© Future null

Warning: Laptops with 128GB RAM will not appeal to everyone for two reasons. They cost a lot and you won’t find them in thin-and-light laptops; none of them have screens smaller than 15.6-inches. 

Instead, they are almost exclusively found in so-called mobile workstations (although there’s one gaming laptop on this list) and are often paired with the most powerful processors on the market (surprisingly though, all of them are Intel Core based, not AMD Ryzen).

We have lined up all the laptops that are currently on sale and come with 128GB of RAM in 2023, usually arranged in four 32GB DDR4 or DDR5 SODIMM. The list only includes Windows laptops; as at the time of writing, Apple’s top of the range laptop, the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) maxes out at 96GB. All of them are either 11th, 12th or 13th generation laptops.

• If you think we missed out on any laptops or if any of the notebooks below are no longer on sale or out of stock, please let me know on desire.athow@futurenet.com

Who would use 128GB RAM in a laptop?

128GB of RAM is definitely overkill for the overwhelming majority of users; there’s simply no need for that amount of memory in a business laptop. 

However, there is  a section of laptop users that will benefit from it. Scientists, creative professionals, and students are some users that might require laptops with 128GB of RAM; notebooks that usually go by the name of mobile workstations, as there are hundreds of applications that require such a large amount of memory.

Are there laptops with more than 128GB of RAM?

Right now, there are no laptops that can house more than 128GB of RAM; at least not “traditional” laptops. 

That’s because at the time of writing, there are no DDR5 memory modules (so called SODIMM) with 64GB capacities, the current ceiling being 32GB. Mobile supercomputers or portable servers, on the other hand,  are essentially desktop replacement/transportable computers with a screen and an input peripheral attached, and can offer up to 2TB of RAM (yes, RAM, not HDD). 

You could technically attach a portable power station to them. Currently, Panasonic, Fujitsu, Dynabook, Clevo, Gigabyte, Microsoft, Razer, Acer and LG do not have laptops that can take 128GB of RAM.

At just under $2,770, the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 is your cheapest route to get a laptop with 128GB RAM and even its base configuration should be powerful enough for most resource-intensive applications. 

You still get a 12th generation Core i5 CPU (12600HX with four performance cores and eight efficient cores), a 256GB PCI-E NVMe SSD with OPAL/SED features and TLC (rather than QLC) technology. 

Going from the standard 8GB of RAM (DDR5) to 128GB adds a reasonable 43% to the price (ignore the inflated sticker price quoted by Lenovo). That's $7 per GB or $113 per 16GB module which is about twice the standard market rate; you will pay a huge premium for the four 32GB modules. Note that the P16 - which doesn’t support Xeon CPU - supports ECC memory which adds another $500 to the price of the laptop; generally upgrades on a BTO (build to order) do cost more and there’s no option to remove Windows as the system OS.

Given its target audience and its ThinkPad pedigree, it comes as no surprise that the P16 features a webcam privacy shutter, a fingerprint scanner and self-healing BIOS and much more. And you can add up to a five-year warranty with next business day onsite support (in select territories).

The ZBook Fury 17 G8 is the only one on this list that comes with a Xeon processor from Intel’s server/workstation CPU range. 

What shocked us first and foremost is the lead time; custom built laptops from that range will ship in May 2023 (at the time of writing), that’s a lead time of three months, which isn’t great if you want your laptop ASAP. Since it still uses 11th generation processors from Intel, there’s no DDR5, only DDR4. Likewise, there’s only Wi-Fi 6 rather than Wi-Fi 6e and the fastest GPU available is the Nvidia Quadro RTX A5000 rather than the A5500. 

The ZBook Fury 17 G8 supports four SSD (up to 8TB total capacity) and the base unit comes with a free 2TB secondary hard disk drive. We liked the fact that you can swap Windows 11 Pro for Ubuntu and save around $200 and users can even ask HP to configure their rig for Data Science or Virtual Reality - although it’s a shame that you have to pay extra to get a fingerprint reader. 

HP also offers the more latest ZBook Fury 16 G9 and the ZBook Fury 15 G8 should you be looking for other alternatives. The former caught my attention as it is faster, has a 5-megapixel webcam and - despite its smaller form factor - can accommodate up to four SSDs.

Dell has been making workstations for more than a quarter of a century, so it knows a thing or two about what makes a good device. 

