Best Laptops for February 2020! This is a continually updated list of some of the best laptops for any budget. Laptops are separated into categories and then sorted by price to make them easier to sort through. If you have any questions or suggestions please comment below!
Laptops are separated into five categories:
- Power Gaming
- Discreet Gaming
- Ultraportable
- General use
- Chromebooks, Tablets, 2-in-1's
Power Gaming
Power gaming devices typically have larger displays, a heavier weight, good cooling, and powerful graphics cards. $540 - Acer Nitro 5 Cheaper device with RX 560X dedicated GPU (comparable to a GTX 1050). Fine for light gaming
- Ryzen 5 processor, 8GB ram
- 1TB HDD, AMD RX 560X dGPU
- 15.6" 1080P display, 5.5 lbs, 5 hr battery
$650 - Asus TUF FX505 Mid tier option with a Ryzen 5 processor, a decent battery, 120Hz display, and a GTX 1650.
- Ryzen 5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1650 dGPU
- 15.6" 120Hz display, 4.9 lbs, 4 hr battery
$700 - MSI GF63 Light 3.9 lbs gaming laptop but with a bit throttled performance and loud fans
- Intel 9th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1650 dGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 3.9 lbs, 4.5 hr battery
$825 - Asus TUF 17 Larger 17" TUF with GTX 1650 and larger SSD but a 60Hz display
- Ryzen 7 processor, 8GB ram
- 512GB SSD, GTX 1650 dGPU
- 17.3" 1080p display, 6.1 lbs, 4.5 hr battery
$830 - Asus ROG G531 Lower end ROG with GTX 1650, large SSD, and decent build quality
- Intel 9th gen i7 processor, 8GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1650
- 15.6" 1080p display, 5.3 lbs, 4 hr battery
$850 - MSI Creator 15M Light weight 15" with 120Hz display and powerful GTX 1660 Ti GPU
- 9th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti dGPU
- 15.6" 120Hz display, 4.1 lbs, 5 hr battery
$980 - Asus TUF Fantastic value gaming laptop with GTX 1660Ti and 120Hz display. Also consider the higher end
TUF with an RTX 2060
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti dGPU
- 15.6" 120Hz display, 5.0 lbs, 4.5 hr battery
$1100 - Acer Predator Helios 300 A great all around gaming laptop with good specs and decent thermals.
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti dGPU
- 15.6" 144Hz display, 5.1 lbs, 4 hr battery
$1200 - Eluktronics Mech 17 Fairly well built 17" with great specs, 144Hz display, and RTX 2060
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia RTX 2060 dGPU
- 17.3" 144Hz display, 5.5 lbs, 4 hr battery
$1500 - Eluktronics Mech-15 Well built 15" with decent thermals, a 144Hz display, and an RTX 2070.
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia RTX 2070 dGPU
- 15.6" 144Hz display, 4.8 lbs, 4 hr battery
$1500 - Eluktronics Mech-17 Larger 17" Mech with a larger 32GB SSD and 1TB SSD.
- 9th gen i7 processor, 32GB ram
- 1TB SSD, Nvidia RTX 2060 dGPU
- 15.6" 144Hz display, 5.5 lbs, 3.5 hr battery
$1750 - ASUS ROG Zephyrus M Relatively thin and light laptop with RTX 2070 dGPU and 240Hz display.
- Intel i7-9750H processor, 16GB ram
- 1TB SSD, RTX 2070 dGPU
- 15.6" 244Hz display, 4.4 lbs, 4 hr battery
$1800 - HP Omen 17 About the cheapest you can find an RTX 2080 -- expect thermal throttling under load
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, RTX 2080 dGPU
- 17.3" 144Hz display, 7.3 lbs, 3 hr battery
$2300 - Alienware M17 High end Alienware with pretty good build quality, okay battery life, 144Hz display.
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 1TB SSD, RTX 2070 dGPU
- 1080p 144H display, 5.8 lbs, 4 hr battery
$2700 - Razer Blade 15 Extremely high end Razer Blade with RTX 2080 Max-Q GPU but expect thermal throttling
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, RTX 2080 Max-Q dGPU
- 15.6" 240Hz display, 4.75 lbs, 5 hr battery
~END OF POWER GAMING SECTION~ DISCREET GAMING
Discreet gaming devices try offering a combination of portability with powerful specs. They avoid flashy colors and weigh less, but often make sacrifices in price, cooling, or performance. $285 - Lenovo 330s Cheap laptop with UHD 620 integrated graphics -- fine for light games (LoL, Minecraft, etc). A refurb
Elitebook 840 G3 would also be okay.
