Best Ultra HD Laptops for Work and Gaming

Review & Comparison, Last Update September 12, 2024
Do you think conventional laptops provide poor picture quality? If so, consider getting an Ultra HD laptop boasting a stunning 4K-resolution display! Ultra HD laptops combine the mobility of ordinary laptops and the state-of-the-art 4K display. Read our review and make your pick! ...Read more ...Read less
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BEST 2024
PROS
CONS
OUR VERDICT
DISPLAY
VIDEO CARD
CPU
RAM
STORAGE SPACE
BATTERY LIFE
WARRANTY
 
PROS

Inside, a 1 TB Teton Glacier SSD is installed: there is enough space on it to install applications and store important projects. The Intel Optane technology caches frequently used data / apps in superfast memory so those files open faster.

CONS

Relatively low battery life.

OUR VERDICT

The MSI P65 Creator is one of the few laptops designed specifically for Video Editing, 3D Animation, Photography and Graphic Design: the amazing computing power was achieved with the GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card with 6 GB GDDR6 memory.

detailed parameters
DISPLAY

15.6", 4K Ultra HD (3840x2160)

VIDEO CARD

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-9750H (Up to 4.5 GHz)

RAM: 32 GB

Storage: 1 TB SSD

Graphics card: NVidia GeForce RTX 2060 (6 GB)

CPU

Windows 10 Pro

RAM

Up to 8 hours

STORAGE SPACE

1 x HDMI, 3 x USB Type-A, 1 x USB Type-C, 1 x LAN-port, Thunderbolt, Mic-in and Headphones-out jacks

BATTERY LIFE

15.08" x 10.24" x 0.69"

4.19 lbs

WARRANTY

1 year

PROS

From one full charge, the battery can work up to 13 hours - an impressive indicator for a laptop with a screen diagonal of 15.6 inches. As a result, you won’t need to look for a power outlet for long trips and long conferences.

CONS

Some users complain of loud fan noise.

OUR VERDICT

If your activity is related to creating presentations, as well as working with graphic documents, we recommend purchasing this laptop from HP: thanks to the touch screen with a stylus and 360° flip-and-fold design, it will be much easier to bring creative ideas to life.

detailed parameters
DISPLAY

15.6", 4K Ultra HD (3840x2160), Touchscreen

VIDEO CARD

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-10510U (Up to 4.9 GHz)

RAM: 16 GB

Storage: 512 GB SSD

Graphics card: NVidia GeForce MX250 (2 GB)

CPU

Windows 10 Home

RAM

Up to 13 hours

STORAGE SPACE

1 x HDMI, 1 x USB Type-A, 1 x USB Type-C, Thunderbolt / DisplayPort combo, Mic and Headphones combo jack

BATTERY LIFE

14.22" x 9.84" x 0.76"

4.79 lbs

WARRANTY

1 year

PROS

Instead of the traditional touchpad, this system uses a 5.65 "ScreenPad ™ - an interactive touchscreen trackpad that facilitates navigation on Windows and applications: you can display shortcuts to frequently used programs on it, use it for handwritten notes and much more.

CONS

Built-in WiFi has poor range.

OUR VERDICT

The ASUS ZenBook is equipped with the Latest 10th generation Intel Core i7-10510U Quad Core Processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q discrete graphics, so it can easily cope with any task, from watching movies to ending with the launch of the latest games.

detailed parameters
DISPLAY

15.6", 4K Ultra HD (3840x2160)

5.65" interactive touchscreen trackpad

VIDEO CARD

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-10510U (Up to 4.9 GHz)

RAM: 16 GB

Storage: 512 GB SSD

Graphics card: NVidia GeForce GTX 1650 (4 GB)

CPU

Windows 10 Home

RAM

Up to 12 hours

STORAGE SPACE

1 x HDMI, 2 x USB Type-A, 1 x USB Type-C, SD-card slot, Mic and Headphones combo jack

BATTERY LIFE

13.9" x 8.7" x 0.7"

3.6 lbs

WARRANTY

1 year

PROS

The screen boasts 178° wide-viewing angles, so you can comfortably look at it from any angle without color distortion or loss of contrast. The Corning Gorilla Glass NBT makes the screen nearly indestructible, as it reliably protects it from scratches and cracks.

