1. Razer Blade Pro 17.3″ (Top Gaming Pick)
2. MSI WS65 15.6″ (4K Workstation Laptop)
4. HP Spectre x360 15.6″ (2-in-1 Option)
5. MSI GT75 TITAN 17.3″ (Honorable Mention)
In this guide, we’ve compared seven of the best 4K laptops for 2021 across multiple categories to help you find the right UHD laptop for your needs and budget.
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.
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.
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|
NAME | SPECS | RATING | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
GAMING
|
 |
Razer Blade Pro 17 |
|
/10 | |
|
WORK
|
 |
MSI WS65 |
|
/10 | |
|
VALUE
|
 |
HP Omen |
|
/10 | |
|
2-IN-1
|
 |
HP Spectre x360 |
|
/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.
1. Razer Blade Pro 17.3″
The best 4K gaming laptop
If gaming is your main concern and you have a large budget, then your best option is probably either this Razer Blade Pro 17, or the GT75 listed below. Since the Razer Blade Pro 17 is a bit cheaper than the MSI GT75 and comes with a higher refresh rate, we chose it as our top 4K laptop option for gamers.
The Razer Blade Pro 17 comes with an Intel Core i7-9750H processor, an RTX 2080 GPU, 16GB of DDR4 memory, a 1TB SSD, and a 17.3″ 4K 120Hz display. The main selling point of the Razer Blade 17 is the fact that it’s one of the only 4K laptops currently available that has a refresh rate higher than 60Hz.
And, so, for pure gaming purposes, we felt the higher refresh rate and the lower cost made the Razer Blade 17 the better option over the MSI GT75.
The GT75 is a real beast of a laptop, though. And, if you could use a laptop that brings a beefier processor, more memory, more storage, and NVIDIA’s G-Sync technology to the table, it might be the better option for you.
Ultimately, though, as one of the first 4K laptops on the markets with a 120Hz refresh rate, the Razer Blade 17 will work well for gamers who want an extremely smooth in-game experience to go along with their 4K display.
2. MSI WS65 15.6″
Best 4K workstation laptop
For graphics design, video editing, CAD work, or any other kind of intensive professional use, you might want to consider MSI’s WS65 4K workstation laptop.
Like the GT75 Titan listed below, the MSI WS65 is another extreme 4K laptop option. The WS65 comes with an Intel Core i9-9880H processor, an NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 GPU, 64GB 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 a little over $4,500, 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 below would probably be a better option.
Ultimately, if you need a 4K laptop solely for professional use and you have a large budget to spend, then the WS65 from MSI is a high-end option that will serve you well.
3. HP Omen 15.6″
The best 4K gaming laptop (for the money)
Whether you’re looking for a 4K laptop for work, for casual use, or for gaming, this HP Omen model is worth considering. It comes in at just under ~$1,700, making it one of the more affordable options on this list.
However, unlike some of the other affordable 4K laptops out there, the HP Omen offers a lot more performance. It comes with an Intel Core i7-9750H processor, an NVIDIA RTX 2070 GPU, 16GB of DDR4 memory, a 256GB SSD, and a 1TB hard drive.
The combination of the i7-9750H and RTX 2070 will allow the HP Omen to handle most games on higher settings. And, if you need an option that can double as a work laptop, the i7-9750H, RTX 2070, and 16GB of RAM can handle a wide range of tasks, from graphics design, to spreadsheets, to rendering…
In the end, if you don’t have an extreme budget, but you want a 4K laptop that can handle a wide variety of tasks, then the HP Omen 4K laptop is probably what you’re looking for.
4. HP Spectre x360 15.6″
The best 2-in-1 4K laptop
If you need a 2-in-1 laptop that has a 4K resolution display, then the HP Spectre x360 might be your best option. It comes with a 15.6″ 4K touch screen display, a six-core Intel Core i7-9750H processor, 16GB of DDR4 memory, an NVIDIA GTX 1650 GPU, a 1TB 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 GTX 1650 isn’t the greatest GPU around, it should be able to handle less demanding games (League of Legends, Rocket League, Fortnite, Dota 2, etc.) on the 4K display. In some instances, you may have to turn some of the in-game graphics settings down, though, in order to maintain a playable framerate.
