The word “IT” itself defines Information technology, and there is no need to tell that you need a computer machine to work in this industry. The technology industry is heavily driven by computer machines, and if you want to be part of this industry, you need a decent computer machine. From data processing to business operations, everything comes under IT. The fact is that you can’t carry the heavy computers that you use in the offices. That is why laptops come into the picture to provide you with enhanced portability. So, we have decided to list down some of the worthy laptops for IT professionals that may efficiently help you accomplish your work targets.
Are you looking for a decent laptop being an IT professional? You are on the right track. This article will cover the top 10 best laptops for IT professionals. Altogether, we will break down the step-by-step buying guide to help you choose the ideal components that should be part of your computing machine. Not only for IT professionals, but these laptops work like a charm for other professionals, such as Teachers, Writers, Business Owners, Coding, Stock Trading, etc. These laptops can handle heavy IT tasks, including machine learning, data analysis, artificial intelligence (AI), and virtual reality (VR) tasks. Without any further delay, let’s get started!
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Understanding the Needs of IT Professionals
In the fast-paced and technology-driven world, we live in today, IT professionals play a critical role in the success of businesses, organizations, and even society as a whole. They are responsible for developing, managing, and safeguarding the technological infrastructure that underpins our daily lives. From software developers and system administrators to data analysts and cybersecurity experts, IT professionals have diverse roles and responsibilities. To fulfill these tasks efficiently and effectively, they require the right tools, with laptops being one of the most fundamental and indispensable assets.
IT professionals come in various flavors, each with their unique requirements. Let’s check out in detail:
Software Developers: These professionals focus on designing, coding, and maintaining software applications. They need laptops with powerful processors, ample RAM, and high-quality displays to facilitate smooth coding and testing processes. Professionals belonging to software development may prefer laptops with comfortable keyboards, high-resolution displays, and extensive storage to store and test multiple software versions.
System Administrators: System administrators are responsible for the smooth operation and maintenance of IT systems. They require laptops with robust security features, remote management capabilities, and long battery life, as they often work on the go. Remote management capabilities, a lightweight form factor, and robust security features are essential for system administrators who need to access and maintain systems from various locations.
Data Analysts: Data analysts handle vast datasets and perform complex analyses to derive valuable insights. They need laptops with powerful processing capabilities, large storage, and dedicated graphics to handle data-intensive tasks efficiently. Large RAM and powerful processors are crucial for handling massive datasets efficiently, while a high-resolution display is preferred for visualizing complex data.
Network Engineers: Network engineers are responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining network infrastructures. They need laptops with excellent connectivity options, high-speed networking capabilities, and sturdy build quality, as they often work in dynamic and challenging environments. Rugged laptops with a wide range of connectivity options, such as Ethernet ports and wireless capabilities, are essential for network engineers working in diverse environments.
Cybersecurity Experts: Cybersecurity professionals protect organizations from cyber threats and breaches. They require laptops with top-notch security features, strong encryption, and the ability to update firmware easily to safeguard sensitive data. These professionals may prioritize laptops with advanced security features, including fingerprint readers, facial recognition, and hardware-based encryption.
Top 10 Best Laptops for IT Professionals in 2024
Let’s check out to 10 best picks for IT Professionals that you may consider buying in 2024:
1Lenovo ThinkPad X1 (Best Windows Laptop for IT Professionals)
Lenovo is the world’s largest laptop manufacturer, with thousands of laptops supplied every year. Usually, Lenovo laptops are incredibly durable with high-quality body construction and smooth functioning. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 is a premium business laptop suitable for IT Professionals. However, the laptop price is on the expensive side, but it really deserves what it is asking for. The Lenovo Thinkpad Carbon Gen 9 is powered by the latest 13th-generation Intel Core i5-1335U processor coupled with integrated Iris XE graphics. The provided chipset comes with a 10-core CPU and 12 threads, making it suitable for multi-threaded tasks. With powerful four cores, it generates a base clock speed of 3.40GHz, built on 7nm technology, while the top speed is 4.60GHz.
