Desktops have kind of fallen out of style in recent years, as the laptop has taken over. These mobile devices have made it easy for us to work on the go, anywhere we choose.
Laptops are the new model of computers that are more portable. They weigh less and are easier to carry around. Although the desktops are more powerful, you can’t take them with you anywhere. They are for permanent use at home or in the office..
So if your ready to move to a more portable computer and wondering which one you should buy? We’ve put together a list of the best laptop brands out there today, complete with reviews and our personal experiences.
Best Desktop Replacement Laptop
You’ll find no shortage of options to choose from, but understand that you really do get what you pay for. If you’re looking for something that will last a long time and can be used for anything from school to watching movies or gaming, the relatively high-end laptops are the way to go.
Depending on your intended usage and budget, we have had a look at great laptops and have shortlisted the best laptops to replace your desktop.
Best Laptop for Gamers
HP 15.6″ Gaming Laptop – 15.6″ Screen, Intel Core i5-7300HQ Processor, 8GB RAM
The gaming laptop is the most powerful version of laptops that can be used for gaming and heavy gaming applications. The best part about buying this one is that it comes with a good processor and an absurd amount of RAM. If you’ve ever used a computer that takes forever to start, it’s because it doesn’t have enough RAM. The one we review here has 8GB of RAM, which is more than enough for most people. It comes with a 256GB hard drive and is upgradable to around 1TB if necessary.
Pros:
- Good processor, good RAM, and good graphics card
- Big screen- Very portable
Cons:
- Some people have experienced issues with the battery not being able to hold the charge for long enough. This is only a problem with the battery and not because of the laptop itself.
- The keyboard lights up but does not stay on. This means that if you are playing in a dark room, your fingers will constantly be hitting keys that aren’t lit. You can either play with it off or find a way to cover them up yourself.
Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575G-57D4 15.6″ FHD Laptop – NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, Intel Core i5-7200U Processor
One of the great things about this laptop is that it doesn’t look like a gaming laptop. It’s got an attractive black finish and a red trim around the keyboard. This means that you can use it for work if needed, but also be able to use it to play some games when you have some downtime.
It’s got a good processor, but it’s not so good as to drain the battery. It also has a good graphics card, in case you want to upgrade your gaming experience with a few more details.
Pros:
- Good processor, graphics card and RAM
- The screen size is very big for this price range and the resolution is 1080p (1920 x 1080).- Lots of ports are available including headphone and microphone jacks, Ethernet port, USB 3.0 ports and SD card slot.
- The battery life is good, but not exceptional. It lasts around six hours and charges quickly.
- It’s very well designed. The edges are rounded and it’s not as heavy as other gaming laptops that are available to purchase today (around 5 pounds).
- Good enough to help you play high end games like Battlefield 4 on low settings.
Cons:
- Many customers have complained about the issues with the hinges coming off or being loose.
- The very hot laptop fans are causing overheating issues.
- The HD webcam is not the best quality.
- It’s not so good for playing games that require higher details because even on the lowest details it only supports DirectX 10 which is enough for many games.
This laptop is an excellent choice if you’re in the market for a gaming-ready laptop for work and play, but it’s not too expensive to buy.
Best Laptop for Students
Lenovo X201s
The Lenovo X201s is a laptop that has a good amount of features. Its price is high, but its more than worth the money. It has a 2nd generation Intel Core i3 processor with 3M Cache and 1.8 GHz Turbo speed.
As for RAM it only has 4GB, which is OK for most students, but could be better if you plan on doing some heavy multitasking. It also comes with DDR3L 1600MHz to speed up your loading times when browsing or downloading files.
Students can also find connections and ports to be convenient. You get an HDMI port, a VGA port and three USB 3.0 ports; two on the side, and one on the front for quick access.
The CPU is a powerful Intel Core i7 processor, which is great for multi-tasking. It’s just OK if you plan to do really heavy work, as this is not a laptop built with gamers in mind.
The screen is also very good with 1920×1080 resolution at 1366×768 pixels. It has an Intel HD Graphics 4000, which is clearly not amazing, but will be good for anyone who needs a laptop to do some light gaming.
The battery life is great with 5 hours and 30 minutes for a full charge. This could be the best laptop if you plan on watching movies or surfing the web for hours at a time.
Pros:
- Very small size, looks like a regular notebook
- Good price
- Nice display
- Decent graphics card (not powerful enough for gaming though, limiting the battery life)
Cons:
- Only 4GB RAM and only 2 USB ports. This laptop was made so that the screen would be big enough to take in any content you want to watch or read, which means that if your friend wants to show you a video of cats falling, your laptop will not have enough memory to do so. This is a common problem with laptops that are marketed for students.
- The cooling fan is very loud and causes some of the laptops to vibrate.
