The best 15-inch gaming and working laptops for 2021

Although many people outside the United States prefer 14-inch laptops, American consumers are moving to the size of 15 inches as a middle child between expensive 17-inch large-screen laptops and smaller, less powerful ones. 13-inch models. The best 15-inch laptops find a balance between size, performance and price.

We selected the candidates for the best 15 inches laptop based on performance for a given set of specifications (also known as their configuration), design and features for the price. Specifications and availability are often in check, so we limited our selection to the current models we actually tested. For example, the LG Gram 15 blew us away with his battery life and a light weight in March 2018, but it is not listed here because we did not perform our battery tests on current configurations.

We include both premium and budget laptops, and take into account features such as battery life, SSD storage, GPU and graphics card, processor, hard drive, whether it has a 4K screen, touch screen, fingerprint reader or a backlit keyboard, etc . The size of the screen is not the only thing you decide to buy your laptop!

If you are looking for lower prices or a wider range of options, you can check us out budget laptops and budget laptops. And just choosing a handful from a sea of ​​hundreds ensures that you’re missing important devices, especially if you’re looking for a more powerful laptop tailored to specific needs, such as video editing, so you too see best laptops for games, two-in-one and Chromebooks, as well as the best choices for college students, our choices of computers and tablets for creative and the best MacBook Pro Alternatives for the Windows set. We update this list from time to time with new products and information.

Read more: Best laptop to buy for 2021

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It is difficult to find a cheap laptop that is also thin and light, much less one that has decent performance and battery life. The Aspire, which starts at around $ 500, hits all the targets and more, including a solid array of ports (including a USB Type-C port) and hard drive storage and memory that can be easily upgraded. It has a budget, but you can not expect everything for so little money. Read our Acer Aspire 5 (2019) review.

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Razer’s aesthetically pleasing plate fits seamlessly into almost any environment, making it the best 15-inch laptop for work and play. If you opt for one of the latest configurations and specifications – such as an excellent graphics card – the Razer Blade 15 Advanced is an excellent device for creative work and a great laptop. If you are willing to go with a black Razer Blade and an empty wallet (this is one of the best laptops), you can get an Adobe RGB-calibrated 4K OLED screen and a GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q for $ 3,300. The cheaper Base Edition starts at $ 1,800 and is not too bad either. Read our Razer Blade 15 Advanced review.


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The Yoga C940 features a middle ground between smaller ultra-portable two-in-one-one-inch models and heavier, faster or more expensive models – it weighs about the same as a 16-inch MacBook Pro (2kg). a six-core Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia GTX 1650 Max-Q discrete graphics. The result is a reasonable performance for a two-in-one. Plus, you get design flexibility – kiosk mode (also called ‘stand mode’) and tent mode (my personal favorite), which are the best ways to use a laptop with a touch screen hanging in the house. Read our Lenovo Yoga C940 (15.6-inch) review.

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If you’re not a big fan of OLED screens for photo editing like me – it’s not compatible with Adobe RGB and is not very good at shading in the shadows – then a laptop with a good IPS performance. The Dell XPS 15 9500 with the 4K screen option delivers it, and it’s not as reflective as the OLED screens I’ve seen. It does not qualify as an ‘RTX Studio’ laptop because it comes with a GTX 1650 Ti, but the graphics processor is sufficient for most photo editing and you do not need the Nvidia Studio drivers for most photo editing. Dell’s PremierColor software is not perfect, but it gives you more control over the display settings than most I’ve seen, and it has two Thunderbolt 3 controllers to make your external chips happy.

If you’re willing to get a little bigger for a lot more graphics power, the 17-inch XPS 17 9700 does not feel smaller than it looks. Read our Dell XPS 15 9500 review.


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Dell’s G-Series consists of some of the best main game laptops you can find, with strong performance, a variety of component options, and a more travel- and user-friendly design than most. Plus, the battery life is much better than a regular laptop, and a solid performance base configuration starts at less than $ 1,000.

Note: this 2019 model is no longer available; our testing for the latest model is underway, but we do not expect it to be a weak competitor in this category. Do not assume, however, that this will be an editor’s choice. Read our Dell G5 15 5590 review.


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OLED screens have a combination of color gamut (100% P3) and contrast that IPS panels struggle to match, but need to be calibrated to keep colors from chaos. The 15-inch Gigabyte is sleek and powerful – it has all the Nvidia Studio specifications, it just does not have the logo, and you can download the more creative application-oriented Studio driver yourself. A color profile switch tool makes it easier to use, and it’s a well-designed laptop that performs well. Note that the battery life is not great, although it is better than many games laptops on which these laptops are based, and that the webcam is in a ridiculous location. Read our Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED review.

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The Acer Chromebook 715 started its life as a premium model aimed at a growing business market for Chrome OS devices. Together with its smaller brother, the Chromebook 714, the 715 has a premium all-aluminum chassis built to survive drops of up to 122 cm (48 inches) and downward force up to 132 kg (60 kg). You can also get the Chromebook 715 with a fingerprint reader, a backlit keyboard, an Intel Core i5 processor and 16 GB of memory for around $ 750. Or you can get a much more affordable version that incorporates the specs and extras but retains the premium build quality, making it a fantastic choice for a home office or student Chromebook. Read our Acer Chromebook 715 review.

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It may now have a 16-inch screen, but the MacBook Pro remains a 15-inch laptop in size and spirit. I’m not a fan of the Touch Bar, but the keyboard has at least been improved, and the combination of the MacBook Pro hardware and MacOS brings maximum performance from the components, while delivering the best battery life. ‘ a way Windows systems never look. do, and the Retina screen remains awesome. However, you pay for it – the base price for the 16-inch MacBook Pro model is $ 2,399. Read our Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) review.

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Since there are currently only two options available for two monitors – the other one being the fast HP Omen X 2S laptop – choosing one does not seem so important. But the ZenBook Pro Duo has a lot to do, including a color-accurate OLED screen plus a smaller IPS panel underneath. The secondary screen can only be about half an extra screen, but it is still very useful for video editing and other tasks if you want to place more videos or photos on the main 15-inch monitor or in a small space work. The ZenBook Pro Duo’s primary OLED touch screen offers excellent color accuracy for Adobe RGB and P3, plus a powerful i9-9980HK eight-core processor, making it a portable power station. However, it’s relatively heavy for its 5.5-pound class, and the high-end model we loved costs $ 3,000 – don’t expect glowing speeds from the cheaper Core i processor and RTX 2060 setup (though it should be respected word). On top of that, the battery life is not very good and the keyboard can be uncomfortable without the wrist rest. Read our Asus ZenBook Pro Duo review.

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It’s not for everyone – it’s not from a mainstream manufacturer and it’s not an Intel processor – but for sheer speed in something smaller than a megalithic 17-inch, pack the Ryzen 3900 computer processor from Eon15- X in the CPU cycles and turn it into a live power station. With its GeForce RTX 2070, however, it is not quite a play force. Read our Origin PC Eon15-X (2020) review.

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