CONS

It is very difficult to make smooth movements on the touchpad.

OUR VERDICT

The HP ENVY 13.3" Thin Laptop is ideal for people who care about privacy and information security: Thanks to the Fingerprint reader with patented 3D biometric technology and the Webcam KillSwitch™ Feature, your data will not fall into the hands of attackers.

detailed parameters
DISPLAY

13.3", 4K Ultra HD (3840x2160), Touchscreen

VIDEO CARD

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-8565U (Up to 4.6 GHz)

RAM: 16 GB

Storage: 512 GB SSD

Graphics card: NVidia GeForce MX250 (2 GB)

CPU

Windows 10 Home

RAM

Up to 12 hours and 45 minutes

STORAGE SPACE

2 x USB Type-A, 1 x USB Type-C, microSD-card slot, Mic and Headphones combo jack

BATTERY LIFE

12.08" x 8.32" x 0.57"

2.82 lbs

WARRANTY

1 year

PROS

The LED-screen with 100% sRGB color and a 1500: 1 contrast ratio makes colors as vibrant and realistic as possible when watching movies, as well as when processing photos. Stereo speakers with Waves MaxxAudio® Pro (2 x 1 W) will delight you with the highest sound quality.

CONS

There are no USB Type-A ports.

OUR VERDICT

The Dell XPS InfinityEdge Touch Laptop is second to none when it comes to compactness: despite having a screen diagonal of 13.3 inches, the laptop measures just 11.9 "x 7.8" x 0.5" and weighs around 2.8 lbs. It’s always at your fingertips to reply to an important email at any time or chat via Skype.

detailed parameters
DISPLAY

13.3", 4K Ultra HD (3840x2160), Touchscreen

VIDEO CARD

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-10710U (Up to 4.7 GHz)

RAM: 16 GB

Storage: 512 GB SSD

Graphics card: Intel UHD Graphics

CPU

Windows 10 Home

RAM

Up to 15 hours

STORAGE SPACE

2 x USB Type-C, Thunderbolt / DisplayPort combo, microSD-card slot, Mic and Headphones combo jack

BATTERY LIFE

11.9" x 7.8" x 0.5"

2.8 lbs

WARRANTY

1 year

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MSI P65 Creator-1084

Portable Powerhouse

High-end laptops often come with only some high-end specs, while still trying to retain some low-end ones in order to cut down on the price. This is often frustrating for those who need a powerful laptop for serious work that requires a high-end system, such as 3D modelers or professional video editors, who will often need as much memory and storage space as possible. Thankfully, for those who need a high-powered laptop right out of the gate, the MSI P65 15.6" 4K UHD Laptop certain won't disappoint, as it features high-end specs in all areas that count.

First off, this is far from being a budget laptop. This system comes equipped with a top-of-the line 6 core Intel Core i7-9750H processor running at up to 4.5 GHz, giving you an amazing amount of processing power for such a thin laptop. To complement the speedy processor, this laptop has been fitted with a whopping 32 GB of RAM, which is plenty of memory to allow for working with extremely large files and plenty of multitasking, as well as a capacious 1 TB Teton Glacier SSD equipped with Intel Optane memory, giving you lightning-fast storage while still allowing for plenty of storage space for storing large files and programs. In short, the basic specs here are nearly as high as you'll find on any laptop at the moment.

Review of MSI P65 Creator-1084 15.6" 4K UHD Laptop (Intel Core i7-9750H, GeForce RTX 2060, 32GB DDR4, 1TB SSD)

Crystal Clear Video

Although the top-end specs listed above are certainly impressive, where this system really shines is in its power high-resolution display. The 15.6" 4K Ultra HD display gives you amazing image quality at its native resolution of 3840x2160, making this laptop perfect for those who need to work with 4K video or high-resolution 3D rendering. Speaking of the 3D rendering, this is aided greatly by the built-in NVIdia GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card with 6 GB of video memory, giving this laptop enough rendering power to match that of even high-end desktop workstations.

