TOP TEN BEST LAPTOPS OF 2020
This is an authoritative review of the top-ten best laptop
computers for 2020 and beyond. Why do I say ‘beyond?’ I say ‘beyond’ because
the machines profiled in this article are so good and powerful they’re very
likely to rank at the top-ten best laptops for 2021! Our laptop reviews as well
as all the product reviews on this blog are not only accurate, reliable, and
authoritative but also unbiased and straight to the point. As always, we do our
best to limit tech jargon to the barest minimum.
A laptop computer, sometimes called a notebook computer by
manufacturers, is a battery- or AC-powered personal computer generally smaller
than a briefcase that can easily be transported and conveniently used in
temporary spaces such as on airplanes, in libraries, temporary offices, and at
meetings. One of the key reasons to choose a laptop over a desktop PC is
portability. A laptop is a personal computer that is small enough to sit on a
person's lap and is designed essentially for mobility.
DO YOU AND SHOULD YOU NEED A NEW
LAPTOP?
If you need a new laptop, then you need one of the best
laptops. If you do not have a personal computer and have always gone by with
just your mobile phone, you’re more than likely to have a dire need of one especially
these days when the way we live and work is about to get radically digitized.
The age of Covid-19 is an age when as much as half the staff of companies like
Facebook will fully work from home or remotely. How do you know the wind of
change won’t blow by your backyard? When the wind of change eventually comes
your way, your smartphone may not be enough.
Do you already have a laptop computer? Congratulations,
you’re on the right track. But does that mean you do not need to read this
article? Well, answer the following questions to find out if you should pay
attention to this review of the top-ten best laptops of 2020.
Is Your Laptop Older Than Four Years?
Honestly, this is a big one. One big reason to consider
investing in a new laptop is the rapid rate at which computer technology keeps
advancing. Seriously, we can’t ignore the compelling fact that you need to
upgrade your system to keep pace with the progression of hardware technology. More
so, Moore's Law states that the computing power of integrated circuits doubles
every two years. So, if your laptop is even just four years old, it could be
200% less powerful than this year's hardware.
How Is Your Laptop Battery Doing?
Indeed, you can always replace laptop’s battery when it
begins to struggle to hold a charge. But modern laptops not only sport a more
powerful design and hardware but are also built to be more power-efficient. In
other words, the battery power of modern computers generally lasts longer and is
more power-efficient than older systems. If your jaws drop on hearing that
there are laptops that can carry on for more than twenty hours on a single
charge, then you should definitely finish this article and be better informed
about your next laptop; you certainly need to upgrade.
Is Your Laptop Keeping Up With Advanced Security Threats?
You definitely need a new laptop if your current system does
not support the newer operating systems (OS). Newer and upgraded OS like
Windows 10 and macOS Catalina have more advanced security protocols to match
the ever-evolving security and cyber threats. If your current PC is
incompatible with newer OS, then you need this review of the best laptops of
2020 because you should get a new laptop. Furthermore, new and updated software
are more likely to be incompatible with computers running older OS versions.
Does Your Laptop Struggle To Multitask?
Another way of knowing you should invest in a new laptop
computer is when you notice your system struggles to run two or more
applications simultaneously. While it is true that a nearly maxed out RAM is
usually the cause of this problem, we can agree that money spent on continuous
upgrades and repairs on the same computer is often better off invested in a new
laptop.
Does Your Laptop Take Longer To Startup and Shut Down?
A prolonged startup and shutdown time in a PC is primarily
caused by too many applications running in the background of the OS, but it is
also an indication that your computer is nigh biting the dust. In fact, this
top-ten best laptops review is written for you. Worst still, hardware parts of
an older computer might be expensive. Things happen, right? The screen cracks
or the keyboard or trackpad stops working.
Actually, some computer repairs may come close to or exceed
the cost of a new laptop depending on the specific components being replaced.
If that's the case, you're only prolonging the inevitable, and you're better
off purchasing a new device. So, now that we’re- hopefully- agreed that I
should keep writing because you are still reading this review, let’s move on to
our best laptop buying guide.
