Trading Forex is definitely something that requires skill and knowledge, but other than skill and knowledge – you need a solid laptop to match your capabilities. Therefore, in this post, we will help you find your next best laptop for trading Forex.
It’s a bit tricky to find a perfect laptop for Forex trading since there are quite many things and aspects to look out for. However, we have spent hours narrowing our list to the top 5 and taking time to test each of these laptops individually.
This leads us to write this full review where you will find our insight and hands-on opinion of these laptops which would most likely make an ideal choice for your needs.
If you aren’t a big fan of technology and know nothing about it – we can guarantee you that no matter which laptop you choose from this list, you’ll be equipped with a very solid machine.
A notes on using MacBook and forex trading
MetaTrade4 (the most popular forex platform) & several others have been reported to not working well with macOS. While there are workarounds that help solve this problem, it’s not for a regular user. Thus, if you want something on the reliable or don’t have to worry about the tech setup of things, go with a Windows laptop.
Quick recommendations on April 2024
- Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip – Crazy fast & affordable (Hot)
- Dell XPS 13 – Best overall (Popular)
- HP Envy 17 – Best Display Choice
- Asus ZenBook 13 – Large Trackpad Choice
- LG Gram – Best Battery Life
- Microsoft Surface Pro 7 – Best In Portability
- Razer Blade Stealth 13 – Trading & Gaming Choice
- Asus VivoBook 15 – Best Budget Trading Laptop
The Contenders For The Best Laptops For Trading Forex & Crypto 2024
Asus VivoBook Pro 17 – Largest Screen Pick
Trading Forex is always better using a larger display, but when you’re on the go and you rely on your laptop – there is no better laptop than ASUS VivoBook Pro.
This laptop features large 17” widescreen that offers flawless visuals in combination with dedicated graphics card GeForce MX150.
Even though the bezel isn’t narrow, this display type still features 72% NTSC. However, what we liked the most is the way ASUS optimized hardware and software to provide crisp and clear visuals with the help of a HD panel, relying on a WideView technology.
Therefore, you can expect richer, deeper, and accurate colors during trading Forex and even when you’re using the laptop for personal entertaining use afterward.
And even though this laptop doesn’t offer 4K display – it features 4K output due to its powerful configuration.
ASUS VivoBook Pro is being powered with the latest generation of Intel processor that even allows users to Turbo Boost the whole configuration. This leads to the next level performance which can be turned on and off – depending on your needs and wishes.
In combination with powerful Intel proccessing chipset, this laptop features dedicated NVIDIA GeForce MX150 graphics card that is discrete yet provides amazing visual experience and boost.
Lastly, there is a pretty decent combination of 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD and 1 TB HDD. This way, you will have a very quick performance with plenty of storage space so you don’t have to sacrifice a single thing.
For the sole purpose of trading Forex, this is an ideal & one of the most powerful combinations you can get. And of course, expect nothing less than a boosted performance levels to fit your trading game.
One of the things we liked the most and what we think would help any trader along the way is the long lasting battery.
But it’s not just any other battery you can find in a laptop. It’s a durable lithium polymer battery that features fast charging technology. Therefore, you’ll spend a lot more time using the laptop without having to worry about the charger than you would spend with your charger plugged in this laptop.
By our testing, we were able to charge about 60% in just 49 minutes – but of course, we weren’t using the laptop when we set it on a charger.
Recommended Configuration For Asus VivoBook Pro 17
CPU: Intel Core i7-8550U | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX150 | RAM: 8GB RAM | Screen: 17.3-inch Full HD WideView display| Storage: 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: up to 7 hours | Weight: 4.60 lbs
HP Envy 17 – Best Display Choice
It’s hard to find a perfect laptop that comes with an incredible display – yet HP Envy 17 is a laptop that managed to combine good of both worlds into one laptop.
It features 17.3” diagonal display which offers 4K resolution based on an IPS display which even comes with a anti-glare coating. HP really put a lot of effort and work into the screen of this laptop but we believe it was worth every second of their time.
Even though this screen doesn’t offer touch capability, it’s has WideView FHD IR camera featured in the bezel (which isn’t narrow) that produces incredible video quality.
Of course, HP had to combine a quality microphone with a quality camera, so they added a dual-array digital microphone.
Most traders rely on their phone for video calls – but HP Envy 17 takes it to another level.
