PC of the Month — special issue on laptops (July 2024)

The realities of life force us to reconsider our plans to buy a new computer, so in this issue of «PC of the Month» we’ll be looking at laptops rather than classic PCs. We will take into account not only gaming machines, but also the optimal models of work or everything at once.

Ideal for work

For all work scenarios, except those that require an ultra-powerful NVIDIA RTX graphics card, Apple laptops with Apple Silicon processors are the best choice. There are several good reasons for this:

• The best battery life of any laptop on the market;
• Low power consumption, minimal noise level;
• High processor performance is identical from the battery and the PSU;
• The most powerful integrated graphics on the market (for Pro/Max versions);
• Balance of hardware and software.

The disadvantage is the sharp increase in the cost of additional memory. Apple is the champion in this regard, so you will have to add 5-10 thousand hryvnias for every 8 GB of unified memory. Of course, in Pro models, it is several times faster than the top DDR5 in typical x86 laptops, but the prices still bite.

The most favorable basic version is the Apple MacBook Air 13 2020 M1, which is still relevant four years after its release. It is a thin, light, high-quality and perfect laptop that is worth taking in the 8/256 GB configuration. It can be found for less than 30,000 hryvnias.

It’s a great option for work, but not for overly demanding users. Some people will definitely find the storage capacity insufficient, but for the vast majority of remote workers, it will be almost an ideal working device.

For home «multimedia» use, the Apple MacBook Air 13 2020 M1 is more than enough with a huge margin. The main thing is that the user will get up to 20 hours of autonomy and a complete lack of compromises such as a low-quality screen, a creaky plastic case, a bad camera, an unresponsive touchpad, etc.

Also exemplary in its class is the larger Apple MacBook Air 15 2023, which has already been made review. Demanding professionals should look at models with the «Pro» prefix. There are custom configurations on the market up to 8 TB of ROM and 128 GB of RAM, but the prices are appropriate.

For professionals, the best option is Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023 M3 with 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage from 85,000 UAH. If you work with heavy graphics, then a version with more graphics cores will be useful. Top-of-the-line M3 Max 40-Core modifications are able to «compete with discrete graphics cards and will also allow you to run x86 games with acceptable FPS.

As for emulation, the M3’s power is more than enough to run Windows software with higher performance through the command translator, just like x86 laptops do natively. You don’t have to worry about software compatibility, because it’s almost impossible to find something that won’t run on Mac OS with Rosetta.

Specific scenarios require a lot of RAM, so it’s better to get a weaker Windows laptop with 32/64 GB of RAM for such cases. For example, HP ZBook Firefly 14 G10A for 68,000 hryvnias based on AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7840HS and 64 GB DDR5. In all other cases, it is more rational to buy a MacBook with a longer battery life and a good processor.

Budget-friendly for work

Apple has nothing to offer in the category of up to 20,000 hryvnias, so there are still classic Windows laptops. The competition in this segment is incredibly strong, so there are many profitable models on the market.

If your budget is limited and you don’t want to buy used models (which hold a battery for 1-2 hours, at best) on the secondary market, then you should definitely choose a Chromebook. They have no analogues in the category of up to 10-12 thousand hryvnias. The fact is that Chrome OS makes the device run much faster than it would on Windows.

The lightweight system allows you to comfortably surf the Internet, even on very weak «hardware». These laptops also boast good battery life, which is unattainable for laptops from the secondary market. For typing, watching videos, and basic needs in the ultra-budget segment, it’s best to get a Chromebook.

It makes no sense to buy expensive Chromebooks, because they often lose out in terms of performance to similar models with MS-DOS (where Windows 11 is installed).

• Asus Chromebook CX1 CX1400CKA from UAH 9,000;
• Lenovo IP Flex 5 Chrome 13ITL6 from UAH 13,000;
• Acer Chromebook 315 CB315-3H from UAH 8,500.

With Chromebooks, it’s clear that we don’t have enough money, so we take them, but if we have 15-30 thousand hryvnias, and MacBook doesn’t suit us because we need a lot of memory for a minimum of money, and the screen, processor, case, and everything else doesn’t matter.

In 2024, a typical Windows laptop for office use should not have a minimum of 8 GB (16 GB is recommended) of RAM, 256-512 GB PCI-E 3.0 storage, an IPS screen with full HD resolution and 65% or more sRGB color gamut.

A processor not lower than Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3, not more than two years old. It is best to take the latest generation models, as new as possible. For example, the Intel Core N305 showed its best side in the review Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-31P. This is a good example of a budget laptop for work. It’s hard to find something more powerful for the money, but we’ve come up with a few options:

• Vinga Iron S150 for UAH 21,000 with Intel Core i5-1235U, 16/512 GB;
• Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 15ABR8 with AMD Ryzen 3 7330U, 8/512 GB for UAH 19,000;
• Asus Vivobook 15 A1504ZA for UAH 16,000 based on Intel Core i3-1215U, 8/256 GB;

Gaming laptops

Before choosing a gaming laptop, you need to know a very important fact about mobile discrete graphics cards. In the desktop lineup, the difference between the classes of graphics cards is much larger and continues to maintain its proportions up to the conventional Nvidia RTX 4090.

