Best Desktop Replacement Laptop in 2021
Move away from the bulky desktop with these laptops
- Last Updated May 26, 2021
If we go back a couple of decades, desktops were the pinnacle of computing technology. Nowadays unless you’ve got a purpose-built desktop with crazy components in it a laptop will more than suffice and save you on space, power bills, and they give you access to making any surface your new work surface.
A huge hurdle with replacing your desktop pc with a laptop is that the portability and space-saving that you gain comes at a price. That price can range anywhere from a lower CPU clock to an inability to use proper peripherals.
Another major bump in mobility heaven is the lack of any ability to upgrade or adapt the components of your laptop. In a desktop PC, everything from the case fan to the graphics card and processor can be removed and replaced with a newer, more updated version to keep you up to date. Desktops are also more versatile in that you can plug in any type of screen/monitor that suits your needs at that moment, would you like to have 2 separate mice, 1 for gaming and the other for browsing? You can do all of that with a desktop and largely lose that capability when you move over to a laptop.
Fear not though because it isn’t all downsides. You can definitely make the switch and reap the benefits of the smaller footprint of your laptop. It can be really difficult and frankly exhausting wading through the countless number of different laptops and notebooks out there so we’ve done the leg work for you.
Products at a Glance
How We Picked
We’ve put together a list of the 5 best desktop replacement laptops currently on the market and why we think that your next laptop is somewhere on this list. Each one stands out for a different reason and we think we’ve got all bases covered. If however, you don’t find your workhorse in this paddock, we’ve also gone through all of the things you need to consider when making the switch to arm you with the knowledge needed to make the right call.
In picking out these five desktop replacement laptops, we aimed to provide you with picks that maximize performance in the budget category they slot into. This will hopefully remove any worry of switching to a more portable device over the raw power of a larger PC.
Best Desktop Replacement Laptop in 2021
Like most of the laptops on this list, the Alienware 17 R5 is an extremely powerful gaming machine that can easily handle the workload of most desktops out there.
This laptop comes with a 6-core, 12-thread 8th generation CPU. This processor has a base clock of 2.2GHz and a boost clock of 4.1GHz meaning that it is more than fast enough for standard usage and excels at CPU-intensive workloads. Dell’s passthrough cooling system keeps all the components cool enough that they can definitely hit their boost clocks.
With an Nvidia GTX 1070 with 8GB of VRAM built-in, this laptop is more than ready for gaming, it is actually VR capable. With the amount of included I/O VR gaming is definitely a possibility. The 8GB of VRAM is also plenty to drive the 17.3” 1440p screen.
The huge screen also has an IPS panel meaning that the color reproduction and viewing angles will look great. In general, this is a really nice-looking screen and is bright enough to use without the curtains drawn.
The Alienware 17 R5 comes with 16GB of RAM and a dual storage system. 16GB of RAM is really all you could need for standard usage. The dual-storage system consists of a 256GB NVMe SSD and a 1TB HDD. The larger capacity drive is much slower but this shouldn’t impact standard usage as it is the mass storage drive.
With all the high-powered components this laptop has it doesn’t last very long on battery alone but if you’re coming directly from a desktop keeping it plugged into a wall socket shouldn’t be a problem.
This laptop has been designed with the competitive gamer in mind. With its high refresh monitor and high powered GPU you’ll have a hard time missing out on chicken dinners.
The GE75 Raider is powered by a 10th generation i7-10750H which is a much more powerful CPU than the last laptop. With a base clock of 2.6GHz and a boost clock of 5GHz there isn’t much that this CPU will struggle with. It is still a 6 core, 12 thread CPU so multitasking performance is equivalent to the last laptop.
The GPU is more of a sideways move as opposed to a direct upgrade. The RTX 2060 is a budget-friendly RTX capable graphics card and can easily power the FHD screen. It comes with 6GB of VRAM but includes the new Tensor cores that are much more efficient so performance doesn’t take a hit.
The 17.3” FHD monitor is the biggest selling point for the competitive gamers out there. Even though it won’t win any awards for resolution, with an FHD resolution, it has a refresh rate of 144Hz making it perfect for competitive gaming. It is a VA panel meaning it won’t have the best color accuracy but again that refresh rate is what you’re aiming for gaming.
Similar to the last laptop this one comes with 16GB of RAM but it bumps up the storage options with a 512GB boot drive.
With its elevated base and RGB keyboard, this laptop really presents itself as a gaming device.
This is the most powerful laptop on our list and is designed to take on anything a desktop could without compromising the benefits of a laptop. This laptop has a Ryzen 9 4900HS CPU inside it. Ryzen has recently overtaken Intel for the most viable CPU in general usage. You still get a bit of extra gaming performance from intel but for everything else Ryzen is where you want to go.
This CPU has 8 cores and 16 threads meaning it excels in multi-tasking but it also has a base clock of 3.0GHz and a boost clock of 4.3GHz. This means that without boosting you’ll have a faster CPU than any other one on our list. We already know about the RTX 2060 but this laptop comes with the Max-Q variant meaning that it is more efficient and can produce a few extra FPS in-game. This is going to be completely necessary to power the FHD 240Hz monitor!
With such a high refresh rate you’ll be able to see the enemy in-game before they even spawn in. Outside of gaming you still get a massive boost to smoothness. This 15.6” monitor is also a VA panel so that it can achieve those high refresh rates.
You also get 16GB of RAM with this one but ROG has replaced the split storage system with a single 1TB NVMe SSD.
This is considered an Ultra Slim laptop and doesn’t have a huge amount of frills that could make it stand out. Thankfully this makes it perfect for all users and you will easily be able to replace any desktop with this beast.
We couldn’t have a desktop replacement without including an Apple MacBook. Most of us are fairly familiar with MacBooks but this is the new Pro with Apple’s M1 chip.
This chip was designed by apple specifically for MacOS and the performance boost is huge. The M1 chip splits its 16 cores between processing and graphics processing. This means you get optimal performance for both graphics intensive processes and standard computing. You still get a Retina rated display and this one in particular has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 meaning it’s even higher than the QHD display we had further up the list. At only 13.3” the pixel density of this MacBook is massive. Apple’s Retina and True Tone technologies make this the best looking screen on the list for standard usage.
With only 8GB of RAM you may be worried that you’ll take a performance hit but thankfully MacOS has been designed to work with less memory meaning this amount is ample. The 256GB SSD that comes with the MacBook Pro is also limited but you can easily upgrade this to a 1TB NVMe SSD by yourself.
The Razer Blade laptops are usually considered the Apple Macs of the Microsoft world. With its sleek design and massive portability this is a great option for the desktop user tired of their desk.
This laptop has the same processor as the Alienware one higher up the list. And we already have an idea of its capabilities, where this one diverges is in the GPU. The Razer Blade 15 comes with a 1060 Max-Q variant meaning it isn’t as powerful as the 1070 but it is hugely more power-efficient and battery friendly.
Where this laptop shines (apart from the design) is the display. This laptop comes equipped with a 144Hz FHD display making it perfect for gaming, but it is also the only high refresh rate IPS display on the list. You still get all the benefits of high refresh rates and of an IPS panel.
With 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, this one sits in the middle in terms of capacity.
Things To Consider
Our Verdict
In our opinion, the best desktop replacement laptop money can buy is the Dell Alienware 17 R5. While you might look at it and think it’s only for gamers, that’s not the case and will perform other tasks fantastically well. With its fantastic amount of RAM, dual storage, and more, we’re sure you’ll be more than happy ditching that bulky desktop PC and move to this more portable device for your computing needs.