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MagyarNotebookcheck's Top 10 Premium Office/Business Laptops
March 2020 update. Here you will find the best office laptops and business notebooks reviewed by Notebookcheck in the last few months. Our list of top models is regularly updated, maintained and commented on and should assist in purchasing decisions.
In addition to the entry-level office and business notebooks (top 10 available here), we want to provide a ranking of upscale business laptops reviewed by us in the last few months. The following rankings/charts might be interesting, too:
With prices significantly above 1000 USD/Euros, they offer a lot and customers demand a great deal from them: durable and stable case, comprehensive security features, excellent connectivity, high performance and moderate emissions. In addition, professional users require special services regarding warranty and support. Due to the significantly longer product cycles (availability of service parts!), we will consider models as old as 12 months.
The following table can be sorted by clicking its headers and filtered by entering text in the text field above (e.g. "matte").
Best Business Notebooks as of March 2020
Top 10 of the last 12 months at the time of writing; current reviews are listed first
Editors' Comments
Top 10 Laptops
Multimedia, Budget Multimedia, Gaming, Budget Gaming, Lightweight Gaming, Business, Budget Office, Workstation, Subnotebooks, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks
under 300 USD/Euros, under 500 USD/Euros, 1.000 USD/Euros
Best Displays, for University Students
Top 10 Smartphones
Smartphones, Phablets, ≤5-inch, Camera SmartphonesNotebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones under 160 Euros
1st – Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2019
Earlier this summer Lenovo released its ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2019, and just like in previous years this year’s iteration of Lenovo’s lightest ThinkPad laptop easily made our top 10 list of premium business laptops again, and even made it all the way to the top this time around.
The latest generation is even thinner than last year’s X1 Carbon Gen 6. In addition, Lenovo equipped its ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 7 with significantly upgraded speakers, thereby eliminating one of its biggest flaws. In return, the new keyboard is slightly worse than the old one, and the battery capacity decreased.
We had both models of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2019 in review, the 2K QHD SKU and the FHD SKU. Of these two the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 7 FHD did better in our test due to its longer battery life and higher overall display brightness. With a score of 91 % the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 7 made it all the way to the top of our top 10 list.
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2nd – HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5
The 1000-series EliteBooks are HP's answer to Lenovo's ThinkPad X1-series. The latest HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 is a high-quality business laptop and the successor to the HP EliteBook 1040 G4. Instead of a traditional laptop, however, HP now offers a convertible, so it is a rival for the ThinkPad X1 Yoga and not its laptop counterpart ThinkPad X1 Carbon. A successful concept in many ways and we awarded the performance with a rating of 92%.
The advantages of the HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 include the long battery runtime of more than 10 hours, very bright display options and even an optional 120 Hz display. We also like the fact that the well-equipped and high-quality metal chassis does not attract fingerprints. The rather disappointing CPU performance on the other hand is probably the biggest drawback.
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3rd - Lenovo ThinkPad T490s
Lenovo redesigned last year's ThinkPad T480s, even though it did not really change the overall design of the lightest T-series laptop. The new ThinkPad T490s also got a new chassis, but the manufacturer now changes the concept of this series completely: With a slimmer chassis and no more options for a dedicated GPU, the ThinkPad T490s is now much closer to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.
The new design also limits the options for maintenance and upgrades, but improved the case quality even further while making it slimmer. The excellent performance of the previous model cannot be maintained, but Lenovo improved the battery runtime in return. The manufacturer also finally starts to implement good 1080p screens. Overall, the ThinkPad T490s is not as versatile as its predecessor, but it is still an excellent choice for many business customers – which is also reflected by the high rating of 92%.
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4th – Lenovo ThinkPad T495
The Lenovo ThinkPad T495 takes the place of last year’s Lenovo ThinkPad A485 in our top 10 list but manages to score significantly higher thanks to its lighter and thinner design, its more efficient processors, and its significantly improved display.
The loss of its built-in full-size SD card reader is a pity, and we also cannot understand why the T495 lacks a Thunderbolt 3 port when the Intel-based T490 does not. Other than that the ThinkPad T495 is a great alternative to the ThinkPad T490.
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5th – Lenovo ThinkPad T495s
Lenovo’s ThinkPad T495s is a new entry to this list of premium business laptops. It is the AMD-based SKU of the ThinkPad T490s and mostly identical apart from the CPU. It shares the lack of a Thunderbolt 3 port with its ThinkPad T495 sibling. In addition, we were also not particularly fond of its high-frequency fan and its limited upgradeability.
In return, we praised its high-quality display, its excellent keyboard, and its great battery life. For AMD fans, the Lenovo ThinkPad T495s is a great alternative to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.
