If you’re reading this now, it’s because you want to find the best i7 laptop for your CPU-hungry applications. But there are just so many options to choose from, and that number is always increasing!
That’s why we took the initiative and decided to find you all the best i7 laptops available in 2020. We’ve looked at every i7 model in the market and come up with 5 contenders for any kind of user on any budget.
The Lineup at a Glance
- Apple MacBook Pro 16 – Amazing All-around
- ASUS ZenBook 13 – Ultratough
- Alienware M15 – Hardcore Gaming
- Dell XPS 13 7390 – Anti-reflective Display
- Acer Aspire 7 – Powerful Yet Affordable
- LG Gram – Extremely Light
- Acer Aspire 5 – Cheap and Affordable
- HP Spectre x360 – Easy Multitasking
- Acer Spin 3 – Powerful Convertible
- Lenovo Thinkpad E590 – Large Storage Space
Contenders For Best I7 Laptops In 2023
Apple MacBook Pro 16 – Amazing All-around
The sleek grey look of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 is nothing new as it greatly resembles its predecessor. You have both positives and negatives to this design.
The positive is the design is solid but the negative is there it is nothing new and still carries around bloatware when rivals have slimmed down on designs.
This laptop does not make it easy for users when it comes to diversifying connection options. There is no presence of a microSD slot or USB port. However, you do get 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports. With the speedy nature of the Thunderbolt 3, you can connect to more than one system at a go.
At first the 16-inch display of the laptop appeared no different to the others like it on the market. However, when True Tone is turned on, the graphics on the screen become pleasant to look at.
The reason for this difference lies in the system leveraging the True Tone to change the display’s white point so as to match the brightness of a room.
Also, in terms of movie watching, the Retina Display is as good as ever as it is easy to view the details.
The laptop has fast processing speed. Apple MacBook Pro 16 may very well have the fastest SSD within a laptop. It can complete large and demanding tasks within a few seconds.
This capability is better than its Windows counterparts like Dell XPS and Windows Surface Laptop which averaged 279.3mbps and 203mbps.
Hardware Specifications for Apple MacBook Pro 16
CPU: Intel Core i7| Graphics: AMD Radeon Graphics| RAM: 16GB RAM | Screen: 16-Inch Retina with True Tone display| Storage: 512GB SSD| Operating System: Mac OS| Battery Life: up to 11 hours | Weight: 8.23 lbs
ASUS ZenBook 13 – Ultratough
The ASUS ZenBook 13 has sleek but durable design. In terms of looks, the ASUS Zenbook 13 offers a royal blue body paint and a keyboard of rose gold tint. Compared to its competitors, the laptop has less bezel and more system.
However, its thickness of 0.7 inches rivals the Dell XPS 13 and HP Envy which are 2.7 pounds/0.5 inches and 2.9 pounds/0.5 inches respectively.
The laptop also features diverse ports for connections. Unlike the Apple MacBook Pro 16, the Zenbook has diverse ports which include HDMI port, USB Type-A port, USB Type C port, Micro SD card, and an audio device slot.
But, even with the diversity of ports, the system does not offer the fast Thunderbolt ports which are a tad disappointing as none of the present ports can compare to its speed.
Punchy keyboards are an indication of how active the laptop keys are and the Zenbook 13 definitely offers that. However, the spacing between the keyboard is too close together thereby creating a far from pleasant typing experience.
Apart from the keyboards, we also have the touchpad of the laptop. Although it is highly responsive to touch, it is smaller than the average you would expect for a laptop of the Zenbook’s size.
The audio of the ASUS Zenbook 13 is loud enough to fill a room but the depth of sound is empty. The speakers can distort the sound and the necessary bass undertones of most sounds are driven to the background.
