1. The list in brief
2. Best overall
3. Best under $1,000
4. Best under $2,000
5. Best battery life
6. Best performance
7. Benchmark comparisons
8. Recent reviews
9. How to choose the best workstation laptop
10. FAQs
11. How we test workstation laptops
12. Why trust Laptop Mag
If your workflow requires you to edit 4K videos, run complex simulations, or render 3D graphics, you'll need one of the best workstation laptops. These machines are built to handle almost anything you can throw at them while maintaining a laptop form factor.
While some creatives can get away with using one of the best gaming laptops instead, creative professionals can accept no substitutions. The laptops on this list feature workstation-optimized Nvidia RTX A-series or Ada Generation GPUs and powerful CPUs like the Intel Core i9, Core Ultra 9, AMD Ryzen 9, or Apple M series processors for demanding creative applications like Adobe Premiere Pro, Blender, or DaVinci Resolve.
Most professionals who need workstations require quality visuals, so these laptops also feature stunning, highly color-accurate displays. However, be prepared for a hefty price tag.
My current top pick is the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7, which offers robust performance, a long-lasting battery, and a relatively affordable price. Depending on your budget, macOS fans may consider the 16-inch MacBook Pro M4 Pro or MacBook Air M3.
At Laptop Mag, we review over a hundred laptops yearly, rigorously testing processing power, graphics, and display quality. The workstations on this list combine top-tier displays with powerful CPU and GPU combos for the most demanding users.
The quick list
Best overall
The Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 boasts a powerful Intel Core Ultra 7 165H processor, Nvidia RTX 1000 Ada Generation GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage for well-optimized workstation performance and incredibly long-lasting battery life in a thin and light design.
Best under $1,000
The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024) is not traditionally a workstation, but it is a surprisingly powerful little creator laptop featuring an Apple M3 CPU, M3 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of SSD storage. The MacBook Air M3 boasts outstanding battery life, strong performance, and a bright Liquid Retina display.
Best under $2,000
The Asus ProArt PX13 is a powerful AI PC for creators with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU, 32GB of memory, and 1TB of SSD storage. The ProArt PX13 features impressive all-around performance, a slick 2-in-1 design, and a unique DialPad touchpad for better creative control.
Best battery life
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro, 2024) features an Apple M4 Pro 14-core processor, M4 Pro 20-core GPU, 48GB of memory, and 2TB of SSD storage. This Apple powerhouse boasts almost 21 hours of battery life, unmatched performance, and an astoundingly bright Liquid Retina XDR display.
Best performance
The HP ZBook Studio 16 G10 is a workstation's workstation. Featuring a powerful Intel Core i9-13900H processor, Nvidia RTX 4000 Ada Generation GPU, 64GB of memory, and 2TB of SSD storage, this laptop can do it all. It also offers a stunningly vivid IPS display, loud onboard speakers, and a thin and light design.
Madeline Ricchiuto has covered software and hardware of all kinds over the years. She joined Future in 2019 as a tester in the hardware testing lab and moved to Laptop Mag in 2024.
Best overall
The Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 houses an Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and Nvidia RTX 1000 Ada Generation GPU. This workstation offers incredible performance for high-intensity tasks across a wide spectrum of applications, including video editing and 3D rendering. It also offers incredible battery life, making it a solid pick for the best workstation for most people.
✔️You want a workstation with plenty of configuration options and plenty of ports: Lenovo does offer plenty of configuration options beyond what we've been able to review, allowing you to get the ultimate workstation. The ThinkPad features USB Type-A, USB Type-C, and HDMI ports, plus an SD card reader and 3.5mm audio jack so it's also got plenty of connectivity for all of your work peripherals.
✔️You need a workstation that can function on battery power: The ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 lasted for over 17 hours on the Laptop Mag web surfing battery test. While it will go through its battery power much faster running high-intensity workloads, it will be able to function on battery power much better than most workstations on this list.
✖️You need a resolution higher than 4K: Lenovo does have a 4K OLED display panel option on the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7, though that is the top-end display configuration. So if you want a 5K display to edit your 4K video on native resolution, the ThinkPad is perhaps not the ideal contender. However, you can hook it up to a 5K monitor for editing as a way to still make it work.
