The top 6 Windows machines you can buy

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is a barnstormer of a device, and our pick for the best Windows laptop around right now. It competes well with the excellent MacBook Air and comfortably outstrips the waning Dell XPS line.

The Zenbook 14 OLED is part of a new wave of Windows laptops, enabled by Intel’s new Core Ultra chips. They feel like a direct shot at challenging Apple’s MacBook Air, aiming to offer strong productivity capabilities and some impressive creative chops while still offering decent battery life. It may not do all that without a fan in the same way Apple’s product does, but the Asus makes a mighty good go off it – and offers basic gaming too.

Like the MacBook Air, it offers tremendous stylish looks too. It’s immensely thin at just 15mm and weighs in at just 1.29kg. The lid has a unique textured feel to it, with an eye-catching geometric design etched into it as well. Its trim size doesn’t lead to a compromised screen either, it manages to pack in a lush and multi-tasking-friendly 14-inch QHD+ OLED display.

There’s a lack of compromises elsewhere too, with a solid selection of ports and a delightfully comfortable and click keyboard. Then, with all this packed into a Windows laptop, you may be forgiven for thinking the battery life will surely be poor, but the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED manages a strong 13 hours.

Reviewer: Stuart Andrews
Full Review: Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review

There is a reason that the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 360 sits at the top of this list, as it’s one of the best Windows laptops currently on the market. We had absolutely no complaints about the performance of this laptop; our model packed a 13th-generation Intel Core i5 processor and managed to avoid the throttling issues that some U-series and P-series devices had been experiencing. It was able to handle up to 20 browser tabs alongside multitasking, without getting too loud, even when it was under a lot of stress. 

It comes with an impressively long battery life. Our benchmark test came in at 13-hours and 48 minutes via the 68Wh battery onboard. Our reviewer managed to use this laptop for over two days without needing to pick up a charger, making it more than suitable for those who regularly forget their charging cables. It also can be recharged in around an hour and a half, thanks to the speedy 65W charging capabilities. 

One of the most alluring features of the Galaxy Book 3 360 is its 360-degree hinge. This means that it can be reconfigured into a tent configuration if you want to watch some content, and still be used as a clamshell laptop for working purposes. The 15.6-inch display comes with a Full HD (1080p) resolution that scored fantastically in our testing. It covered 100% sRGB, 96% Adobe RGB and 100% DCI-P3 colour coverage, making it serviceable for some light creative workloads that require high colour accuracy. 

For the price – which sits around £1149/$1349.99 – the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 360 is a very reliable device. If you’re after something that can take on graphical workloads then we recommend taking a look at the Asus Zenbook Pro 14 OLED (2023), but if you’re more focused on a sleek productivity device that will last the whole workday, then this laptop is a very safe bet. 

Reviewer: Adam Speight
Full Review: Samsung Galaxy Book 3 360 Review

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D is a gaming laptop that is all about raw power. It’s determined to provide the most powerful portable gaming experience around and it just does that.

Even before this rejuvenated model was released, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023) was a category-leading powerhouse. Not content with that, AMD released an X3D version of its chip made for high-performance gaming laptops, bringing its innovative 3D cache technology to this machine. The results are immense. You get frame rates that can top 90fps at QHD on Ultra settings in AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Returnal. For competitive gaming types, the ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D was able to manage almost 200fps in Rainbow Six Extraction too. Even when saddled with demanding ray tracing settings with Cyberpunk 2077’s RT: Ultra preset, it hit a remarkable 75fps.

The rest of the package is impressive too, with a bountiful keyboard that provides high performance and plenty of features. The display may not be Mini LED but its imposing 17.3-inch size, 1440p and 240Hz specs are still enough to floor you in any game. On top, despite its dominating performance, we were surprised by just how cool and quiet it managed to stay, even when there was intensive demand.

Reviewer: Alun Taylor
Full Review: Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D review

Few laptops toe the lines between powerful creative workhorse, gaming powerhouse and stylish design quite like the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16. It’s one of just a couple of laptops that is a worth MacBook Pro 16-inch rival.

The Yoga Pro 9i 16 offers an absolutely stunning 16-inch 3K2K 165Hz Mini LED display. It gets impressively bright, with strong HDR capabilities, while shining on colour accuracy too. The high resolution and high refresh rate make this a deft laptop for both luxurious detailed AAA gaming as well as competitive titles. Then, with its quality colours, it can easily become a creator’s dream too.

This laptop is by no means an ultra-portable but its rounded edges make it a comfortable carry. Given the dominating specifications it includes, the 2.23kg weight and 18.2mm thickness aren’t all that bad. We also loved the keyboard, which has a solid deck and a pleasingly smooth key action.

The power under the hood adds up to an Intel Core i9-13905H CPU and RTX 4070 GPU, making this a smart marriage of high-end processing power without shooting for the heights too much in a way that might lead to issues within such a slender chassis. In AAA games, it can impressively manage above 60fps, while high fps gaming can get up to almost 140fps. Battery life isn’t going to knock your socks off but it comes in at a solid 6 hours for such a performant machine.

Reviewer: Alun Taylor
Full Review: Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 review

The best budget Windows laptop stakes have been hotly contested in recent times, with devices like the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 and Asus’ Vivobook range leading the way. But, with the recent Surface Laptop Go 3 stuttering, the HP Pavilion SE 14 is the new pick of the bunch.

As with many budget Windows laptops, the Pavilion SE 14 isn’t perfect. It doesn’t have stunning battery life and its display is distinctly average but it succeeds by offering performance well beyond its price point. Despite a price below £350 at its lowest end and a still-impressive £449 cost for its Intel Core i5 model, it comfortably takes on productivity tasking. The 8GB RAM on board, in whichever model you choose, means that multitasking across browsers, media apps and basic creative work is comfortable. For performance, this is an ideal laptop for those who want to get serious productivity work done but need something that won’t break the bank.

HP hasn’t shirked on the quality of some other key features too. The speakers are surprisingly satisfying, while the keyboard will accommodate many an essay writing session comfortably. This low-cost machine even comes with handy fingerprint login.

Reviewer: Alun Taylor
Full Review: HP Pavilion SE 14 review

If you’re looking for a handy combination of productivity and business capabilities, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is an ideal Windows laptop for you. It has most of what you’d want from a productivity-friendly Windows laptop in 2024, along with a sprinkle of business-friendly features.

This laptop gets the basics right, with a robust magnesium alloy offering a sturdy build along with a thin-and-light chassis. The port selection is strong and the typing experience is great. And, of course, on that keyboard is Lenovo’s signature Trackpoint as well as some physical mouse click buttons sitting about the trackpad.

The Lenovo is boosted by a high-end laptop standard OLED display. The panel brings extreme contrast and lavish colour depth. The brightness isn’t up to the same very high standard but it’s decent enough at 417 nits.

Along with its productivity and business chops, the X1 Carbon brings an added dose of portability by offering 5G connectivity when linked up with an eSIM.

Reviewer: Andrew Williams
Full Review: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 review