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The 6 Best Windows Laptops - Winter 2024 Reviews

Updated
Best Windows Laptop

Windows is the most widely used operating system, so it isn't surprising that there are tons of Windows laptops on the market. You can find ultraportables for general productivity, 2-in-1 convertibles, tablet PCs, gaming laptops, as well as powerful workstations that can replace your desktop PC. There are also many brands, with each company releasing new laptops yearly, making the buying decision even harder. We've put together a list of our top picks to help guide you, and hopefully, you can find something that suits your needs. To reduce complexity, this article only contains productivity laptops; we have a separate article for the best gaming laptops.

We've tested over 105 laptops, and below, you'll find our recommendations for the best laptops with Windows you can get. You can also check out our picks for the best lightweight laptops, the best 15-16 inch laptops, and the best budget and cheap gaming laptops.


  1. Best Windows Laptop

    The best Windows laptop we've tested is the Dell XPS 15 (2023), a 15.6-inch mobile workstation. Like its widely popular sibling, the Dell XPS 13 (2021), this is a high-end model that provides an excellent user experience. Its thin and light design makes it easy to carry around, and it feels incredibly well-built, thanks to its CNC-machined aluminum chassis and carbon fiber keyboard deck. It has a bright and colorful display, a spacious and tactile keyboard, and a large and responsive—albeit non-haptic—touchpad. You can upgrade the FHD+ IPS screen to a 3.5k OLED panel; the OLED looks better and supports touch input, but know that it'll drain the battery faster and is susceptible to permanent burn-in.

    Spec-wise, you can configure this laptop with an Intel Core i5, i7, or i9 H-series CPU. These high-performance processors are fast enough to handle demanding workloads like programming and video editing. As for the GPU, you can get the base model with an Intel Arc A370M GPU if your work doesn't require a lot of GPU processing power or upgrade to one of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40-series GPUs (up to a 4070). The NVIDIA GPUs aren't the fastest on the market, as they run at a low Total Graphics Power (TGP) of 40W, but they're still adequate for intensive tasks. Our only complaints are about the webcam and thermals; the webcam's image looks extremely underexposed, and the keyboard gets uncomfortably hot under load.

    One last note about the XPS 15: Dell has released newer 2024 XPS laptops. The 15-inch model no longer exists and is being replaced by a 14-inch model, sporting the same design as the Dell XPS 13 Plus (2022). So, for fans of larger displays, it's a good time to grab the XPS 15 while it's still available. Plus, it's often on sale now that there's a newer model.

    See our review

  2. Best Upper Mid-Range Windows Laptop

    For those with a lighter workload consisting mainly of text processing, spreadsheets, web browsing, and video playback, go with the LG gram 14 (2023). It's very compact, and as its name suggests, it's incredibly light, weighing only 2.1 lbs. You can configure it with an Intel 13th Gen Core i5-1340P or i7-1360P processor, which can easily handle general productivity tasks. The battery lasts around 10 to 11 hours of light use on a full charge. You can charge the laptop over USB-C, so you don't need to deal with a proprietary charger.

    The overall user experience is great. You get a colorful FHD display, a comfortable and tactile keyboard, and a reasonably large touchpad. Its outstanding port selection includes two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, allowing you to transfer files quickly and connect up to two 4k displays at 60Hz with a single cable. It has a great 1080p webcam for video calls and a facial recognition IR camera for quick logins via Windows Hello. Unfortunately, the tradeoff for its thin and light design is the use of soldered RAM, so get enough for your needs upfront.

    Another option to consider is the Framework Laptop 13 (2023), a modular laptop designed to be easily repairable and upgradeable. You can buy every component in this 13-inch ultraportable from Framework, and they even provide manuals to guide you through the replacement process. It has a bright 3:2 display, a good 1080p webcam, and a modular port system that lets you swap out the ports to adapt to any situation. The keyboard feels tactile but requires a fair amount of force to actuate the keys, which can be tiring over time, and the touchpad isn't quite as responsive as the LG's. Also, depending on where you live, it may be hard to get this laptop because it's only available on Framework's website.

    See our review

  3. Best Mid-Range Windows Laptop

    If you want a more modest mid-range model, check out the Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (2023). Its large display gives you plenty of room for split-screen multitasking and supports pen input. You can choose between an FHD+ or QHD+ panel; we recommend the latter, as it's sharper and brighter. The display's glossy finish doesn't handle reflections well, so you may have some visibility issues in well-lit settings. Build quality is excellent, and while it isn't as portable as the LG gram 14 (2023) above, it's still relatively easy to carry around, thanks to its thin and light design. A stylus is included in the box; our only complaint is that the plastic pen holder feels rather janky, as it plugs into the USB-A port and can potentially break the port if you aren't careful.

    This laptop is available with Intel 13th Gen U- and P-series CPUs, which are plenty fast for general productivity tasks like web browsing, text processing, presentations, and spreadsheets. There's Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity, a fingerprint sensor and IR camera for biometrics, and tons of ports, including two Thunderbolt 4s and an HDMI. Its 1080p webcam isn't bad; the image has a fair amount of fine details but an unnatural tint, and the microphone picks up some background noise. You can get this laptop directly from Lenovo if you have trouble finding it elsewhere.