BEST LAPTOPS BUYING GUIDE
Laptop computers, like most consumer tech products, follow a
predictable timing schedule. As new processors are developed, the old ones
become outmoded and cheaper, leading to a drop in price for the computers that
use them. This can be a great time to score a bargain on a new laptop but it
doesn’t hurt to know what to look out for or expect from a particular brand and
model no matter the price or bargain. The following are four important features
to consider when shopping for your next laptop:
Size
The most important thing to consider about the size of a
laptop is your primary use of the laptop, that is, what you’re going to need
that laptop to do. It’s rarely ever a case of one size fits all. Some users
need something lighter and more portable. Other users need discrete graphics
for things like video editing or running high-end games. If you need a laptop
with an optical drive or long battery life, you’ll almost certainly have to
look for something larger. You are sure to find your perfect fit in this
top-ten best laptops review.
What is the connection between a laptop size and what the
laptop can or cannot do? Smaller-sized 13.3-inch machines often don’t support
the same high-end Intel Core i7 and above CPUs or discrete graphics cards obtainable
in 15.6-inch laptop PCs. Most of the time, small-sized laptops feature a
less-robust selection of ports. If the kind of work for which you intend to be
using your new laptop requires a larger display or standalone graphics power,
you’ll probably need to look at larger sized laptops.
However, if portability is your priority, you’ll want to go
for a smaller sized Windows laptop. They tend to be thinner and lighter than
their larger counterparts. Look for laptops that have a screen that is either
12.5-inches or 13.3-inches in size and weighs between 1kg and 1.5kgs.
Screen Quality
These days, handheld devices like cellphones and tablets do
not have a monopoly of touch screens. Do you prefer your laptop to be a touchscreen?
Dell makes fantastic touchscreen computer devices such as the Dell XPS series,
and there are other touchscreen laptops available in the market today.
Touchscreens are very common in modern consumer electronics and
they can make some tasks easier than others. Unfortunately, they can also add a
glossiness to the display which is sometimes undesirable. Glossy screens lead
to reflections, which are a definite negative if you’re gaming, watching
content, or editing images and video content. For these reasons, you might want
to consider a laptop that doesn’t have a touchscreen.
More so, the best laptops today sport 4K screen resolutions
coupled with IPS display which are usually preferable to other screen types.
And be sure to check the refresh rate on the display of the laptop you wish to
buy. A faster refresh rate offers a competitive advantage in online games, as
it enables a smoother and more responsive gaming experience.
4K refers to one of two high definition resolutions: 3840 x
2160 pixels or 4096 x 2160 pixels. 4K is four times the pixel resolution, or
twice the line resolution (2160p), of 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels). The other
high definition resolutions in use are 720p and 1080i.
Keyboard Quality
A backlit keyboard is an important feature in a laptop
especially if you often work on your computer at night or in dimly-lit
environments. Laptops with full-sized keys and some space around the arrow keys
are preferable. You should look for keys with adequate travel on the downstroke
and snappy responsiveness when you release them. A comfortable and user-friendly
keyboard is a must on any laptop that ranks among the best laptops.
Powerful CPU
Intel’s Core-based CPUs rank at the top of the best performance
laptops of 2020 and all evidence points to its reign beyond 2021. Intel’s Core
i3, Core i5, Core i7, and i9 Processors offer the best performance when it
comes to multitasking and multimedia tasks. Core i3-based notebooks are generally
found in entry-level systems, while Core i5 makes up the majority of mainstream
computers.
All the same, PC gamers may want to opt for laptops and
notebooks that run on AMD’s Ryzen Mobile CPUs. Ryzen Mobile CPUs tend to be
paired with AMD’s own Vega graphics chipsets, which are currently far better
for gaming than Intel’s onboard graphics.
Great RAM
Clearly, a larger RAM makes for the best laptops experience.
More RAM means the ability of a computer to efficiently run multiple
applications simultaneously. The days of 4GB of RAM in a laptop or PC is over.
These days, you need an upward of 32GB of RAM if you want the best laptop
gaming performance experience.
You may not need your new laptop for gaming, but 8GB RAM
should be your minimum benchmark. A power user should not settle for less than
16GB of RAM. And you thought your 8GB RAM computer is okey-dokey? Just check
out our top-ten best laptops lineup below.