Keeping up with the high-end specs, this system also features plenty of ports for connecting additional devices as needed. Three USB Type-A ports are included that allow for connecting a wide variety of devices, including external hard drives, and a USB Type-C port is also included for those who have devices using this new port. There is even a Thunderbolt port included, which is not often seen on Windows-based laptops. Along with the high-quality backlit keyboard and fingerprint and facial login technology, this laptop from MSI gives you all of the latest technology in an extremely powerful system that is perfect for any type of content creator.

MSI P65 Creator-1084 15.6" 4K UHD Laptop (Intel Core i7-9750H, GeForce RTX 2060, 32GB DDR4, 1TB SSD) in the use

Additional Info

    Manufacturer

Last updated price $2,499.00
Stock In stock
ASIN B07TN4C5VZ

What customers say about this product

Processor

Performance is superb, great processor.

Features

This 4K model seems to get 6-7 hours battery life with light use, which I think is very good given the weight, specs, and screen.

Memory

It is fast! Right from booting up, to opening apps, it is really snappy.

Connectivity

Absolutely love the multiple USB ports its a lifesaver when bouncing around different projects.
 

HP Spectre x360

Great Office 2-in-1 Laptop

One of the more recent trends with laptops has been to make them into 2-in-1 laptop/tablet hybrid systems. While these have certainly proven to many to be useful, they are often lacking in having powerful hardware, due to the thin nature of such devices. Those who want a powerful laptop that can suitably double as a tablet are often left without any options. If you find yourself looking for the same, though, then you should take a good look at the HP Spectre x360 15.6" 4K Ultra HD Touchscreen 2-in-1 Laptop. This system comes packed with powerful hardware that makes it quite competitive with most other high-end laptops while still having the proper form factor to double as a tablet.

Powering this system is the quad-core Intel Core i7-10510U running at up to a blazing fast 4.9 GHz, giving you one of the most powerful laptop processors available. Of course, the processor isn't the only impressive thing about this laptop's specs. With the 16 GB of RAM and the 512 GB SSD, you get plenty of power to perform almost any kind of work. What's more, the crystal-clear 4K 15.6" display is powered by an NVidia GeForce MX250 video card with 2 GB of RAM, letting you either power your way through most tasks or even play games if you so desire.

Review of HP Spectre x360 15.6" 4K Ultra HD Touchscreen 2-in-1 Laptop (Intel Quad-Core i7 10510U, GeForce MX250, 16GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe SSD + 32GB Optane)

Outstanding Battery Life

Despite the impressive specs above, what really makes this system stand out from the pack is in its battery life. Somehow, HP has managed to engineer this system to run for up to 13 hours on a full charge, far outpacing not just most laptops but also many tablets as well. The value that this long battery life brings to users simply can't be understated, as this allows for using the laptop through long conferences or trips without having to search for a power outlet, as well as not providing any interruptions to your work by needing to be shut down or put to sleep.

As mentioned before, this system works just as well in tablet mode as it does in laptop mode. The 15.6-inch screen is fully touch-capable, and is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass NBT panel, which makes it extra durable and highly resistant to scratches or cracks. Despite the thin design, this laptop is also not lacking in ports, including 2 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C with Thunderbolt 3 as well as a USB 3.1 Type-A, so you can connect plenty of external drives or other devices as you need. Overall, this 2-in-1 laptop will surprise everyone with its amazing combination of high powered operation, a high-resolution screen, and outstanding battery life.