- Display: 14-inch 1920 x 1200p FHD+
- Processor: Intel Core i5-1335U
- Graphics: Integrated Intel Iris Xe
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR5 @6400MHz
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
At the front portion, there is a 14-inch Full HD+ IPS display at 1920 x 1200p resolution. It propagates 400-nits brightness, making it one of the brightest panels among Windows laptops. The outdoor visibility is excellent, and the anti-glare coating allows it to avoid reflection in direct sunlight. Altogether, the display quality is outstanding, with excellent viewing angles and decent color accuracy. On top of that, there is an HD webcam with good camera quality, which is more than sufficient for working from home, attending online meetings, and video conferencing. The laptop further designates 16GB high-speed DDR5 RAM coupled with 512GB Gen4 M.2 SSD storage. The memory department doesn’t compromise, + there are some additional slots available for further expansion.
Other notable features include a fingerprint reader and the presence of a backlit keyboard. Apart from providing white backlighting, the keyboard quality is exceptionally good with comfortable key traveling. As far as biometrics is concerned, it is fairly accurate. Regarding the I/O ports, 2x USB Type-A ports, 2x USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 (one of them also supports charging), an HDMI port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Unfortunately, there is no SD card reader available on this computer. Speaking of the design, it is crafted with a robust metal design, which seems to be highly durable. The battery life is good enough for processing day-to-day tasks. Overall, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 deserves to be a suitable option for IT Professionals.
2Dell XPS 15 (Premium Ultrabook for IT Professionals)
This is another Dell laptop that is worth mentioning in this list. The Dell XPS 15 is a perfect combination of power and portability, a must-have combo for professional users. So, without compromising on performance, you have the option to go with this portable machine. The laptop uses an Intel Core i7-13700H processor to power the device. Mostly used on gaming laptops, this 13th-generation processor generates up to 5.0GHz clock speed under Intel’s Turbo Boost Technology, while the base clock speed is 3.70GHz. Undoubtedly, being an IT Professional, you would enjoy the performance of this octa-core CPU.
- Display: 15.6-inch 1920 x 1200p FHD
- Processor: Intel Core i7-13700H
- Graphics: Nvidia RTX 4050
- RAM: 16GB DDR5
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
On top of that, the laptop brings a dedicated GPU belonging to the RTX 40 series, which means graphics processing would be on the next level. Yes, you heard it right! The laptop is loaded with Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU coupled with a dedicated 6GB GDDR6 VRAM, making it an ideal choice for content creators, such as 4K Video Editing, Photoshop, AutoCAD, Blender, Solidworks, Revit, etc. Regarding the memory, it accumulates 16GB DDR5 RAM and 512GB SSD storage. Both RAM & storage arrive with speedy read/write speed to improve the overall performance.
Not only that, there are additional slots available for further memory expansion. The front portion supports a 15.6-inch Full HD+ display at 1920 x 1200p resolution, slightly sharper than the traditional FHD+ resolution, allowing a 16:10 aspect ratio panel. This solution permits it to cut corners making its appearance eye-catching. The display seems to be almost bezel-less and comes with a dope 500-nit brightness. Possibly, this is the brightest panel available on any Windows laptop.
The laptop runs on Windows 11 Pro out of the box with some professional-grade features. Other than that, there are 2X USB Type-C ports available with Thunderbolt 4 support, a charging USB Type-C port, a 4-in-1 SD card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Unfortunately, it lacks the standard USB Type-A port. All the essential connectivity options are available with a bigger 86-WHrs battery, offering long-lasting battery backup. On a closing note, this is a compelling machine for IT Professionals engaged in heavy workloads, such as machine learning, virtual reality, etc.
3Acer Swift Go 14 (Best Value Pick)
The Acer Swift Go 14 is one of the most popular Acer laptops. The reason behind its popularity is its pricing. The laptop is positioned at a very affordable price without compromising performance. It uses the latest hardware components, and highly optimized software tuning takes its performance to the next level. The laptop has a 14-inch Full HD+ Widescreen IPS LED-backlit Display. The panel resolution is full HD at 1920 x 1080p with sharp image reproduction. Furthermore, it gives an exceptional visual experience level with 100% sRGB coverage, providing superior color accuracy. So, if you want to edit some pictures and light video editing, it becomes a viable option for a basic level of content creation.