Hardware Specifications for ASUS ZenBook 13
CPU: Intel Core i7-10510U |Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX250 | RAM: 16GB RAM | Storage: 512 SSD| Screen: 13.3 inches; 1920 x1080 resolution| Storage: 512 GB SSD|Operating System: Windows 10 Pro | Battery Life: 11 hours | Weight: 2.8 lbs
Alienware M15 – Portable Gaming
The Alienware M15 has a portable design with easy connectivity. This gaming laptop might have been a latecomer to the Intel Core i7 processor party, but it grabbed our attention with its lightweight state.
It does away with the chunkiness normally attributed to gaming laptops and instead offers a thin grey chassis. Although this system is not the lightest gaming laptop around as Razer Blade 15 and MSI GS65 give it a run for its money.
The slim nature of the laptop does not affect the presence of connection ports. On both the left and right side of the system, you have a pair of USB 3.0 Ports. We also have a Noble lock slot, headset jack, and Gigabyte Ethernet Jack.
At the back of the system, you have the fast Thunderbolt 3 port, HDMI 2.0 port, mini DisplayPort and the power jack.
The 15.6-inch laptop offers a stunning display as colors appear with great clarity and vibrancy which is good for gaming. The system has a 144-Hz refresh rate that also ensures the gaming action flows smoothly. The vivacity of the images makes it a top must have for gamers.
In the processing of slimming down the laptop, it is quite apparent that a certain feature would have to suffer for it. In this case, the sound quality of the Alienware takes the hit.
The speakers are not the best you will find on a gaming laptop as they barely fill a room and often sound distorted.
Hardware Specifications for Alienware M15
CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H| Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 2060 6GB | RAM: 16 GB RAM | Screen: 15.6″ FHD (1920 x 1080) display, 144Hz refresh rate and 300-nit brightness| Storage: 512 GB SSD| Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 6 hours| Weight: 4.76 lbs
LG Gram – Extremely Light
One reason to get excited by the LG Gram Thin and Light system is the beautiful 15-inch display screen. Although the resolution is not 4k, the display panel still offers sharp color at its 1920 x 1080 resolution.
You also have no color saturation of images but, its color gamut is 114.5 which is below that of the Dell XPS at 115.
However, its brightness of 359 nits is better than that of the MacBook Pro’s 354 nits.
Despite the use of the Intel Core i7 processor, the LG Gram Thin and Light is not the fastest system on the market. The reason for this might be due to lack of distinct graphics.
For its performance, it relies on the 10 th Gen Intel Core i7-1065G7 processor, Intel Iris Plus Graphics graphics, 512GB SSD with 16GB of RAM.
Users can switch between multiple open tabs with a lag in performance, however, its responsiveness is below that of Dell XPS 15 which is in the same market.
Another reason to take a look at the laptop is its battery life of 21 hours which is way above the average of 8 hours. Web surfing and movie watching do not detract from the ability of the laptop to say running for more than 8 hours.
Hardware specifications for LG Gram
CPU: 10th Gen Core i7-1065G7 | Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics | RAM: 8 GB RAM| Screen: 15.6” Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS LCD Screen | Storage: 512 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 21 hours | Weight: 2.4 lbs
Acer Spin 3 – Powerful Convertible
The appearance of the Acer Spin 3 is sleek however the use of plastic takes away from what could have been a durable chassis.
The body of the laptop is painted silver and this gives off a cheap look when compared to the laptops from competitors. However, this does not make the laptop unattractive in anyway.
Perhaps the greatest detraction from the system is the bloatware from thick bezel which will let users know that this is not a high-end laptop.
The laptop features multiple input and output sources. The usual ports you would expect to see in a laptop are all present on the Spin 3. They include an HDMI, power connector, two USB 3.0 ports, SD card reader, USB 2.0 port, mic/headphone jack and a Kensington lock slot.
Acer Spin 3’s display is not the best on the market but still not the worst. Graphics may appear sharp but they are not vivid. The images are not glossy and do not pop at you. Movie watchers may find the panel display to be a disappointment.