HP Spectre x360 15.6" 4K Ultra HD Touchscreen 2-in-1 Laptop (Intel Quad-Core i7 10510U, GeForce MX250, 16GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe SSD + 32GB Optane) in the use

Additional Info

    Manufacturer

Last updated price $1,999.95
Stock In stock
ASIN B081H49GZC

 

ASUS ZenBook 15

Great Design and Hardware

ASUS is one of the most well-respected laptop makers in recent years, as they have been able to put together some great laptops, coupling a sleek, slim design with powerful hardware. That reputation is carried forward by the ASUS ZenBook 15 15.6” UHD 4K NanoEdge Display Laptop, giving users the benefit of powerful hardware, a 4K screen, and an excellent design that is slim and lightweight enough to meet the needs of those who need an ultra-portable system. And that's not to mention it's unique ScreenPad, which gives users a whole new way to interface with their system.

To start with, most users should have no complaints about the power of this system. Featuring the Intel Core i7-10510U processor, users are getting a top-of-the-line mobile processor that easily competes with most high-end desktop processors. The 16 GB of RAM will also be welcomed by many, giving users plenty of room for multitasking or working with large files. The 512 GB SSD gives plenty of storage, and the built-in GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card with 4 MB of memory is one of the more powerful ones we've seen in a laptop, so whether users need high-end graphics for work or for gaming, this laptop will deliver plenty of power.

Review of ASUS ZenBook 15 15.6” UHD 4K NanoEdge Display Laptop (Intel Core i7-10510U, GeForce GTX 1650, 16GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe SSD)

Unique ScreenPad Interface

As we mentioned earlier, this system has a unique method of input that replaces the standard trackpad found on almost every other laptop out there. In place of where the trackpad is usually situated, this laptop has the ScreenPad interface, which is a 5.65-inch interactive touchscreen that gives users a whole new level of control over their system. What's great about this interface over the usual trackpad is that it provides plenty of customization in how you work on your system, letting you adjust everything from the standard trackpad-like controls to launching specific applications with a simple touch. Those who like the typical touchscreen controls found on many smartphones or tablets will certainly appreciate this feature.

Just about every other detail of this system speaks to the well-engineered design that this laptop is known for. The extremely thin bezel gives users maximum screen real estate while keeping the footprint of the system low, maximizing both its power and its portability. The system also has built-in support for Amazon Alexa, giving you full voice control over a huge variety of different tasks. At the end of the day, this laptop shines above many others with its advanced capabilities and will be a great choice for anyone who wants the next step in laptop technology.

ASUS ZenBook 15 15.6” UHD 4K NanoEdge Display Laptop (Intel Core i7-10510U, GeForce GTX 1650, 16GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe SSD) in the use

Additional Info

    Manufacturer

Last updated price $1,103.51
Stock In stock
ASIN B0869JVMLY

 

HP ENVY (13-aq0044nr)

Small 4K Screen

One of the unfortunate realities of laptops is that their portability and lightness are often tied directly to the size of the screen. Namely, the larger the screen is, the less portable the system truly is. On top of that, most laptops have to make some serious compromises in order to fit either the power requirements of the user or the portability, but the biggest one often seen is with the quality of the screen. That is why the HP ENVY 13.3" 4K UHD Touchscreen Laptop is such a notable product. This laptop manages to cram a full 4K UHD display into 13.3 inches of screen, letting the computer remain truly portable for those who require portability above all else.

Thankfully, this laptop doesn't have to make many compromises with its hardware. With the Intel Core i7-8565U processor, users are getting a quite capable machine that performs exceptionally well. Coupled with the 16 GB of RAM and the 512 GB SSD, there also aren't any compromises in regard to the main capabilities of the computer. Users can run plenty of programs at once while having the processing power that they need to work on large video files, and its 3D rendering capabilities are boosted by the built-in NVIDIA GeForce MX250 Graphics.

Review of HP ENVY (13-aq0044nr) 13.3" 4K UHD Touchscreen Laptop (Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250, 16GB DDR4, 512GB SSD)

Exceptional Security

Speaking more of the screen, there definitely isn't much to complain about, despite the smaller screen size when compared to the other systems reviewed here. This 4K screen includes great contrast and brightness while also providing a wide 178-degree viewing angle, letting users get the full color reproduction and image accuracy when viewed from any angle. The WLED display is also protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass NBT, giving the screen a high level of durability that far exceeds what is found on most other laptops. To sum it up, you'll be hard-pressed to find another 13.3-inch screen laptop that can compete with this one.