- Display: 14-inch 1920 x 1200p Full HD
- Processor: Intel Core i7-1355U
- Graphics: Intel Iris XE Graphics
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR5
- Storage: 512GB Gen4 SSD
The laptop further employs the latest Intel Core i7-1355U processor. The provided chipset supports the compelling deca-core CPU with a base clock speed of 3.70GHz. The CPU can touch the 5.0GHz maximum clock speed while running demanding tasks. This chipset is highly power-efficient processing at TSMC’s 7nm architecture. On top of that, the upholds integrated Intel Iris XE GPU to handle graphics-intensive applications. The Intel chipsets are known for their fluent performance, and the latest 13th generation series takes it to the next level, especially the Intel i7 chip used on this laptop.
If we speak of its design, the laptop is manufactured using heavy-duty sleek aluminum & magnesium-aluminum metal chassis, increasing its durability. In addition to these features, it is light in weight and comes with a long-lasting battery. Moreover, it has the latest Windows Operating system, Windows 11, with Alexa integration. So, the management of your routine, timers, and alarms is easier to handle. In terms of I/O ports, it includes multiple USB ports, an HDMI port, a micro SD reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack with a microphone. With all these features and an embedded fingerprint reader, this device comes under $800, making it the most value-for-money laptop for IT Professionals.
4HP 15 (Best Budget Laptop for IT Professionals)
HP is a renowned laptop manufacturer and has already created tons of laptops under different lineups, such as gaming, business, home, etc. Being an IT Professional, you must care about brand value for long-term usage by sticking to a single laptop. HP laptops arrive as a bright spot because they are highly durable with HP’s exceptional brand value. Hence, we are here with HP 15, the latest addition to HP’s portfolio. The laptop comes with a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display at 1920×1080p resolution and 400-nits brightness. Therefore, it produces impressive outdoor visibility.
- Display: 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080p FHD
- Processor: Intel Core i7-1355U
- Graphics: Integrated Intel Iris Xe
- RAM: 16GB DDR4 3200MHz
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
In terms of colors, this display offers 100% sRGB color, making it a highly color-accurate panel. There are thin bezels around the corner, giving it an attractive look. The laptop is powered by the latest 13th-generation Intel Core i7-1355U chipset. This is a 7nm power-efficient chipset. It brings 10 cores with a 5.0GHz maximum clock speed. Besides, this laptop comes with Intel Xe Graphics GPU. For memory, it combines 16GB DDR4 RAM and a 512GB SSD drive in terms of memory. This amount of RAM & storage is more than enough for most tasks you perform every day.
In addition to that, this is a compact laptop with a lightweight design as far as build is concerned. Despite that, it has a decent set of I/O ports, including 2x USB Type-C ports, 2x USB Type-A ports, an HDMI, and an audio jack. Unfortunately, it doesn’t carry any SD card reader, which could be a drawback for some users, primarily content creators, and photographers. Other than that, it has WiFi6 and Bluetooth 5 wireless connectivity features. This laptop is powered by a sufficient battery that gives 5-6 hours of battery backup. Additionally, it supports fast charging technology. Altogether, HP 15 is a very good option priced under $700 for IT Professionals with a pre-installed Windows 11 operating system.
5Dell Vostro 5620 (Strong Body Construction)
Dell doesn’t require any introduction when it comes to building quality laptops. The company started its journey with PC building and soon after captured a viable position in the laptop industry. The Dell Vostro 5620 is the latest laptop from Dell that fulfills all the primary requirements for an IT Professional. The Vostro 5000 series is highly focused on producing high-quality business laptops with top-notch hardware. Speaking of the specifications, the laptop is driven by the Intel Core i7-1260P chipset under the hood. As we know, Intel processors portray high-performance semiconductors under this lineup, and there is no exception with the provided chipset on Vostro 5620.