2020 TOP-TEN BEST LAPTOPS
|
MODEL |
SPECIFICATIONS |
WHERE TO BUY |
 |
OS : Windows 10 Pro Display:
15.6" (3840 x 2160) Processor:
Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK processor | 2.4 GHz Memory:
256 GB NA/8 GBGB DDR4 Weight:
2.5 Dimension:
359 x 246 x 24 Graphics Processor: NVIDIA Geforce RTX 2060 |
|
 |
OS:
Windows 10 Pro Display:
13.3" (1920 x 1080) Processor:
i7-8565U | 1.8 Memory:
NA null/16 GBGB null Weight:
1.3 Dimension:
NA Graphics Processor:
Intel UHD Graphics 620 |
|
|
|
OS:
Windows 10 Home Display:
15.6" (3840 x 2160) Processor:
Intel Core i9-8950HK | 2.9 GHz Memory:
1 TB SSD/16GB DDR4 Weight: 1.88 Dimension:
18.9 x 365 x 251 Graphics Processor:
NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1050T |
|
 |
OS:
Windows 10 Home Display:
14" (1920 x 1080) Processor:
Intel Core i3-8145U | 2.1 Memory:
512 4/4GB SDRAM Weight:
1.65 Dimension:
328 x 229 x 17.9 Graphics Processor:
Intel Integrated UHD |
|
|
|
OS:
Windows 10 Home Display:
15.6" (1920 X 1080) Processor:
7th Generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ | 3.8 GHz Memory:
256 GB SSD/4GB GDDR5 Weight:
1.8 Dimension:
NA Graphics
Processor: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 |
|
|
 |
OS:
Windows 10 Home Display:
14" (1920 x 1080) Processor:
AMD® RyzenTM R5-3500U | NA Memory:
512 GB NA/8GB DDR4 Weight:
1.39 Dimension:
323.5 x 211.85 x 15.9 Graphics
Processor: Integrated AMD® Radeon RX Vega 8 |
|
 |
OS:
Windows 10 Home Display:
15" (1920 X 1080) Processor:
Up to 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 | 1.8 Memory:
512 GB SSD/up to 12GB DDR4 Weight:
1.8 Dimension:
358 mm x 245 mm x 16.95 mm Graphics
Processor: Intel® integrated graphics |
|
 |
OS:
Windows 10 Display:
15.6" (2160 x 1080) Processor:
AMD Ryzen 5 3550H | NA Memory:
256GB SSD + 1TB SSHD SSD + SSHD/32GB DDR4 Weight:
2.2 Dimension:
364 X 26.2 X 26.7 Graphics
Processor: NVIDIA Geforce GTX1050 |
|
 |
OS:
Windows 10 Pro Display:
15.6" (1920 x 1080) Processor:
Up to 8th Gen Intel® Core™ FL-H i5/i7 vPro | 2.2 Memory:
512 GB SATA/16GB DDR4 Weight : 1.7 Dimension:
361.8 x 245.7 x 18.4 Graphics
Processor: NVIDIA GTX1050Ti GDDR5 4G 4GB GDDR5 |
|
 |
OS:
Windows 10 Pro Display:
14" (1920 x 1080) Processor:
Intel Core i5 8th Gen 8265U | 1.6 Memory:
1 TB SATA HDD/8GB SDRAM Weight:
1.3 Dimension:
208.48 x 322.86 x 16.50 Graphics
Processor: Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 |
|
Now, Let's Dig A Little Deeper
Asus says you can take your creativity and productivity to
the next level with the groundbreaking ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo. Designed to give you the ultimate edge in
workflow efficiency, the powerful RTX Studio Laptop features a full-width 4K
ASUS ScreenPad ™ Plus that works seamlessly with the main 4K UHD OLED display.
With the ZenBook Pro Duo, Asus is thinking about big-screen laptops in a whole new way. For power users who live life on the bleeding edge, the ZenBook Pro Duo might not be your best bet but it still should be worth every penny depending on how you work. This computer didn’t make our list of the top-ten best laptops for no reason. You can bet on that.
