Monday, March 08, 2021
When you're buying a new laptop, the majority of the selection in front of you will be powered by Intel processors or a combination of Intel processors and NVIDIA dedicated graphics. AMD's Ryzen APU doesn't find its way into nearly as many, and that's a shame. Overall, an AMD powered laptop represents an excellent value package, especially on laptops without dedicated graphics. If it's one of the best Windows laptops with AMD Ryzen you seek, you've come to the right place.
Top pick
HP Envy x360
Staff pick
When going for an Envy x360 with AMD power, you get a choice between two. There are 13- and 15-inch models that, spec-wise, are basically the same, aside from their physical size. There are Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, and Ryzen 7 4000 series APUs to choose from, which provide excellent CPU and graphics power. Being an x360, it's a fully convertible laptop backed up by fast SSD storage, 8GB of RAM (which is upgradeable on the 15-inch), and a great-looking touch display with pen support for work and play.
Best Gaming
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14
The Zephyrus G14 was one of Ryzen 4000 series laptops' first batches to hit the market, and the range-topper boasts an 8-core Ryzen 9 4900HS NVIDIA RTX 2060, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB PCIe SSD. That's all backed by a 120Hz 1080p display, a slim, sleek chassis, and even an LED panel on the lid for you to add some flair. This is one of the most exciting gaming laptops around.
Budget Choice
ASUS VivoBook F412DA 14
While this looks a lot like ASUS's more expensive laptops, it's actually extremely affordable, and part of that is down to the choice of an AMD Ryzen 3 3250U processor. The attractive design with skinny bezels wraps a 1080p display; there's also 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and even a fingerprint scanner, as well as a ton of ports, including HDMI and USB-C.
Awesome Convertible
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14
If you ignore the average quality display, what you have with the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14 is a potent yet affordable convertible laptop. With up to 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 4000 series APUs on tap, you get good CPU and GPU performance, and this is paired with a great keyboard and all-day battery life. It's well built, has 16GB of RAM, fast storage, and even comes with an active pen included for some digital inking action.
Budget Performance
Acer Swift 3
The Acer Swift 3 is another laptop with an average quality display, but that more than makes up for it elsewhere. In this case, you'll find a Ryzen 7 4700U inside with eight cores and a powerful integrated GPU that can better the performance of some of NVIDIA's entry-level dedicated chips. The design and build are solid, the price is attractive, and it even gets decent battery life.
Budget Gaming
HP Pavilion Gaming 15
HP's Pavilion Gaming laptop keeps the price way down but doesn't skimp on the hardware. Inside you'll find an AMD Ryzen 5 4600H processor paired with an NVIDIA GTX 1650 GPU, which is a solid pairing for 1080p gaming. It comes with a small but upgradeable SSD, 8GB of RAM, and a nice, subtle design with a strong keyboard for when you need to stop gaming and start working.
15-inch Gaming
HP Omen 15
This premium, 15-inch gaming laptop from HP Omen is pretty slim and light and absolutely stunning to look at for this type of laptop. Inside beats the heart of a lion, with an AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor paired with an NVIDIA GTX 1660 Ti GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD. The display may only be 1080p, but that also helps keep the price extremely attractive.
Coming Soon
ASUS ROG Flow
AMD's next-gen Ryzen 5000 chips are on the way with the first batch of laptops due imminently and one of the most exciting is the ASUS ROG Flow, announced at CES 2021. Inside this 13-inch Ultrabook-form laptop you get a Ryzen 9 5900H paired with an NVIDIA GTX 1650 dedicated GPU. Toss in an optional eGPU, a great screen and keyboard and an attractive price and this is going to be one to beat. Some locations are already taking pre-orders.
If we had to choose...
Ryzen powered laptops often slip under the radar, but the truth is there are some fantastic laptops out there powered by AMD. Currently, we'd happily recommend the HP Envy x360 to anyone specifically looking for a Ryzen laptop, and, frankly, anyone who wasn't that bothered with what's inside. It looks great; it's beautifully made, powerful, and quite affordable given the package it presents.
Gamers are well represented, in particular by HP. At the budget end of the scale you really can't go wrong with the excellent spec sheet on the Pavilion 15 Gaming, while for the more demanding gamer the Omen 15 is a fantastic value package.
Budget buyers aren't left out either, with excellent laptops like the ASUS VivoBook F412DA 14 delivering style and performance similar to much more expensive laptops, but at a price more agreeable to budget buyers, perhaps even for education or general home use with the kids.
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