Whatever you need to connect to your laptop, or wherever you need to connect your laptop to – this won’t be a problem. HP simplified this situation by increasing the connectivity of this laptop even though they were able to keep a decent shape and form of the laptop.
Therefore, you will be able to find USB 3.1 port, USB-C port, HDMI port, RJ-45 port, and even headphones/microphone combination port.
What surprised us enough was even to see the DVD/RW drive being offered with HP Envy 17t. You definitely won’t lack ways to connect devices or media to your laptop.
HP Envy 17 is brilliant when it comes to display, and even though it’s not one of the most powerful laptops on the market – it has a very decent configuration which will allow you to use it in many different ways.
This laptop features 8th generation of Intel i7 core processor that can be Turbo Boosted up to 4.0 GHz. Combined with such powerful processor is a NVIDIA GeForce MX150 dedicated graphics card.
There’s also 12 GB of RAM and 1 TB HDD drive. Now, we understand there is no SSD storage drive here, but we believe the speed and efficiency isn’t sacrificed in this case.
Recommended Configuration For HP Envy 17
CPU: Intel Core i7-8550U | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX150 | RAM: 12GB RAM | Screen: 17.3-inch Full HD Multi touch display| Storage: 1TB HDD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: up to 8 hours | Weight: 6 lbs
Dell XPS 9300 – Lightest Pick
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Dell XPS 9300 is one of the lightest laptops on the market, but also the one that comes with the most powerful configuration.
With the help of the advanced technology, the whole laptop is made simple from the powerful configuration placement, minimalistic yet attractive & light design, to improved cooling that will help you go for hours.
We shouldn’t forget to mention an amazing battery which can last up to 9 hours on a single charge. Once you have a look at the chassis of this laptop, you’ll notice how incredible placement is inside.
Other than a very powerful configuration and an amazing chassis, this laptop has something even more valuable – which is the UHD InfinityEdge display.
InfinityEdge is the innovative technology produced by Dell to provide and fit larger quality IPS panels into a smaller laptop chassis by introducing narrow bezel.
This way, Dell managed to feature 4K display with narrow bezel and a higher screen-to-body ratio, with even touchscreen capability.
There is no better way to trade Forex than to have a vivid, focused, and crispy clear image which will go easy on your eyes and yet will provide everything you need at the given moment.
We find this laptop’s screen to be one of the best screens in the 13” laptop category for sure.
You shouldn’t mistake this laptop’s thin and lightweight chassis for a weakness. It’s highly durable laptop that provides stunning strength no matter what you do and where you take this laptop with you.
What’s interesting is that Dell XPS 9300 is cut out of a single block of aluminum which makes it probably the most durable laptop on the market right now.
The whole design has been inspired by the aerospace industry, where the laptop is made from carbon fiber and woven glass fiber which offers a great combination of maximum strength and minimal weight.
Recommended Configuration For Dell XPS 9300
CPU: Intel Core i7-1065G7 | Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics | RAM: 16GB RAM | Screen: 13.4-inch 3840×2160 UHD Touch display| Storage: 512GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: up to 9 hours | Weight: 2.65 lbs
Asus ZenBook 13 – Large Trackpad Choice
If you aren’t able to go for a 2K display, there is no better option that settling with a Full HD laptop. Asus ZenBook 13 features FHD display that still produces a very high resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
One of the most important features is anti-fingerprint coating. This leaves you with an incredible display and nothing in between you and the display such as dust or fingerprints.
Trading Forex is incredible because of the quality image, but even if you decide to use this laptop for a personal purpose outside of the work – you’ll enjoy every second of it.
Wherever you go, you will be able to take this laptop with you without having the need to take the charger with you. Why? Because this laptop features one of the longest lasting batteries among competition.
ZenBook 13 is able to deliver an impressive 14 hours per charge which will last for a day for most average users. People who don’t rely on the laptop a lot throughout the day will find this battery to last even up to two days for their specific use.
Someone who uses laptop rarely will enjoy this battery since it could last up to a couple of days on a single charge.
On the outside, you’ll notice its slim, sleek, and lightweight design that weighs only 2.5 pounds. Wherever you’re traveling, you can simply throw this laptop in your bag and never have it hurt your shoulders or back due to its weight.
However, on the inside, this laptop features a very powerful configuration that combines powerful 8th generation of Intel processor and plenty of versatility with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD storage drive.