The 7670 sits at the very top of Dell’s product line and competes directly with Lenovo and HP in the brand-new vertical of non-Xeon, 16-inch mobile workstations. It is more expensive than the competition, thanks partly to the adoption of a new technology called CAMM which stands for Compression Attached Memory Module. This is essentially a new proprietary memory technology that reduces the size of memory modules and makes any future upgrade likely to be expensive.

In addition, the 128GB module runs at a lower memory clock speed (3.6GHz) compared to 5.6GHz for the Titan GT77HX. Compared to the competition, it can handle four SSDs and can do multiple RAID versions (down to RAID 10) but these upgrades won’t come cheap; expect to pay more than $8,000 for 16TB. 

In comparison, 16TB worth of PCIe NVMe SSD in retail costs around $1,000. You can also add a 5G Qualcomm modem and we liked the fact that Dell delivers 36 months onsite warranty by default. Dell also stocks the Precision 7670 that comes with a smaller 16-inch display and a slightly lower price tag and space for only 3 SSDs.

If you plan to run memory-intensive applications out and about in a rugged environment, then the Getac X600 could fit the bill - although at more than $11,400, there won’t be many of us lining up to buy it: this is clearly targeting a specific niche, namely professionals working in challenging industries such as defense, manufacturing and oil & gas. 

This rugged mobile workstation weighs only 4.41Kg and is both MIL-STD-810H and IP66 certified with vibration and 120cm drop resistance. It is based on an 11th generation Intel Core though, because these platforms require a bit more time for certification and testing; so no DDR5 here; only 128GB DDR4. It does come with a bewildering array of connectors (including VGA and two 2.5Gb Ethernet connectors) and two hot-swappable 74.5WHr batteries. 

Also on the list is a 15.6-inch 1,000 nits full HD display that is bright enough to be read in bright sunlight and three (yes three) 1TB SSDs that should be configurable in RAID-5 mode (for extra redundancy). Last but not least, Getac bundles a 3-year accidental warranty, which is what we’d expect on such a costly piece of equipment. There’s also no option for an embedded 4G/5G modem.

If only the very best will do, then nothing beats the MSI Titan GT77HX right now. This has to be the  fastest laptop on the market right now, and yes, while you pay a premium for it, (more than $5,100 at the time of writing) it is the current performance champion. 

What do you get for your money? The fastest commercially-available Intel mobile CPU and the fastest laptop GPU on the market: marrying the Core i9-13980HX and the Nvidia Geforce RTX 4090 can only produce a lot of high resolution FPS when combined together. And it is not just about gaming as content creators that require a lot of RAM will also find their joy with this gaming laptop/mobile workstation. 

The CPU has 24 cores and can ramp up to 5.6GHz; the GPU has 16GB GDDR6 and the memory modules are DDR5 ones clocked at 5.6GHz. It has three SSD slots for up to 24TB storage but you won’t be able to enable RAID (either 0, 1 or 5), a real shame. As for the screen, MSI chose a 17.4-inch 4K model with a 144Hz refresh rate; great but just remember that it adds to the weight. Note that you can only pre-order it (ETA is end of February 2023). 

Surprisingly, it comes with Windows 11 Pro, rather than Windows 11 Home, an acknowledgment perhaps that professionals may be the only ones with pockets deep enough to buy it. MSI has another laptop, the CreatorPro X17 aimed at the Creative industry that is more expensive, offering up to four SSD slots as well as an Nvidia Quadro RTX A3000 GPU but with a 12th generation Intel Core i7 instead.

The HP Envy 16 is a laptop aimed at creators who want a more affordable alternative to other premium models. While this laptop may seem like just another workhorse offering from HP, it’s actually a machine you can have a little fun with. With a stunning 16-inch, 16:10 4K display with touch capabilities, high power 12th Gen Intel H-series CPUs, a discrete RTX GPU option, up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and up to two terabytes of storage space, there is very little this laptop won’t be able to handle.

Find your perfect model and price point

The HP Envy 16 comes with a variety of different configuration options. The base model starts at $1,399.99 and includes the Intel Core i5-12500H CPU, 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, 512 GB of storage space, and Windows 11 Home as standard. HP sent us its top-spec model, which has a 16-inch, 4K OLED display with touchscreen capabilities, an Intel Core i9-12900H processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and 2 TB of storage. It also ships with Windows 11 Pro and comes in at $2,799.99.