- 8th gen i3 processor, 4GB ram
- 128GB SSD, HD 620 iGPU
- 15.6" 768p display, 4.0 lbs, 4.5 hr battery
$480 - Asus Vivobook 15 15" with pretty strong integrated Vega GPU. Okay for games like WoW, LoL, CS:GO. Also consider the 2-in-1
Flex 14 with more ram and a pen
- Ryzen 5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, AMD Vega 8 iGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 3.5 lbs, 6 hr battery
$650 - Acer Aspire 5 A lighter 4 lb option with a low end dedicated GPU for light / moderate gaming
- 10th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 512GB SSD, MX250 dGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 4.0 lbs, 9 hr battery
$730 - Lenovo Ideapad L340 A decent intro level device with a GTX 1650 and new 9th gen i5 45W processor. Also consider the
MSI GF63 - 9th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 512GB SSD, GTX 1650 dGPU
- 15.6" display, 4.8 lbs, 4 hr battery
$900 - MSI PS63 Portable 15.6" weighing just 3.7 lbs, having a long battery, and a great GPU. Also consider the larger
15M - 8th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, GTX 1050Ti dGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 3.7 lbs, 8 hr battery
$1050 - Asus Vivobook K571 Thin laptop with great specs and 120Hz display but mediocre durability
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, GTX 1650 dGPU
- 15.6" 120Hz display, 4.4 lbs, 4 hr battery
$1200 - MSI Prestige 14 Powerful and extremely portable 14" with terrific specs but beware of throttling and mediocre battery.
- 10th gen i5 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1650 Max-Q dGPU
- 14.0" 1080p display, 2.85 lbs, 4.5 hr battery
$1500 - Eluktronics Max-15 Eluktronics new 15" with incredibly thin bezels and a slim design -- weighing just 3.8 lbs.
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, RTX 2060 dGPU
- 15.6" 144Hz display, 3.8 lbs, 5 hr battery
$1700 - Eluktronics Max-15 Higher end max-15 with 32GB ram and larger 1TB SSD. Also consider the
MSI P65 Creator - 9th gen i7 processor, 32GB ram
- 1TB SSD, RTX 2060 dGPU
- 15.6" 144Hz display, 3.8 lbs, 5 hr battery
$1850 - XPS 15 7590 Higher spec version of the XPS 15 with a 16GB SSD, 4K display and 1TB SSD. Also consider the cheaper
Gigabyte Aero 15 - 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 1TB SSD, GTX 1650 dGPU
- 15.6" 4K display, 4.1 lbs, 9 hr battery
$1800 - Razer Blade Stealth 13 Portable 13" Razer Blade with powerful GTX 1650 Max-Q GPU and decent build quality.
- 10th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, GTX 1650 Max-Q dGPU
- 13.3" 1080p display, 3.1 lbs, 6 hr battery
$2500 - Asus Zenbook Pro Duo A unique device with an extended screen above the keyboard. Gimmick for some, useful for others.
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 1TB SSD, RTX 2060 dGPU
- 15.6" 4K display, 5.5 lbs, 4 hr battery
~END OF DISCREET GAMING SECTION~ ULTRAPORTABLE LAPTOPS
Ultraportable laptops are lightweight and have 11-14" displays. They are excellent for students, travelers, or anyone looking for a sleek portable device. $169 - Ideapad 14 A portable 14" that's relatively cheap and comes with 1 year of Office 365 -- fine for light use.
- AMD A6 processor, 4GB ram
- 64GB eMMC storage, Intel HD iGPU
- 14" 768p display, 2.6 lbs, 12 hr battery
$275 - Elitebook 840 G3 - Refurb Refurbished 14" Elitebook from 2016 but with great specs that are still modern
- 6th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, HD 520 iGPU
- 14.0" 1080p display, 3.7 lbs, 6 hr battery
$298 - HP Pavilion 14 14" laptop with fairly light profile, a decent processor, but only a 768p display
- Intel 7th gen i3 processor, 4GB ram
- 128GB SSD, Intel HD 620 iGPU
- 14.0" 768p display, 3.2 lbs, 5 hr battery
$315 - Acer Aspire 5 Light 15" with thin bezels, 1080p display, and a full size keyboard
- AMD Ryzen 3 processor, 4GB ram
- 128GB SSD, AMD Vega 3 iGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 4.0 lbs, 6 hr battery
$380 - Asus Vivobook 15 Thin and light with larger 15" display. Has 8GB of ram and an intel processor but a short battery life.
