A (not so) short laptop recommendation guide - 2025 edition :)
Which laptop should I buy in 2025?
Best laptop to buy in 2025
2025 laptop recommendation.
What is the best touchscreen laptop?
Which Laptops Have Touch Screens?
The tendency toward touch support will vary depending on the specific kind of laptop you're looking at. Let's examine the major types.
BUDGET CLAMSHELLS. Most low-cost machines that are straight-up laptops (that is, models that do not have 2-in-1-type hinges or tablet modes) will not have touch screens, but you'll run across the occasional exception. In under-$500 machines, a touch screen should be seen as a pleasant surprise, not a given. Exception: 2-in-1s, more about which in a moment. (For more, see our picks for the best budget laptops.)
MAINSTREAM AND BUSINESS CLAMSHELLS. You'll see the most varied mix of touch and non-touch models here. This is the category most likely to be fraught with touch versus non-touch models in the same system family. You may be able to specify one or the other type of screen at the time of purchase, or different configurations in the same line may feature different screen types. Look for this, especially in product lines like Lenovo's ThinkPad or Dell's Premium laptops. (For more, see our picks for the best business laptops.)
2-IN-1 CONVERTIBLES AND DETACHABLES. By their very nature, all 2-in-1 machines will have touch screens. When you're using a 360-degree rotating 2-in-1 in tent or tablet mode, you don't have access to the keyboard, so touch input is essential in those modes. Likewise, in a detachable 2-in-1: Remove the keyboard, and all you're left with for input is your tapping fingers or a stylus. Indeed, a key differentiator here is whether the 2-in-1 additionally supports stylus input, and if so, whether the stylus is included or costs extra. A high-profile example of the latter is the Microsoft Surface device family, which mandates $100 or more for a complementing Surface Pen stylus. (For more, see our picks for the best convertible laptops.)
GAMING LAPTOPS. Most gaming laptops have 14-inch, 16-inch, or 18-inch screens, and very few of these offer touch input. PC gamers don't have much use for touch input (PC games aren't written to support it), and implementing a touch screen would put even greater strain on an already-challenged battery. (For more, see our picks for the best gaming laptops.)
BIG-SCREEN MACHINES. It's uncommon to see a laptop with a 17- or 18-inch display that supports touch input, but they are out there (though 16-inch models are starting to replace 17-inch systems). Touch-panel implementations at that size are pricey and simply not cost-effective. They're also not practical: Many touch-screen laptops are 2-in-1s, and a 16-inch (or bigger) tablet can be mighty unwieldy. But 16-inch creative professional laptops, like the Asus ProArt P16 (H7606), support touch. (See our favorite 17-inch and 18-inch laptops.)
CHROMEBOOKS. Touch screens did not feature in early Chromebook models, but we're seeing them in more and more new ones. With the emergence of 2-in-1 convertible Chromebooks (most are 360-degree-rotating designs, though a few feature detachable displays), touch is becoming more common in this class, especially as support for Android apps has become the norm on these machines. (For more, see our picks for the best Chromebooks.)
APPLE MACBOOKS. Sorry! No Mac desktop or MacBook laptop supports touch-screen input unless you count the thin Touch Bar touch strip above the keyboard on a few now-discontinued MacBook Pro models. (The Touch Bar is merely a contextual shortcut strip that adapts to the program at hand.) The macOS operating system isn't optimized for touch. In the Apple sphere, full-touch displays are reserved for the company's iPhones and iPads.
Which Brand Is Best for a Touch-Screen Laptop?
There's no single answer to that question, as the "best" machine for you depends on your specific needs and budget. That said, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, among other PC OEMs, have touch-screen models, but sometimes touch-screen panels and non-touch ones are offered in different configurations of the same machine, in the same family. Make sure you know what you're getting (or not getting) when you buy. Also, as mentioned, Apple is the one brand not to expect a touch screen from; all of its MacBooks use non-touch panels.
Videos
Hello everyone! Figured that I have some time and it’s time to write an update to https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/17ykkmu/a_not_so_short_laptop_purchasing_guide/ as it’s been over a year meaning that some changes have occured since.
First – who is this guide for?
Answer is – non-professionals. Hobbyists, beginner indie developers, students etc. I will also be assuming that you need a laptop. As in – an all rounder device you can bring with you everyday. If that’s not the case and you are in the market for a desktop replacement – look elsewhere. Same if you need 5+ laptops for your whole studio – in which case I would look at Dell Precision or equivalents with next day business warranty.
Let’s look at some laptops then. This time around I will be going from the cheapest to most expensive new laptops. As I am writing this – it’s January 1st, 2025 so prices might have shifted a bit since if you are viewing it at a later date.