✖️You need a high-quality webcam: The ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 doesn't have many weak points, but the webcam is somewhat grainy and distorted. So if you'll be using your workstation to handle a lot of video meetings, this is perhaps not the best choice.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 may not have the most powerful CPU on this list, but its Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and Nvidia RTX 1000 Ada Generation GPU offer incredible workstation performance regardless. The ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 offers impressive performance without being prohibitively expensive, which makes it an easy choice for our top pick for most users.
Madeline Ricchiuto said in our review, "While it may not be the most powerful workstation we’ve ever seen here at Laptop Mag, the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 has enough power and performance to handle photo and video editing, 3D rendering, or heavy data analysis you’d want out of a workstation machine."
As far as performance, the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 has a Geekbench 6 multicore average of 12,974, a file transfer rate of 2,071 MBps, and can compress a 4K video to a 1080p 30fps format in just 4 minutes and 22 seconds. While its performance isn't quite up to par with workstation powerhouses like the HP ZBook Studio 16 G10 or Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro, 2024), it is far more capable with high-performance tasks compared to more budget-friendly options like the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024) or Asus ProArt PX13.
The ThinkPad's weakest point is its display, which covered a respectable 78.6% of the DCI-P3 color gamut with an average brightness of 386 nits. Neither score is bad, but they could always be better.
Additionally, the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 lasted 17 hours and 23 minutes on the Laptop Mag web surfing battery test, which is far better than most workstations.
This workstation is a little pricey as the starting configuration is priced at $3,369, but it is often available at a discount, giving you an even better value for the money. This is the workstation we would recommend for most users, as it has the performance, display quality, and battery life to withstand most high-intensity tasks.
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 review.
Best workstation laptop under $1000
The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024) is a tiny, portable powerhouse, with more than enough performance and visual fidelity to match the needs of most creatives. Particularly for those who can get away without a more powerful workstation-class discrete GPU. And with education pricing and sales frequently dropping below the $1000 mark, the MacBook Air easily fits the bill as our best budget pick.
✔️You want the best combination of power, battery life, and budget: The MacBook Air 13 can run high-intensity programs like Adobe Premiere Pro or Blender, even on battery power. And with the starting configuration coming in at just $1,099 at full price, this is the best value choice when it comes to high-end content creation machines.
✔️You need a creator laptop that's easy to carry: The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024) is just 0.44 inches thick and weighs 2.7 pounds. Plus, because its chassis is designed for a 13-inch display, the MacBook Air can easily fit into any laptop bag or backpack.
✖️You need a more powerful workstation GPU: The base M3 GPU is a pretty powerful graphics processor, but for in-depth 3D rendering, video editing, or some data computations you'll need the power of a discrete workstation GPU. In that case, you'd be better off with one of our other workstation picks like the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7, HP ZBook Studio, or MacBook Pro instead.
✖️You need a full version of Windows OS: While you can partition the hard drive of any MacBook or dual-boot to install Windows, you can run into compatibility issues. Additionally, Windows installations on Macs tend to slow down the M-series chipset.
The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024) is a pint-sized powerhouse that can keep up with plenty of hard-hitting creative applications like Adobe Premiere Pro and Blender. The M3 model of the MacBook Air starts at $1,099, but you can often find it on sale for less. Or you can opt for the $999 M2 version, which is also an incredibly powerful creator laptop.
Sean Riley said in our review, "The 13-inch MacBook Air M3 thoroughly impressed in my daily usage and in our lab tests. I've spent dozens of hours working on it now and whether photo editing in Photoshop, editing video in Premiere Pro, or juggling a handful of Chrome windows with dozens of tabs each, it is more than equal to the task."
In terms of performance, the MacBook Air 13 M3 is only a bit behind more powerful workstations like the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 or Asus ProArt PX13. On the Geekbench 6 CPU benchmark, the MacBook Air 13 M3 averaged a multicore score of 12,087. On our video encoding test, the MacBook Air converted a 4K video to a 1080p 30fps format in just 6 minutes and 32 seconds.
The MacBook Air houses a 13-inch Liquid Retina display panel which covered 77.8% of the DCI-P3 color gamut with an impressive average brightness of 476 nits.
Additionally, the MacBook Air 13 (M3) lasted for 15 hours and 13 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test, which is more than enough to get you through the day on a single charge.
The only things holding this laptop back from perfection are a lack of ports, and a more muted display compared to the competition.