Depending on your budget, you can add and remove options such as the 4K OLED screen, processor type, graphics card, and storage space. But one thing I wouldn’t compromise on is the 4K OLED screen. It’s one of the standout features of this device to me, and really takes what could have been an also-ran to the next level.

A familiar look but a practical layout

HP Envy laptops tend to avoid imaginative designs, and this model is no exception. It looks just like the HP Envys of days gone by. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad-looking machine. Quite the opposite; the body is made using recycled aluminum, which gives it a premium look. Along with the shiny HP logo on the lid, this laptop also has some additional Envy branding on its hinge, just so people know for sure you’re not working on the latest MacBook.

Not that anyone would mistake this machine for a MacBook. It may be stylish, but it’s certainly not as sleek and compact. This is a big machine, measuring 14.07 x 9.91 x 0.78 inches and weighing in at just over five pounds.

The laptop is silver throughout, including on the backlit keyboard deck. It’s sleek, but there are a couple of downsides. In a certain light, the gray legends on the silver keys are impossible to see. And if you turn the keyboard light up, then they just disappear altogether. Unless you’re an awesome touch-typist, you’ll have to adjust your surrounding light. Another slightly irksome issue with the chassis is that it attracts fingerprint marks. Likewise with the touchscreen, which doesn’t use a stylus. You’ll find yourself constantly polishing out the marks with this laptop.

Spectacular looks and sound

The HP Envy 16 has one of the best displays I’ve seen on a laptop. It has the right amount of brightness, peaking at 400 nits, so you’ll be able to use it in almost all lighting situations, although bright sunshine is a struggle. In addition, it has low blue light filters, so if you’re spending a lot of time in front of your screen, keeping this function switched on will help you avoid eye strain, which can have a huge impact on your productivity.

The screen is 16 inches, and our model came with a 4K OLED panel. The 2560 x 1600 display has a speedy (for the resolution) 120Hz refresh rate, which when paired with its exceptionally quick pixel response, means a smooth experience with little monitor ghosting when playing movies or gaming.

Plus, if you use Adobe Suite, then you’ll be delighted to hear that the HP Envy 16 can handle 100% of the Adobe color gamut, allowing even the most minute detail to be seen.

Speaking of color, this machine is so vivid. I tried out the screen by watching Avengers: Endgame, and while this isn’t the brightest laptop I’ve used, I found the colors to be rich and highly accurate. The blacks were deep and inky, too, making the fine details sharp and clear to see. The only downside is that the screen does suffer a lot from glare, so if you’re planning to watch your favorite movie in the sunshine, this probably isn’t the machine to do it on.

It is a touchscreen, which I’m going to admit I didn’t use that much. I think the touchscreen on a convertible like the HP Envy x360 works better, because the computer turns into a tablet. On a regular laptop, I’m not sure there’s much need for it.

Audio-wise, this machine comes with four internal Bang & Olufsen speakers, two on either side of the keyboard and another two underneath, so the audio surrounds you. The sound is phenomenal.

I tested the speakers by listening to Bohemian Rhapsody from Queen because of its vast range. For laptop speakers, these are really impressive. The song played with a bit more bass than I’d like, but it had very clear mids and highs and didn’t sound distant or tinny at all. The speakers effortlessly picked up the dynamic changes, and volume wise, this laptop delivers; it may not be loud enough to provide the entertainment at a party but if you want to listen to some music whilst you work or you’re watching a movie on Netflix, then it’s plenty loud.

The tonal balance was also perfect, but there is also built-in Bang & Olufsen audio control software that allows you to customize the audio experience by tweaking everything from EQ settings to noise cancellation. It has three pre-set options, including music, movie, and voice, and I’d fully recommend selecting the movie option when you’re streaming a movie, as I found the dialogue came across a lot clearer and it reduced the level of the background music (which can often be distracting). When you’re in the app, you can manually adjust the bass, treble and dialog clarity. But another really cool feature with this app is the option to “speaker swap,” which will adjust the internal speakers depending on the orientation of the screen. Whilst this is really more of a feature for 2-in-1 machines, if you do for some reason have your screen on the side, you won’t lose out on sound quality.

Plenty of ports

Coming from using a 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro, the number of ports on the HP Envy 16 is a treat. There is an excellent selection: on the right-hand side, you will find two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a USB-A port, HDMI 2.1, and the power jack. On the left is another USB Type-A port, with a latch that needs to be pulled down before inserting anything (this seems a bizarre design choice given the lack of a latch on the other side), a 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD card reader. There are plenty of options that’ll keep creators happy.

