In this guide, we’ve compared seven of the best 4K laptops currently available across a few different categories and rated them based on their price and feature set.
Despite the fact that 4K is quickly becoming the standard resolution for new television sets, there still isn’t a huge adoption of 4K panels in computer displays. This is due to a number of factors, but mainly because a lot of computer users are either running applications that won’t benefit from using a 4K display, or are running applications that require expensive hardware in order to run them at 4K properly (mainly, gaming.)
However, as GPU technology advances and the hardware necessary to run 4K monitors gets cheaper, 4K displays will become more popular for PC users, too. And, that means for laptops as well. Still, though, there are a decent amount of options out there for 4K laptops. And, while they do come in at a premium over 1080P laptops, for users who could benefit from using the upgraded display, the cost might be worth it.
In this guide, we’ve rated and reviewed seven of the best 4K laptops currently available. So, if you are one of those people who could use a higher resolution display on your laptop (whether for higher-res gaming, or for professional work), one of the options listed below should work for you.
Table of Contents
1. Quick-Look: The Best 4K Laptops
2. Top Pick: MSI GT75 TITAN 17.3″
3. Workstation: Dell Precision 7530 15.6″
4. Value Pick: ASUS Zenbook Pro 15.6″
A Quick Look at the Top 4K Laptops
The table below will give you a quick look at our selections for the best 4K laptops currently available. We’ve made our pick for the best 4K gaming laptop, the best workstation 4K laptop, the best value option, and the best 2-in-1 laptop with a 4K display.
| NAME | SPECS | RATING | |||
GAMING |  | MSI GT75 TITAN |
| /10 | |
WORK |  | Dell Precision 7530 |
| /10 | |
VALUE |  | ASUS Zenbook Pro |
| /10 | |
2-IN-1 |  | Lenovo Flex 5 |
| /10 |
*Click on the “Read Review »” links to jump to our overview on that specific laptop. You can also keep scrolling down this post to see which laptops made our Honorable Mentions.
Best 4K Gaming Laptop:
MSI GT75 TITAN 17.3″
If gaming is your main concern and you have a large budget, then your best option is MSI’s GT75 Titan. The GT75 Titan will set you back nearly ~$3,800, but if you want to do serious 4K gaming on a laptop, its probably the only realistic option out there.
The MSI GT75 Titan comes with a 17.3″ 4K G-Sync display. To push graphics-intensive games on its high-end display, the GT75 Titan comes with an extreme hardware configuration: an Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, an NVIDIA RTX 2080 8GB GPU, and 16GB of DDR4 memory.
The combination of the RTX 2080 and the i9-8950HK will ensure that you’ll still achieve a high framerate in today’s top games despite the more demanding nature of gaming at 4K. And, with NVIDIA’s G-Sync, your games will feel incredibly smooth.
The one downside of the GT75 Titan, though, is the underwhelming amount of storage. The laptop only comes with a 256GB SSD out-of-the-box. That’s really not a lot of storage for a nearly $4,000 laptop. However, you can add another SSD, or a secondary 1TB hard drive for well under $100. So, while it would have been nice to get more storage from the start, adding additional storage won’t be such a pain that you should discount the GT75 Titan on that fact alone.
Because, the reality is that no other laptop out there offers the configuration necessary to handle 4K gaming quite the way the GT75 does.
4K Workstation Laptop:
Dell Precision 7530 15.6″
For graphics design, video editing, CAD work, or any other kind of intensive professional use, you might want to consider Dell’s Precision 7530 4K workstation laptop.
Like the GT75 Titan listed above, the Precision 7530 is another extreme 4K laptop option. The 7530 comes with an Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, an NVIDIA Quadro P3200 6GB GPU, 32GB of DDR4 memory, and a 1TB SSD.
All of these specs are geared towards providing professionals with a powerful mobile workstation that can handle intensive tasks. It is priced at just under $4,000, though, which makes it the most expensive option on this list. This laptop will work for gaming, but NVIDIA’s Quadro line of GPUs aren’t designed for gaming specifically. So, if you want to do a mix of design work and gaming, the GT75 Titan listed above would probably be a better option. You’ll just want to be sure to add more storage to it and maybe even more memory as well.
Ultimately, if you need a 4K laptop solely for professional use and you have a large budget to spend, then the Precision 7530 from Dell is a high-end option that will serve you well.
Best Value 4K Laptop:
ASUS Zenbook Pro 15.6″
If you’re looking for a solid 4K laptop that offers a good balance between providing adequate performance and coming in at a reasonable price, the ASUS Zenbook Pro is an option that is worth considering.
The Zenbook Pro comes in at just under $1,700. For hardware, you get an Intel Core i7-8750HK processor, a GTX 1050 Ti graphics card, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 512GB SSD. And, the 15.6″ display comes with touch screen capabilities.