Keyboard spacing in the Acer Spin 3 will not make it a favorite laptop for writing as the keys are too shallow. But considering this is a convertible, it’s understandable. Thankfully, there is backlighting of the keyboard which will make typing in a low light setting easy.
Hardware Specifications for Acer Spin 3
CPU: 8th Generation Intel Core i7 8565U Processor (Up to 4.6GHz) | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 16 GB RAM| Screen: 14 inches Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED backlit IPS Multi Touch Convertible Display| Storage: 512 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 12 hours| Weight: 3.7 lbs
Dell XPS 13 7390 – Anti-reflective Display
The Dell XPS 13 also has an identical anodized aluminum screen lid and base, partnered with plain-woven carbon fiber (or glass fiber on light-colored models) keyboard deck.
The lineup of ports additionally stays the same, with two USB-C 3.0 ports, a microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack for private listening.
And, that’s a good thing since this choice is significantly more beneficial than several competitive laptops, with some of them clinging solely to USB-C 3.1 and not the superior Thunderbolt 3 standard.
The fact that’s unchanged is that the display, not that it is required to be updated. It’s even as dynamic and vigorous as ever in both the Full HD and, and also the bezels around the display are essentially non-existent which maximizes its 13 inch screen.
But what truly makes the display ideal for work and play is that it features anti-reflective properties. You know that feeling when you can’t see the screen because it’s too bright? Well that’s the reflection of the environment blinding your eyes. The Dell XPS 13 essentially removes this problem with its anti-reflective screen.
The Dell XPS 13 is an upgrade in each feature over its predecessor, specifically when it involves battery life. The processor within is the newest version of the 10th-generation series of Intel processors, specifically the Intel Core i7-10710U processor which is a big jump from its predecessors.
The difference? Each processor operates at an equivalent frequency. However, the newer model is more efficient within the same power profile and is, therefore, slightly more powerful.
Hardware Specifications for Dell XPS 13 7390
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10710U processor | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics| RAM: 16 GB RAM | Screen: 13.3” FHD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge Touch Display | Storage: 256 GB SSD| Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 12 hours | Weight: 5.69 pounds lbs
Acer Aspire 5 – Cheap and Affordable
Opening the laptop reveals a subsiding-sized screen enclosed by fairly solid bezels, that some might feel is wasted space. It does, at least, leave an oversized keyboard on the lowest half of the laptop, which we’ll get to in an exceedingly moment.
The big bezels likewise mean the webcam can be positioned within the center of the top bezel, which in our opinion is the best area for a webcam to reside.
The Acer Aspire 5 comes with two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0, a USB-C, Ethernet and SD memory card port, providing you many choices for connecting peripherals.
You could have chosen maybe one of the USB 2.0 ports to be another USB 3.0. However, the USB-C port is definitely a welcome addition that gives you some future-proofing.
The Aspire 5’s 15.6-inch screen gives lively colors on its 1920 x 1080 matte IPS panel. Although if you watch Penny Dreadful, which is known for its dim lighting and grim combination, Ethan Chandler’s face appeared crisp and clear.
The nice and cozy color from the sun burst through the stone cellar window onto the characters’ faces and determined each strand of hair on their heads. You would not have been able to embrace these details on a smaller display.
If played Overwatch as Hanzo, the wide display lets you see the minute details of Widowmaker’s helmet enabling you to fire a bolting arrow across the map.
Mid-range laptops are, in fact, the laptops that several people are most likely to buy. Striking a balance between the newest robust components and affordability, they’re excellent if you would wish for something future-proof that won’t break the bank.
Updated with 8th-generation Intel Core processors, to start, this over competent laptop ticks all the boxes you’d need for a regular laptop, as long as your computer preferences don’t include a whole lot of video editing or designing and drafting.
