, thanks to a Core i5 processor, backlit keyboard, and Thunderbolt port.