See our full Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024) review.
Best workstation laptop under $2000
The Asus ProArt PX13 retails for $1,699 making it a solid choice for a creator who needs a new budget-conscious laptop. It boasts an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU and Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU for a solidly powerful combination.
✔️You want a powerful content creation laptop with a discrete GPU while still maintaining a budget: The Asus ProArt PX13 houses a discrete gaming GPU, though the Nvidia RTX 4050 can function as a workstation GPU with Nvidia's studio drivers. While not as powerful as a workstation-class graphics card, it's more than enough for most work, and won't put you over the $2,000 threshold.
✔️You need the advantage of a full Windows operating system: With an AMD Ryzen AI 9 processor under the hood, the Asus ProArt PX13 offers a full Windows 11 experience, with full application support so you can run every program you need for your workflow.
✖️You want the best combination of power and price: The Asus ProArt PX13 is a solid combination of power and price-point, but it isn't the most budget-conscious workstation on this list. The MacBook Air is a better bargain by far.
✖️You need all-day battery life: The Asus ProArt PX13 lasted for 9 hours and 49 minutes on the Laptop Mag web surfing battery test, but it will be far less efficient when running high-intensity programs. You would be better served by the Apple MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 if you need an all-day battery life.
The Asus ProArt PX13 is a stylish 2-in-1 creator laptop with impressive performance courtesy of its Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU and Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU. With a starting price of $1,699, this AI PC workstation offers an incredible bargain of performance and price, all without giving up a Windows operating system.
Stevie Bonifield said in our review, "The Asus ProArt PX13 is a top choice for creators looking for a compact laptop that can easily get the most out of demanding apps like Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro."
The Asus ProArt PX13 actually outperformed the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 and Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024) in pure CPU performance, with a Geekbench 6 multicore average of 15,203. It also sped through our 4K video encoding task, completing the 1080p 30fps format compression in just 3 minutes and 36 seconds.
The ProArt PX13 has a vivid and bright display, covering 80% of the DCI-P3 color gamut with an average brightness of 350 nits.
As far as battery life is concerned, the ProArt PX13 is on the lower end, surviving 9 hours and 49 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test. This is actually pretty good for a workstation laptop with a discrete GPU, but not enough to close the gap with the ThinkPad for the title of best overall. However, it is a fantastic little workstation at a very affordable price.
See our full Asus ProArt PX13 review.
Best battery life in a workstation laptop
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 M4 Pro houses the new, powerful M4 Pro chipset, giving you incredible performance, unbelievable battery life, and an astoundingly bright Liquid Retina XDR display. You can also opt for the even stronger M4 Max CPU and GPU combo, for even more horsepower to tackle the most demanding programs.
✔️You want one of the most powerful, long-lasting laptops we've ever tested: The MacBook Pro 16 M4 Pro is one of the highest-scoring laptops we've seen. And it won't cost you much in battery efficiency as the MacBook Pro 16 lasted almost 21 hours on the Laptop Mag battery test.
✔️You want a laptop with incredible screen brightness: The mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR panel on the MacBook Pro 16 achieves an average peak brightness of 565 nits for SDR content. The brightness is further ramped up when viewing HDR content with a peak brightness hitting over 1,100 nits in our testing lab.
✖️You need to remain on a tight budget: Like all MacBooks, the MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro, 2024) comes with a premium price tag. If you need a more budget-friendly option with serious power, we've got a few solid options on this list that cost significantly less.
✖️You aren't a fan of macOS: This is a caveat with every MacBook, but if you don't like macOS, or you need full Windows support, it's better to opt for a Windows laptop rather than install Windows on your Mac. Partitioning your hard drive or dual-booting your system can get you some extra Windows compatibility, but it will slow down the MacBook and make the M-series chipset less effective.
The MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro, 2024) is one of the most powerful workstation laptops we've ever tested at Laptop Mag, with unmatched performance, an astoundingly bright display, and almost 21 hours of battery life. With an M4 Pro 14-core CPU and M4 Pro 20-core GPU, we couldn't find a task this MacBook couldn't handle.
Sean Riley said in our review, "It's almost simultaneously the most powerful premium laptop we've reviewed while also offering the second-longest battery of any laptop we've tested."
