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MagyarThe Best Multimedia Notebooks
Month after month Notebookcheck gets to review a huge variety of notebooks of all categories, some of which can be categorized under the all-encompassing multimedia umbrella. In order to be considered a multimedia laptop, the devices has to feature a 14-inch display, needs to be designed as an all-rounder by its manufacturer, and has to feature a dedicated GPU. Multimedia laptops are the best choice for all creative and demanding users that need to inspect and edit photos and videos. They are, however, also very well suited for occasional gaming and unsurprisingly less demanding tasks such as writing emails or word processing.
Powerful notebooks that are very well suited for enjoying current PC games can also be found on the following lists:
- The Best Budget Multimedia Notebooks (affordable all-round notebooks)
- The Best Gaming Notebooks (particularly powerful gaming laptops)
- The Best Budget Gaming Notebooks (affordable gaming laptops)
The Best Multimedia Laptops
The table above contains an overview over the best multimedia notebooks reviewed by Notebookcheck over the course of the past 12 months as well as still relevant and available older products. In cases of identical score the more recent device is listed first. All prices in above table and price comparisons are updated daily and can thus differ.
Link: all devices in this class reviewed
1st – Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro
Just like the smaller MacBook Pro 14 the Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro received a major design update and looks a bit bulkier now. We had the base model, equipped with M1 Pro, 16 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB SSD in review. All things considered the 16-inch device performed slightly better and deservedly enters this list at the very top. Build quality is superb, and the base is very robust. The display offers great colors paired with an extremely high brightness for HDR content. In addition, the MacBook Pro 16 2021 has the best speakers we have ever encountered in a laptop, and its long battery life make this a great everyday laptop.
Thanks to its new SoC, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro offers excellent performance. Its display is brilliant at displaying HDR contents.
The device can be purchased either directly from Apple or through authorized resellers such as Amazon. Prices for the 16-inch model start at $2,500.
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2nd – Dell XPS 15 9520 RTX 3050 Ti
The Dell XPS 15 9520 managed to grab a spot in our top 10 ranking with a very good score. A very good overall result is due to the Intel Core i7-12700H and the GeForce GTX 3050 Ti. The successful and very high-quality OLED panel convinced us with its good color fidelity in the test, although the brightness could have been a bit better. However, the 16:10 format is positive, which will please many users. Furthermore, very good speakers and a fast SD card reader are still on board. The device makes life a bit difficult for the user in terms of ports because USB Type A is completely omitted. Thus, only TypeC sockets are used. Those who want to use their usual devices with the new XPS 15 9510 will have to work with adapters. Fortunately, a suitable adapter is already included in the scope of delivery.
The Dell XPS 15 9520 is probably the first choice when it comes to the decision due to its 16:10 display. The fact that it is an OLED panel also simplifies the purchase decision considerably.
If you also want to use the device for gaming, you should know that the response times of the installed OLED panel are significantly lower than those of IPS panels. Furthermore, there is also no option for a 90 Hz refresh rate. However, the performance increase due to the Core i7-12700H is remarkable, even though it could not unleash its true potential in the review.
Currently, the Dell XPS 15 9520 (i7-12700H, RTX 3050, FHD+ Non Touch) is available on Amazon US for $1,739.
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3rd – Dell XPS 17 9720
The Dell XPS 17 9720 offers a current Alder Lake P CPU, as well as a gaming-suitable GPU and an excellent display. The 4K HDR display performs very well in the test and can even cover the AdobeRGB color space by 100%. The 16:10 format, which is becoming more and more popular lately, is also worth mentioning. The equipment also includes 32 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD. Nevertheless, a second SSD can be accommodated in the device. In terms of external interfaces, Dell only relies on USB TypeC. However, the current Thunderbolt 4 standard is supported, so the device is well equipped for the future.
The Dell XPS 17 9720 convinces with an excellent display and is thus best suited for image editing.
An alternative configuration with the UHD panel is currently available on Amazon for $3,189.
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4th – Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is a new series or multimedia laptops by Microsoft. The 14.4-inch device comes with an HDR display, a modern Tiger Lake CPU, and a dedicated Nvidia GPU. A total of 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB large SSD should suffice for most memory-intensive applications. The modern design is supplemented by modern Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. Thanks to its overall good system performance and comfortable keyboard the device managed to secure a solid 5th place in our top list of the best multimedia laptops.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is a good all-rounder. We would, however, suggest waiting for the Alder Lake update.
In addition to Microsoft’s own webstore the Surface Laptop Studio is also available through Amazon. Prices start at just shy of $1,500.
5th – ThinkPad X1 Extreme G5
Lenovo hasn't changed anything about the design of the new ThinkPad X1 Extreme G5 and rather concentrates on the inner values. The powerful and modern Intel SoC offers 14 cores and powers the multimedia notebook. The device also has a dedicated GeForce RTX 3060 laptop GPU, which makes it a good gaming notebook as well. The installed 16-inch display offers a pleasant size for working thanks to 16:10. Nevertheless, it only offers 60 Hz, which makes the difference to a pure gaming laptop.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G5 is primarily a strong all-rounder and less a pure gaming device.