Hardware Specifications for Acer Aspire 5
CPU: 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8565U | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX250| RAM: 12 GB RAM | Screen: 15.6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) widescreen LED backlit IPS display | Storage: 512 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 9.5 hours | Weight: 3.97 lbs
HP Spectre x360 – Easy Multitasking
Straight out of the box, it’s obvious that the HP Spectre x360 could be a high-quality piece of hardware. The brushed metal finish means that the whole laptop feels sturdy, and therefore the same build property extends to the namesake 360-degree hinge that allows it to swap between laptop and tablet modes.
Physical connectivity is completed with efficiency, with two Thunderbolt 3 allows USB-C ports and a single USB-A port that opens on a sprung clasp; the port itself is larger than the super-thin edge of the laptop, therefore it snaps shut once not in use. It’s a great bit of design that we’ve seen before, however rarely done this well.
The Spectre x360’s 13.3-inch, 1080p touch screen might be brighter, however, you could still enjoy watching movies and television shows on the sharp and colorful appearance. From aqua coat to fiery scarlet hair, the sundry colors during a trailer for the X-Men movie Dark Phoenix popped on the Spectre x360’s display.
The vortex of fire enveloping Dark Phoenix at the end of the trailer was an ocean of punchy oranges and deep purples. The display was so crisp that you could detect a boot floating among thousands of shards of wood as Jean Grey hovered in midair, staring down her adversary, Quicksilver, with menacing orange eyes.
Intel’s 10th-generation laptop CPUs carry the weight also then some, therefore uniting it with a 8 GB of swift RAM enables the HP Spectre x360 to lessen daily life tasks with no hassle. With such a powerful processor, multitasking would be a breeze!
Web browsing, watching videos, and utilizing the Microsoft Office software suite is all swish and straightforward to do on the HP Spectre x360.
Hardware specifications for HP Spectre x360
CPU:10th Gen Intel® Core i7-1065G7 processor | Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics | RAM: 8 GB RAM | Screen: 13.3″ FHD (1920×1080) IPS BrightView WLED Multi Touch Screen | Storage: 512 GB SSD| Operating System: Windows 10 Pro | Battery Life: 10 hours | Weight: 2.87 lbs
Acer Aspire 7 – Powerful Yet Affordable
The Acer Aspire 7 is a big upgrade from the Aspire 5. Although not as cheap, the Aspire 7 is more powerful and it has overall better specs than its predecessor. Its processor, graphics card, and RAM had a massive upgrade.
It now features a 9th Gen i7 processor that can go up to 4. 5GHz, its GPU is now better at rendering and it can be also used for gaming with its Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 that has over 3 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, and its RAM is slightly more powerful now with 16 GB of it in total.
With specs like this you could actually use this laptop for gaming, video editing, and for running high-end programs. The laptop also has a backlit keyboard which works really well in dark or dimly lit environments.
The only downgrade the Aspire 7 has over the Aspire 5 is battery life. Powerful specs usually come at the price of a shorter battery life and the Aspire 7’s battery is 1.5 hours shorter than the Aspire 5 with only having 8 hours for you to use. But hey 8 hours is still pretty decent battery life especially considering the price and specs of the Aspire 7.
Hardware Specifications for Acer Aspire 7
CPU: 9th Generation Intel Core i7-9750h 6-Core Processor (Up to 4. 5GHz)| Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 with 3 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM| RAM: 16 GB RAM | Screen: 15. 6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) widescreen LED-backlit IPS display| Storage: 512 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: 8 hours | Weight: 3.31 lbs
Lenovo Thinkpad E590 – Large Storage Space
The Lenovo Thinkpad E590 is an amazing laptop for business oriented people or for those who really love to work while on the go. This laptop has a 10 hour battery life enabling the dedicated office worker to work for their entire workday while having an extra 2 hours for overtime.
But the true strength of the The Lenovo Thinkpad E590 is in its storage space. The laptop features over 2 TB of storage for all of those video files, documents, and projects that you need to archive. The storage is divided into a 1 TB SSD and a 1 TB HDD, you can simply store important files in the SDD while storing the ones you plan to archive in the HDD.