Using the Keyboard

Going back to the keyboard, it isn’t all bad. This is a very comfortable keyboard to use. The keys are well-spaced, meaning there’s plenty of room when typing, so if you’re using this machine for some hardcore drafting, you won’t get a cramp in your fingers. There’s no number pad, which is surprising given the keyboard size, but this is a bonus as the keys are perfectly centered under the display, with two of the four speakers on either side.

Navigating around the keyboard is also incredibly easy, thanks to the superb layout. The top row of function keys includes the usual volume up and down buttons, F1 keys, screen brightness controls, the on/off button for the keyboard backlight, plus a dedicated emoji key. This top row also includes buttons to kill the webcam and microphone, which is a huge positive for anyone who has to endure daily Zoom meetings. These buttons have small LED lights so you’ll know if they’re turned off, and you won’t have to go through 2020’s greatest hit–“we think you’re on mute.”

The touchpad is also impressive. Its 4.0 x 3.1 inches and has plenty of space to use the Windows 11 gestures. I found that scrolling, zooming and swiping all worked really well, without any lag.

A webcam that’ll make you feel like you’re in the office

The HP Envy 16 doesn’t have many stand out features outside of its performance, but the webcam deserves a special mention. If you’ve been working from home for the last few years, you’ll know how bad most laptop webcams are. While some laptops boast about having a 1080p resolution and others still sport an outdated 720p one, the HP Envy 16 blows most of them out of the water.

It has a 5MP IR camera (so you can use Windows Hello with it) with a camera shutter, temporal noise reduction, and integrated dual array digital microphones. It also has HP True Vision. If you’re not familiar with True Vision, it’s a technology used in HP webcams to enhance the image quality of video calls and recordings. It includes a range of features such as low-light enhancement, dynamic contrast adjustment, and noise reduction. These features work together to Excellerate the clarity and color accuracy of images captured by the webcam, even in dimly-lit environments.

Additionally, TrueVision also includes a built-in digital microphone filter which helps to reduce background noise and Excellerate audio quality. When it comes to lighting, I particularly liked the white screen effect, which saved me a lot of time trying to look semi-human in the mornings. As I mentioned earlier, you can also turn the camera and microphone off by clicking the keyboard button, making sure your privacy stays intact.

Powerful performance

The HP Envy 16 is aimed at content creators who need a workhorse of a machine but the convenience of portable productivity.

Just as a reminder, the machine I tested was equipped with a 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H CPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, RTX 3060 graphics, and a 2TB M.2 SSD. And as you can see by those specs, it’s no surprise that this laptop performs very well.

The 32GB of RAM made multitasking light work, with no lag even when I had multiple windows, applications, and videos running. It also ran power-hungry apps, including Adobe Suite, without any stutters in performance. Being able to see 100% of the Adobe color gamut makes such a difference, as it gives you access to every single detail when editing images and videos.

The HP Envy 16 model we reviewed comes with a mobile NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, with around 6GB of dedicated VRAM. While serious gamers may not get excited by this, this machine will run AAA games well, and casual gamers will be blown away by how games come to life thanks to the OLED display. Even with the 60Hz refresh rate, images were smooth and stable.

I downloaded and tested Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Far Cry 5 using the built in benchmarks on high settings. The HP Envy 16 averaged 46fps at 4K resolution in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, whilst Far Cry 5 averaged at 36fps at 4K resolution. With these settings, I found the games stuttered occasionally and the fan noise was very loud. However, just dropping the resolution quality down to 1080p, Shadow of the Tomb Raider ran at 78fps while Far Cry 5 averaged 86fps, with a huge improvement in stability and not much difference in the quality of the graphics.

Still, one thing that lets this machine down is that you’ll hear it before you see it when it’s pushed to its limits. The fans are incredibly loud, and it does get very hot. Those two issues, combined with poor battery life, mean for anything strenuous, you’ll want to keep it on a desk and plugged in.

In benchmark tests, this machine performed well across the board, with a Geekbench 5 score of 1,765 for single-core workloads and 11,667 for multi-core ones. This outperforms other laptops in its class, such as the Dell XPS 15, which scores 1,187 in single-core and 7,258 in multi-core.

And when it comes to video, the Handbrake test found that it transcoded a 4k video to 1080p in just over 6 minutes.