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme can be configured at Lenovo's online store from $2,999. Our review configuration is available online from $3,776 on Amazon.
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6th – Asus ZenBook Pro 16X OLED
The Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED is a consistently good multimedia notebook, which directly succeeded in entering our top 10 list. The Intel Core i9-12900H offers a lot of performance and in combination with the dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 laptop GPU, even demanding games can be played. One of the great advantages of the Asus Zenbook Pro 16X is definitely the great OLED panel with perfect color coverage.
The Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED is a great all-rounder that does not have any real weaknesses.
Currently, the device is available on Amazon US for $2,949.99.
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7th – ThinkBook 16p G3
With the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G3, the manufacturer offers a very well equipped notebook for many different purposes. Compared to the predecessor, the new ThinkBook 16p G3 offers a new SoC and thus more performance. The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX offers native 8 cores and 16 threads. Nevertheless, the performance gain compared to the predecessor is very manageable.
The Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G3 offers excellent performance and very good features as a multimedia device. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme combines several devices in one, because the device is quite recommendable as a business companion during the day and the CPU and GPU combination offers enough performance for gaming in leisure time. The newer model wins the direct performance comparison, which was to be expected.
The Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G3 is a successful 16-inch multimedia notebook with a slight performance increase compared to the 2021 model.
Currently, the ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 is avaiable at Lenovo's homepage from $2,320.
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8th – Schenker Vision 16 Pro
The Schenker Vision 16 Pro offers a very high performance that can already keep up with a gaming laptop. The Intel Core i7-12700H has 14 cores and with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti there is also a fast graphics card. 32 GB of working memory and a 1 TB SSD round off the package well. Schenker does not skimp on the screen either, as the 240 Hz display offers a pleasant work surface with its 16:10 format.
The Schenker Vision 16 Pro offers a convincing overall package and is suitable for many uses.
The Vision 16 Pro can be configured on bestware.com starting at €1,899 (DACH region only). There is currently a Black Friday offer where you can save up to €350.
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9th - Asus Zenbook Pro 15 OLED UM535Q
The Asus Zenbook Pro 15 OLED UM535Q relies on an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, which gives the compact 15-incher a good run. As for the dedicated graphics card, Asus offers a solid GeForce RTX 3050 Ti laptop GPU that can also be used for gaming. We liked the high-quality 1080p OLED touch display with its good color space coverage. Good battery runtimes are also among the strengths of the Asus Zenbook Pro 15 OLED UM535Q.
However, you have to settle for a spartan configuration in terms of external interfaces. At least there is an SD card reader.
The Asus Zenbook Pro 15 OLED is a high-quality all-round notebook with a high-quality OLED touch display. In terms of connectivity, however, the device lacks USB-C docking options.
A configuration of the ZenBook Pro 15 with AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti and a 1 TB SSD is currently available on Amazon for approximately $1,379, for example.
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10th – Honor MagicBook 14 2022
With the Honor MagicBook 14 2022, the Chinese manufacturer has a modern multimedia notebook in its portfolio based on an Intel Core i5-12500H. With the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile, there is also a good dedicated graphics card to enjoy a game or two. Honor packs everything together in a high-quality case and paired with the good battery runtimes, the device also cuts a good figure on the go.
The Honor MagicBook 14 2022 offers high system performance and masters even demanding games thanks to its fast GPU.
The new MagicBook 14 2022 will soon be available for pre-order in the official Honor shop, with deliveries starting on 18 September. The base model with the integrated GPU costs 1,099 euros; our test device with the dedicated GeForce RTX 2050 is available for €1,299 (~$1,310).