The M4 Pro chip outperformed even the M3 Max chip from last year's MacBook Pro 16, with a Geekbench 6 multicore average of 22,822. It absolutely crushed our Handbrake video encoding test, compressing a 4K video to 1080p 30fps format in just 2 minutes and 38 seconds.
The MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro, 2024) has a 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, which covers a solid 81.4% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and hits an average peak brightness of 565 nits.
Lastly, the MacBook Pro 16 lasted 20 hours and 46 minutes on the Laptop Mag web surfing battery test, the second longest we've seen yet.
If you need a MacBook that can do anything, the MacBook Pro 16 is the way to go. It has a high starting price, but if you've got the money to drop at least $2,499 on a laptop, it's absolutely worth it.
See our full Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro, 2024) review.
Best performance workstation laptop
The HP ZBook Studio 16 G10 has more power under the hood than just about anyone would ever need and you can configure it to your exact specifications. So if you need to do heavy video editing, intense design work, or serious data compilations and you have the budget to afford it? The ZBook Studio has everything you need.
✔️You need a workstation that can do it all: With multiple configuration options, the HP ZBook Studio 16 is as powerful as you need. And being a Windows machine, it's got support for all the design programs you might need, from the full Adobe suite to DaVinci Resolve to CAD.
✔️You need the workstation with the best display: The HP ZBook Studio is engineered for artists, and its 4K display covered an impressive 117.3% of the DCI-P3 color gamut in our lab tests. The ZBook's display is also very bright for an IPS display panel, with an average peak brightness of 457 nits.
✖️You need plenty of battery life: Because it boasts a powerful Nvidia RTX 4000 Ada Generation GPU, our ZBook Studio review unit lasted just 6 hours on our web surfing battery test. While that is decent for a laptop with a powerful discrete GPU, it won't get you through a workday. If you need both raw power and battery efficiency, the MacBook Pro is the better choice.
✖️You don't have a laptop fund of at least $4K: Even the lower-end configuration options of the HP ZBook Studio 16 G10 are expensive. Sure, HP often runs the ZBook on a discount, but even then you could buy a decent used car for the price of this workstation. It is a beast of a machine for someone who needs laptop flexibility and desktop performance and doesn't need to worry about a budget.
The HP ZBook Studio 16 G10 packages an Intel Core i9-13900H processor, Nvidia RTX 4000 Ada Generation GPU, 64GB of memory, and 2TB of SSD storage into a workstation that knows no limits. Its sticker price is similarly sky-high, with its starting configuration costing $3,201. Our fully-stocked review unit costs an astounding $8,905 at full price, making it about as expensive as a decent used car.
Madeline Ricchiuto said in our review, "Between my slight Photoshop use and 20-odd Chrome tabs, my work day was a breeze for the ZBook Studio. I even broke out some of my underwater videos from a recent dive trip to stitch together a highlight reel, and the ZBook didn’t flinch."
The ZBook's performance is top-of-the-line for an Intel processor, with a Geekbench 6 multicore average of 14,532 and a Handbrake video encode time of just 4:37 for a 4K video compression. It also boasts a transfer rate of 1,945 MBps.
The real star of the ZBook Studio is its stunning 4K display which covered 117.3% of the DCI-P3 color gamut with an average peak brightness of 457 nits.
Of course, all of that power comes at a price, so the ZBook Studio lasted just 6 hours and 1 minute on the Laptop Mag battery test. Considering the specs, this laptop lasted longer than we should rightly expect. But if you need something with truly impressive battery life, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro, 2024) or Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 are the way to go.
See our full HP ZBook Studio 16 G10 review.
Benchmark comparisons
Click to view chart data in table format
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 | Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024) | Asus ProArt PX13 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro, 2024) | HP ZBook Studio 16 G10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (Higher is better) | 12,974 | 12,087 | 15,203 | 22,822 | 14,532 |
| Handbrake time ((MM.SS), lower is better) | 04:22 | 07:19 | 03:32 | 02:38 | 04:37 |
| Battery life - Web surfing (HH.MM) | 17:23 | 15:13 | 09:28 | 20:46 | 06:01 |
| SSD transfer speeds (MBps, higher is better) | 2,070 | N/A | 1,583 | N/A | 1,945 |
| DCI-P3 Color Gamut (Higher is better) | 79% | 78% | 80% | 81% | 117% |
| Display Brightness (Nits, higher is better) | 386 | 476 | 350 | 565 | 457 |
| Hottest temperature (95 degree comfort threshold) | 88 | 83.5 | 95.5 | 90.5 | 94.2 |
Recent reviews
We review dozens of laptops annually, and while some simply don't have what it takes to make our buying guides, they are still strong options that came up short for one reason or another. Here are some of our most recently reviewed laptops that didn't make the cut for "Best workstation laptops", but could still be solid machines for your creative workflow.
