TOP 5 optimal laptops for office and work

For more than 15 years, HP has been a leader in the manufacture of computer equipment. The company's success in the laptop market is due to the company's ability to cater to the mass consumer without driving up prices. Model HP 250 G7 is an excellent confirmation of this.

This is one of the rare sub-$1,000 laptops that comes with a high-end 8th generation Core i7 processor. It has 4 physical cores and 4 virtual ones, which, when automatically overclocked, reach a frequency of 4.6 GHz. Otherwise, we have a fairly standard 8 GB of DDR4 RAM and a 512 GB SSD. The video card was sacrificed in favor of the processor, so instead of discrete video, the simplest integrated graphics core Intel HD 620 is installed here. That is, this is a purely working laptop that is not particularly suitable for games.

But such equipment made it extremely quiet and cold even under heavy load. Plus, this is a very energy-efficient option, which has a positive effect on the battery life of the laptop. From 6 to 10.5 hours at base load and average screen brightness is a decent result for this class.

The weight of the model is only 1.78 kg with dimensions of 376x246x23 mm. This is one of the lightest models in its class, such a baby will not cause trouble for daily carrying in a bag or backpack. The surface of the case made of matte plastic, according to user reviews, is quite easily soiled, so fingerprints have to be wiped periodically. This can hardly be called a big minus, rather, the oddity is that usually matte plastic does not sin like that.

All in all, the HP 250 G7 leaves the impression of a reliable but inexpensive laptop, in which the manufacturer tried to cut off excess fat as much as possible. This concerns not the coolest SVA matrix with a modest margin of brightness, the missing video card and not the most modern port equipment. For example, USB-C was never delivered. Although for mid-range models, this is still in the order of things. But for some reason they put a DVD burner. Who needs it in the new decade and why didn't they save on it in the first place?

With the VivoBook S15 laptops, Asus has surprisingly managed to cross a simple office laptop with a premium ultrabook. From the first, he took an affordable price tag just below $ 800, from the second - a stylish and thin case, powerful hardware and fashionable bells and whistles like fast charging and a fingerprint scanner.

Outwardly, it subtly resembles the previous generation of MacBooks with a thin frame around the screen, a black keyboard and a light silver base. Also on sale there are options with a red, green and purple cover, which looks 5+ and gives the model an extra touch. The cover of the display unit is made of a rather thick sheet of aluminium with transverse polishing, and the case itself, although plastic, is easy to confuse with aluminium. In addition to good looks, the VivoBook S15 boasts a light weight (only 1.8 kg versus an average of 2.2 kg) and a thin, almost ultra- beech case of just 18 mm. Such a crumb will not cause any trouble to anyone during everyday transportation.

ASUS VivoBook S15 S530FA is equipped with a 15-inch Full HD IPS display with anti-glare coating. The screen lacks stars from the sky, but for its price it shows a high quality picture with good detail, high contrast and average color reproduction. Although you still have to tinker with color calibration: out of the box, the settings are not the most successful. The hardware under the hood confirms the overall good impression: a quad-core Core i5 processor with a maximum frequency of 3.9 GHz, 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. Here, a low bow to Asus engineers, who did not save three kopecks and install an ordinary HDD with a gigantic volume, which in fact very few people need.

Other than that, it's a great model that also stands out from the competition with fast charging (60% in 49 minutes), a backlit keyboard, USB-C support, a great glass touchpad, and a built-in fingerprint scanner. Even cooler, the new VivoBook S15 doesn't actually have any weaknesses from any angle. Yes, a LAN port is missing, but most laptop owners usually work over Wi-Fi. And otherwise, thanks to this set of qualities, he confidently claims to be one of the best, if not the best laptop in the category “under $800”.

HP Pavilion 15-cw1000 looks strict and minimalist, but not boring. The corrugated plastic cover of the laptop, the base of brushed aluminium and the geometric pattern that covers the speaker grill give a highlight to the appearance. In general, the appearance of the model has much in common with the fashion models of the ENVY line, although in the HP 15-cw0000 lineup it is part of the "multimedia" Pavilion.

The laptop has a 15-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The screen gives quite a colorful and clear picture, and thanks to the anti-reflective coating allows you to comfortably work in the fresh air. In general, the screen leaves a pleasant impression, and the bezel-less design adds to its appeal. But the display has almost no margin for brightness. It is comfortable to work at a level of 85 - 90%. If the office has full lighting, then 100%.