- Display: 16-inch 1920 x 1080p FHD
- Processor: Intel Core i7-1260P
- Graphics: Nvidia MX570 (Dell Store)
- RAM: 16GB DDR5
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
The processor is loaded with a 12-core CPU and 16 threads. The key highlight of this CPU is its high clock speed. It produces a variable clock speed between 3.40GHz base clock speed; meanwhile, it tops the chart with a 4.70GHz maximum clock speed. We can expect outstanding multitasking with this chipset in everyday usage. On top of that, the powerful CPU is combined with a dedicated Nvidia GeForce MX570 GPU with a dedicated 2GB VRAM (if you purchase it through the Dell store). The presence of dedicated video memory permits it to handle graphics-intensive tasks quite efficiently. This is just the perfect choice for heavy workloads. Apart from that, the laptop features a standard 16-inch Full HD display at 1920 x 1080p resolution.
I must admit that the display quality is extraordinary, with narrow bezels around the corners and great visibility, even outdoors, due to the anti-glare coating. The laptop further adds a backlit keyboard and a fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button. There is no need to worry about connectivity as it supports the latest WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. On top of that, there is an HD webcam with a dedicated privacy shutter. The I/O ports include 2x USB Type-A ports, 1x USB Type-C port, an RJ45 Ethernet port, a 3.5mm audio jack, an HDMI port, and a full-sized SD card reader. Altogether, the Dell Vostro 5620 is a perfect business laptop for IT professionals.
6Apple Macbook Pro 16 (Best Macbook for IT Professionals)
Apple doesn’t need any introduction because it is the world’s largest tech company. The company is widely popular for its world-class software tuning to fully utilize hardware resources. That is why Apple products come with great efficiency. For IT Professionals, we have selected Apple Macbook Pro 16 as our primary choice. It comes with compelling hardware, making it one of the most powerful laptops in its category. The Apple Macbook Pro 16 comes in multiple variants with different RAM & storage options and different chipsets under the hood. We have selected a Macbook Pro with an Apple M2 Pro SoC, which is more than enough for most tasks.
- Display: 16.2-inch 3456 x 2234 pixels
- Processor: Apple M2 Pro
- GPU: Integrated 16-core
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR5
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
But you also have the option to go with M2 Max, a more powerful processor with additional power to handle a heavy workload. The laptop comes loaded with a 12-core Apple M2 Pro chip, a potent SoC almost 40% faster than the Apple M1 Pro chip. It is developed on a highly power-efficient 5nm processing node. The powerful CPU is combined with an even more powerful 19-core GPU. However, it is an integrated GPU but generates excellent graphics performance without requiring any dedicated GPU. The company claims to offer as much as 2x performance in comparison to the standard octa-core GPU found on the M2 chip. Altogether, both GPU & GPU produce excellent performance simultaneously.
The front side is surrounded by a big 16.2-inch Retina display at 3456 x 2234p resolution. This display touches a peak brightness of 1,600 nits, making it usable in outdoor light. The display covers a wide P3 color gamut for superb accuracy. If you are in the content creation field, no other laptop can provide such an exceptional environment to do the editing stuff. There is 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM with 512GB SSD storage so that you can store tons of music files. If you want more RAM & storage, Apple gives you the option to customize during purchase through Apple-certified stores. Besides, there are 3x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, an HDMI port, and an SDXC card reader.
The laptop further adds a 1080p Webcam with a face detection feature to improve the overall camera quality. The camera quality is very good and suitable for video conferencing, working from home, online classes, and similar tasks. If we speak the applications, it can flawlessly handle most graphics-intensive software, including AutoCAD, Blender, Solidworks, Photoshop, MAYA, game development, Revit, video editing, and many others. The collective experience is buttery smooth even from an IT Professional’s perspective, and you don’t need to worry about which stream you are working on. Overall, this is our primary recommendation for content creators and IT Professionals.
7Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (Extremely Portable)
The Microsoft Surface series is the true arch-rival of Apple Macbooks because it delivers the most pleasing Windows experience along with an ultra-portable design. That is why we have selected the latest Surface Laptop as the best Windows laptop for IT professionals. The laptop is powered by the Intel Core i7-1265U, which belongs to the Intel 12th generation family. The chipset holds a 10-core CPU with a base clock speed of 3.60GHz, which can be overclocked up to 4.80GHz. It stands between Core i7-1265UL and Core i7-12650HX, with a significant performance boost over its predecessor compared to other variants. There is no change in the GPU department, and it comes with integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics.