How to choose the best workstation laptop
Choosing the right workstation for you comes down to why you need it in the first place. If you need a combination of power, battery life, and affordability, we recommend the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7. If you need to do heavier work than your average laptop can handle and need to stay on a budget, we recommend looking at something like the MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024) or Asus ProArt PX13.
If money is no object, you can pick up some beastly workstations like the HP ZBook Studio 16 G10 or Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro, 2024), which are incredibly powerful machines that can withstand any workload. They also cost a pretty penny to take home.
FAQs
Can I use a gaming laptop instead of a workstation?
If you need to do light photo and video editing, a powerful CPU with an integrated GPU can handle most programs. If you need to get into more in-depth AI-generated editing or data computations then you'll want a discrete GPU. Gaming class graphics cards can handle most of these tasks pretty well, allowing you to use a gaming laptop as a workstation.
This can help you save some money, as workstation laptops, however, there are cases where you won't be able to use a gaming laptop, like editing 4-8K video, intensive 3D rendering, or complex data computations. Of course, you don't want to use a creator laptop for intense gaming either. Workstation GPUs and gaming GPUs may pack a lot of power, but the optimization differences between the two GPU classes mean that any intensive workstation tasks won't run well on a gaming machine and vice versa.
Why are workstation laptops so expensive?
Workstation laptops are expensive because they pack some of the most powerful processors, like the Intel Core Ultra 9, Intel Xeon, AMD Ryzen 9, or Apple M series chipsets which come at a high cost. Workstations also come with powerful workstation GPUs which don't retail cheaply either.
Workstations also come with the business pricing issue where they're often sold for less than their "list" price, to give you the feeling of a discount. Workstations are also frequently purchased in bulk, so the pricing scheme is more opaque than usual.
How we test the best workstation laptops
We put each laptop through extensive benchmark testing — both synthetic and real-world — before they end up in the hands of our reviewers. We evaluate each aspect of the laptop, including its performance, battery life, display, speakers, and heat management.
In our benchmark testing, we use a Klein K10-A colorimeter to detect the brightness and DCI-P3 color gamut of the laptop's display. For performance testing, we run the laptop through a gauntlet of benchmarks, including Geekbench 6 and 3DMark professional graphics tests. With workstation laptops, we also run the machines through several SpecWorkstation and PugetBench Adobe tests.
To determine real-world performance, we task the laptop to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution and to duplicate a 25GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics test is Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm benchmark with medium settings at 1080p resolution.
We also run heat tests by playing a 15-minute full-screen video and measuring temperatures in different areas of the laptop. Last but not least, our battery test consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. For premium MacBooks and Windows 11 laptops, a runtime of over 10 hours is considered a good result whereas dedicated workstations that can stay powered for longer than 5 hours deserve praise.
These tests are complemented with extensive hands-on testing from our reviewers who critique everything from the laptop's materials to the feel of its touchpad.
Why Trust Laptop Mag
Laptop Mag reviews over a hundred different laptops every year, from paperweight ultralights to everyday workhorses to lumbering gaming notebooks that scorch the frame rates of even the hottest AAA games. We're not just experts in the laptop field, as we go one step further by meticulously testing smartphones, tablets, headphones, PC accessories, software, and even the latest in gaming.
We are 100% independent and have decades of experience to help you buy with confidence. In fact, Laptop Mag has been testing and reviewing products for three decades, and we continue to deliver trustworthy reviews you can rely on.
Our experienced team of writers and editors scour the available information about the laptop and put it through its paces to determine which is best for you. But before they start, the testing team subjects each system to a rigorous regimen of synthetic and real-world tests to see how a system handles the type of work and games you’re most likely to throw at it.
Our editorial trustworthiness is enforced by one of the world's largest technology publishers, Future Publishing. As a company, we have unrivaled experience across every tech sector — and we're the group's specialist for all things mobile tech.