As for power, the laptop is powered by a powerful Intel Quad Core i7-8565U, an Intel UHD Graphics 620 card, and over 32 GB of RAM! You’ll be able to keep multiple tabs and programs on the background open allowing you to multitask effectively and get more things done.
Hardware Specifications for Lenovo Thinkpad E590CPU: Intel Quad Core i7-8565U, | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620| RAM: 32 GB RAM | Screen: 15.6-Inch IPS FHD(1920×1080) Display| Storage: 1 TB SSD + 1 TB HDD | Operating System: Windows 10 Pro | Battery Life: 10 hours | Weight: 4.7 lbs
Picking The Best Intel Core I7 Processor Laptops In 2023
Going with an i7 processor means you’ll have better speeds for multitasking. In particular, these models are all meant for running multiple programs or web browser tabs simultaneously.
You will also get better performance with multimedia activity such as music, video streaming, gaming, and so on. There’s a very wide range of models available that include i7 processors, however.
If you plan to use high end video editing software, your needs will differ from someone who just wants to surf the web or from someone who wants to play new games.
Do I really need an I7 Laptop?
Computer processor, for both desktops and laptops, come in a dizzying array of names. You’ll see names like Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake, and read descriptors like i3, i5, and i7.
At the moment, the i7 line of Intel processors are among the best available, offering faster speeds than older i5, i3, Celeron, and Pentium models.
Choosing the right i7 laptop shouldn’t revolve around how much RAM the laptop has, or what type of storage it has. It should be based on the following:
- The Intel Processor Suffix
- The Cache
- The Turbo Boost
- Hyperthreading
You may think that the letters after the processors are just a part of the processor generation. Guess what? No…
The i7 processor’s power and capabilities are separated and indicated by the suffix you’d see at the end of the name of the processor. Here are what these letters mean at a glance:
- S – Optimized for performance
- HK – (H) High-performance graphics, (K) Unlocked
- HQ – (H) High-performance graphics, (Q) Quad core
- U – Ultra-low power consumption for longer battery life but lower performance
We recommend you get the U-series i7 for heavy multitasking tasks or for daily work tasks, one with an 8MB cache memory. This should be enough to give you the processing power and thrust to do everyday work tasks and processes without a need to spend a lot of money.
Hyperthreading on the other hand is a processor’s ability to perform and process data faster. This acts as a multiple-processor processing data at the same time.
With more threads working together, the workload is cut significantly.
i5 vs i7 laptop?
Most i7 processors have four to six cores, while a few still stick to the older dual core model. More cores means more ability to multitask without slower speeds.
The i7 series also features faster speeds while engaging in Turbo Boost, which increases the clock speed when fewer cores are in use. This is basically built-in overclocking, so you don’t need to make any changes yourself.
Critically, the i7 line includes a larger cache than i5 or i3 models. The cache is used for storing numbers during repetitive tasks, like updating spreadsheets, working on a text document, and so on.
When performing those sorts of tasks, you will get a much smoother experience with any of our best i7 laptop contenders.
Is There A Processor Line Better Than The I7?
As with all technology, there’s always something new and better on the horizon. Of course, there is actually a higher end CPU line available now, and its referred to as the i9.
With the i9 version, you get increased speed, extra cores, and even better cache sizes. You will pay a premium to get such cutting edge tech in a laptop, however.
For the time being, laptops equipped with i9 processors are usually double (or more) the cost of their i5 and i7 counterparts. For most users, that level of speed just isn’t necessary.
Finding A High End I7 Laptop At The Right Price
Whether you need to stick a budget under $500 or want a high end gaming or video editing machine, one of our contenders for the best i7 laptop should fit your budget and usage.
Having a hard time choosing which is best for you? Hit us up down the comments and we’ll be happy to help you out.