The HP Spectre x360 isn’t the cheapest 4K 2-in-1 laptop out there, though. At just under $2,000 it comes with a pretty steep price tag for the hardware you get. If you’re looking for a cheaper 4K 2-in-1, the Lenovo Flex listed at the bottom of this post is worth checking out.
Overall, if you’re looking for a 4K laptop option that has the versatility that a 2-in-1 laptop can provide, the Spectre x360 is probably an option that you’ll want to consider.
5. MSI GT75 TITAN 17.3″
Honorable mention #1
While we didn’t choose the MSI GT75 Titan as the best option for 4K gaming laptops, it isn’t that far behind our top pick, the Razer Blade 17. And, in fact, there is a case to be made for choosing the MSI GT75 Titan over the Razer Blade 17.
For starters, 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 i9-9980HK processor, an NVIDIA RTX 2080 8GB GPU, and 64GB of DDR4 memory.
The combination of the RTX 2080 and the i9-9980HK 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 GT75 also comes with a ton of storage. You get a 1TB NVME SSD and a 1TB secondary hard drive.
It also comes with an extreme pricetag. The Titan comes in at just under ~$4,400. That makes it ~$700 more expensive than the Razer Blade Pro 17. And, it doesn’t have the higher 120Hz refresh rate that the Razer Blade Pro comes with.
However, it does come with NVIDIA’s G-Sync technology (which the Razer laptop doesn’t have), and it has a stronger processor, more memory, and more storage.
And, so, if you’re looking for an option that can double as a workstation-grade laptop, then the MSI GT75 would be the better option. Of course, if you don’t want to spend the extra $700, the Razer Blade Pro 17 will work well for work-related tasks, too.
In the end, if you have the budget to get the GT75 Titan and you could use the upgraded hardware for purposes outside of gaming, then it will probably be the best option for you.
6. Lenovo ThinkPad P53 15.6″
Honorable mention #2
The Lenovo ThinkPad P53 is another solid 4K laptop. In terms of hardware and specs, it is a similar offering to the HP Spectre x360 (minus the 2-in-1 design), but it comes in at a slightly higher cost.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P53 has an Intel Core i7-9750H processor, an NVIDIA Quadro T2000 GPU, 16GB of DDR4 memory, and a 512GB SSD. The Quadro T2000 is more geared towards graphics design, but it should work well for playing non-demanding games on the 4K display.
Overall, though, if you have the ~$2,000 to spend on the ThinkPad P53, you would probably be better off going with the HP Omen listed above, as it has similar specs, a better GPU, and costs ~$400 less.
7. Lenovo Flex 5 15.6″
Honorable mention #3
If you want a 2-in-1 4K laptop, but you don’t want to spend ~$1,800 on the HP Spectre x360, then this Renewed Lenovo Flex 5 might be what you’re looking for.
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. And, like the Spectre x360, it comes with a stylus as well.
The NVIDIA 940MX isn’t going to be great for gaming, but you can probably handle non-demanding titles on this laptop if you turn their in-game settings down to low.
The best part of the Lenovo Flex 5, though, is the price it comes in at. It costs just a little over $800 and so its a more budget-friendly option for professionals than the HP Spectre x360 is.
So, the bottome line is that, if you’re looking for an affordable 2-in-1 4K laptop the Lenovo Flex 5 is worth considering.
8. Dell XPS 12.5″
Honorable mention #4
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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Fred Mazyck says
I know they’re being phased out, but I’m in the market for a new gaming laptop with an internal optical drive. It’d be nice to have a GTX 1660 TI or 2060 and above, ssd & mechanical drive, 17″ G-sync screen (4K 60 OR 1080 120).
Any suggestions?