1. $300 - HP EliteBook 840 G8 - https://www.newegg.com/hp-840-g8-14-0-intel-core-i5-1145g7-16gb-intel-iris-xe-graphics-256-gb/p/N82E16834841920
CPU performance: 100%
GPU performance: 100%
Let’s start our list with this $300 laptop. It’s an older device which positively affects the total price tag. It’s not a powerhouse but it offers a decent screen, good keyboard and an okay iGPU. In terms of pure performance – it can handle Witcher 3 level visuals (at low settings and like 720p however). Meaning that it’s honestly a decent pick for lighter 2D games using Unity or Godot… but don’t try to use it for Unreal 5. It does not have dedicated video card but it does have Thunderbolt 4 port meaning it’s possible to add one later (although it will cost more than this whole notebook).
Overall it’s a solid pick for it’s price if your budget is low.
2. $550 - Acer Laptop Aspire 5 Intel Core i7-1355U - https://www.newegg.com/acer-a515-58m-78jl-15-6-intel-core-i7-1355u-16gb-intel-iris-xe-graphics-512-gb-pcie/p/N82E16834360267?Item=N82E16834360267
CPU performance: 170% (multi core), 132% (single core)
GPU performance: 132%.
Our next stop is Acer Aspire 5. For the biggest part it fits the same niche as HP EliteBook – no GPU, light & portable device. Primary difference is that it’s much newer and offers 512GB storage rather than 256GB – a huge difference considering that game dev is quite storage heavy (a 10GB finished game can be a 100 when developing it). We have also moved from 4 cores to 10 and our iGPU is also a fair bit faster (somewhat comparable to Steam Deck). So overall – still mostly usable for 2D games / simpler 3D but it will offer a smoother, more reliable experience.
3. $800 - MSI Cyborg Gaming Laptop - https://www.newegg.com/p/34-156-692
CPU performance: 307% (multi core), 126% (single core)
GPU performance: 706%
I am generally speaking not a huge fan of gaming laptops. They don’t like being moved around too much often, they rarely have good screens, battery life is lackluster and general build quality leaves a lot to be desired. What they do offer in exchange however is (sometimes) a very good price. This is one such example - $800 gets us a laptop with effectively up to date components. We get Core Ultra 7 155h, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and an RTX 4050.
This is the first truly 3D game dev capable laptop on our list. It runs latest games at smooth play rates, there is raytracing + CUDA available (something you will come to appreciate both in Photoshop and Blender). It still falls short of Unreal Engine 5 recommended requirements (we need more RAM) but if all you have is $800 it makes for a very enticing option overall. It's biggest caveat is a disappointing screen - you will need to buy a separate one for color accurate work as it doesn't even cover sRGB in full.
4. $1240 - HP Envy 16" Touchscreen - https://www.newegg.com/p/1TS-000D-1M7C5?Item=9SIBPMFK9P3248
CPU performance: 318% (multi core), 135% (single core)
GPU performance: 872%
$1240 looks like a sweatspot when it comes to laptop’s capabilities to it’s price right now. HP Envy is a prosumer tier device when it comes to build quality. This one comes equipped with Core i7-13700H, 32GB RAM, RTX 4060 and a 2560x1600 touchscreen. There's a lot to like about this device.
It's also first laptop on our list that can properly run Unreal Engine without running out of memory instantly and that honestly would meet most studios requirements. It can run newest games well meaning it can also be used to make visually demanding titles. And for the first time there’s also a display good enough to work on color accurate tasks (say, marketing materials for your game).
5. $1970 - Lenovo Legion Pro 5 Premium - https://www.newegg.com/p/1TS-000E-1BK65
CPU performance: 522% (multi core), 153 (single core)
GPU performance: 1020%
And finally, a solid contender in $2000 budget. A significant price increase over the previous one but… frankly that’s what it takes to be really worth it, $1500-1600 is pretty much the same parts as a $1200. This laptop is still technically gaming oriented but unlike 2-3 years ago it’s actually decently built. We also get pretty much as good specs as you can in a laptop – 14700HX, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD and a mobile RTX 4070.
6. $2000 - MSI Stealth 16 AI Studio - https://www.newegg.com/msi-stealth-16-ai-studio-a1vhg-027us-16-0-intel-core-ultra-9-185h-64gb-geforce-rtx-4080-1tb-pcie/p/N82E16834156601?Item=N82E16834156601
CPU performance: 375% (multi core), 138% (single core)
GPU performance: 1320%
An alternative to the Lenovo Legion. It's a thinner and lighter design compared to it but it also comes with a mobile RTX 4080 (which is slightly power limited but still significantly more powerful than RTX 4070). It weighs just under 2kg, offers best display in it's class by far (4k miniLED with HDR1000 support meaning it can also be used to produce HDR content) and comes with 1TB of storage that can be expanded (there is an extra slot inside). CPU is a bit less powerful than in the previous option but in exchange it's more power efficient at idle.