- The computer can’t support multiple monitors without having to upgrade the RAM. You will have to buy another RAM stick if you want to connect two computers or more and use them at the same time. This can be costly and difficult, so most people leave it alone.
Best Laptop for Photo and Video Editors
Acer Aspire E15 15-6012G-51JU 15.6″ FHD (1920 x 1080) Gaming Laptop, 8GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M Graphics
The Acer Aspire E15 is one of the best laptops for photo and video editors. It’s got a large screen size, with a screen resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. This is a good resolution for editing photos and videos, and not as many pixels as some other laptops have. The graphics card is also very good, with NVIDIA GeForce 960M coming in at the standard speed of 2GB GDDR5. The processor is made by Intel, which means that it has great features and can run most programs you would need during your work as an editor or video maker.
The display has a matte finish and IPS technology. This means that the screen will show you colors without being too glossy. The speakers are also built into the keyboard, as they’re called backlit speakers. This means that you don’t have to worry about buying a separate set of speakers and using up valuable desk space. If your classmates want to watch videos on the laptop, you won’t have to worry about not having enough space for all of them at once.
Pros:
- Good resolution
- Good performance for photo and video editing
- Good graphics card, with 2GB of RAM and 500GB hard drive storage.
Cons:
- No built-in speakers. You’ll need to buy a separate set of speakers for your laptop if you want to have one person use it to watch videos and another person edit photos. This can be expensive.
Acer Aspire E 15 E5-576G-57MK 15.
The Acer Aspire E 15 is made for gaming, and it does a great job of doing so. You’ll have a massive screen size of 15.6 inches with 1920 by 1080 pixels resolution. The graphics card is standard, which means that you’ll be able to play most games on it without any problems or issues.
The touchpad is also built into the keyboard, which makes it easy to use when editing videos and showing videos to your classmates. The display is even anti-glare, which will help reduce the glare from the sun or other lights. You’ll also have very good battery life, clocking in at up to 7 hours on a single charge.
The processor is from Intel, and it’s an i5 with a clock speed of 2.2 GHz (2.5 GHz Turbo Boost.) This is an excellent processor and can handle almost any program you’d need for editing photos or videos.
Pros:
- Very good graphics card, with 2GB of RAM and 500GB hard drive storage.
- Excellent performance for gaming
- Good resolution display, with IPS technology and anti-glare screen
- Very good battery life, up to 7 hours on a single charge
Cons:
- No built-in speakers. You’ll need to buy a separate set of speakers for your laptop if you want to have one person use it to watch videos and another person edit photos. This can be expensive.
Best Everyday Use Laptop
Acer Aspire S 13 (2016) 13.3″ FHD Touchscreen Ultraportable Laptop
The Acer Aspire S 13 is a great laptop for everyday use, as it’s great for doing something across the room like an assignment or watching a movie. It has an Intel Core M processor, which is one of the most powerful processors on the market and does not drain battery life like others do.
This means that you can use this laptop all day without having to plug it in before you finish your work. It also has a very long battery life of up to 9 hours on a single charge.
The screen size is 13.3 inches, which can be very annoying when you are trying to watch something across the room. However, if you work for an hour and a half at a time, you’ll probably not notice it
The graphics card that comes with this laptop is very good for everyday use, with Intel HD Graphics 515 coming in at the standard 2GB RAM speed.
Pros:
- Good battery life, clocking in at up to 9 hours on a single charge
- Very good Intel Core M processor, which doesn’t drain your laptop battery like others do
- 13.3 inches screen size is not as big as some other laptops, and when you are working across the room you will probably not notice it.
Cons:
- The display is very glossy and can cause some reflections in areas when the lights are off.
Dell Inspiron i5559-5012BLK 15.6″ Full HD Touchscreen Laptop
The Dell Inspiron i5559 laptop is made for everyday use, as it has a good battery life of up to 7 hours on a single charge. The screen size is 15.6 inches, which might be too big to watch a movie across the room at your desk, but most other laptops don’t have this resolution and therefore can’t be used for everyday use.
The graphics card is also very good, with integrated Intel HD Graphics 5500 coming in at the standard clock speed of 2GB GDDR5. The processor is also very good, with an i5 from Intel, which means that you’ll be able to take advantage of these features for photo and video editing.
Pros:
- Good battery life, clocking in at up to 7 hours on a single charge
- Very good processor and graphics card for everyday use and photo/video editing
- 15.6 inches screen size, which is good for watching a movie or doing multiple assignments at once.
Cons:
- The display is very glossy and can cause some reflections in areas when the lights are off.
Conclusion
Replacing your desktop with a laptop allows you to get the portability and flexibility that you need. The number of laptop choices is so great that you can use one for everyday use or if you want a smaller one to take with you on travel for work.
The above list provides links to the best replacement laptops, Just make sure that you pick a laptop that has enough power for everything that you’ll be doing, and you can have an experience like this on the go.