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6th – Lenovo ThinkPad T490
Lenovo did not just update its ThinkPad T490s but also its cheaper cousin, the ThinkPad T490. It sits right in the spot left vacant by the T490s and is more similar to the ThinkPad T480s than its direct predecessor, the ThinkPad T480. Like the T490s the T490 features a thinner, lighter, and more compact design.
Nevertheless, it remains a laptop much more versatile than the T490s. Among others, it still offers a full-size RJ-45 port, upgradeable RAM, and a dGPU option. Its CPU performance is also much better than the T490s’s, and the FHD display has been updated compared to its predecessor’s as well. Its major downsides are a case that is unnecessarily hard to open as well as high surface temperatures, the missing full-size SD card reader, and the missing PowerBridge feature.
We also had a ThinkPad T490 without dedicated GPU in review, which scored slightly better than the dGPU SKU due to its lower surface temperatures and longer battery life.
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7th – Dell Latitude 7400
Earlier this year, Dell performed a reset of its model numbers, and accordingly the Dell Latitude 7400 is the successor to last years Dell Latitude 7490. Granted, this does seem pretty confusing at first.
Compared to its predecessor the Latitude 7400 comes in a silver metal case in addition to the previously already available SKU with a dark gray carbon-fiber lid. In addition to its very well-built case other qualities include its comfortable input devices, its good display, and its easy maintainability. Aspects we did not like were the whistling fan, the performance throttling on battery, and the display that was too dim for a device in this price range. The latter is further magnified by the fact that there are no display options available.
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8th – Lenovo ThinkPad T590
Lenovo's ThinkPad T590 is Lenovo’s 2019 successor to the Lenovo ThinkPad T580 and takes its place in our top 10 list. The least portable ThinkPad T-series model scored the lowest rating of all ThinkPad T-series but still managed a very good 89 %. Lenovo maintained the T-series’ core principles: robust design, excellent input devices, and extensive selection of ports, security and communication features.
Compared to the T490 and T490s the ThinkPad T590 was unable to keep up in regards to display options. Unlike on its smaller siblings the T590 still features a below average FHD LCD. We also did not particularly appreciate the fact that the case was not just very hard to open but also got comparatively warm under load. The new model is also missing the PowerBridge feature combining two batteries into one. Nevertheless, battery life is still decent.
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9th – Acer TravelMate X3410
Acer is yet another manufacturer attempting to secure a foothold in the very lucrative business laptop market, and the TravelMate X3410 with its matte 14-inch display is a perfect match for this market segment. Its most prominent qualities are the well-built case and its plentiful connectivity, including a VGA port that most other business laptops are no longer equipped with these days. Other qualities include decent maintainability and good battery life.
In return, the display and slow SD card reader were disappointments, to say the least. It also lacks Thunderbolt 3 and is thwarted by thermal throttling. Accordingly, it failed to score higher than “Good” in our test.
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10th – Microsoft Surface Laptop 13
In addition to students and home users Microsoft’s Surface Laptops are also aimed at business users. The Surface Laptop 13 is smaller than most business laptops, which does not necessarily have to be a bad thing. Quite the contrary, its 3:2 display offers as much vertical screen real estate as a 15.6-inch laptop with a 16:9 aspect ratio display. The Surface Laptop’s display aspect ratio is one of its biggest benefits. We also liked its high-quality aluminum case, its decent speakers, and its quiet keyboard.
On the flip side it became glaringly obvious that Microsoft no longer produces traditional business laptops. For example, RAM is not upgradeable anymore, and the Surface Laptop lacks security features such as a fingerprint reader or a mechanical camera shutter. It also lacks Thunderbolt 3, which is a no-go for a laptop in its price range.
