Best 15-inch standalone laptops under 40,000 UAH

A modern Windows laptop for work and study should meet a number of key requirements, including the presence of up-to-date ports, a modern display, and a sturdy body. An important criterion is performance, which should ensure comfortable work with basic applications — from Microsoft Office to Photoshop. If you're looking for such a device, consider the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3, which, for its $600, offers powerful hardware, fast Power Delivery charging, a diverse set of ports, including USB C with Alternate Mode support, HDMI, and a card reader. Also, it features a good webcam and a full-size backlit keyboard with a Num-pad, allowing for maximum comfort in work and study.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is equipped with a highly productive for its price 12-thread Ryzen 5 7530U (Zen 3) processor, which works with the support of 16 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and a modern SSD with PCI-E 4.0 support. Meanwhile, the storage volume is a solid 512 GB, not 256 GB as is common for models costing $500 – 600. The cooling system demonstrates good efficiency and low noise level, preventing overheating and throttling even in Extreme Performance mode. Overall, the hardware specifications ensure acceptable 4K video processing speed — though not very fast, but quite acceptable. Some 5 – 7 years ago, you would get rather an office-level typewriter for this money.

Compared to competitors, probably lags the 15.6-inch IPS display. Screen resolution is FullHD, refresh rate is 60 Hz. The image quality is standard: moderately bright, quite contrast, and realistic. But due to limited color reproduction (45% NTSC), the screen is definitely not suitable for color correction and similar work with visual content. Also, the entirely plastic body does not look particularly advantageous compared to aluminum counterparts, though a metal body would increase the device's cost. This is partially compensated by the shock resistance certification MIL-STD-810.

Once again the review of Acer laptops has to start with the fact that they are undeservedly overlooked. This time, a 15-inch Acer Aspire 15 A15-41M laptop will be going against the tide, positioned in the middle between the entry and mid-price ranges, yet boasting quite solid and modern equipment (USB4, Thunderbolt, Wi-Fi 6E, Full HD webcam, Power Delivery), good protection (fingerprint scanner + Kensington lock), fairly convenient backlit keyboard, and most importantly, quite productive "hardware".

The hardware of Aspire 15 is based on the latest 6-core Ryzen 5 8640HS (Hawk Point series, Zen 4 architecture) processor with advanced integrated Radeon 760M graphics. It's a pretty powerful chip, whose capabilities far exceed working with email and documents ― by results of both synthetic and real tests, it runs neck and neck with three-year-old desktop Intel Core i7 models. The processor operates with the support of 16 GB of DDR5-5600 memory and a fast NVMe SSD of PCI-E 4.0 class. In comparison, most counterparts in this price category are equipped with previous generation DDR4 RAM and PCI-E 3.0 SSDs.

The cherry on top is the new generation integrated Radeon graphics card, changing the game rules for mobile graphics cards. Consider the numbers: the integrated Radeon 760M delivers quite comfortable 40 – 50 fps at Full HD resolution in recent hits like Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and Elden Ring! Naturally, all this on minimum graphics settings and often with a little help from the FSR upscaler, but still, these results are hard not to admire. Just remember, the battery in this mode won't last even close to the stated 13.5 hours. However, for such a modest price, perfection doesn't happen and Acer Aspire 15 A15-41M can be faulted for its boring "office" design using only plastic and not the most modern IPS display with limited color reproduction and fairly thick bezels.

The laptop 2E Imaginary 15 NL57AU-15UA31 is designed with a focus on performance and autonomy, so it provides stable operation in the office or at home under frequent power cuts or during travel. On one charge, the laptop lasts up to 12 hours. The aluminum body is characterized by increased shock resistance and easily withstands travels in a bag/backpack. The model allows for effective resolution of any household and commercial tasks, promoting startups, freelancing, studying. To do this, the company offers a quality camera, Sound Blaster Cinema 6+ acoustic system, full-size keyboard with comfortable white backlighting, built-in card reader, and other useful functionality. Even though the screen possesses standard technical characteristics, it is capable of unfolding to 180° and adapting to the installation location.