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Recent Multimedia Awards
Comparison Best Multimedia Laptops
Test Results
| Apple MacBook Pro 14 2021 M1 Max 24-Core GPU | Dell XPS 15 9520 RTX 3050 Ti | Dell XPS 17 9720 | Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G5-21DE003RGE | Asus ZenBook Pro 16X OLED UX7602ZM-ME115W | Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G3 ARH | Schenker Vision 16 Pro RTX 3070 Ti | Asus Zenbook Pro 15 OLED UM535Q | Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | ||||||||||
| Display P3 Coverage | 97.8 | 94.8 | 80.6 | 84.6 | 99.84 | 69.8 | 68.7 | 79.3 | 67.9 | |
| sRGB Coverage | 99.9 | 100 | 99.9 | 99.2 | 99.99 | 98.2 | 96.7 | 95.6 | 98.5 | |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 86 | 100 | 78.5 | 97.7 | 88.9 | 71.4 | 70 | 87.3 | 68.7 | |
| Response Times | ||||||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 1.9 ? | 53.2 ? | 58.4 ? | 46 ? | 2 ? | 15.6 ? | 14.3 ? | 2.1 ? | 37.2 ? | |
| Response Time Black / White * | 1.9 ? | 28.4 ? | 24 ? | 19.2 ? | 2 ? | 11.2 ? | 8.6 ? | 2.3 ? | 26.3 ? | |
| PWM Frequency | 59.52 ? | 17990 ? | 5000 ? | 59 ? | 60.2 | 28400 ? | ||||
| Screen | ||||||||||
| Brightness middle | 381.4 | 438 | 497 | 476 | 346 | 532.8 | 364 | 342.9 | 330 | |
| Black Level * | 0.27 | 0.29 | 0.35 | 0.55 | 0.3 | 0.21 | ||||
| Brightness | 384 | 411 | 491 | 470 | 354 | 519 | 347 | 346 | 320 | |
| Brightness Distribution | 95 | 86 | 92 | 90 | 96 | 94 | 89 | 98 | 90 | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.34 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 2.28 | 1.32 | 3.3 | 2.42 | 1.8 | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 9.24 | 6.3 | 2.8 | 4.7 | 4.94 | 3.97 | 6.6 | 4.05 | 4.7 | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2 | 4.2 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.64 | 1.8 | 5.2 | 2.1 | 3 | |
| Gamma | 2.13 103% | 2.22 99% | 2.14 103% | 2.24 98% | 2.37 93% | 2.64 83% | 2.14 103% | 2.21 100% | 2.18 101% | |
| CCT | 6210 105% | 7034 92% | 6821 95% | 6377 102% | 6384 102% | 6761 96% | 6331 103% | 6364 102% | 6697 97% | |
| Contrast | 1622 | 1714 | 1360 | 969 | 1213 | 1571 | ||||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.16 | 1.59 | 2.5 | 1.6 | |||
| Noise | ||||||||||
| off / environment * | 24.8 | 22.8 | 24 | 24.7 | 23.2 | 26 | 22.7 | 22.9 | 22.8 | 24.3 |
| Idle Minimum * | 24.8 | 22.9 | 24 | 24.7 | 23.2 | 26 | 23.1 | 24.3 | 22.9 | 24.3 |
| Idle Average * | 24.8 | 22.9 | 24 | 24.7 | 23.2 | 26 | 23.2 | 24.3 | 22.9 | 24.3 |
| Idle Maximum * | 24.8 | 22.9 | 24 | 24.7 | 23.2 | 26 | 23.6 | 24.3 | 22.9 | 24.3 |
| Load Average * | 30.4 | 30.9 | 43.9 | 33.2 | 45.5 | 48 | 30.6 | 38.5 | 33.2 | 39.8 |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 35.8 | 37.8 | 48.4 | 44.5 | 45.5 | 47.6 | 51 | 47.3 | 45.4 | |
| Load Maximum * | 49.5 | 44.7 | 48.4 | 46.7 | 45.5 | 54.6 | 47.5 | 51 | 52.8 | 50.6 |
| Heat | ||||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 49.2 | 51.4 | 49.5 | 42.3 | 52 | 32 | 48.2 | 50.8 | 36 | 44.6 |
| Maximum Bottom * | 44.1 | 51 | 38.4 | 38.2 | 56.4 | 41.6 | 49.6 | 46.3 | 47.2 | 51.6 |
| Idle Upper Side * | 23.5 | 30 | 28 | 23.4 | 26.4 | 32.6 | 31.8 | 27.2 | 37 | 26.1 |
| Idle Bottom * | 23.6 | 33 | 27.8 | 23.5 | 27.2 | 36 | 33.6 | 26.6 | 39.2 | 26.8 |
| Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 697 | 528 | 551 | 480 | 399 | 532 | 387 | 361 | 766 | 665 |
| Reader / Idle | 886 | 763 | 1571 | |||||||
| Load | 192 | 70 | 60 | 101 | 153 | 77 | 215 | 90 | ||
| Witcher 3 ultra | 104 | |||||||||
| Power Consumption | ||||||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 3.2 | 5.5 | 7.8 | 2.6 | 11.8 | 11.1 | 10.3 | 9 | 5.5 | 4.5 |
| Idle Average * | 12.6 | 7.2 | 15.1 | 7.1 | 22.4 | 11.4 | 16 | 13.3 | 7.4 | 10.1 |
| Idle Maximum * | 13 | 16 | 17 | 7.9 | 23.1 | 14.4 | 24 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 10.5 |
| Load Average * | 57.9 | 91.8 | 114 | 76.8 | 138 | 137.4 | 85.4 | 107 | 78.2 | 83.2 |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 76.3 | 74.6 | 115.2 | 83 | 129.9 | 136 | 132.2 | 155.2 | 80.1 | 85 |
| Load Maximum * | 97.7 | 134.7 | 135.6 | 97.3 | 225.6 | 197 | 181.9 | 172 | 110.9 | 107.1 |
* ... smaller is better