This offers plenty of speed and if you take the overall overview of the laptop, you’ll find this to be a very versatile and portable yet powerful machine you can take anywhere with you and yet never feel it in your backpack.
Recommended Configuration For Asus ZenBook 13
CPU: Intel Core i5-8250U | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics | RAM: 8GB RAM | Screen: 13.3-inch 1920×1080 NanoEdge Bezel display| Storage: 256GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: up to 14 hours | Weight: 2.5 lbs
LG Gram – Best Battery Life
If you trade on stocks, LG Gram is one of the best laptops recently released by LG. It features an incredible battery life and build quality packed with powerful configuration so you can enjoy a robust system and seamless performance.
The LG Gram features a 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD enough to save anything and run necessary software for trading, while the 8GB RAM makes sure you can run multiple programs at the same time.
The 13.3-inch Full HD IPS display gives a pretty decent display for an immersive viewing experience, LG manage to have a powerful laptop in just 2.1 pounds weight and even though this laptop is super lightweight the durability is not at stake.
In terms of battery life, this beast can last for 24.5 hours in a single charge which sounds unbelievable but this is true and you could probably use it for two days before using the charger again.
And if you like working at dim places, the backlit keyboard could be a perfect feature for you that allows you to see the keys clearly as any mistake made from trading would definitely cost you some money.
Recommended Configuration For LG Gram
CPU: Intel Core i5-8265U | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics | RAM: 8GB RAM | Screen: 13.3-inch 1920×1080 Full HD IPS display| Storage: 256GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: up to 24.5 hours | Weight: 2.1 lbs
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 – Best In Portability
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is an incredible 2-in-1 laptop that works as a tablet as well. It is one of the most portable laptops in the market, weighing only 1.7 pounds while being packed with power.
Powered by Core i5 processor and backed by 8GB of RAM so it really meets the requirement for trading, while the 256GB SSD ensures you have room for everything including softwares that you must use while trading though mostly applications you use while trading is browser based.
Another incredible feature about Surface Pro 7 is the PixelSense display that offers a quality display. This laptop is small, compact and meant for travel, you can use it in its three mode such as laptop, tablet and studio mode.
Keyboard and mouse are sold separately so if you’re fine with a little extra cost then it is fine though it really justifies the price. The average run time of the device is 10.5 hours in a single charge which may come in handy if you’re a stock trader.
The only lacking feature on this laptop is the ports, it only offers a headphone jack, Surface connect port, a USB 3.0 and mini-display port.
Recommended Configuration For Microsoft Surface Pro 7
CPU: Intel Core i5-1005G1 | Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics | RAM: 8GB RAM | Screen: 12.3-inch 2736×1824 PixelSense Touch display| Storage: 256GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: up to 10.5 hours | Weight: 1.7 lbs
Razer Blade Stealth 13 – Trading & Gaming Choice
It is undoubtedly true that gaming laptops are almost capable of other usage because of its powerful configuration and that includes trading.
With its powerful Core i7 processor, any trading system will work smoothly without compromise, the 16GB RAM makes sure you can have multiple applications running simultaneously without a problem. While the 256GB SSD makes sure you can save files faster than ever before.
The 4K display is very convenient when trading, who doesn’t like a very good display? Pretty sure you can see every swing lows and swing highs for a better trading.
Razer Blade series are known for its durable and stylish structure and this machine has ultra-thin body and incredible build-quality which makes this laptop a suitable choice for thos who like their laptop to be powerful and durable.
As a gaming laptop, the keyboard has 16.8 million color options on them that makes it look attractive and also useful in night time or dim environments. The battery life lasts for 10 hours but depending on the usage it can be shortened as powerful laptops like this machine are power hungry.
Recommended Configuration For Razer Blade Stealth 13
CPU: Intel Core i7-8565U | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX150 | RAM: 16GB RAM | Screen: 13.3-inch 3840×2160 4K Touch display| Storage: 512GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: up to 10 hours | Weight: 3.09 lbs
Asus VivoBook 15 – Best Budget Trading Laptop
You may think that a $400 laptop can’t be used for trading, we’ll you are wrong since Asus VivoBook 15 has a powerful Core i3 processor and 8GB of RAM so trading is easily handled by this laptop.
Aside from the power that it offers, this laptop has a 15-inch display that has 1080p resolution which is perfect for trading and multiple applications running at the same time.
This laptop has an ergonomic keyboard with fingerprint sensor for faster access and added security. If you type too much then you’ll love the keyboard on this laptop.
