Best Windows Laptop for 2022

July 8, 2022 Joshua Goldman

    Dell XPS 13 2020
    Best small laptop
    $1,300 at Dell
    Razer Book 13
    Best laptop alternative to MacBook Pro
    $1,470 at Amazon
    HP Envy x360 13 (2020)
    Best small 2-in-1
    $835 at Amazon
    Microsoft Surface Pro 7
    Best Surface laptop
    $760 at Amazon
    Acer Swift 3
    Best laptop on a budget
    $579 at Best Buy

    Dell G5 15
    Best cheap gaming laptop
    See at Dell
    LG Gram 17
    Best laptop with a large screen and long battery life
    $1,426 at Amazon
    Lenovo Yoga 9i
    Best 2-in-1 with a pen
    $1,299 at Walmart
    Acer Spin 5
    Best Windows 2-in-1 laptop with a tall display
    $850 at Target
    Asus ZenBook Duo 14
    Best laptop with dual displays
    $1,299 at Walmart
    Lenovo Yoga 7i
    Best MacBook Air alternative
    $950 at Best Buy
Razer Blade Pro 17


Best gaming laptop
    $3,990 at eBay
    Asus ROG Flow X13 with XG Mobile
    Best Windows 2-in-1 laptop for mobility and gaming
    $2,800 at Asus

    Are you shopping for the best Windows laptop to meet your work, school, gaming or entertainment needs? Are you looking for one machine that does all of the above? That’s where we can help. Our top picks for the best Windows laptop options include models by Asus, Dell, Lenovo, HP, Acer, Microsoft and more. If you’re on the lookout for the most useful laptop for your specific computing needs, this best Windows laptop list is the one for you. We’ve loaded it with only the best laptops running Windows 10. that we’ve personally tested and approved. This list, of course, focuses only on the best Windows laptops, specifically — you won’t find the best Apple laptops or Chromebooks here. If you want a wider selection,?you can find our overall best laptop picks right here.?
    Because 2022 models are only now starting to roll out, the laptops on this list were tested in 2020 and 2021, but many are still the most current models available. This best Windows laptop list will be updated periodically when new models are tested, reviewed and make the cut.?
    Also, while there are a lot of laptops here, we know that your interests might be more broad or fine-tuned than only what counts for the best Windows laptop options. Because of this, we have more specific recommendations for the?best gaming laptops,?15-inch laptops,?two-in-one?and?Chromebooks, as well as the?best laptop for college students, the best laptop for?creatives?and the best?MacBook Pro alternatives?for the Windows set. Also, if you need to stay as low as possible on the price of a new laptop computer, we have you covered there, too. Check out our picks for?budget laptops?and?budget gaming laptops.

    Sarah Tew/CNET
    Dell XPS 13 2020
    Best small laptop

    The Dell XPS 13 is a perennial favorite for its size, weight and performance and just overall good looks. In 2020, Dell made the laptop even smaller, while making the laptop screen larger and increasing performance for both CPU and graphics-intensive tasks. It’s not a huge leap, but this Dell XPS is still the best in the category. And for those who want the laptop brand’s latest and greatest Intel processors, the Dell XPS 13, as well as the company’s XPS 13 2-in-1?(also a great pick), are available with the chip-maker’s 11th-gen Core processors, with Intel Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 options. This Dell laptop also offers a selection of SSD storage and memory options starting with a 256 GB SSD hard drive and 8 GB of memory.
    $1,300 at Dell
    $1,684 at Amazon

    Sarah Tew/CNET
    Razer Book 13
    Best laptop alternative to MacBook Pro

    The Book 13 is a more office-friendly business laptop version of the company’s Razer Blade Stealth gaming laptop, with a 13.4-inch display with a taller 16:10 aspect ratio, fast mobile performance, long battery life and enough connection options to make working from home easier. Its high-quality build is up there with the best MacBooks but, like an Apple, it’s not necessarily the best deal, even compared to other premium laptops.?
    Read our Razer Book 13 review.

    $1,470 at Amazon
    $1,500 at Best Buy
    $1,400 at GameStop


    Josh Goldman/CNET
    Asus ZenBook 13

     Best small laptop under $1,000

    The Asus ZenBook 13 is a stylish but not showy 13.3-inch ultraportable with the perfect footprint for squeezing onto a tiny table. You’ll get 12-plus hours of battery life depending on your configuration — it’s available with 10th-gen Intel processor or 11th gen Intel Core i7 processor — and plenty of performance to make quick work of daily office or school tasks. Plus, like many of?Asus’?laptops, the ZenBook adds a few gadgety extras to hopefully make your life easier while you’re out and about.
    Read our Asus ZenBook 13 review.

    Sarah Tew/CNET
    HP Envy x360 13 (2020)
    Best small 2-in-1

    The HP Envy x360 13 is a great pick for an older high school or college student or anyone looking for a small, stylish two-in-one travel laptop with a vibrant screen. This HP laptop is light at just less than 3 pounds (1.3 kg) and battery life is long despite the size. It’s also available with a choice of AMD Ryzen 5-4500U or Intel 11th-gen Core processors. Essentially, you’re getting a speedy little two-in-one that’s ready to use as a business laptop for working from home or remote learning, but is also ready for your backpack.?
    Read our HP Envy x360 13 review.

    $835 at Amazon

    Sarah Tew/CNET
    Microsoft Surface Pro 7
    Best Surface laptop

Nov 2019

    Although it’s not the?Surface Laptop, the Surface Pro continues to hit all the right notes if you’re looking for a do-it-all Windows tablet that doubles as a Windows laptop. This powerful Surface laptop features a 10th-gen Intel processor, fast Wi-Fi 6 wireless?and long-lasting battery life. This Microsoft Surface laptop is also the first from the brand to feature an honest-to-goodness USB-C port.