Another great feature of this laptop is the high level of security that it provides for its users. The system is equipped with a Fingerprint reader with patented 3D biometric technology, and also includes a Webcam KillSwitch feature, which both combine to help keep this laptop well-protected against those who may want access to your data. The exceptional battery life is also worth a mention, as it gives users more than 12 hours of mixed use on a single charge, making it a perfect choice for use during long plane trips. As it stands, users who want an ultra-portable laptop with a small-sized high-definition display can do no wrong by choosing this model.

HP ENVY (13-aq0044nr) 13.3" 4K UHD Touchscreen Laptop (Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA GeForce MX250, 16GB DDR4, 512GB SSD) in the use

Additional Info

    Manufacturer

Last updated price $1,198.63
Stock In stock
ASIN B07PPDFFG9

 

Dell XPS 13 7390

Compact and Light

There is much to be said for having a powerful laptop that is both compact and powerful. Both aspects are a real need for laptops, with it being rare when a laptop doesn't have to compromise on one aspect or the other. The Dell XPS 13 7390 Laptop is another great example of a powerful laptop with a high-resolution 13.3-inch 4K screen that has few to no compromises in its design. First off, the compact size and weight of this laptop give many much less powerful ultra-portables a run for their money with its dimensions, with the 13.3-inch screen giving the system a quite small footprint with a weight of only 2.8 pounds, making for a perfect option for travelers who need to take a laptop with them everywhere.

While this system definitely will meet the size requirements for being truly portable, it still contains quite powerful hardware that makes it a good desktop replacement. The ultra-powerful Intel Core i7-10710U processor that runs at up to 4.7 GHz definitely stands up to the best of the other systems reviewed here, and the 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB SSD should be more than sufficient for any power user who needs to take advantage of higher-end hardware for serious work. As this system doesn't use discrete graphics, though, it may not be suitable for more advanced 3D rendering or games.

Review of Dell XPS 13 7390 Laptop 13.3" 4K UHD InfinityEdge Touchscreen Laptop (Intel Core i7-10710U, Intel UHD Graphics, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)

Beautiful Screen

As great as the underlying hardware is in this highly portable laptop, the star of the show is still the screen. The 13.3-inch 4K Ultra HD display has an extremely sharp picture that rivals that of any other laptop reviewed here. The LED-backlit panel with 100% sRGB color and a 1500: 1 contrast ratio makes colors as vibrant and realistic as possible when watching movies, as well as when processing photos, so you can count on a bright picture and solid color reproduction when performing any tasks.

Not to be left out here, this laptop also features speakers that are quite good for a portable system. The Waves MaxxAudio Pro speakers are 1 W each, giving you powerful and realistic sound whenever listening to any kind of audio, which is often a rarity when dealing with any laptop, so this should come as a pleasant surprise to any user.

The rest of the hardware here is also pretty impressive, with a wide array of ports providing ample connectivity options and a fingerprint reader included for extra security, with the only small complaint being about the lack of USB Type-A ports. Regardless, for anyone requiring a truly compact laptop with a 4K screen, this highly impressive model from Dell will meet most anyone's needs.

Dell XPS 13 7390 Laptop 13.3" 4K UHD InfinityEdge Touchscreen Laptop (Intel Core i7-10710U, Intel UHD Graphics, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) in the use

Additional Info

User Manual     Manufacturer

Last updated price $1,358.72
Stock In stock
ASIN B07XD6BJKQ

 

What Is an Ultra HD Laptop?

