Best laptops

Acer Aspire S7 (13.3 inch)

November 12th, 2012 - The 13.3-inch version of Acer's Aspire S7 laptop is gorgeous. There are a few minor niggles, it's expensive and battery life isn't the best, but despite all this, this is one of the better Windows 8 solutions out there at this point in time. 1

Dell XPS 12

November 12th, 2012 - Dell's XPS 12 does a good job at being a Windows 8 laptop — but the weight prevents it from being a good Windows 8 tablet.

HP EliteBook 2570p

August 3rd, 2012 - Although chunky, the impressive performance and flexibility of this 12.5-inch laptop would make the hardened business road warrior happy. 1

• Where to buy? $2212 at 1 store

HP Envy 6 (1010TU)

August 2nd, 2012 - For less than AU$1000, the Envy 6 is quite a good deal, with an excellent build quality and attractive design. To get there, though, the company had to use last-generation specs. 4

Toshiba Satellite U840W

September 7th, 2012 - It's a little bit different, and we'd hazard a guess that only a few people will be sold by Toshiba's extra-wide display. For those who do get the appeal, they'll also find a well-built, well-featured laptop, with better than usual audio. 1

HP Pavilion dm4 Beats Edition

August 22nd, 2012 - HP's Pavilion dm4 Beats Edition manages to bring good performance and battery life into the sub-AU$1000 range. The main sacrifice is the vibrancy of the screen, but at this price, it's a small nitpick and nothing more. 5

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch

February 11th, 2013 - The business-oriented Lenovo ThinkPad X1 adds must-have features for 2013, and remains a very impressive business-oriented ultrabook with strong crossover appeal.

Toshiba Satellite Z930

December 10th, 2012 - An upgrade on last year's Z830, the Satellite Z930 is an excellent portable and flexible laptop.

Dell XPS 14 (mid 2012)

July 5th, 2012 - It's built well, performs well and is our new battery life king. At 2.1kg, it's heavier than most ultrabooks, and minor usability issues and shallow viewing angles could turn some off.

Alienware m14x (early 2012)

May 29th, 2012 - The m14x is now the smallest Alienware laptop you can get. It's a mid-range gaming device both in spec and performance, although, at the price involved, it will come up against stiff competition with Asus' G55VW.