Personally I would NOT spend more than this on a laptop at this point in time. This may change by the end of Q1 2025 once RTX 5000 series GPUs are out – they are going to be stupidly expensive on release but they also might offer 40-50% higher performance at similar power draw.
Still, here’s an alternative in case you want something smaller but similarly performant, might come in handy if you like walking around with your laptop:
7. $2200-2500 – Asus Rog Zephyrus G14 / Razer Blade 14 / HP Omen 14 - https://www.newegg.com/white-asus-rog-zephyrus-g14-ga403ui-gaming-entertainment/p/2WC-000N-0EHN0 / https://www.razer.com/gaming-laptops/Razer-Blade-14/RZ09-0508VED3-R3U1 / https://www.newegg.com/p/2WC-0001-05808
3 very similar laptops, all at 14”, all with RTX 4060-4070. Generally speaking – Razer Blade 14 is overall fastest, you can expand RAM in it and comes with an IPS panel. Zephyrus and Omen come with OLED and soldered RAM. So it's a bit of personal decision on what you do prefer. Here's a review of Zephyrus and Blade if you can't decide:
https://youtu.be/gbxGWjQsws8
Q: What about business laptops like Dell XPS? You recommended them last year.
Yes, last year. Latest generation of Dell XPS sadly disappoints, a lot. There is a significantly worse keyboard (entire top row replaced by a touchbar), they are extremely power throttled and prices are utterly insane. I can’t recommend a $3600 laptop with a power throttled RTX 4060 (and not by just a bit, we are talking scores 30% below other similarly equipped laptops) and 32GB RAM. In general gaming and creator grade laptops are a bit better now whereas business grade has ventured into the land of insanity price wise.
Q: What about Macbooks?
Macbooks got a lot better at the end of last year – Apple has finally moved to 16GB RAM in a minimum configuration and 24GB for a Pro, a VERY welcome change.
If you are planning to make games for iOS or MacOS – you don’t have a choice, you need a Mac (although rather than going full Macbook you might consider a base spec Mac Mini, it offers a very good value for it's price overall). But if that’s not your goal – stick with Windows. While better than before Macs still make up a very small part of the game market.
If you are determined to get one anyway - personally I would be looking at 14” M4 Pro variant (24GB RAM, M4 Pro CPU, possibly with RAM expansion to 48GB if you want to play around with some AI or larger 3D scenes). It’s a good laptop – screen is excellent, single threaded performance is on par with top of the line Windows machines… only GPU could be a bit better (this $2000 Macbook is still only as good as $800 Windows laptop in this regard). At this point biggest blocker is software, not hardware.
Q: What about Windows ARM laptops, with Snapdragon?
Stay away from them. Let others be beta testers. There is a long list of applications that currently do not work and in programming world you sometimes will be looking for obscure tools. Not to mention that GPU performance wise we are talking iGPU tier and frankly you need more than that for more complex projects. What these laptops have going for it is good battery life but... if that's what you want there are either Macbooks or a plethora of Intel Lunar Lake (200 series) laptops, they also can keep going for an entire day.
I usually use my laptop for things that I believe are simple. I watch and download movies, browse the internet with many tabs open, use Word and Excel, and run screenwriting programs. And not much more.
Sometimes, for work-related reasons, I edit videos and photos. Right now, it’s not something I do frequently, but it might be in the future. So, it would be nice if my laptop could handle these tasks with ease.
I don’t play video games or do streaming.
With this in mind, what laptop would you recommend I buy in 2025? Considering that I hope my laptop will last me for several years and that I can make the most out of it.
One more thing: I love watching movies, so I’m not sure if this is relevant, but I suppose I’d prefer a screen that allows me to enjoy them. I mean good resolution and, maybe, a decent size. Right now, I have a laptop with a 16-inch screen.
One last thing: I work with a lot of files, and for example, my laptop's storage is currently almost full. Maybe this could be solved with an external hard drive or something similar. But I suppose I’d prefer a laptop that already comes with ample storage.
I guess it’s obvious to say that I’m looking for something good (something that meets the needs I described), aesthetically pleasing, and, if possible, affordable.
Alright, that’s all.
Do you have any recommendations?
I’m looking forward to your suggestions!