The best stand-alone laptops with a 15-inch screen under 40,000 hryvnia

The HP Victus line of laptops was specially created for budget-conscious users who are looking for a rigorous and powerful gaming solution, but do not plan to overpay for the Omen Guard models. This is exactly what the HP Victus 15-fb0000 laptop turned out to be.

The model has a simple design and looks more like a typical office laptop. The only thing that stands out in its appearance is the letter “V” on the lid - this is the logo of the Victus family. The screen for the laptop was an IPS panel of standard caliber 15.6 inches diagonally, framed by thin frames. The picture on the model’s display is displayed in a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, and the refresh rate reaches 144 Hz. We saved on the screen on color rendition (only 45% of NTSC space coverage) and brightness margin (250 cd/m² in peak mode).

In terms of hardware, we are presented with a universal laptop that is suitable for work and study, games and entertainment. The performance of the model is provided by the Ryzen 5 5600H with 6 cores and 12 threads. Working side by side with it is the discrete graphics NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory. The user has the right to count on consistently good fps in gaming projects of recent years, provided the gameplay is played in Full HD frame resolution at high graphics settings. The laptop can also confidently handle processing media files and running resource-intensive applications.

Without being tied to an outlet , the laptop can stay afloat for about 14 hours in medium-low load mode. Moreover, the 200-watt power supply provides the ability to charge halfway in 30 minutes. The positive qualities of the model are supported by stereo speakers from Bang&Olufsen, a built-in card reader slot and a sufficient set of communications. The laptop comes with Windows 11 Home pre-installed, but it is advisable to clarify this point separately directly from the seller of the product.

In the category of entry-level gaming laptops, the Dell G15 5515 looks like a tasty piece of the pie. What's good about it? Let's take it in order.

Firstly, the laptop was equipped with a Ryzen 5 5600H processor from the Zen3 Cezanne family. It contains 8 physical cores that are capable of processing up to 16 threads simultaneously. The base operating frequency is 3.3 GHz, and the maximum when all cores are loaded reaches 4.2 GHz. Secondly, the model received discrete graphics NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050. In total, this hardware provides the ability to handle games well: in most cases, users can safely set high settings in Full HD resolution. At the same time, the laptop remains quiet at moderately low loads.

The laptop comes standard with a NVMe SSD disk with a capacity of 512 GB, and the model also has a second M.2 slot in which you can install 2280 drives. The Realtek RTL8125BGS LAN controller of the 2.5G Ethernet Gigabit standard is responsible for the speed of Internet access. The Wi-Fi 6 wireless module allows you to do without a cable Internet connection. A separate line in the model is its long autonomy - up to 13.5 hours of operation on a fully charged battery. In practice, the figure will most likely be lower, but even 8 – 10 hours of actual autonomy is a worthy result when performing real tasks.

The weak point of the model is the screen. Yes, the display boasts an increased refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. But in terms of color gamut, response time (35 ms) and maximum brightness on the screen, savings were clearly made for the sake of the solid performance of the hardware platform. The weight of the laptop at 2.81 kg also raises questions. If you don’t intend to carry it with you often, you can safely turn a blind eye to this parameter. However, if mobility is a priority, then the laptop definitely cannot be called “fluffy”.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 16ARH7 model belongs to the category of long-lasting laptops with gaming ambitions. It's no joke, the laptop's maximum battery life without recharging reaches 17.7 hours, and with a mixed load - about 10 hours.

The manufacturer managed to accommodate a capacious battery and at the same time reduce the thickness of the case to 21 mm, although there is a noticeable increase in weight - the laptop weighs 2.5 kg. However, the model still remains mobile and independent - you can go anywhere with it. Even if you manage to drain the battery, then in just a 15-minute pit stop at a cafe you can get a couple of hours of subsequent battery life.

The performance of the laptop is provided by the sixth generation Ryzen 5, presented to the public in 2022 at CES. It stands out for its support for faster DDR5 RAM with a frequency increased to 4800 MHz. This is exactly what is installed here in a capacity of 16 GB. The Zen 3+ architecture on the 6 nm process technology features reduced heat dissipation, so long gaming battles and work with resource-intensive applications will not lead to overheating. The laptop is adapted for running “heavy” applications, processing media files, graphics, and modern games, as evidenced by the increased base frequency and Boost mode up to 4.5 GHz. All these features made it possible to almost double the performance compared to its predecessor 5600H.

The laptop display has almost standard properties, which has a positive effect on gaming and work processes. The sRGB color gamut will be 100% appreciated by designers, artists, and everyone who works with color. Gamers will be pleased with the Quad HD resolution (2560x1600 pixels), 165 Hz frequency and FreeSync technology, which guarantees smooth transitions in dynamic games (shooters, flight simulators, racing) and reduces eye strain.

HP ProBook 450 G10 is a balanced office-class laptop in a strict minimalist look. The model has enough power to solve problems at work and school, and during leisure time the laptop can be used for viewing multimedia content and light gaming.

The crowning feature of the laptop is the IPS screen with touch control support, which simplifies interaction with the device. The display of the model displays the image in a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, but its refresh rate is standard (60 Hz). Also, the peak brightness of the screen turned out to be quite ordinary at a level of up to 250 cd/m² - in sunlight the brightness reserve may not be enough.

The laptop is powered by a 10-core, 12-thread Intel Core i5-1335U Raptor Lake (13th Gen) processor. The chip is manufactured using a 10nm process technology and contains 2 high-performance P-cores, supported by 8 energy-efficient E-cores. The model has 16 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, and the internal storage capacity of M.2 SSD is exactly 1 TB. The graphics card used here is an entry-level discrete video card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 with 4 GB of GDDR6 video memory.

The laptop has a white backlit keyboard and a fingerprint scanner, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth v 5.3 wireless modules, a gigabit Ethernet port and a sufficient number of physical interface connectors (including one USB type C with support for fast charging via the Power Delivery protocol). Using a 65 W power supply, the laptop battery is half charged in literally 30 minutes. In total, one full charge provides up to 13 hours of battery life for the laptop, which definitely deserves respect.

One of the main features of the Asus TUF Gaming series of laptops is the shock-resistant case that meets the military standard MIL-STD-810H. It also went to the A15 FA506QM model in question.

The laptop can be used for work under unfavorable environmental factors. But without fanaticism, it still does not belong to the category of indestructible portable computers. The exterior of the model displays a minimalist design style with an accent in the form of the inscription “TUF” on the lid. The gaming ins and outs of the laptop are revealed by the keyboard unit with customizable RGB backlighting and transparent “WSAD” keys. However, adjustment by zones or individual buttons in the backlight is not provided.

The model has an IPS screen framed by thin frames, displaying the image in the maximum Full HD frame resolution - 1920x1080 pixels at 144 fps. To avoid frame tearing effects and reduce latency, the display received support for Adaptive-Sync technology. Overall, the screen performs well, with the exception of the modest color gamut. In terms of hardware, the Asus TUF Gaming A15 FA506QM does not cause the slightest criticism at all - the laptop is running an 8-core 16-thread Ryzen 7 5800H processor paired with discrete graphics NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060. The laptop's performance is more than enough to confidently play games and run resource-intensive applications.

The laptop has fast Wi-Fi 6, a gigabit Ethernet connector, a sufficient number of connection ports for every taste and color, and a powerful 90 Wh battery. The model’s “rated” battery life is up to 14.5 hours without recharging, and with a 200-watt power adapter the laptop battery is charged to 50% in just half an hour. According to certain points of the program, the model is capable of competing on equal terms with higher-level gaming solutions, and the bottom line is that it can definitely be considered a good long-lasting gaming laptop.