My Current Top High-Performance Ultrabook/Laptop Choices
I’m going to be upfront about it now. Most consumers (the average Joe, and possibly gamers) will probably never buy one of these high performance laptops that I’m about to mention simply because they do not require this much grunt or performance. However, the rest of you, the business people and the hard-core entertainment people will most likely buy one of the following laptops.
The following laptops (in no particular order) are considered to be my top current choices if I was after a high-performance model right now. These models look the part, play the part and seems like it will be able to do the job well too, according to the specs on paper.
This full size (15.6″) laptop is one of the thinnest laptops out there today, while packing the InfinityEdge display. This Dell laptop also has one of the thinnest bezels in a laptop, and it simply looks amazing in pictures. The highest spec’d model packs a 6th generation Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. This model is also a touchscreen model too!
Starting at NZ$3,499 RRP
The Microsoft Surface Book is one of the most powerful, original 2-in-1 laptop on this planet. Just like the Google Nexus range is the most natural phone you could get with an Android, the Microsoft Surface range is the most natural laptop you could get with a Windows operating system.
The Surface Book has a 13.5″ PixelSense display and is coupled with a detachable keyboard. This keyboard does not look like the typical Surface Pro keyboards where they have very low travel, or the touch-type keyboards. This detachable keyboard is a full-on metal keyboard just like a regular laptop, if not better!
The top spec’d model includes a 6th gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, and a powerful Nvidia GeForce GPU with 1GB GDDR5 memory. And perhaps one of the better front/rear facing cameras are the Surface Book’s 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video and an 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video.
It also includes the all-new digitised Surface Pen!
Starting at NZ$3,899 RRP
According to Lenovo, this 2-in-1 laptop is the “world’s lightest 14″ business 2-in-1”. Some of the features of this 2-in-1 include a multi-touch screen with 4 usage modes, spill-resistant backlit keyboard, retractable keys, dockable stylus pen and auto recharges, and apparently all-day battery life. Apart from the “All-day battery life” claim which I believe this means it should last 24 hours without charging once, this 2-in-1 sure does have a lot of grunt in em! The top spec’d model has a 6th gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, and a 14” WQHD (2560×1440) screen.
Starting at NZ$3,799 RRP
While the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga is more “new” than this model (ThinkPad X1 Carbon), it still is one of Lenovo’s iconic Ultrabooks. I still remember when I used the first-gen Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch back in 2013 and it never ceases to amaze me how such a powerful laptop could be squeezed into such a small, robust casing: the whole thing is pretty much covered in carbon-fibre!
The highest spec’d model of this laptop is similar to the X1 Yoga, apart from that it has a 5th gen i7 processor instead of a 6th gen, a maximum of 8GB of soldered-on onboard memory, 256GB of SSD storage, and a lower gen graphics card.
Starting at NZ$3,099 RRP
While this may be a slightly older model than the Microsoft Surface Book, it still is one of a power workhorse 2-in-1. It has a 12.3″ PixelSense display and weighs in at a mere 766 grams, one of the lightest 2-in-1s out there!
Top specs for the Surface Pro 4 is similar to the Surface Book except that it has Intel Iris graphics for the i7 processor, and a slightly smaller screen. Otherwise, the two Microsoft Surface products mentioned are very similar to each other, apart from the price!
Priced at NZ$3,999 RRP
Feel free to leave a comment if you think a high-performance laptop should be on my list, that I may have missed..
The starting prices for these high-performance laptops are from the top-spec’d models.
