If your tasks involve video editing or creating 3D graphics, a powerful workstation laptop with a fast CPU and GPU is essential for a seamless experience and quicker rendering or exporting. Additionally, consider a laptop with a speedy SSD and ample ports, particularly USB-C ports with USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 support, to enhance your workflow.
A comfortable keyboard is also important for long work hours, and for color-critical tasks like video editing, opt for a model with a screen that accurately displays all colors in your color space. Other factors to consider are thermals, fan noise, portability, and battery life. Below, we’ve curated a selection of top picks to help you kickstart your search and narrow down your choices. The list is currently limited but will expand as we evaluate more laptops.
We’ve put more than 50 laptops to the test, and our recommendations for the best workstation laptops available are listed below.
Best Workstation Laptops Reviews
1. Apple 2023 MacBook Pro Laptop
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) stands out as the top workstation laptop we have tested. This premium device offers an exceptional user experience, featuring a vibrant Mini LED display, a spacious keyboard, and a large, haptic touchpad. Powered by Apple’s M3 Pro/Max SoCs, this laptop can effortlessly handle demanding tasks such as video editing and 3D graphics while maintaining impressive power efficiency for all-day battery life.
The new chips also introduce hardware-accelerated ray tracing and increased memory support up to 128GB. In terms of connectivity, the MacBook Pro 14 excels with three USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, a full-size SD card reader, and a high-output headphone jack. Additionally, it offers Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity and a fingerprint sensor. The only drawback is that none of the components are user-replaceable.
The device is highly portable, boasting a battery life of more than twelve hours for video playback. This allows for uninterrupted viewing of multiple full-length movies and TV show episodes. The Mini LED display offers exceptional sharpness, brightness to combat glare, and deep blacks. Out of the box, the display is well-calibrated, providing users with an accurate and natural image. The speakers deliver balanced and full sound, including a good amount of bass, and can reach high volumes with minimal distortion. However, the only drawback is the slow response time of the display, resulting in ghosting during fast-moving scenes.
This sturdy laptop is portable and boasts a battery life of over 15 hours with light usage, allowing for nearly two days of unplugged use. It features a vibrant, high-resolution display, a comfortable keyboard, and a spacious, responsive touchpad. Additionally, it comes equipped with a top-notch 1080p webcam for video calls and a fingerprint sensor for quick logins. Its M3 SoCs are capable of handling productivity tasks such as web browsing, word processing, spreadsheet management, and presentations. Furthermore, it supports graphic design and video editing for business purposes. However, none of its components are user-replaceable, and it lacks a USB-A port, necessitating the use of adapters or dongles for wired peripherals.
2. HP OMEN Transcend 14 Laptop
The HP OMEN Transcend 14 (2024) is a more budget-friendly alternative that serves as a versatile Windows workstation suitable for gaming. It boasts a comfortable keyboard, an excellent trackpad, and a durable all-aluminum build. The 2.8k OLED display with full DCI P3 coverage is ideal for color correction tasks, and the 120Hz refresh rate ensures a smooth user experience. Although the display is bright enough for most indoor environments, the MacBook’s Mini-LED display outshines it in terms of brightness.
In terms of ports, it falls short of the MacBook, offering only one USB-C, one Thunderbolt 4, and one HDMI 2.1 port. Despite this, it remains cool and quiet under heavy use, with minimal thermal throttling. The battery life is decent but may not last a full day. Charging is done via USB-C, but not all chargers are compatible; a minimum wattage (likely 100W) is required, and using a third-party charger will prompt a reminder to use an HP-branded charger.
The Intel Meteor Lake CPUs and NVIDIA 40-series GPUs make it possible to enjoy a relatively smooth gaming experience at 1080p or 1440p. Additionally, the device remains cool and quiet even under heavy load. The OLED display boasts a 120Hz refresh rate for improved responsiveness during gaming, but its response time is slower, resulting in visible ghosting behind fast-moving objects. Unfortunately, it lacks FreeSync and G-SYNC support, leading to potential screen tearing. The keyboard offers a tactile feel, providing clear feedback when a key is pressed. However, the backlighting does not shine through the legends, making them difficult to see in the dark.
This device is highly portable due to its compact design, and its battery can support up to six hours of video playback, allowing you to enjoy multiple movies and TV show episodes. The OLED display provides sharp, bright, and colorful visuals, and it is capable of producing deep, inky blacks for an exceptional dark room viewing experience. While the speakers can reach a decent volume, they lack bass and treble, so using headphones will provide a better audio quality experience.
3. Alienware M18 R2 Gaming Laptop
The Dell Alienware m18 R2 excels as a workstation, equipped with powerful CPUs and GPUs capable of handling intensive tasks such as video editing and 3D graphics effortlessly. The spacious display allows for efficient multitasking, with both the FHD+ and QHD+ panels offering full DCI P3 coverage, ideal for color-sensitive work. The SSD and RAM are swift and easily replaceable. Its diverse port selection includes two Thunderbolt 4s, an HDMI 2.1, an Ethernet port, and an SD card reader, reducing the need for additional docking stations. However, the laptop tends to heat up and produce loud noise when under heavy load.
The device is well-constructed and offers a satisfying user experience due to its spacious screen, tactile keyboard, and responsive touchpad. It boasts ample processing power to handle various tasks such as web browsing, document editing, and spreadsheet management, making it an ideal choice for small business owners who require versatility. Additionally, it features a facial recognition IR camera for convenient logins and a diverse selection of ports for connecting peripherals and external monitors. However, its drawback lies in its bulkiness and weight, making it challenging to transport. Furthermore, the battery life only lasts approximately four hours under light usage conditions.
