2018 Guide for Buying a Laptop

The year 2017 was a good one for laptops and here we have picked some of the best laptops for 2018 that you can get right away. Whether you are a student who is looking for a decent laptop just for writing notes and slides or a gamer who is looking for a high-end gaming laptop, we have something for everyone in this list.

1. General Use Laptops

Price range: 2000-4000 AED/SAR/QAR

Features to look for:

• Good for basic multitasking with minimum 4GB of RAM
• Not too big in size
• Minimum Core i3 processor or higher ones starting from 5^th generations

Sometimes people like to have a laptop that can handle all the basic tasks that you throw at it. It can be just browsing the internet, writing small notes, watching movies or slightly big tasks like editing pictures or videos occasionally. Manufacturers usually keep these laptops in the mid-range section and as there are too many laptops competing in this category, it can be difficult to choose the right one.

General Use Laptops Recommendations by Pricena

If you intend to focus mostly on performance of your laptop rather than its design and size, The Asus Zenbook UX310UA is definitely one of the best all-rounder laptop you can check out. There are some good laptops under the Dell Inspiron series as well.

Our Winner: Asus Zenbook UX310UQ

Runner-up: Lenovo Ideapad 320

2. Workstations

Price range: 4000 – 10000 AED/SAR/QAR

Features to look for:

• Minimum Core i5 or i7 processor running 7^th gen or latest processor
• 8-16GB of RAM
• Focus on the right display or graphics card depending on what the user intends to do

All the big bulky laptops will be the focus of this category as those super slim and thin laptops won’t be able to deliver all the performance it requires to be a workstation. While there are some ultrabooks trying to get heavy specs in a slim body, cooling system is a factor here as well. A big bulky laptop means all the connectivity options will be present as well which is also important.

Workstation Recommendations by Pricena

When purchasing any of these recommended laptops, one thing that you can keep in your mind is that all these laptops will be able to handle heavy work whether it’s processing a large number of videos or running memory hungry software. Just keep in mind that we are focusing on work here and not gaming laptops. It won’t be a good idea to exclude Apple Macbook Pro’s as those are really popular for editing videos and mostly means business. Some of the other popular series to look forward to are the HP Envy series, Lenovo IdeaPad series and laptops like Asus FX553VE.

Our Winner: Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (13-inch 2017)

Runner-up: Lenovo IP720s

3. Chromebooks

Price range: 1000 – 2000 AED/SAR/QAR

Features to look for:

• All the necessary ports are there
• Whether the operating system inside will serve all your purpose or not
• Decent battery life

Chromebooks usually falls somewhere between laptops and tablets. It’s not there yet to deliver a complete laptop experience but it is definitely better than a laptop. If you are one of those people who believe this is exactly what you are looking for then there are some nice Chromebooks available at the moment. Some of them are quite expensive but here we have listed some Chromebooks that are offering a nice combination of decent specs and affordable price tag.

Chromebooks Recommendation by Pricena

Samsung introduced one of the first Chromebooks supporting Google Play app store, the Samsung Chromebook Pro. It’s definitely useful as getting access to that store gives you access to a large library of apps and games. There is also the Acer Chromebook Spin 11 which comes with solid build quality and 360-degree dual torque hinge. There is also the Google Pixelbook but it’s really expensive and may not be for everyone.

Our Winner: Acer Chromebook Spin 11

Runner-up: Google Pixelbook

4. Ultrabooks

Price range: 3500 – 8000 AED/SAR/QAR

Features to look for:

• A nice combination of portability and a screen size that’s not too small
• High-end specs for handling more than just basic tasks
• Good cooling system

This is the category where we got to see some great laptops in 2017. Ultrabooks used to be only about the looks before but things are changing quickly. Some of the ultrabooks managed to decrease its size without decreasing the screen size by going for near bezel-less displays. Number of ports or connectivity option was another problem before but some of the ultrabooks are coming with docks or decent number of ports as well. Here, we have chosen some ultrabooks that can be considered as all-rounder laptops as well.

Ultrabook Recommendation by Pricena

Dell XPS 13 got a new version 2018 version and it just keeps getting better and better. While the price tag is still a problem, it will satisfy you with the latest 8^th generation Intel processor and it’s 4K display. There is also the HP Spectre 2017 verison and a budget ultrabook from Acer: the Acer Swift 3.

Our Winner: Dell XPS 13 (late 2017)

Runner-up: HP Spectre x360

5. Laptop/Tablet Hybrids

Price range: 1500 – 6000 AED/SAR/QAR

Features to look for:

• Strong build quality with easy transition
• Minimum Core i3 processor or higher
• Built-in stylus and decent number of ports/connectivity options

While these laptop/tablet hybrids can be quite expensive, it’s something that can fit the need of people who are looking for an all-rounder laptop or people who are looking for an ultrabook. These are really easy to carry and can be used as a tablet when you don’t need that keyboard. Some of these detachable keyboards offer extra battery life as well which can be really important if you are mostly working outside or depend on the battery most of the time.

Laptop/Tablet Hybrid Recommendation by Pricena

For those of you who are not ready to spend too much money on a 2-in-1, there is the Lenovo Yoga Book that comes with an Intel Atom processor. It will get the job done if you are mostly want it to handle basic tasks. If you don’t want any compromise in performance and ready to spend big bucks, there is the latest Microsoft Surface Book 2. Another expensive option is the Lenovo Yoga 920. The Acer Spin 5 and Lenovo Miix 520 are slightly cheaper than these options and can be considered as mid-range laptops.

Our Winner: Microsoft Surface Book 2

Runner-up: Lenovo Miix 510

6. Gaming Laptop

Price range: 2000 – 8000 AED/SAR/QAR

Features to look for:

• SSD drive
• GPU (AMD or NVIDIA)
• Good cooling system and battery life

Finding the right balance between a good gaming laptop that can run all the latest games in ultra-high settings and one that is not too bulky can be really tough. While we did get some great gaming laptops last year, it’s still difficult to find an affordable one that is packing all the required specs. Gaming laptops got bigger but some of these laptops are not really a good option when it comes to portability. Here, we have picked some gaming laptops that are not too big and will offer the best performance and laptops that won’t require you to destroy your savings either.

Gaming Laptop Recommendations by Pricena

At the moment, the Asus ROG Zephyrus GX501 comes with a perfect balance of portability and specs. It’s definitely as small as Dell XPS 13 or Macbook Pro but you will be surprised to see it side-by-side with other gaming laptops. It’s packing GTX 1080 graphics with Core i7 processor which should be good enough for playing AAA games for the next few years. If you are in the market for something cheaper, there is the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 gaming laptop. It’s surprisingly cheap for the specs it’s offering inside. The Razer Blade Stealth (13-inch 2017) falls somewhere in between and is surprisingly slim.

Our Winner: Asus ROG Zephyrus GX501

Runner-up: Razer Blade Stealth