- Intel 8th gen i3 processor, 8GB ram
- 128GB SSD, UHD 620 iGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 3.75 lbs, 3.5 hr battery
$510 - Acer Aspire 5 Larger 15.6" laptop with pretty slim profile, great specs, and an okay battery life
- 8th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, UHD 620 iGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 4.0 lbs, 8 hr battery
$525 - Lenovo Flex 14 Portable 14" 2-in-1 with great specs including a Ryzen processor, 12GB ram and a pen
- AMD Ryzen 5 processor, 12GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Vega 8 iGPU
- 14.0" 1080p display, 3.5 lbs, 8 hr battery
$630 - Lenovo Thinkpad T470 An extremely well built ultrabook with a great keyboard but dated specs and aesthetics.
- 6th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, HD 520 iGPU
- 14" 1080p display, 3.6 lbs, 10 hr battery
$700 - Asus Zenbook 13 Thin and light 13" with large battery but mediocre build quality
- 8th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Intel UHD 620 iGPU
- 13.3" 1080p display, 2.5 lbs, 8 hr battery
$750 - Microsoft Surface Pro 7 New model of the Surface Pro
type cover / pen sold separately. Excellent for notetaking or drawing with pen
- 10th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 128GB SSD, UHD 620 iGPU
- 12.3" 3K display, 1.7 lbs, 10 hr battery
$800 - 2019 Macbook Air - Refurb Refurbished Macbook Air with newer butterfly keyboard and slim design
- 8th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 128GB SSD, UHD 620 iGPU
- 13.3" 1600p display, 3.0 lbs, 12 hr battery
$1000 - Asus Zenbook 13 Incredibly thin-bezeled 13" with decent build quality and great trackpad
- 8th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Intel UHD 620 iGPU
- 13.3" 1080p display, 2.6 lbs, 10 hr battery
$1100 - Apple Macbook Air Apple's cheapest updated model. Has a pretty solid build quality and butterfly keyboard design. Also consider the
13" MBP - 8th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Intel UHD 617 graphics
- 13.3" 1600p display, 2.75 lbs, 12 hr battery
$1150 - HP Spectre x360 Well built 13" 2-in-1 with touch screen and pen included
- 8th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Intel UHD 620 iGPU
- 13.3" 1080p display, 2.9 lbs, 10 hr battery
$1400 - Dell XPS 13 Upgrade XPS 13 with slimmer design, 4K touch display, and massive 1TB SSD
- Intel 10th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 1TB SSD, Intel UHD 620 iGPU
- 13.3" 4K display, 2.8 lbs, 10 hr battery
$1600 - Apple Macbook Pro 13 Apple's newest update of the Macbook Pro 13" with touch bar. I'd suggest most people to go down to the Air or up to the 16" MBP though
- 8th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Intel Iris Plus 655 graphics
- 13.3" 1600p display, 3.0 lbs, 10 hr battery
$1800 - Surface Laptop 3 15" New 15" version of the Surface Laptop with high end integrated GPU and Ryzen processors
- Ryzen 7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Radeon RX Vega 11 iGPU
- 15" 3K display, 3.4 lbs, 11 hr battery
$2200 - Macbook Pro 16 Apples updated larger MBP with a new keyboard and much better thermal performance
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Radeon 55x dGPU
- 16" 3k display, 4.0 lbs, 10 hr battery
~END OF ULTRAPORTABLE SECTION~ GENERAL USE LAPTOPS
General use laptops are typically 13.3"-15.6''. They're great for individuals looking for a device for web browsing, watching video, Microsoft Office, and other similar applications. $169 - Lenovo Ideapad 14 Low end 14" with okay specs for light usage
- AMD A6 processor, 4GB ram
- 64GB eMMC storage, integrated HD graphics
- 14" 768p display, 3.1 lbs, 3 hr battery
$285 - Lenovo 330s Larger 15" with great processor and decent value for its price
- 8th gen i3 processor, 4GB ram
- 128GB SSD, HD 620 iGPU
- 15.6" 768p display, 4.0 lbs, 4.5 hr battery
$315 - Acer Aspire 5 Light 15.6" with a decent battery life and 1080p display
- Ryzen 3 processor, 4GB ram
- 128GB SSD, Vega 3 iGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 4.0 lbs, 7 hr battery
$420 - Refurbished Dell Precision M4800 An old but extremely well built laptop with strong specs and great build quality. Retailed for $2500
- Intel 4th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Nvidia Quadro K2100M dGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 7.0 lbs, 4 hr battery