Our machine shipped with Windows 11 Pro, but depending on which specs you choose, yours could come with Windows 11 Home. There’s not a huge difference between the two. Still, Windows 11 Pro is a better option if you’re using this as a work machine due to the additional security features, including BitLocker, Encryption File System, Windows Information Protection, and having the ability to set the machine up without a Microsoft account.

As with all Windows laptops, you will find some bloatware on board, including McAfee security and the classic Solitaire collection. But mostly, you’ll find a handful of HP apps and the standard Windows 11 offerings.

Poor battery life

This laptop’s battery is disappointing. For a portable device, I was left feeling very underwhelmed by its performance. Official HP stats claim the battery will last 9 hours and 30 minutes, but our battery test, which involves continuous video playback with the screen set to 200 nits, showed it lasted just 6 hours and 37 minutes. Enough possibly to see you through a working day but not a great performance if you’re planning on using it whilst on the move.

There is a Command Centre app pre-installed on the machine that can help you adjust some elements to Excellerate the battery life, but nothing really will make that much of a difference. When it comes to charging, there’s a main charging point, but you can also use one of the USB-C ports to charge. Charging is quick: it took around 3 hours to fully charge.

If you’re looking for a high-performance workstation that offers exceptional audio and visuals, then you absolutely should consider the HP Envy 16. It’s a machine that will appeal to creatives, casual gamers, and even the casual user who wants something reliable to surf the web, create documents and watch video content. The 4K OLED screen is possibly the best I’ve seen on a laptop. It’s stunning, and it works well in all light situations, so it’s ideal if you’re like me and like to work outside in the summer months. The webcam is another big win. It may not be for everyone, but if you’re constantly hopping onto Zoom or Teams meetings, you’ll benefit from the better resolution and the enhanced lighting and noise reduction capabilities. The battery is a letdown, and if I’m honest, I think it’s a bit too heavy for someone who wants a laptop they can just sling in their bag and carry around with them. If you’re looking for something with similar specs but more portable, then it is worth looking at the MacBook Pro or even the HP x360, which is a superb convertible laptop that still enjoys powerful performance and stunning screen.

Apple’s MacBook Pro 14 has taken over as the best 14-inch laptop you can buy today, thanks to great performance and battery life, a spectacular display, and an elegant, functional design. It’s one of the best laptops you can buy, and it’s just been upgraded with the newer Apple M2 Pro and Max CPUs for even better performance and efficiency.

HP introduced the Dragonfly Pro at CES 2023 to take on the MacBook Pro, and it has a pretty steep hill to climb. We haven’t been able to review the laptop yet, but it marks an interesting switch for the Dragonfly to the consumer segment from the commercial market. Can HP’s newly designated 14-inch machine take on the best?

Specs

Design

HP makes great keyboards, especially in their Spectre and Dragonfly lines, and we hope this carries over to the Dragonfly Pro. If it does, we’ll see a snappy, responsive keyboard that makes fast touch typing comfortable for hours. It still won’t live up to the Magic Keyboard on the MacBook Pro 14, though, which remains the best keyboard on a laptop today. It’s not as deep as some, but its switches are precise and consistent, and typing on it is a pleasant experience. Both laptops have haptic touchpads, although Apple’s is a bit larger. We’ll have to test how HP’s version compares to the MacBook Pro 14’s Force Touch, which is today’s standard for touchpads.

One interesting aspect of the Dragonfly Pro is HP’s new 24/7 live concierge support, which is accessible using one of the four hot keys on the right side of the keyboard. There will be a fee for the service, which will put you in touch with a live technical support agent when you run into a jam. Interestingly, if you don’t sign up for the service, then that key is nonfunctional and can’t be remapped.

Performance

The Dragonfly Pro uses an AMD Ryzen 7 7736U 15-watt to 28-watt 8-core/16-thread CPU, and the two companies worked together to utilize an adaptive platform management framework that aims to adopt performance to real-world productivity workflows. It’s a low-power version of AMD’s latest Ryzen 7000 series chips, likely to provide solid productivity and limited creativity performance. Contrast that with the minimum M2 Pro in the MacBook Pro 14, which starts with a 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU and improves the performance of the already class-leading M1 Pro.

Even though it’s a brand-new MacBook Pro 14 update as this comparison is being written, we’re still willing to ensure that the minimum M2 Pro will vastly outclass the Dragonfly Pro in performance and offer even more of a lead when you upgrade to the M2 Max, which can have as many as 12 CPU cores and 38 GPU cores. The MacBook Pro 14 will be a much faster laptop for any task, whether productivity or creativity. And we feel comfortable saying that without having benchmarked either laptop.