In terms of connectivity, this laptop has comprehensive connections including USB 3.3 Type A, Type C USB 3.2, USB 2.0, and HDMI port. Making this laptop ideal for those who uuses external peripherals.
So if you have a tight budget or a beginner in trading and want a laptop, this laptop is the best choice you’ll ever have.
Recommended Configuration For Asus VivoBook 15
CPU: Intel Core 3-1005G1 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics | RAM: 8GB RAM | Screen: 15.6-inch 1920×1080 NanoEdge display| Storage: 128GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: up to 8 hours | Weight: 3.75 lbs
How to Buy A Forex & Crypto Trading Laptop
Size & Resolution
As a Forex trader, you’ll be looking into the screen for almost your whole work day. Not only that, but you’ll also be looking at numbers and characters on large sheets which could really bring eye issues if you’re not careful with your laptop choice. Therefore, size & resolution are really important when it comes down to the best laptop for trading Forex.
Depending on your portability needs and wishes, you might stick with a 13″ laptop – but you can also go with a 17″ choice as well. However, what you should look for is a high resolution as this will make things a lot easier for you (larger resolutions provide more pixels).
Therefore, if you’re not on a budget we highly recommend you go for a 4K resolution, but if not – you can always go with 1080p resolution at least.
O.S
Depending on your trading capabilities, level, and skills, you might be using Forex trading software that helps you with the process by automating most of the work. On the other hand, you might be doing everything by yourself without any software.
Whatever the way it is – we highly recommend Forex traders to go with an OS that is reliable, will support them in both hardware and software capabilities, and will be easy & quick to use.
We recommend sticking with two best options available which are Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X.
These operating systems work really well with hardware and are quick and easy to use. They’re also very reliable with all the support you can have. Also, you will never be unable to do any task or install any software since chances are 99% there is the software you require available for these operating systems.
Performance
Since Forex trading laptops don’t need to come with the most high-end configuration, but if you aren’t on a budget – we highly recommend you get a very decent configuration.
Even though you won’t be working in very demanding software – you will often have a couple of software open, maybe even a few different browsers with plenty of tabs and along with some other apps. Therefore, you will want a high processing power combined with plenty of RAM.
While the graphics card isn’t very necessary, most laptops we chose include dedicated graphics card or they rely on a very quality integrated graphics card processor.
Having the necessary speed and reliability at any given moment is very crucial because you don’t want to be slowed down or miss on anything.
Battery Life
You will have quiet office days but you’ll also have trading times when you’re somewhere between your home and your office. This really requires your laptop to have great battery life.
Most modern laptops come with batteries that can last about 20 hours which for most traders is enough for a day. However, some average users might even get two days out of a single battery charge.
Other than battery life, you should be looking at the battery type since some modern batteries come with super quick charging capabilities. This will allow you to fully recharge your battery in just an hour.
We wouldn’t recommend you to go for a battery which can’t last at least 5 to 6 hours. Every one of the laptops we’ve mentioned in this post has a super long battery life and you shouldn’t have to worry about this – yet you should realize it’s a very important aspect.
Touchpad
Since you’re looking for versatility and portability – you will most likely be going to use your laptop without additional peripherals such as mouse and a mousepad.
Therefore, we find that touchpad and the whole trackpad area is really important for Forex traders. From design, the placement, material, responsiveness to even available multitouch gestures.
You want a trackpad that won’t limit you in any way, and yet will provide more efficient use of your laptop with decent trackpad responsiveness, multitouch gestures, and plenty of space for a smooth glide on great material.
We really like touchpads which are made out of glass rather than plastic and knowing that both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems come with plenty of multitouch gestures you can use – this will make your work a lot easier.
Memory Capacity
Don’t let it surprise you that the memory of the laptop you pick is also quite essential as well in this instance. Of course, unlike with many other types of tasks, it’s not immediately obvious how key the role of the memory capacity of your computer device is when it comes to Forex trading.
So, we’ll break that down more concisely for you.
The thing is this; ensuring that you run a Forex trading operation efficiently demands that you be able to perform actions fluidly and flawlessly on your device.
What does this mean in computer lingo?
It means that your Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM) must be sizable enough to handle a wide plethora of actions simultaneously. Ergo, the more RAM and ROM capacity that you have at your disposal, the more you’ll essentially be able to do.
