2015 is about to end, which makes us look back at some of the best laptops that have been launched this year. These laptops serve different genres of consumers, and at the end of the day, these differentiating features put them on our list.
MSI GT80 2QE Titan SLI
MSI came out with the biggest gaming laptop of all time, this year. The MSI GT80 2QE Titan SLI not only has one of the best specification sheet that we have seen on a laptop, but has the largest display we have seen till date – 18.4 inches. MSI has thrown in a full-fledged mechanical keyboard into the mix, as well. This beauty comes with Cherry MX switches, which offer excellent tactile feedback and consistency.
CPU: Intel Core i7-5950HQ
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M SLI (8GB)
RAM: 32GB max
Screen: 18.4-inch, 1920x1080p
Storage: Up to 1024GB in Super RAID 3 + 1TB HDD 7200rpm
Dell XPS 13
The Dell XPS 13 is 13-inch laptop in the shell of a 12-inch one, and that’s what makes it so interesting. Boasting an almost-edgeless “Xfinity” panel, the Dell XPS 13 has one of the best displays that we have seen in ultrabooks of today. Besides, it also has a great keyboard, commendable performance and long battery life.
CPU: Intel Core i5-5200
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5500
RAM: 8GB
Screen: 13.3-inch, 3200x1800p
Storage: 256GB SSD
Microsoft Surface Book
Microsoft upped the game this year and finally launched a hybrid laptop with a proper keyboard, which is detachable. It uses a special hinge and lock mechanism, which unlocks when a special button on the keyboard is pressed. However, the company has manged to offer more productivity in this form factor as the solid keyboard now holds a custom GPU made by Nvidia, which can easily run games.
CPU: Intel Core i7-6600U
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce graphics (1GB)
RAM: 16GB max
Screen: 13.5-inch, 3000x2000p
Storage: 512GB SSD
Apple MacBook
Apple's MacBook is the lightest and thinnest MacBook till date. Apple designed a whole new keyboard mechanism for this extra-thin laptop. However, what makes this laptop even cooler is the fact that it comes with a single USB Type-C port, and the new Force Touch trackpad. Powered by an Intel Core M processor, it comes without a CPU fan, thus making it extra quiet.
CPU: Intel Core M
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5300
RAM: 8GB
Screen: 12-inch, 2304x1440p
Storage: 256GB PCIe-based SSD
Asus ROG GX700
We have seen water cooling for PCs, but water cooling on a laptop? Well, that’s what the Asus ROG GX700 is all about. This new laptop, which is yet to receive a price tag and a launch date, comes with its dedicated water cooler, which comes in handy, as the GX700 has the world’s first overclockable mobile CPU – the Intel Core i7-6820HK. If that isn’t enough, it has an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 graphics chip – a desktop class graphics processor which delivers crisp graphics to a G-Sync display.
CPU: Intel Core i7-6820HK
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 (8GB)
RAM: 64GB DDR4
Screen: 17.3-inch, 1920x1080p
Storage: 1TB SSD
Acer Predator 17
Gaming laptops do get hot, and while the Acer Predator 17 does not come with watercooling, Acer has employed a better air cooler for the job. The new Predator series comes with "AeroBlade" fans which are extremely thin, but are said to offer better performance than previous laptop cooling fans. Acer also gives users an option to swap the optical drive for a third fan. Moreover, users can control the cooling of the laptop through a dedicated software.
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700HQ
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M (4GB)
RAM: 64GB DDR4 max
Screen: 17.3-inch, 1920x1080p
Storage: 1TB SSD + 512GB SSD
HP Spectre x360
HP’s latest take on the on the ultrabook category, the Spectre x360, is one of the finest ultrabooks we have seen till date. It can not only work as an ultrabook, but as a tablet as well, being so light and featuring a rotating display. The sleek aluminium build, bright display and swift performance make it stand out.
CPU: Intel Core i5-5200
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5500
RAM: 8GB
Screen: 13.3-inch, 3200x1800p
Storage: 256GB SSD
Aorus X7 Pro-Sync
Aorus X7 Pro-Sync is another good laptop that we saw this year. The relatively-light 3KG gaming laptop offers a full-metal chassis, in which it houses a dual-Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M GPU. However, where the Aorus shines is its exceptionally large storage space. The top-of-the-line model comes with three 512GB mSATA drives that can be put in RAID 0, and an additional 2TB of HDD-based storage. It is also one of the few gaming laptops, which offer Macro keys.
CPU: Intel Core i7-5850HQ
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M SLI (6GB)
RAM: 32GB max
Screen: 17.3-inch, 1920x1080p
Storage: 2TB SSD + 3 x 512GB mSATA