Display

The MacBook Pro 14 enjoys an outstanding 14.2-inch 16:10 mini-LED XDR display at a 3024 x 1964 resolution and running at up to 120Hz. It has wide and accurate colors, incredible brightness, and deep contrast that rivals OLED in its inky blacks. It’s a truly spectacular display that’s great for creators and for media consumers thanks to its outstanding HDR support.

The Dragonfly Pro, surprisingly, is limited to a 14.0-inch 16:10 Full HD+ (1,920 x 1,200) IPS display at 60Hz. We haven’t tested it and so can’t attest to its quality, but HP specs put it at 400 nits of brightness — significantly less than the MacBook Pro 14’s display — and 100% sRGB, which is simply the premium display’s average specification.

Again, the MacBook Pro 14 outclasses the Dragonfly Pro. Its display is spectacular, while, if we were to guess, the Dragonfly Pro’s panel will be good but not great. And it’s not nearly as sharp as it should be given the current premium laptop standard, let alone when compared to the MacBook Pro 14.

Portability

You’ll feel both laptops in your backpack — these aren’t tiny 13-inch machines. But neither is going to weigh you down all that much, and they’re both thin enough to easily slip into a backpack. The MacBook Pro 14 is thinner, though.

The biggest difference will likely be in battery life, something we’ll have to test on both machines. But the M2 Pro and Max CPUs are even more efficient than the M1 Pro and Max, which already provide the best battery life we’ve seen in powerful laptops. We expect the MacBook Pro 14 to provide hours more longevity than the Dragonfly Pro, unless HP has pulled a rabbit out of its hat.

The Dragonfly Pro better be cheap, or it doesn’t stand a chance

With the President’s Day long weekend happening, there are some tablet and computer sales people can benefit from. But since this is a national and not an international event, there are fewer sales coordinated this weekend than in ordinary sales campaigns.

Since Samsung has just lunched their new Galaxy Book3 Pro and the S23 smartphone series, they are not focused on sales right now.

But Lenovo has sales across the board. Their best tablet deal are on the Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 and the Tab M10 Plus (Gen 3), but Lenovo also has very large discounts on select powerful laptops and desktops.

The same can be said about HP’s President’s Day Sale, though they didn’t place any of their tablets on sale this time.

Microsoft has deals on tablets though, at least on their Surface range. Most of the deals are small, but at least the choice of models on sale has widened.

Acer has placed even a few of their newer computers on sale, but none of their tablets.

Things are a little different on Amazon though, where some interesting tablet offers includes Asus ROG Flow Z13 from $1099, the 4-speaker Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 for just $139, and the smaller 8.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite for $119.

I also noticed that Amazon still has a few leftover Fire HD 8 of the previous generation. So they have put them on sale with a 50% discount, bringing the price down to $59.

The computer category that has the widest number of computers on offer from Amazon for President’s Day though are the mini PC’s. The cheap tiny computers with Windows or Chrome where you connect your own screen, keyboard, and computer peripherals.

– Jim Miller

Related Articles

We use cookies to optimise our website and our service.

The HP Fortis line of laptops are affordable notebooks for the education market that are designed for use in the classroom thanks to features like reinforced ports and corners and spill-resistant keyboards.

HP launched the line last year, and now the company is updating the HP Fortis family with two new 11.6 inch notebooks: the HP Pro x360 Fortis 11 G11 with Intel Alder Lake-N processor and Windows software options and the HP Fortis X360 11 Chromebook G3 with Intel Jasper Lake and Google’s ChromeOS.

Those are big names for small laptops, but in a nutshell both models feature 11.6 inch touchscreen displays and 360-degree hinges that allow the notebooks to be used in laptop, tablet, tent, or stand modes.

The Windows model also supports an optional pressure-sensitive pen, which can fit into a spot above the keyboard when it’s not in use. HP also offers an optional 4G LTE modem for the Windows model as well as support for an M.2 2230 PCIe SSD and HDMI and Ethernet ports.

By comparison, the HP Fortis x360 11 Chromebook G3 has fewer ports, less powerful processor options, and no pen or cellular options. But the Chromebook does have a lower starting price of just $339 (the Windows laptop starts at $479)

Both of HP’s new Fortis-branded laptops for the education market should be available this month.