    See our review

  4. Best Budget Windows Laptop

    The best budget Windows laptop we've tested is the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020), a 14-inch ultraportable. Acer's Swift laptops aren't exactly budget models, as they usually cost around $1,000 USD or more, but because this is an older model from 2020, you can find it at a really good price. It has a nice display, a slightly cramped but decent keyboard, and a good port selection, including a USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 and an HDMI. Intel's 11th-Gen CPUs are a few years old but are still adequate for general productivity. Our only major complaint is that the webcam's video quality isn't very good.

    See our review

  5. Best Cheap Windows Laptop

    Our cheap pick is the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 (2023), a 15-inch Windows ultraportable. It's available with various Intel 13th Gen CPUs, from a Core i3 to i7, and up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The Intel CPUs can easily handle light productivity tasks like text processing, web browsing, and video playback. For the display, the cheaper configurations come with a low-quality TN panel, so you'll have to spend a bit more if you upgrade to an IPS display. The keyboard feels comfortable to type on, and the touchpad is small but responsive. The webcam is surprisingly good, allowing you to look and sound clear on video calls.

    Port selection is good; you get two USB-As, a USB-C, an HDMI, and an SD card reader. The USB-C supports video output and charging but not Thunderbolt 4, which is unfortunate but expected for a budget-friendly model. A fingerprint sensor is present for quick logins. The biggest downside is its battery life, which lasts less than seven hours of light use. Compared to the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020) above, this model gives you slightly more processing power as well as a better keyboard and webcam, but the display isn't quite as good, and the battery life is significantly shorter. You can get this laptop on Lenovo's website.

    See our review

  6. Best 2-In-1 Windows Tablet

    If you like a tablet with a detachable keyboard form factor, the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021) is the one to get. It has a nice 3:2 display with a 120Hz refresh rate to provide better responsiveness, especially for pen input. It's compatible with Microsoft's Surface Pen or any third-party Microsoft Pen Protocol styluses. However, you must buy the stylus separately; the same goes for the keyboard. To Microsoft's credit, it's a pretty good keyboard with tactile keys and backlighting. Its 1080p webcam is among the best on the market, and like most Surface devices, there's a facial recognition IR camera. The battery lasts around seven to eight hours of light use, which isn't bad for a tablet PC.

    At this time, Microsoft has already released the Surface Pro 9. However, it's only a minor internal upgrade to Intel 12th Gen processors, as the exterior design is largely the same as the Surface Pro 8. In other words, if you can find the Surface Pro 9 at the same price as the Surface Pro 8 or cheaper, go for the Pro 9. If it's more expensive, it'll depend on whether you need the extra processing power. There's also an ARM-based version of the Surface Pro 9 with 5G connectivity for on-the-go use, but it doesn't perform as well as the Intel version. See the Surface Pro 9 on Amazon here.

    See our review

Notable Mentions

  • Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 (2023): The Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 (2023) is a cheaper alternative to the Dell XPS 15 (2023). It has a better webcam and a wider port selection, but you can only get it with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU and 16GB of soldered RAM. It also has a dimmer display and a slightly shorter battery life. See our review
  • ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023): The ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) is a great alternative to the LG gram 14 (2023). It has a sturdier all-aluminum build and a sharper OLED display, and it's a 2-in-1 convertible with stylus support. However, its battery life is shorter, and its CPU loses more performance under load. See our review
  • Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1 (2023): The Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1 (2023) is a good alternative to the Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (2023). It has a slightly sturdier build and doesn't throttle as much as the Lenovo; however, it doesn't support Thunderbolt 4 or USB4, and its battery life is shorter. See our review
  • HP ENVY x360 15 (2023): The HP ENVY x360 15 (2023) is also a good alternative to the Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (2023). It has a better 1440p webcam and doesn't throttle as much under load. The battery lasts around eight to nine hours of light use, which isn't as good as the Lenovo's but enough to get you through a typical workday. Unfortunately, all of the display options are limited to a 1080p resolution in a 16:9 aspect ratio, so they don't look as sharp as the Lenovo laptop's QHD display, and you also get less vertical space, forcing you to scroll more often when reading a document or website. See our review

Recent Updates

  1. Feb 22, 2024: Minor text changes to add the Framework Laptop 13 (2023) as an alternative to the LG gram 14 (2023).

  2. Jan 24, 2024: Verified that all picks are valid and available. No change in recommendations.

  3. Dec 18, 2023: Replaced the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 (2021) with the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 (2023) because the 3i provides a better user experience overall and is available with faster Intel 13th Gen CPUs.

  4. Nov 17, 2023: Small text changes to improve clarity and added the HP ENVY x360 15 (2023) as a Notable Mention. No changes in recommendations.

  5. Oct 18, 2023: Replaced the Acer Aspire 5 15 (2020) with the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 (2021) because the Lenovo has longer battery life and better performance.

All Reviews

Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best Windows laptops you can get. We factor in the price (a cheaper laptop wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no laptops that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).

If you prefer to make your own decision, here’s a list of all of our Windows laptop reviews, sorted by price from low to high. Keep in mind that most laptops are available in various configurations, and the table only shows the results of the model we tested, so it’s best to see the full review for information about other variants.