- Display: 13.5-inch 2256 x 1504p Touch
- Processor: Intel Core i7-1265U
- GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR5X
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
As far as display is concerned, it features a 13.5-inch QHD+ display at 2256 x 1504 pixels arriving with touchscreen support. This is an edge-to-edge panel with excellent viewing angles and clear & crystal visuals. The collective display quality is an exception with good color calibration and suits the productivity applications. Being a business laptop, it is a highly portable machine with thin and lightweight body construction. In terms of build quality, it is a metal unibody design with a durable build material with a premium feel once you hold it in your hands. It further adds 16GB LPDDR5X RAM along with a 512GB SSD sufficient.
In my opinion, the provided memory option is more than enough for most IT tasks, and you can store important data using its internal storage. In terms of battery, it brings impressive battery life. Indeed, it is one of those Windows machines that offer more than 10 hours of battery. Besides having significant advancements, it has some drawbacks, such as limited ports. To maintain portability, this computing machine somehow negotiates with I/O ports. Undoubtedly, it is one of the finest choices for IT professionals fond of using the Windows operating system. The company also promises to deliver free Windows 11 updates as soon as it is available in the market for mass usage.
8Asus Zenbook 14 (Portable 14-inch Laptop)
The Asus “Zenbook” is a profoundly popular laptop series better known for its enhanced portability. The latest Asus ZenBook 14X follows the footprints of its predecessors, inducing a highly portable thin & lightweight body. As the name suggests, it features a 14-inch Full HD+ OLED display at 2880 x 1200p resolution, which ends up becoming a wider 16:10 aspect ratio. The provided panel adapts decent color accuracy and 400-nits brightness, making it usable in direct sunlight. The Anti-glare support is there to avoid the potential reflection. Indeed, anti-glare is an anti-reflective coating, making it worthwhile against bright lights.
- Display: 14-inch FHD+ OLED
- Processor: Intel Core i7-1360P
- Graphics: Intel Iris XE
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR5
- Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD
Its TouchPad further appends a secondary 5.65-inch Full HD+ touchscreen. That is why the company calls it “ScreenPad.” It conventionally works to switch between apps and some other valuable scenarios. Its sleek and compact body factor makes it a business laptop with an HD Webcam. The front camera can be used for video conferencing and working from home. The laptop is powered by the 13th generation Intel Core i7-1360P processor with a quad-core CPU and base clock speed of 3.70GHz. Using the Intel Turbo Boost technology, its speed extended up to 5.0GHz to provide additional power while performing heavy tasks.
Alongside, it has provided an integrated Intel Iris XE graphics card. However, the GPU is not that powerful but sufficient to run productivity apps, such as machine learning, virtual reality, video editing, 3D rendering, photo editing, AutoCAD, Adobe Premier Pro, etc. In terms of memory, it packs 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and 1TB SSD storage, a sufficient capacity to store data and smooth operations. The battery life is also impressive, and it comes with all the fundamental ports and connectivity options. Altogether, Asus Zenbook 14 is a portable laptop for IT Professionals supplied with potent hardware.
9Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (Detachable Design)
The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 is primarily a convertible tablet with laptop functionalities through the detachable mechanism. It originates with a detachable keyboard, connected via a dedicated port named Surface Connect port. It is Microsoft’s latest addition to its portfolio. That is why it is an exciting laptop to consider for IT Professionals with added latest Windows 11 operating system. In terms of specifications, the Surface Pro 8 adopts a 13-inch PixelSense display with a resolution of 2880 × 1920 pixels. It has more resolution than an FHD+ display, with a supported touchscreen. Along with that, this is a very color-accurate panel with an ambient light sensor. So it will become brighter under direct sunlight.