To begin with, let's see what an Ultra HD laptop is and what its advantages are. In fact, these are ordinary laptops the main distinctive feature of which is the screen, capable of supporting the stunning resolution of 3840 × 2160 pixels (or the capability of streaming videos to an external screen at this resolution). Owing to this high-resolution display, a user gets a very clear and highly detailed picture and, as a rule, rich colors with good shade rendition. The laptop display with UHD (4K) resolution makes this UHD laptop a perfect pick for those for whom every detail of the image and accurate color reproduction are of great importance. If your work is connected with design and layout development, if you need to work in graphic editors, or if you just like playing modern and demanding games - an UltraHD laptop will be your reliable assistant. Our informative review of five popular 4K notebook models will help you pick the one that suits your needs.

If you are fond of computer games, we recommend you to direct attention to gaming laptops and gaming PCs reviews.

What Features to Compare

Performance

Now when you know what an Ultra HD laptop is, it is high time to consider the options, playing a key role in the choice of a particular 4K laptop. The first important feature of an UltraHD notebook is its performance. As the overall performance is a kind of an aggregate index, to which several pieces of hardware contribute, we will briefly list them. The first one is a central processing unit or a CPU. A powerful modern CPU is required for an effective operation of a UHD laptop with multiple demanding applications running simultaneously (multi-tasking). Modern CPUs are equipped with several cores (from 2 to 8), which operate at a certain clock frequency (from 2 to 4 GHz). The higher the number of cores and their frequency, the higher the performance of the processor. The second key aspect is a UHD laptop's random access memory or RAM. When considering the RAM of a 4K laptop, you need to pay attention to the RAM capacity (measured in GB) - the more the better. One should also consider the speed of data transfer between the CPU and RAM, which depends on the RAM frequency/bus type (the higher the bus frequency is, the bigger the data transfer rate will be). That is why a new generation DDR4 RAM has a higher data transfer rate than DDR3 RAM at the same operating frequency. The third piece of hardware making a major contribution to a laptop's performance is the GPU, also called a video card (streams the image to the notebook display or an external display). Modern graphics cards provide video streaming at resolutions up to 3840x2160 pixels and support many features. Thus, if you like playing video games or using photo and video editing software, you should choose a more performing video card with a high video memory capacity (2 GB and higher).

Display and Image Quality

The next issue you should pay attention to is the display and image quality. The convenience of working with a high-resolution laptop display depends on its size, which should be selected based on your own preferences (as a rule, the bigger the screen is, the more convenient it is to work with it). Therefore, if you are a gamer or if you work with texts, you should choose a bigger screen - 17 inches and more. While for performing some routine tasks on an Ultra HD notebook, a 15.6-inch display is enough. In addition, you can connect your laptop to an external screen (of large size and resolution), even if laptop's own screen does not support 4K resolution. However, the image quality is determined not only and not so much by its resolution but primarily by the type of its panel. For example, an IPS panel provides much better color reproduction and wider viewing angles than a TN panel, for example.

Battery and Sound

Many users of UHD laptops travel a lot (otherwise, they'd have bought PCs with Ultra HD monitors instead of notebooks). Very often, it's impossible to connect a laptop to a power outlet, so battery capacity really matters. Pay attention to the battery life every Ultra HD laptop provides - find out how long every 4K notebook can operate autonomously. Also, modern UHD laptops boast excellent sound quality. Thanks to high-end speakers and audio technologies, it's possible to produce the most informative, clear and loud sound.

Design

Finally, we have come to the last key point in selecting a UHD laptop - the design. The appearance of the device largely predetermines its target group (businessmen, gamers, etc.). However, the design also determines the number of available ports and their location, the materials the casing is made of (aluminum, plastic, etc.), and the screen coating (matte or gloss). These features determine rigidity and durability of an Ultra HD laptop.

How to:

Sources:

1. Matt Smith 4K may make sense on TVs, but what about your next PC? Digital Trends. January 26, 2014.

2. Laptop Buying Guide, Best Buy.

3. Jeff Dunn Here’s everything you should consider before buying a new laptop, Business Insider. January 11, 2016.

4. Dan Ackerman How to buy a laptop in 2017, CNET. February 14, 2017.

5. Laptop Buying Guide, Abt Electronics.

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