While both types of memories are good to prioritize, in this case, we would argue that you would do well to focus extensively on the size and capacity of your Random Access Memory particularly.
If you’re wondering why, it’s due to the simple fact that successful Forex trading demands that you be able to fluidly run different trading programs, market charts, and trends concurrently.
And, guess which memory is responsible for how well you’re able to perform this action?
That’s right! It’s your RAM!
Along these lines, we’ll strongly recommend that you do not settle for any device with a RAM capacity that’s less than 16 GB. Some members of our team even go as far as suggesting that you make your minimum RAM capacity for Forex trading 32 GB!
This should go to show you that you can’t have too much of this resource.
Type of Disk Drive
We mentioned something about the importance of your computer device’s Read Only Memory (ROM) above, but it’s important that we buttress that point with some more details. This is because the relevance of your ROM cannot be overstated when it comes to the influence of the resource on your potential trading activities.
Now, here is everything you need to know in this regard in a nutshell.
Simply put, the ROM of your Forex trading laptop can be provided via one of two resources. It is either your laptop comes with a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or a Solid State Drive (SDD). In the past, most laptops would typically come with the former, no questions asked. However, the benefits of the more recent entry to the market, the SSD, make it a type of disk drive you can’t just ignore.
Of course, while the SSD has numerous benefits over the HDD, being the newer type of disk drive, it is not without its shortcomings either. Essentially, this is to infer that both these two options have various advantages and disadvantages when it comes to having them on your laptop.
However, we will approach this subject matter from one angle, to make your decision-making process a little easier. We’ll be considering these two disk drives in terms of how they affect the fluidity of the operation of your device.
In this area, the SSD is the far better option for you.
As it offers several perks like far less lag and much faster speeds, you have the opportunity to do so much more with this particular resource. However, the downside to this is that the technology is still fairly new and that makes it expensive.
But, because it’s so much better than HDD, you could get a small storage SSD (such as a 250 GB SSD) and you’ll still be much better off!
Central Processing Unit Capacity
Don’t be one of those PC users who only pays attention to the capacity and operating efficiency of their device’s central processing unit (CPU) AFTER they must’ve made the purchase. You don’t need the benefit of experience to know that following such a line of action will very likely not bode well. That simple fact is made all the more important when you’re swimming in Forex waters.
But, you might be wondering, just what is a central processing unit?
And, more importantly, just how does it affect your activities as a trader?
Well, to put it simply, your device’s CPU is the part of your computer that’s responsible for implementing the instructions you input into your device. In addition to this, it’s also the principal part of your computer device that’s in charge of processing data.
By extension, the higher the capacity of your CPU, the heavier the workload that your device will be able to manage. Conversely, when you have a weak CPU, the resulting effect is that your device won’t be able to process data and execute commands as efficiently as it should.
And, in Forex trading, the latter situation can prove potentially costly, which is why that is a scenario that you would do well to avoid where possible.
To make the best choice possible here, it helps to carefully consider the size of the workload that you plan to place on your laptop device while trading. This is because knowing how far you plan to push your device can be a good indicator of how heavy-duty your CPU should be.
In either event, we recommend that the operating capacity of your central processing unit not be less than 2.8 GHz (quad-core), just to be safe. But of course, if you have the budget, a machine with a 3.8 GHz quad-core processor or higher definitely won’t put you at a disadvantage!
Affordability
This is the last yet arguably one of the biggest elements that you have to carefully consider when it comes to finding the best laptop for trading Forex.
Is trading Forex worth it in this day and age?
All things considered, yes, it certainly is more than worth it at this time.
But that being said, you can’t very well reap all the gains that this venture has to offer you in advance, can you?
Of course, you can’t!
What this infers is that, if you’re just starting out Forex trading, you may not have all the needed funds to have your pick of the best laptops for trading Forex.
By inference, this means that you would have to consider your budget carefully and prioritize certain elements that you feel are more important over others when choosing the right Forex trading laptop for you.
This way, you’ll be able to strike the right level of balance that you need to make the best purchasing decisions possible here!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a graphics card for Forex trading?
Is SSD necessary or I can go with HDD as well?
How much storage would I need for Forex trading?
Resources
- Forex Platform Requirements – Forex.com
- How to Choose the Best Computer for Trading Forex – TradingHeroes.com
Dario is a writer at NetbookNews.com. He is at the same time an avid technology addict that loves reviewing gadgets & devices, and then writing useful reviews.