The high-performance Intel 14th Gen CPUs and NVIDIA RTX 40-series GPUs provide the capability to achieve high and consistent frame rates in demanding games at 1080p or 1440p, resulting in a seamless and responsive gaming experience. You have the option to select between a 480Hz FHD+ or a 165Hz QHD+ display, both offering a quick response time for a sharp image and variable refresh rate support to minimize screen tearing. With numerous ports available, including an Ethernet port, you can ensure a stable internet connection for online gaming. Additionally, the RAM and storage are upgradeable by the user, allowing for future expansion. While thermal throttling is minimal, the laptop may become hot and noisy under heavy loads.
The device offers a pleasant user interface thanks to its spacious, vibrant screen, tactile keypad, and quick touchpad. Additionally, it boasts ample processing capabilities, catering well to students studying programming and 3D design. Regrettably, it is a sizable, cumbersome, and weighty laptop that is inconvenient to transport, and its battery life only spans about four hours with minimal usage, necessitating the need to carry the charger as well.
4. Microsoft Surface Pro 9 Laptop
The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 is a state-of-the-art 2-in-1 device that combines the functionalities of a tablet and a laptop, setting new standards for portability, efficiency, and effectiveness. Its 13-inch touchscreen display automatically adjusts color balance for optimal viewing, delivering vivid and lifelike visuals.
The Surface Pro series has consistently delivered an impressive screen, and this trend continues with the Surface Pro 9. Like its predecessor, the Surface Pro 8, it sports a 120Hz 13-inch display with a resolution of 2880 x 1800, resulting in a PPI of 192. This guarantees that images and text are displayed beautifully, especially with a native 200% scaling in Windows.
Featuring a built-in kickstand, the Surface Pro 9 allows you to customize the viewing angle to your preference, enhancing productivity when used with the Surface Pro Signature Keyboard. This adaptability ensures seamless work or entertainment in any environment. With the Surface Slim Pen 2, tasks such as note-taking, drawing, and diagramming feel as natural as using a traditional pen and paper, thanks to precise touch and pen input capabilities.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 represents an evolutionary upgrade and, as a result, does not introduce many surprising features. Like its predecessor, it features a sleek design, high portability, and requires some trade-offs. If you appreciate the aesthetics of this device, you may find the compromises acceptable, which include reduced power, noisy fans, and a reflective screen.
The Surface Pro Signature Keyboard, also known as the “type cover,” maintains the high-quality standards of previous type covers on the Surface Pro 9. Since the Surface Pro 3, the type cover has seen minimal changes. Typing on the cover remains comfortable with sufficient key travel and spacing. However, it closely resembles tablet-attached keyboards from the past six years, indicating a need for more innovation in this area.
5. ASUS VivoBook 16 M1605 Laptop
The ASUS Vivobook 16 is not designed for use as a workstation. Despite the availability of an AMD Ryzen 7 CPU, which is fairly capable, its integrated graphics are too slow for demanding workloads. Furthermore, the laptop is limited to a maximum of 16GB of RAM, which may not be sufficient for certain tasks. On a positive note, it features a comfortable keyboard and remains cool and quiet even under heavy load.
It is convenient to transport, and its battery has a sufficient duration to last an entire 8-hour workday. The 16-inch screen is ideal for multitasking, complemented by a user-friendly keyboard and a spacious touchpad that responds well. The AMD Ryzen CPU efficiently manages various productivity tasks such as word processing, spreadsheet work, creating presentations, and browsing the internet. While the port selection is satisfactory, the drawback is that the USB-C port does not support video output or Thunderbolt 4.
The thin and light design of this product provides a solid feel and makes it easy to transport. The display offers plenty of space for multitasking, the keyboard is comfortable to use, and the touchpad is both large and responsive. Although the AMD Ryzen CPU can manage most student workloads, the integrated graphics may not perform well with tasks like 3D graphics. When it comes to battery life, it can last through a typical 8-hour day of light use on a full charge, but for more demanding activities, you may need to plug it in for a short period.
While the Ryzen 7 processors offer decent CPU processing power, the integrated graphics fall short when it comes to handling demanding games. The 60Hz refresh rate and slow response time of the display lead to a lack of clarity in fast-paced scenes. However, the support for FreeSync helps in reducing screen tearing.
Transporting it is convenient, and its battery can endure more than six hours of video playback, allowing you to enjoy a couple of full-length movies. The 16-inch IPS screen provides a reasonably sharp image; nevertheless, the low contrast may cause black tones to appear gray in dim environments, and the limited color range may result in colors looking slightly faded. Regrettably, despite the speakers’ high volume, the sound quality is boxy and artificial, lacking bass.
Final Word
Our top picks represent what we believe are the finest laptops on the market for the majority of consumers. Along with performance evaluations, we take into account pricing (opting for a more affordable option over a pricier one if the disparity isn’t justified), input from our audience, and product availability.
For those who prefer to make an informed decision, we have compiled a comprehensive list of all our laptop assessments, arranged by price range from low to high. Keep in mind that most laptops come in different configurations, and our table only reflects the outcomes of the specific model we assessed. For details on other versions, it’s advisable to refer to the complete review.
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