- Display: 13-inch 2880 × 1920 QHD+ Touch
- Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7
- Graphics: Intel Iris XE Graphics G7
- RAM: 16GB DDR4
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
The laptop is powered by the 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor. This is a quad-core processor with a 2.40GHz base clock speed, reaching up to 4.20GHz top speed. Microsoft and Intel jointly made this processor specifically for this laptop. So it will perform efficiently without consuming too many resources. However, there is no dedicated graphics card, but the integrated Intel Iris XE graphics handles most casual applications quite efficiently. It further comes with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB SSD. There are plenty of other variants with up to 32GB RAM and up to 1TB SSD. Hence, if you need more storage and RAM, you can go with higher variants.
Because of its form factor, there are few ports on the sides. It only comes with two USB ports, and both of them are USB Type-C ports. It further appends a 3.5mm headphone jack and an SD card reader along the Surface Connect port. Speaking of its battery, it will last for about 10 hours on a single charge. Other than that, it has two cameras, one 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera with Windows Hello support. Meanwhile, it supports both WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5. So you don’t get a poor internet connection while working attentively. Altogether, if you need a portable device for your IT operations, there is no better option than the Microsoft Surface Pro 8.
10ASUS ZenBook Duo 14 UX482 (Unique Dual-screen Laptop)
Most of the laptops mentioned above arrive with a conventional laptop design, but the Asus Zenbook Duo 14 is a uniquely designed dual-screen laptop. Of course, this kind of initiative is very uncommon for the laptop industry because most big brands don’t do lots of experiments. But Asus came up with a different approach with its Asus Zenbook Duo 14 UX482. The laptop employs a 14-inch primary touchscreen panel with 1920 x 1080p resolution. The company claims to propose a nearly 90% screen-to-body ratio, making it a distinguished panel. This frameless display further arranges a secondary panel named “ScreenPad” with a 12.6-inch 4K UHD touchscreen.
- Main Display: 14-inch 1920 x 1080p FHD Touch
- Secondary Display: 12.6-Inch 4K UHD
- Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7
- Graphics: Intel Iris XE Graphics G7
- RAM: 8GB DDR4
- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
Moreover, the laptop is powered by the 11th generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, a quad-core CPU with a base clock speed of 2.4 GHz. Like other Intel CPUs, it supports the Turbo Boost technology to boost the clock speed up to 4.20GHz. Thanks to the Intel Iris XE Graphics G7, it performs very well in graphics performance. However, there is no dedicated memory, but an integrated GPU is sufficient to control basic tasks. In addition to that, the utilization of dual-screen mechanisms is supported by robust build quality. The device is made of a strong metal unibody construction certified by the MIL-STD-810G military-grade standards. The presence of an HD webcam offers a usable camera quality for attending online business meetings, working from home, video conferencing, and streaming certain content.
For memory, the laptop bundles 8GB DDR4 RAM and 512GB SSD storage. The combination provides additional support to enhance performance and provide space to store important data. Overall, it is a very well-placed laptop and gives great value for every penny you spend on this. But it is not made for universal usage; only specific people can take advantage of dual-screen functionality. So, you should batter to stay away if you don’t know how to capitalize on the dual-screen design. You can get better options around the $1000 price range, where this laptop is placed. Being an IT Professional, you can use it for extensive multitasking to enhance your productivity. The laptop is recommended with caution because not everyone can utilize its functionality.
Buying Guide – How to Choose the Best Laptop for IT Professionals in 2024?
Before reaching any conclusion, you should know some important aspects of the right components for an ideal laptop for IT professionals. Here is our step-by-step guide for choosing the right laptop for you being an IT Professional:
Processor & GPU
The processor is the most crucial component of a laptop. If you already have a laptop powered by an old processor, you mostly get a very laggy performance. That means the CPU or the processor will be responsible for the best experience you get on your new laptop. Speaking of processors, Intel offers their latest 13th Gen series, which are good and powerful. On the other side, AMD offers its Ryzen 7 series, which is more powerful than the Intel Core i7 processor. Both of the series are good and give more than enough performance for IT Professionals.