Read our Microsoft Surface Pro 7 review.

    $760 at Amazon
    $760 at Walmart
    $1,020 at Best Buy

    Josh Goldman / CNET
    Acer Swift 3
    Best laptop on a budget

    A remarkable deal for simple tasks like email, word processing and much more, thanks to the new AMD Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 processors. This budget laptop has a backlit keyboard, a fingerprint reader and a USB Type-C port, too. The Acer Swift 3 is also an incredibly lightweight laptop — less than 3 pounds — for a machine that can be found for less than $700.
    In addition to this Acer Swift, we’re also fans of the Acer Aspire 5, which has a larger 15.6-inch display. The Acer Aspire 5 is available in a variety of configurations, but if you are looking for a cheap Windows laptop you can find it starting as low as $400. It can go up to $830 if you want entry-level discrete graphics for basic gaming and content creation.

Read our Acer Swift 3 (14-inch, 2020) review.

    $579 at Best Buy
    $822 at eBay
    $703 at Amazon

    Sarah Tew/CNET
    Dell G5 15
    Best cheap gaming laptop

    Dell’s G-series gaming laptops are cheaper than those from its Alienware division, but still capable of playing the latest AAA titles. There are three separate Dell laptop models –?the G3, G5 and G7?– available in 15- and 17-inch sizes. The midrange G5 15 hits the mark with an excellent price-to-performance ratio, build quality and design.?
    See at Dell
    $845 at Amazon

    Joshua Goldman/CNET
    LG Gram 17
    Best laptop with a large screen and long battery life

May 2020

    There are simply no other 17-inch laptops that are this light and also have long battery life. The Gram 17 lasted 13 hours on our streaming video test, beating last year’s model by 47 minutes on the same test. Processor performance is stepped up some from the 2019 version, too, thanks to the addition of a 10th-gen Intel Core i7 processor. This is partnered with more powerful Intel Iris Plus integrated graphics as well, giving you a little extra speed for photo and video editing and casual gaming.

Read our LG Gram 17 (2020) review.

    $1,426 at Amazon

    Sarah Tew/CNET
    Lenovo Yoga 9i
    Best 2-in-1 with a pen

    Though HP and Dell have excellent premium two-in-one convertible laptops, they have smaller 13.3- and 13.4-inch displays. If you want a bit more room for your work or entertainment, the 14-inch Yoga 9i is a great choice. One of Intel’s Evo platform laptops, the 9i is tuned to be more responsive and for longer battery life. Everything about it is fast. Plus, it’s one of the few that come with a pen, which charges and is stored in the body.?
    Read our Lenovo Yoga 9i review.

    $1,299 at Walmart
    $1,750 at Best Buy
    $1,520 at Amazon

    Josh Goldman/CNET
    Acer Spin 5
    Best Windows 2-in-1 laptop with a tall display

Oct 2020

    Acer updated the Spin 5’s design and features in 2020 to improve its mobility, but also added a bright 2,256×1,504-pixel resolution, 13.5-inch touchscreen. The 3:2 screen ratio gives you much more vertical space and, since it’s roughly the size of a sheet of paper, it’s more comfortable to use for note taking and sketching with the included active pen.?

Read our Acer Spin 5 (2020) review.

    $850 at Target
    $860 at Amazon
    $850 at eBay

    Josh Goldman/CNET
    Asus ZenBook Duo 14
    Best laptop with dual displays

    If you’ve ever wished for just a little extra screen space on your thin-and-light laptop, your wish is granted. The Duo 14’s 12.6-inch secondary touchscreen behaves just like any other attached display except it’s built into the body above the keyboard. You can use it for extending the main 14-inch display so it works like one large screen, or use it for apps that would normally be buried behind what you’re working on. If that’s not enough, it’s pen-enabled so you can write and draw on it with the included pen. Plus, Asus’ ScreenXpert software lets you turn it into a giant touchpad, a number pad or even a tool deck for Adobe Creative Cloud software.?
    Read our Asus ZenBook Duo 14 review.

    $1,299 at Walmart
    $1,274 at Amazon

    Sarah Tew/CNET
    Lenovo Yoga 7i
    Best MacBook Air alternative

    Regularly available for less than $700, this thin, 3-pound convertible is a solid choice for anyone who needs a laptop for office or schoolwork. The all-metal chassis gives it a premium laptop look and feel, and it has a comfortable keyboard and a responsive, smooth precision touchpad. Though it’s light on extra features compared to its premium linemate, the Yoga 9i, it does have one of Lenovo’s sliding shutters for its webcam that gives you privacy when you want it. And it has a long battery life to boot.
    $950 at Best Buy
    $999 at Amazon

Lori Grunin / CNET

Razer Blade Pro 17

Best gaming laptop

Jul 2020

    Yes, the best gaming laptop at the moment is the same as our top pick for a MacBook Pro alternative. There is one small exception, though: While we recommend getting this Blade Pro laptop with its 4K-resolution display option for creators, gamers will want to get the display with a 300MHz refresh rate that Razer offers for this model.

Read our Razer Blade Pro 17 (early 2020) review.

    $3,990 at eBay
    $3,499 at Amazon

    Lori Grunin/CNET
    Asus ROG Flow X13 with XG Mobile
    Best Windows 2-in-1 laptop for mobility and gaming

    The Flow X13 keeps you from having to choose between getting a 13-inch two-in-one and a powerful gaming laptop. The little laptop is great for productivity, but its unique external USB-C hub has an?Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 mobile?GPU inside for when you need a graphics boost for gaming or content creation.?
    Read our Asus ROG Flow X13 review.

$2,800 at Asus
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