Best Desktop Replacement Laptop 2023 – Making the switch easier

When you’re looking for a laptop to completely replace your home desktop, then you need to make sure that you pick the right option.

Many of us rely on our desktops at home for work purposes, and they often have a lot of power for us to take advantage of. So, replicating this in a laptop is important, and you can’t just pick any old laptop to become your primary computer.

But what should you be looking for when you’re trying to find a laptop to replace your desktop? One thing that you’ll want to think about is the laptop brand you want to go for. This is key to getting the right laptop for you, but there are other things to take into account too.

So, now we’re going to look at some of the other things you’ll want to consider, as well as some of the best options out there that you can get.

Best Desktop Replacement Laptop UK

ProductImageScreen SizeSpecsGet More Info
HP OMEN 15-dh1010naHP OMEN 15-dh1013na 15.6 Inch Full HD, 144 Hz Gaming Laptop, Intel Core i7-10750H, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super (8 GB Dedicated) Graphics, Windows 10 Home - Black15.6 inch16GB RAMCheck Price at Amazon
Dell XPS 15Dell XPS 15 7590 15 inch Laptop. Intel® Cor i7-9750H (upto 4.5GHz), 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, Full HD Nontouch display, iIndows 10 Home15.6 inch16GB RAMCheck Price at Amazon
LG Gram 17LG gram 17Z90N 17 Inch Ultra-Lightweight laptop 1,350 g - WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS, Thunderbolt 3, Long Lasting Battery up to 18.5 hours, 10th Gen IntelRCoreT i5-1035G7 Processor 512 GB17 inch8GB RAMCheck Price at Amazon
Apple MacBook ProApple 2020 MacBook Pro M1 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) - Space Grey13 inch8GB RAMCheck Price at Amazon
HP Pavilion 17-cd1014naHP Pavilion Gaming 17-cd1014sa17.3 Inch16GB RAMCheck Price at Amazon
HONOR MagicBook 14HONOR MagicBook 14 - 14 Inch Laptop w/ FullView 1080P Screen, All-Day Battery, 65 W Fast Charger, Fingerprint Login & Recessed Camera (AMD Ryzen 5, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Windows 10 Home) Mystic Silver14 Inch8GB RAMCheck Price at Amazon

HP OMEN 15-dh1010na

HP OMEN 15-dh1013na 15.6 Inch Full HD, 144 Hz Gaming Laptop, Intel Core i7-10750H, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super (8 GB Dedicated) Graphics, Windows 10 Home - Black

Operating System: Windows | Screen size: 15.6 inch | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 1TB SSD | Processor: Intel i7 | Average Battery Life: 8.5 hours

For many people looking for a desktop replacement, they’ll be looking for a good gaming laptop. And to be honest, even if you’re not specifically looking for a laptop for gaming, it could be worth considering a laptop like this HP Omen model.

Gaming laptops are designed to replicate the experience of a desktop computer, so these laptops are perfect for those looking for a desktop replacement. This is why you should look at the Razer Blade range, ASUS ROG and one of my personal favourites, the HP Omen series.

When you’re looking for a laptop like this, then you’re going to need one that has a decent amount of power. Whilst having 16GB of RAM isn’t a necessity, it’s definitely going to give you a better experience than a laptop with 8GB of RAM.

As well as this, you can also upgrade this laptop quite easily to 32GB of RAM, which can give you an even better experience. Combining this with an Intel Core i7 processor makes this a pretty good laptop.

To match this, obviously for gamers you’re going to need a lot of space on your laptop for storage. This model comes with 1TB of SSD space installed, which is perfect for those who’ll have a lot of different programs to download.

Overall, for those looking for a true desktop experience, then this laptop is going to provide something similar.

Pros

Comes with a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 graphics card.
Also has an Intel Core i7 processor.
One of the best displays available.

Cons

Manages to stay cool even with a lot of programs open.
Doesn’t have an excellent battery.

Verdict: This is definitely one of the best desktop replacement laptops that you can find.


Dell XPS 15

Dell XPS 15 7590 15 inch Laptop. Intel® Cor i7-9750H (upto 4.5GHz), 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, Full HD Nontouch display, iIndows 10 Home

Operating System: Windows | Screen size: 15.6 inch | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 1TB SSD | Processor: Intel i7 | Average Battery Life: 10 hours

When it comes to Windows laptops that come close to a desktop experience, there’s not many better than the Dell XPS series. Whilst I’ve included the XPS 15 here, you could easily look at the larger XPS 17 if you want something with more screen real estate.