Alongside the CPU, laptops or computers come with something called a graphics card. It is there to handle all the graphics-related tasks. So, a powerful GPU is also necessary for a smooth experience. There are two types of GPUs- dedicated and integrated. The latest integrated GPU-powered laptop for IT Professionals will handle all the tasks unless you want to do graphics-intensive work and play some games. But I would advise you to find a laptop with at least 2GB VRAM to be on the safer side for basic productivity applications that may require some intensive graphics operations.
RAM & Storage
You have bought the latest processor and GPU-powered laptop. Yet, it is also required to have a good amount of RAM for smooth multitasking performance because RAM is used by the computer to store temporary data from the running applications. If your laptop comes with enough RAM, you will see further performance enhancements. It is suggested to have at least 8GB DDR5 fast RAM onboard on the latest laptops. But we recommend going with 16GB DDR5 RAM if you want to use a laptop for the next 2-3 years.
Apart from RAM, computers will also need storage drives to install the operating system and future updates. Speaking of that, Solid-state drives (SSDs) are the fastest in the market. They offer impressive speed, which will improve your laptop’s performance altogether. Aside from speed, storage capacity also matters because it wouldn’t be wise to delete the important old data to rewrite the new files. Therefore, you should get a laptop that comes with at least 256GB of storage, while 512GB SSD storage is recommended for long-term usage for an IT Professional.
Display
The display is another important part to emphasize for IT professionals because of the long hours sitting in front of the display. Many factors may make or break the display quality, such as resolution, color calibration, viewing angles, etc. In my recommendation, the display should be at least Full HD resolution with good viewing angles. Moreover, if you spend lots of time in front of a laptop, you should also focus on color calibration, preventing eye strain. Other than that, the display size is a personal preference.
Battery Life
The battery life becomes essential if you travel a lot, and it’s evident for an IT Professional to visit multiple sites. You don’t always need to focus on battery capacity because some laptops are greatly optimized to deliver a long-lasting battery despite having a smaller brick inside. In my opinion, if a laptop offers 5-6 hours of battery for a casual workload, it is more than enough to drive the entire day for a person working a 9 to 5 job. Even if you are a self-employed person engaged in the IT industry, you can efficiently run your entire day with 6-8 hours of battery life, and it’s not uncommon for modern laptops. Most of the new laptops easily fulfill this criterion efficiently.
Keyboard & Trackpad
The keyboard becomes an integral part because you need to type a decent amount of work every day as an IT Professional. However, an option is available to use an external mechanical keyboard, but you can’t always carry this. That is why it is always a better choice to pick a laptop with a comfortable keyboard. The typing experience should be seamless. But, unfortunately, you can’t judge it without taking a hand at a laptop. But the good thing is that most of the laptops we have listed arrive with a decent keyboard. So, you can consider these listed options.
Subsequently, the Trackpad is equally important as a keyboard unless you are not using an external mouse. Yet, a good Trackpad on a laptop can change the entire experience because most people prefer using the pre-supplied Trackpad instead of an external mouse, including myself. Hence, you can also focus on this smaller portion of the laptop which most people ignore.
Final Verdict
In conclusion, I hope you might have already decided to pick the ideal option after reading this article. But if you are still waiting for the final verdict, here we are with our final choices chosen by us. In my opinion, Apple MacBook Air Pro is the best option for most IT Professionals unless you are working on particular applications not supported by macOS. The laptops come in multiple display sizes, giving you a broader choice between portability and more prominent display space. The same case applies to processors because the latest M1 Pro and M1 Max are the two most powerful computer chipsets. You can choose according to your requirements.
But if you are looking for a Macbook alternative within the Windows ecosystem, there is no better choice than Surface Laptop 4. The laptop is developed by Microsoft, which is also the developer of the Windows operating system. Hence, you will get a clean user interface along with a seamless experience due to the highly optimized hardware. Not only that, it brings compelling hardware, which easily fulfills all the requirements of an IT Professional. Lastly, Acer Swift Go 14 is the most value-for-money laptop for an IT Professional engaged in a casual workload. The laptop offers some decent configurations by costing little money. Apart from that, there are several other options available for differently required IT applications. I am pretty sure you would like those options.