$500 - Acer Aspire 5 Larger 15.6" laptop with pretty slim profile, great specs, and an okay battery life
- 8th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, UHD 620 iGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 4.0 lbs, 8 hr battery
$560 - Thinkpad E595 Cheaper 15.6" Thinkpad with decent specs and a 256GB PCIE SSD
- Ryzen 5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Vega 8 iGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 4.4 lbs, 6 hr battery
$650 - Acer Aspire 5 Fairly light 15" with low end dedicated GPU, 10th gen processor, and decent battery life
- 10th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 512GB SSD, MX250 dGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 4.0 lbs, 9 hr battery
$770 - Lenovo Thinkpad E590 Moderately well built Thinkpad with great keyboard but mediocre 768p display
- 8th gen i5 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, UHD 620 iGPU
- 15.6" 768p display, 4.8 lbs, 10 hr battery
$875 - Thinkpad T480 Well built 14" Thinkpad with great build quality, TB3 port, and 16GB SSD
- Intel 8th gen i5 processor, 16GB ram
- 256GB SSD, UHD 620 iGPU
- 14.0" 1080p display, 3.25 lbs, 9 hr battery
$1190 - Lenovo Thinkpad P53s Bit lighter weight P-Series thinkpad with 25W U-Processor and strong build quality
- 8th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidai Quadro P520 dGPU
- 15.6" 1080p display, 4.0 lbs, 10 hr battery
$2200 - Macbook Pro 16 Apples updated larger MBP with a new keyboard and much better thermal performance
- 9th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Radeon 55x dGPU
- 16" 3k display, 4.0 lbs, 10 hr battery
~END OF GENERAL USE SECTION~ Chromebooks, Tablets, and 2-in-1's
This is a catch-all 'other' category for individuals looking for Chromebooks, Tablets, or 2-in-1 Touchscreen laptops $220 - Lenovo Chromebook S330 Larger 14" chromebook with okay specs, a 1080p display, and 64GB eMMC of storage
- MediaTek processor, 4GB ram
- 64GB eMMC, HD iGPU
- 14.0" 1080p display, 3.3 lbs, 8 hr battery
$230 - Lenovo Chromebook 11 Thin and light chromebook with 2 in 1 capabilities and touch screen display
- MediaTek processor, 4GB ram
- 32GB eMMC, HD iGPU
- 11.6" 768p display, 2.75 lbs, 10 hr battery
$250 - Apple iPad 2019 model of the base iPad with a 10.2" display but fairly little storage
- Apple A10 processor, 3GB ram
- 32GB SSD, Apple A10 iGPU
- 10.2" 1600p display, 1.0 lbs, 10 hr battery
$370 - Asus Chromebook C425 Higher end chromebook with improved specs and larger 14" display. Consider the
Samsung Chromebook V2 for a true 2 in 1
- 8th gen M3-Y processor, 8GB ram
- 64GB eMMC, Intel HD 617 iGPU
- 14" 1080p display, 2.8 lbs, 8 hr battery
$470 - Apple iPad Air New 2019 model of the iPad Air. Pretty similar to the base iPad but with improved specs and a few additional features
- Apple A12 processor, 3GB ram
- 64GB SSD, A12 iGPU
- 10.5" 1600p display, 1.0 lbs, 10 hr battery
$530 - Lenovo Flex 14 Portable 14" 2-in-1 with great specs including a Ryzen processor, 12GB ram and a pen
- AMD Ryzen 5 processor, 12GB ram
- 256GB SSD, Vega 8 iGPU
- 14.0" 1080p display, 3.5 lbs, 8 hr battery
$650 - Lenovo Yoga 730 Portable 13.3" 2-in-1 with decent specs and a thunderbolt 3 port. Also consider the larger
15.6" version - 8th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 256GB SSD, UHD 620 iGPU
- 13.3" 1080p display, 2.75 lbs, 9 hr battery
$725 - Apple iPad Pro Extremely powerful iPad with Pen and Keyboard support (sold separately...). Great for note-taking or drawing as a second device.
- Apple A12X Bionic processor, 6GB ram
- 64GB SSD, Apple A12X iGPU
- 11.0" 2K display, 1.0 lbs, 10 hr battery
$720 - Acer Spin 3 A fairly powerful 14" 2-in-1 with a stylus and large storage.
- 8th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, UHD 620 iGPU
- 14.0" 1080p display, 3.75 lbs, 7 hr battery
$800 - Microsoft Surface Pro 7 New model of the Surface Pro bundled with type cover. Excellent for notetaking or drawing with pen
- 8th gen i5 processor, 8GB ram
- 128GB SSD, UHD 620 iGPU
- 12.3" 3K display, 1.7 lbs, 10 hr battery
$1400 - HP Spectre x360 15" version of the HP Spectre with a fantastic 4K touch screen, pen support, and an MX150 dedicated GPU. Also consider the
Samsung Notebook 9 or
X1 Yoga - 8th gen i7 processor, 16GB ram
- 512GB SSD, Nvidia MX150 dGPU
- 15.6" 4K display, 4.4 lbs, 7 hr battery
Once again, if you have any questions please let me know. Thanks for reading! 