The manufacturer used an efficient set of components that meet the needs of modern users. The Core i7 processor and 16 GB RAM guarantee fast startup of any software, multitasking, and quick switching between them. The system's gaming capabilities are minimal since the graphics are presented by the integrated Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs, but its potential is quite sufficient for watching movies and giving presentations on a large screen in high resolution, as well as amateur media file editing. Among other things, a 1 TB storage allows storing a multi-year archive of documents, personal family photo library, music collection, system backup, and much more.

The Asus Vivobook S 15 OLED S5506MA-MA082 (90NB14E1-M005Z0) laptop represents a fundamentally new generation of devices aimed at effective interaction with artificial intelligence systems. It is based on the Core Ultra 7 155H processor with additional AI cores that accelerate the corresponding software, as well as an integrated Intel Arc graphics card supporting all modern technologies and standards, including ray tracing. The laptop handles complex tasks well, does not limit the user in multimedia file processing, provides basic gaming capabilities in HD resolution (on low and medium graphics settings). For Windows fans, the company has provided a key for calling the AI assistant Copilot. It is also worth mentioning the presence of 16 GB RAM at a frequency of 7467 MHz, but it should be noted that it is soldered onto the board and cannot be expanded.

The laptop features an advanced OLED display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. It also stands out for its increased brightness and HDR technology support (HDR10, DisplayHDR 500 True Black). The screen is optimized for working with photos, videos, and dynamic content display, thereby the model can become an effective tool in the hands of a budding designer, blogger, photographer, developer. It adapts to operating conditions with the help of the advanced 180° hinge. The visual scene is complemented by quality audio support thanks to an acoustic system developed in collaboration with Harman Kardon. Dolby Atmos technology is implemented for increased volume and immersive effect.

The laptop boasts high mobility and allows you to effectively tackle tasks lying on the couch or traveling by any transport means. The body is protected by MIL-STD-810 standards and features minimal weight (1.5 kg), despite a reliable aluminum base. Inside it houses a sizable 75 Wh battery, which ensures autonomous operation up to 16 hours and supports fast charging with a standard 90 W adapter. All necessary data together with the operating system are freely stored on a 1 TB SSD. Additionally, there is a card reader and a USB 4 port with a Thunderbolt interface for express copying of large files and connection of various peripherals.

The HP Victus laptops are created specifically for budget-conscious users who are looking for a strict and powerful gaming solution but do not plan to overpay for the Omen models. The HP Victus 15-fb0000 laptop turned out to be just that.

The model is made in a strict design and looks more like a typical office laptop. The only distinguishing feature on its exterior is the letter "V" on the cover — this is the logo of the Victus family. The screen of the laptop is an IPS panel with a standard caliber of 15.6 inches diagonally, enclosed in thin-bezel framing. The picture on the model's display is output in a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, with a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz. Savings were made in the display on color reproduction (only 45% coverage of the NTSC space) and brightness reserve (250 cd/m² in peak mode).

In terms of "hardware", we are dealing with a versatile laptop suitable for work and study, gaming, and entertainment. The performance of the model is ensured by the Ryzen 5 5600H with 6 cores and 12 threads. Side by side with it, the discrete NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics operates with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory. Users can expect consistently good fps in recent game projects with Full HD frame resolution on high graphics settings. The laptop also confidently handles media file processing and running resource-intensive applications.

Without being tethered to an outlet, the laptop can stay "afloat" for about 14 hours in medium-low load modes. In addition, the 200-watt power supply provides the ability to charge halfway in 30 minutes. The positive qualities of the model are complemented by stereo speakers from Bang&Olufsen, a built-in card reader socket, and a sufficient set of communications. The laptop comes with pre-installed OS Windows 11 Home, although this point should preferably be clarified separately directly with the product seller.