The laptop manages to contain a powerhouse of a laptop within a slim and lightweight build. It comes with a hexa-core processor and 16GB of RAM, along with a full terabyte of storage space for you to utilize.

What this laptop is probably best known for is its display and its build quality. It has a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics processing unit installed, and when you combine that with a full HD thin bezel display, it definitely stands out.

If we’re looking for something that’s close in nature to a desktop, then the XPS 15 is definitely up there. With high performance hardware packed into an aluminium chassis, it’s worth taking a look at.

Pros

Full HD display.
One of the thinnest premium laptops available.
Well made keyboard.

Cons

Doesn’t provide a good gaming experience, more for business use.
The fan can sound noisy at times.

Verdict: Though not a good pick if you’re looking for a budget laptop, the Dell XPS can’t be overlooked due to its high build quality and overall design.


LG Gram 17

LG gram 17Z90N 17 Inch Ultra-Lightweight laptop 1,350 g - WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS, Thunderbolt 3, Long Lasting Battery up to 18.5 hours, 10th Gen IntelRCoreT i5-1035G7 Processor 512 GB

Operating System: Windows | Screen size: 17 inch | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 512GB SSD | Processor: Intel i5 | Average Battery Life: 9 hours

A good option for those who aren’t necessarily looking for a gaming laptop is the LG Gram. It’s a great 17 inch laptop, which is great for those who are used to using a large display – it makes the most of the screen space available, although it’s smaller in size than most 17 inch laptops out there.

Although this is still a fairly large laptop, it’s actually not particularly heavy. This means that you can easily carry it around with you anywhere, which is probably one of the reasons you want to switch to a laptop in the first place.

The IPS display makes it very easy to look at the monitor screen from all angles, which is useful if you plan to use it for more than just work (it’s perfect for watching movies due to its size).

It has great graphics, and it has all of the features you want from a more premium laptop (backlit keyboard, a fingerprint reader and a numberpad are just some of these). Overall, this is a perfect laptop for those who want something large and easy to use, yet still portable enough to be taken with you anywhere.

Pros

Very high standard build quality.
Comes with a lot of different ports to use.
Has a dedicated reading mode which is handy.

Cons

Could do with a little more power.
Outdated design means it isn’t that stylish.

Verdict: Another solid high end gaming laptop making up our list of replacement potentials.


Apple MacBook Pro

Apple 2020 MacBook Pro M1 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) - Space Grey

Operating System: Mac OS | Screen size: 13 inch | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 256GB SSD | Processor: Apple M1 chip | Average Battery Life: 12 hours

Making the transition over to using a laptop instead of a desktop is never easy. However, if you’re used to using a Windows desktop, then maybe switching over to using a high powered Macbook Pro might make this transition a little easier.

Macbooks tend to have a much better user experience than Windows laptops. Although there’s a little learning curve that comes with using a Mac, you get used to it pretty quickly. It can match the performance of a desktop laptop quite easily.

As well as a better UX, you’ll also get a pretty awesome display, which is much better than the vast majority of other laptops out there. Macbooks to tend to be quite expensive, but they provide one of the best computing experiences out of any laptop out there.

With a simplistic high quality design comes a solid practical computer too, which is capable of pretty much everything you need. Macbooks tend to be a good choice for those looking for a laptop for graphic design with a need for artistic programs. If this is you, then a Macbook might be the right choice.

Pros

It is very easy to use these laptops.
An excellent choice for photo editing.
A thin and light option for portability.

Cons

Common criticism is that it is quite expensive.
Barely any ports means you’ll likely need an adapter.

Verdict: You know where you stand with a Macbook, and it’s still one of the top options out there. With the new M1 chip that comes in both the Pro and the Macbook Air, it’s difficult to beat for value, even though historically they’ve always been thought of as overpriced (by some).


HP Pavilion 17-cd1014na

HP Pavilion Gaming 17-cd1014sa

Operating System: Windows | Screen size: 17.3 inch | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB SSD, 1TB HDD | Processor: Intel i7 | Average Battery Life: 9 hours

Another solid gaming laptop to add to the mix is this HP Pavilion 17-cd1014na. It’s a little bit cheaper than the other laptops that I’ve mentioned here, but it still provides a great experience for those looking for something similar to desktop.