With the NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti graphics card, this laptop can run non-demanding games on its 4K display. However, it will struggle to run any of today’s top games at a reasonable rate. So, you can use the Zenbook Pro for very light gaming, but anything higher than that is out of the question.
But, if all you need is a well-performing laptop that has a nice 4K display for streaming 4K content, work-related tasks, and casual use, the ASUS Zenbook Pro should exceed your expectations.
2-in-1 4K Laptop:
Lenovo Flex 5 15.6″
If you need a 2-in-1 laptop that has a 4K resolution display, then the Lenovo Flex 5 might be your best option. It comes with a 15.6″ 4K touch screen display, a six-core Intel Core i7-8550U processor, 16GB of DDR4 memory, an NVIDIA 940MX GPU, a 256GB SSD, and a 1TB hard drive. It also comes with a stylus as well, which will help it stand out for artists and graphics designers.
While the NVIDIA 940MX isn’t the greatest GPU around, it will make light gaming a possibility (although, you might have to drop the screen resolution when you game and you’ll only be able to play non-demanding games.)
The best part of the Lenovo Flex 5, though, is the price it comes in at. It costs just over $1,100 and so its a more budget-friendly option for professionals than both the Dell Precision 7530 and the ASUS Zenbook Pro.
Overall, if you’re looking for a more affordable 4K laptop option, or you need the versatility than a 2-in-1 laptop can provide, the Lenovo Flex 5 is probably an option that you’ll want to consider.
Honorable Mention #1:
ASUS VivoBook Pro 15 15.6″
The ASUS VivoBook Pro 15 is another solid 4K laptop. In terms of hardware and specs, it is a similar offering to the Lenovo Flex 5 (minus the 2-in-1 design), but it comes in at a slightly higher cost.
The VivoBook Pro 15 has an Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor, an NVIDIA GTX 1050 graphics card, 16GB of DDR4 memory, a 256GB SSD, and a 1TB secondary hard drive. The GTX 1050 graphics card—while not very powerful in the grand scheme of things—is more powerful than the 940MX GPU that the Lenovo Flex 5 comes with, and so the VivoBook Pro 15 will be better suited for light gaming if that’s something you’d prefer.
However, the processor in the VivoBook Pro 15 will perform slightly worse than the latest generation Intel Core i7-8550U processor that is in the Flex 5. So, ultimately, if you won’t be gaming on your new laptop and you’d prefer the better CPU than the better GPU, the Flex 5 would be a better option for you and vice-versa.
Honorable Mention #2:
Dell Inspiron 15.6″
If you’re looking for a more affordable 4K laptop that can serve fairly well for light 4K gaming, this Dell Inspiron is an option you’ll want to check out. The laptop does come with an older Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor. However, it still should be more than powerful enough for most tasks.
The Inspiron also comes with a GTX 1060 6GB graphics card, 16GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD, and a 1TB hard drive.
The GTX 1060 GPU isn’t going to allow you to max out any game on the 4K display. However, it will allow you to run non-demanding games like Rocket League, League of Legends, Dota 2, etc. just fine. And, for more demanding games, you could probably run them somewhat well as long as they’re on the lowest settings, or you turn the resolution down through Windows’ Display Settings.
Ultimately, though, the Dell Inspiron 4K laptop is a well-balanced option that offers plenty of storage and a decent CPU-GPU combo at a fairly affordable price.
Honorable Mention #3:
Dell XPS 12.5″
Believe it or not, you can get a 4K laptop for under $1,000. This Dell XPS laptop comes with a 4K display, an Intel Core M 6Y54 processor, 8GB of DDR3 memory, an integrated Intel HD graphics, and a 256GB SSD.
The processor isn’t the strongest option around, but the laptop comes in at just over $800, making it one of the most affordable 4K laptop options out there. Its integrated graphics won’t make it a viable option for gaming unless you turned down the resolution. And, even then, you’ll struggle to be able to play any of today’s top titles at a reasonable refresh rate.
With a 256GB SSD, the Dell XPS 12 doesn’t come with a ton of storage, which is kind of a downer. But, the good news is that you could always add an additional SSD in the future if you need to.
The bottom line is that, while this is an affordable 4K laptop, it is pretty stripped down in terms of specs. The weaker processor and integrated graphics and the low amount of srorage should still be fine for very casual use cases, though. So, if you need a cheap 4K laptop, then this Dell XPS 12 is probably your best bet.
Is A 4K Laptop the Right Option for You?
While 4K laptops aren’t super popular at the moment, there are quite a few options out there that will work for anyone who needs a mobile computer with a 4K resolution display. We’ve rated and reviewed seven different 4K options and picked the best ones based off a few common use-case categories. So, whether you’re looking for a 4K gaming laptop, a 4K workstation laptop, or a cheap 4K laptop for casual use, there should be an option listed above that will work for you.
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