The Spectre x360 13 is a beautiful laptop that certainly
delivers more for your dollar. HP's best overall laptop right now is the
late-2019 HP Spectre x360 13t. It has a unique
gem-cut design, all-day battery life, powerful hardware options, and a knockout
touch display with inking capabilities that can be converted into a tent,
stand, and tablet modes.
With a smart redesign inside and out, the Spectre x360 from
HP has taken its performance delivery to a new level. With
an Intel UHD Graphics 620 card, as well as an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor,
the Spectre can handle just about anything that you throw at it from video
editing to graphic design.
Safe to say, this is an excellent laptop for anyone on the
go. The X360 isn't the only latest laptop on sale at HP. But If you want something with a
little more oomph, then it's worth considering the 15-inch model of the Spectre
X360 which comes with slightly updated specs and a larger display.
The Zenbook Pro is a high-end performance laptop from Asus
that's aimed at power users as well as boasting some top-notch specs and
features. A laptop that's one of the first to get a top-tier Intel
Core i9 processor has veritably earned a place on our list of the best laptops. A lot is going on in this new 15-inch ZenBook
Pro from Asus.
The powerful innards of this laptop aren't the only thing that sets it apart. There's the laptop's oversize touchpad, which moonlights as a full HD touch screen. (Asus calls it a "ScreenPad.") Indeed, this ZenBook Pro is a rare entrant into the exclusive "two touch screens" club and even the laptop most analogous to it, the Apple MacBook Pro, isn't a member.
The IdeaPad C340 features a 14-inch touchscreen panel with
Full HD resolution. Colors on the unit are, by default, a little warmer than
usual but that's a good thing because it makes reading text an easy affair even
if Night Light is disabled in Windows 10. Brightness, sadly, is on the lower
side.
The Lenovo IdeaPad C340 delivers a solid performance, decent
battery life, and very handy multi-function use. That said, it's not quite thin
or light enough to be truly portable or practical, making it less of an
appealing prospect for those constantly on the move. The C340 is proudly one of
our top-ten best laptops; a 2-in-1 lappy designed for professional and creative
users, and at the same time works great as a basic laptop for lightweight and
work-related functions.
Yes, Lenovo is a really good brand. Everyone has heard of Lenovo because of the reasonable price of their hardware. The affordability is not the only reason why people consider it a good brand, the design, the battery life and the durability of Lenovo hardware is what makes it the top choice and one of the best laptops in the market today. The Lenovo C340-15IWL is the ideal choice for those on a tight budget but who wants a laptop that doubles up as a tablet.
Like its predecessor, the new XPS 15 is packing a discrete
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q GPU with 4GB of RAM, which is great for photo
and video editing or data-heavy spreadsheets. You also get an integrated Intel
UHD Graphics GPU for less-demanding tasks, like writing a review or watching
videos.
Make no mistake, Intel's 8th-generation Core i7 CPU is in
the laptop. As stated earlier in this review, the CPU is one of the first in a long line that
might be worth an upgrade over the last generation of CPUs. According to
official figures from Dell, the new XPS 15 7590 with a 97Whr battery will last
up to 20 hours on a single charge. That's crazy talk because, unfortunately,
you'll likely see a few hours short of that claim in real-world usage depending
on your laptop configuration and how you use it.
The Dell XPS 15 (2019) is a perfect choice for consumers looking for a laptop that ranks as one of the best laptops with a 15-inch display, plenty of power on tap, and excellent design. If you've got an aging machine and need a laptop with higher specifications to stay current, you can't go wrong with the Dell XPS 15 (2019).
The Asus Zenbook 14 painstakingly earned its place at the table of the
top-ten best laptops. The build quality is extremely good for a Windows-based
ultrabook. For all the talk of the beautiful Retina display on the MacBook Pro,
the Zenbook certainly holds its own when it comes to a high-DPI display.
Asus ZenBook 14 is a decent offering and can compete with a
lot of slim and light offerings currently in the market including the MacBook
Air and the Lenovo Ideapad S540. It is quite a good laptop and might have been
able to take the all-rounder tag if it wasn't for a few quirks.
Asus takes performance seriously and with the ZenBook 14 UM431, it has taken things a step further. The laptop comes as standard with an AMD Ryzen 5-3500U processor paired with 8GB DDR4 RAM and a 512GB SSD storage drive. There's AMD's Vega 8 integrated graphics onboard as well. And as you can imagine, the Zenbook 14 laptop runs on Windows 10.