The laptop is powered by the latest generation Ryzen 5 quad-core processor with a maximum frequency of 3.7 GHz and Vega 8 integrated graphics. by 25%. We think that in the next couple of years we will have an interesting battle between AMD and Intel for the mobile market.

The iron series is complemented by 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. On the one hand, such a system lacks the stars from the sky in terms of performance, on the other hand, it copes with most everyday tasks. Plus, the laptop practically does not heat up and does not make noise even under heavy load.

In addition to excellent autonomy (up to 8 hours from a single charge) and a high-quality cooling system, Bang & Olufsen branded acoustics are among the pluses of the model. You can watch movies and videos on Youtube without resorting to headphones. Even heavy guitar music is pulled out quite decently. But what I didn't quite like was the keyboard. It is full-sized, with pleasant backlighting and goes well with the overall design, but the key travel feels tight. Therefore, if you plan to print a lot, then this can create a little inconvenience.

The 2018 ThinkPad E580 model turned out to be so successful that Lenovo engineers decided not to reinvent the wheel, but limited themselves to improving hardware and cosmetic improvements. As before, the body of the ThinkPad E590 is made of durable and lightweight carbon fiber. It is pleasant to the touch, is not afraid of small scratches and bumps (complies with the military standard MIL-STD-810G), but is quickly covered with fingerprints. Although the hull has become thinner (only 20 mm), it is assembled by five plus: it does not hold anything together and does not play, the deck reinforced with metal is comparable in rigidity to a crowbar and does not bend one iota.

Externally, the laptop looks strictly and minimalistic, but the Thinkpad logo imprinted into the case in the right corner under the keyboard slightly spoils the impression, which does not really fit into the overall concept. We don't know why, but the designers keep adding it like you absolutely need to know about it. Following the sticker, the eye clings to a strange red button sticking out in the middle of the keyboard. This is a proprietary trackpoint for the series, which allows you to replace a mouse with a touchpad. It works according to the following principle: the direction of pressing determines the direction of movement of the mouse cursor, and the force of pressing determines the speed of the cursor. Although it sounds simple in words, the feeling of working with him is quite unusual. But the thing is really convenient. It's not without reason that it has been a trademark of the Thinkpad line since the mid-90s.

Other pluses of the model include loud and clear built-in speakers, a laptop protection kit (kensington lock mount, TPM module), a capacious battery that lasts up to 11 hours and supports fast charging, plus a modern set of ports (there is USB-C) and a high-quality high-contrast display with relatively thin side frames. In terms of communication, one can only criticize the inconvenient location of the card reader, which, like in previous models, is located on the rear end and can only be opened with a paper clip.

At the same time, the ThinkPad E590 has very decent hardware: an eighth-generation eight-thread Core i5 with a maximum frequency of 3.9 GHz, 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. Given the price and all the bells and whistles, we already get one of the most interesting and balanced laptops in the category under $700.

In 2018, Dell introduced a new G-series of laptops that replaced the Inspiron gaming devices. The concept of the novelty turned out to be quite interesting: in fact, the Dell G3 15 is a gaming laptop with a universal work design and an extremely attractive price tag that allows you to impose competition on popular work laptops like Asus Vivobook, and eminent gaming lines like HP Omen.

So, the Dell G3 15 has one of the most powerful hardware you can find in a $800 laptop: a 4-core Core i5 processor with multi-threading support and turbo boost up to 4.1 GHz, 8 GB of DDR4 memory, a still powerful GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card that delivers an average of 50 FPS in most modern toys at high graphics settings. A bunch of 1128 GB HDD and SSD completes the picture, which is enough for the system and everything else.

The design of the machine is especially interesting, because the laptop seems to be gaming, but its appearance does not scream at all, contrary to tradition. In fact, only the soft blue backlighting of the keyboard with touchpad reminds of the gaming nature in the design of this machine. The keyboard itself is made for a solid five: the key travel is pliable, they are well-placed, and the WASD game block is slightly highlighted due to the backlight. In the disadvantages of the design, you can only add a decent weight, which is due to productive iron. Well, the cooling system here is far from super, the air vents are not placed in the most successful way, so if the laptop is properly loaded with toys like RDR2 or a large project in Ableton, the coolers start howling, and the case heats up after a while around the touchpad and the center of the keyboard.

But full order with autonomy, which is usually not typical of traditional gaming laptops. The Dell G3 15 refutes this rule to some extent. If you turn off the power from the outlet and run Full HD video at maximum brightness, then a full charge of the built-in battery with a capacity of 51 W * h is enough for more than four hours. In office mode, you can achieve even more impressive results. In games, autonomy drops, but fast charging saves.