Laptop models work in a completely different way. First of all, the GPU power depends on TDP, which in turn depends on how the manufacturer has implemented the cooling system.

That’s why the difference between RTX 4060 vs RTX 4070 is much bigger than between RTX 4060 Laptop vs RTX 4070 Laptop. The higher we go, the smaller the gap becomes. This doesn’t mean that laptops with top-end graphics cards are useless, but only that they have a very poor performance-to-cost ratio.

It also happens that RTX 4070 Laptop outperforms RTX 4080 Laptop or RTX 4090 Laptop. If the former is in a large, thick laptop, and the latter two are in ultra-thin ultrabooks that position themselves not quite as gaming but as universal solutions for work.

That’s why it’s best to buy gaming laptops with Nvidia RTX 4050 6GB, RTX 4060 8GB, RTX 4070 8GB graphics cards with the highest possible TDP. The only advantage of Nvidia RTX 4080/4090 Laptop is the larger amount of video memory (12 and 16 GB, respectively), but this is not critical for small Full HD screens.

The optimal gaming laptop in 2024 is considered to be something like this configuration:

• IPS Full HD screen with a refresh rate of 144-165 Hz and a diagonal of 15-16 inches;
• 16/32 GB of RAM. DDR5 can still be a single 16 GB slot, as it is less sensitive to the number of slots filled than DDR4;
• Nvidia RTX 4060 8 GB Laptop graphics card with a TDP of 115-140 W (i.e. the theoretical maximum of this model);
• A plastic, not thin case that houses a large cooling system. Metal models are very expensive, and thin ones make more noise than normal;
• We give priority to AMD Ryzen 7000 processors because they are less sensitive to changes in power mode.

We have selected several thoroughbred gaming laptops with a high performance-to-cost ratio. They have serious compromises in terms of case materials, camera, sound, screen color realism, etc., but for gamers, all these factors are not critical.

Budget gaming laptop MSI Bravo 15 C7VF will cost only UAH 40,000 if you choose this configuration:

• Display 15.6 inches, Full HD 144 Hz;
• AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor;
• RAM is 16 GB DDR5;
• 512 GB PCI-E 4.0 drive;
• NVIDIA RTX 4060 8 GB 105 W video card;
• The battery is 54 W*h;
• The power supply is 200 W;
• Body: matte plastic.

A compromise in everything, but very powerful for the money. The performance of the RTX 4060 8GB 105W graphics card is often higher than in much more expensive laptops with the RTX 4070 8GB with 75W TDP.

The optimal gaming laptop Asus TUF Gaming F15 2023 FX507ZI in the basic configuration costs only 54,000 hryvnias:

• Display 15.6 inches, Full HD 144 Hz;
• Intel Core i7-12700H processor;
• RAM is 16 GB DDR5;
• 1 TB PCI-E 4.0 drive;
• NVIDIA RTX 4070 8 GB 140 W video card;
• The battery is 90 W*h;
• The power supply is 240 W;
• Body: aluminum/plastic.

There are other modifications of the Asus TUF Gaming F15 2023 FX507ZI on the market up to 64 GB of RAM and 4 TB of storage. At the same time, the cost of additional memory grows slowly, not like Apple MacBooks. «Gray» A laptop with these specifications costs 85,000 UAH.

An advanced gaming laptop HP OMEN 17-ck2000 costs UAH 87,000 and offers the following features:

• Display 17.3 inches, Quad HD 240 Hz;
• Intel Core i7-13700HX processor;
• RAM is 16 GB DDR5;
• 1 TB PCI-E 4.0 drive;
• NVIDIA RTX 4080 12 GB 175 W video card;
• The battery is 83 W*h;
• The power supply is 330 W;
• Body: aluminum/plastic.

Why didn’t you add a 32 GB version for a progressive laptop? The reason is that the cost of more expensive configurations is too high (the overpayment is inadequate). It’s cheaper to buy a basic version with 16 GB of RAM and then add the required amount yourself.

The main advantage of the HP OMEN 17-ck2000 is the huge TDP of the video card, which allows it to bypass most laptops with RTX 4090. The graphics adapter is not «stifled», and there is some space for the processor.

And if fundamentally not buy a laptop with an NVIDIA graphics card because of personal beliefs or a thin wallet? There are very few successful competitors on the market, but there are two beauties in the budget segment, which we will discuss below.

MSI Bravo 15 B7ED is powered exclusively by AMD components, offering a modern AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS processor, Radeon RX 6550M graphics card, 16 GB DDR5, 512 GB SSD, 144 Hz screen, and 180 W power supply. Most importantly, it costs only 28-29 thousand hryvnias.

Another affordable analog, but based solely on Intel components, is Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9I. The laptop has 16 GB DDR5, 512 GB SSD, and a 144 Hz screen. Intel Core i5-12450HX processor with a TDP of 55 W and a 4 GB Intel Arc A530M graphics card.

The configuration is more than enough for eSports video games, and the bonus is a 60 Wh battery, which is 10% more than its counterparts. This model will cost 29-30 thousand hryvnias.

Of course, such laptops do not come with an operating system, so you will have to install it yourself. On the other hand, this saves money, especially for «pirates» or those who already have a license key.