The 15.6-inch Lenovo IdeaPad S540 is a fine laptop for
everyday tasks, such as web browsing, online video playback, spreadsheet
editing, programming, light image and video editing, and even a bit of
low-graphics gaming. The Lenovo IdeaPad S540 is configured with a Core i5-10210U
CPU, GeForce MX250 graphics, and a glossy panel. There’s not much left here to
be desired in an everyday laptop.
The 14-inch IdeaPad S540 has what it takes to be one of the
most popular budget ultrabooks of its generation. The IdeaPad S540 delivers
what's expected from it. Lenovo boasts up to 12 hours of battery life. But most
laptop users nowadays won’t be that much impressed with a 12-hour battery life, not when many of
the modern laptops available in the market today boasts a battery life upwards of 20 hours.
The top cover and base panel of the S540 are made of aluminum with “diamond cutting” around the edges, and this lends the laptop a clean, premium look. Thanks to the matte finish on both sides, the laptop is fairly grippy to hold. The IdeaPad S540 is 16.95mm slim but weighs 1.95 kilograms. This is a safe bet for anyone looking for a new daily driver.
The ASUS TUF FX505DT-AH51 is an entry-level laptop that
stretches the definition of budget gaming. This machine offers a better 1080p gaming
performance, a 120Hz screen, and enough real-estate for future upgrades. It may
not be the most powerful gaming laptop around but it does a good jot over
competitors.
TUF is generally Asus' budget tier laptops. If you're
aiming for the TUF series but on a tight budget, you are much better off
getting a laptop like the Dell G5 which is
100% geared towards budget gaming. However, the ROG series also has two primary
models, the Strix and Zephyrus models.
The Asus TUF Gaming FX505DT ensures that an essential set of components and features are delivered so that your gaming experience is pleasant. This includes the high-speed PCIe Gen3 SSD storage, discrete graphics card, and a full HD display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
The sleek design of the ThinkPad X1 Extreme looks great, and it's
surprisingly durable yet portable. Performance is also impressive, thanks to a
Core i7 CPU and GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics. You can even equip the X1 Extreme with
64GB of RAM although storage maxes out at only 1TB.
Considered innovative, Lenovo’s ThinkPad series became a
large success for IBM and always holds its own among the best laptops
available. ThinkPads are especially popular with businesses. Older models are
revered by technology enthusiasts, collectors, and power users due to their
durable design, relatively high resale value, and abundance of aftermarket
replacement parts.
The ThinkPads are generally more expensive for a reason;
they are business machines built to be both reliable and sturdy, and to have a
long enough life that the Total Cost of Ownership is better value for money.
The incredibly fast ThinkPad X1 Extreme is well-named. It's a ThinkPad on the
outside and a PC geek's dream laptop on the inside.
The Vivobook 14 X403 is a laptop aimed at productivity-oriented
workflows, and it does that with style. The laptop brings great looks, amazing
performance, and an insane 24-hour battery life in a sleek package that's
highly reminiscent of the MacBook Air, only slightly thicker. The Asus VivoBook
14 X403 gives you an amazingly long battery life along with top-notch
performance but takes away 'upgradability' in the form of a fixed 8GB RAM.
The silvery metallic top cover is smooth to the touch and grippy to hold. While the VivoBook 14 X403 comes with many plusses, its single and perhaps biggest minus creates a painful deal-breaker for users wanting a memory upgrade in the future. The X403 is for customers who are convinced that their memory requirement in the present or future won’t exceed the soldered 8GB. Barring that single crucial limitation, the Asus VivoBook 14 X403 proves to be a fine mainstream laptop that sits pretty with the best performance laptops of 2020.
IN SUMMARY
By now, you should have a very good idea of what to look for when shopping for your next laptop. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme is hard to beat whatever your mobile computing needs. And if you are looking for a budget gaming laptop, the ASUS TUF FX505DT-AH51 is your best bet. If you want a simple budget PC,
a productivity workhorse, or a screaming machine for gaming; You can't go wrong with this reliable review of the top ten best laptops of 2020.
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