The extra large 17.3 inch screen is going to be the first thing you notice about this laptop, and it will make the transition a lot easier. It uses a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics card which allows to laptop to give some amazing, bright visuals and it has a fast refresh rate too, which is a necessity for gamers. The HD display is matched by a high quality Bang and Olufsen sound system too, which is better than many desktop speakers out there.

Like all good gaming laptops, it has an extensive cooling system which helps the laptop prevent from overheating. It uses 16GB of RAM and it comes with 512GB of SSD storage an a TB of HDD storage too. So if you’re looking for a good laptop with a lot of storage, then this HP Omen model is a good choice.

Pros

Will be more than powerful enough for most.
Very stylish black finish looks great.
Comes with a lot of space to save your programs.

Cons

Has a really disappointing battery.
Not the best in terms of materials used.

Verdict: This HP Pavilion laptop shouldn’t be overlooked if you need a new laptop.


HONOR MagicBook 14

HONOR MagicBook 14 - 14 Inch Laptop w/ FullView 1080P Screen, All-Day Battery, 65 W Fast Charger, Fingerprint Login & Recessed Camera (AMD Ryzen 5, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Windows 10 Home) Mystic Silver

Operating System: Windows | Screen size: 14 inch | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 256GB SSD | Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 | Average Battery Life: 7.5 hours

You don’t need to spend a whole lot on a laptop to get one that can replace your current desktop. This laptop uses an AMD Ryzen 5 processor, which is the equivalent to an Intel core i5 processor.

This isn’t a high performance laptop by any means, but it has a full HD display which is anti glare, and looks pretty good too. Considering its low price, it has a fairly long battery life too. This comes in very useful if you’re going to be working long hours and need a laptop that you can rely on.

Now, if you were to look at a laptop like this to replace your desktop, then you’ll want to ensure that you’ve got enough storage space. You could consider getting an external hard drive for this purpose, which would definitely give you a lot more space, like you’re used to with your computer.

But overall, this is one of the cheaper laptops on the market. And whilst it doesn’t hold up anything in terms of quality compared to a Macbook, it’s still a good laptop and could work as a desktop replacement. It doesn’t have the best build quality, but it’s worth its cost.

Pros

A very quick and nifty laptop to use.
Very good for all your entry level tasks.
Starts up very quickly even when turned off.

Cons

Can suffer with lag on occasion with high CPU usage.
Camera is in the worst position possible.

Verdict: You may not have heard of this brand, but don’t ignore them if you’re looking for value.


Questions about Replacing Your Desktop with a Laptop

Can a laptop be as powerful as a desktop?

In most cases, if we compare the average laptop to the average desktop, then the desktop is going to be more powerful. It will likely have more powerful internal parts, like its processor. However, nowadays you can purchase laptops that are at least on par with desktops, and this is only going to increase down the years, as we’re able to pack more power into smaller devices.

Can I replace CPU on laptop?

One of the first things people look at doing to replicate the power of their desktop with a laptop is changing the processor. Upgrading your laptop’s processor can be a quick way to improve its performance. This isn’t available for all laptops, as many of them have the motherboard soldered to the laptop (like all Macbooks, for example). But for many Windows laptops, it’s possible for you to upgrade the CPU, which might give you a performance closer to your desktops.

Can a gaming laptop replace a desktop?

If you’re a pro or wannabe pro gamer, the a gaming laptop is not going to be able to replicate the performance of your desktop computer – this is just a fact. They’re currently not able to provide as much power as the more premium desktop options out there for gamers. For more casual gamers, a gaming laptop can provide a great experience.

Do laptops last as long as desktops?

Generally, laptops don’t last as long as desktops, though their lifespan is getting better and better each year. Whilst a good laptop might last you 4 or 5 years, a desktop can last a lot longer than this.

What is better laptop or desktop?

In an ideal world, we’d be able to use the power of a desktop in a laptop, but currently that’s not possible for the more powerful desktops out there. Laptops beat desktops in one key area – convenience, or portability. The likelihood is you already know whether you’d benefit from switching over to a laptop instead of using a desktop.

Conclusion

If you’re ready to take the plunge and switch from using a desktop to using a laptop instead, then here are some of the best laptops for you to consider. Though not everyone will want to make the change, for many it just makes sense to do so, as laptops can be used anywhere at your convenience.

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About Jon

Hey, I'm Jon. I'm an engineer by trade, so it makes sense that I'm obsessed with anything technology related! On the weekends, you can find me playing around with my computers or fixing something around the house. Feel free to leave a comment if you want to get in touch.

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