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Measurement Results
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2019-20QES01L00 | HP Elitebook x360 1040 G5 | Lenovo ThinkPad T490s-20NYS02A00 | Lenovo ThinkPad T495-20NKS01Y00 | Lenovo ThinkPad T495s-20QKS01E00 | Lenovo ThinkPad T490-20N2004EGE | Dell Latitude 7400-8N6DH | Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE | Acer TravelMate X3410-M-866T | Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13 Core i5-1035G7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | ||||||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 44.8 (21.2, 23.6) | 70.8 (34.8, 36) | 61.6 (30.8, 30.8) | 32.4 (16.4, 16) | 60.8 (30.8, 30) | 71.2 (33.2, 38) | 62 (29.6, 32.4) | 37.2 (19.2, 18) | 40.4 (23.2, 17.2) | 59.2 (28.4, 30.8) |
| Response Time Black / White * | 27.6 (15.6, 12) | 34.4 (18.8, 15.6) | 38.8 (21.2, 17.6) | 15.2 (6.8, 8.4) | 37.6 (19.6, 18) | 44.8 (21.2, 23.6) | 37.6 (21.2, 16.4) | 27.2 (17.2, 10) | 35.2 (20.8, 14.4) | 41.6 (23.6, 18) |
| PWM Frequency | 735.3 (100) | 26040 (50) | 2427 (50) | 25000 (21) | 21740 (51) | |||||
| Screen | ||||||||||
| Brightness middle | 381 | 416.3 | 391 | 420 | 380 | 428 | 289 | 276 | 253.1 | 403.4 |
| Brightness | 375 | 400 | 389 | 391 | 381 | 409 | 286 | 262 | 230 | 397 |
| Brightness Distribution | 94 | 89 | 87 | 88 | 87 | 91 | 91 | 88 | 77 | 89 |
| Black Level * | 0.24 | 0.29 | 0.23 | 0.29 | 0.22 | 0.29 | 0.16 | 0.23 | 0.3 | 0.34 |
| Contrast | 1588 | 1436 | 1700 | 1448 | 1727 | 1476 | 1806 | 1200 | 844 | 1186 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 * | 4.6 | 2.69 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 4 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 4.71 | 0.94 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. * | 8.5 | 4.95 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 8.2 | 8.7 | 16.4 | 20.72 | 2.92 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 calibrated * | 1.2 | 2.13 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2 | 1.3 | 4.7 | 3.44 | 0.99 |
| Greyscale DeltaE2000 * | 5.1 | 2.9 | 4 | 3.4 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 6.4 | 3 | 3.4 | 0.9 |
| Gamma | 2.52 87% | 2.4 92% | 2.49 88% | 2.22 99% | 2.54 87% | 2.09 105% | 2.54 87% | 2.18 101% | 1.997 110% | 2.13 103% |
| CCT | 7052 92% | 6623 98% | 6809 95% | 7168 91% | 6963 93% | 7562 86% | 5977 109% | 7075 92% | 6266 104% | 6620 98% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 60.7 | 60.1 | 62.4 | 63.5 | 62.2 | 60 | 61.2 | 36.9 | 40 | 62.3 |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 95.7 | 94.5 | 97.4 | 98.6 | 96.6 | 92.2 | 95.1 | 58.1 | 62 | 98.7 |
| Noise | ||||||||||
| off / environment * | 28.3 | 29.4 | 28.4 | 28.9 | 28.8 | 28.6 | 29.4 | 28.2 | 28.5 | |
| Idle Minimum * | 28.3 | 29.4 | 28.4 | 28.9 | 28.8 | 28.6 | 29.3 | 28.2 | 28.5 | |
| Idle Average * | 28.3 | 29.4 | 28.4 | 28.9 | 28.8 | 28.6 | 29.3 | 28.2 | 28.5 | |
| Idle Maximum * | 28.3 | 30.9 | 29.4 | 28.9 | 31.7 | 29.1 | 31.8 | 28.2 | 28.5 | |
| Load Average * | 32.6 | 33.3 | 29.9 | 31.5 | 34 | 31.5 | 33.5 | 33.2 | 28.5 | |
| Load Maximum * | 36.6 | 33.3 | 31.4 | 33.8 | 36.1 | 36.9 | 35.8 | 35.6 | 40.4 | |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 33.5 | 40.4 | ||||||||
| Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
| Reader / Idle | 1673 | 1248 | 2064 | |||||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 562 | 623 | 607 | 544 | 675 | 572 | 696 | 628 | 617 | 495 |
| Load | 76 | 187 | 99 | 100 | 161 | 141 | 209 | 131 | 112 | |
| Power Consumption | ||||||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 2.7 | 2.62 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 2.34 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.4 | |
| Idle Average * | 6.5 | 5.16 | 7.7 | 7.28 | 5.22 | 6.1 | 8.3 | 6.3 | 7.5 | |
| Idle Maximum * | 11.5 | 8.7 | 10.7 | 9.48 | 8.82 | 8.2 | 11.8 | 7 | 7.8 | |
| Load Average * | 38.7 | 40 | 35.8 | 35.3 | 35.8 | 41 | 61.6 | 28.7 | 41.9 | |
| Load Maximum * | 50.5 | 64 | 43.2 | 55.5 | 47.3 | 69.7 | 69.4 | 67.7 | 63.9 | |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 54.4 | 40.8 | ||||||||
| Heat | ||||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 38.2 | 43.3 | 43.9 | 44.4 | 41.1 | 42.4 | 44.7 | 35.2 | 42.6 | |
| Maximum Bottom * | 48 | 45.1 | 49.6 | 44 | 49.3 | 47.1 | 56.3 | 39.4 | 45.4 | |
| Idle Upper Side * | 23.6 | 25 | 26.8 | 26.5 | 22.9 | 24.5 | 23.3 | 27.6 | 27.2 | |
| Idle Bottom * | 26.6 | 25 | 27.5 | 27.3 | 24.4 | 25.2 | 25.4 | 27.8 | 28.8 |
* ... smaller is better
