PRO LAPTOPS FROM £600

Whether you need a manageable laptop for a rollout or a fast machine for your own orofessional use, one of our 20 tested laptops holds the answer

Remember when choosing a laptop was simple? If you needed something for a business rollout, it could be any colour you like so long as it was black. And, for the vast majority of users, it would be big, boxy and pack all the sex appeal of a wet kipper.

Then there was the distinctly different range of consumer laptops. If you were lucky these might come in different colours, but the only security feature of note would be the AV suite bundled along with so much c**pware you’d spend your first hour uninstalling it.

Now, the divide between business laptops and consumer laptops is all but indistinguishable. A handful include Intel’s vPro processors, or AMD’s Ryzen Pro equivalent, which will both help IT departments when it comes to remote management. But are they necessary? Unless you’re part of a 500-seat business or larger, it’s tough to make a strong argument.

The Pro edition of Windows does offer advantages to smaller businesses, however. It means the IT department can control updates, and if you’re using bespoke software that doesn’t like an update then delaying it could buy you vital time. You can’t join a Windows 10 or 11 Home system to a domain, either.

Fortunately, it’s easy to upgrade a Home system to Pro; you can buy a licence from a reputable source (such as store.pcpro.co.uk for around £80) or upgrade directly from the Windows Store for £120.

So, which laptop should you buy? We have 20 fine examples on show from all the big manufacturers, and a couple of smaller ones, while our guide on p73 explains several things to look out for. Happy hunting!