A large section of the global population has moved to a work-from-home environment due to the pandemic. This has naturally led to a sharp increase in the demand for PCs, especially ones that offer superior webcams for video meetings and wide connectivity options for a multi-device setup. If you’re in the market for a new PC for work, choosing the right one can be tedious.
But to make things easier, we’ve listed some of the best PCs for working from home. The recommendations below have been chosen while keeping in mind that they offer great cameras and allow users to quickly switch between leisure and work by letting them connect to docks, external monitors, etc. Note that all the options given below running on Windows will be getting the new Windows 11 update later this year.
Navigate this guide:
- Best overall: HP Elite Dragonfly Max
- Best AiO desktop: HP ENVY AiO 32
- Best tablet: Microsoft Surface Pro 7
- Best Mac: Apple iMac M1
- Best high-performance laptop: MSI GE76 Raider
- Best detachable: Microsoft Surface Book 3
- Honorable mention: ASUS ROG Flow X13
Best overall: HP Elite Dragonfly Max
The HP Elite Dragonfly Max is a highly recommended laptop, especially if you’re looking for a sharp-looking PC that’s powerful and offers reliable security. The HP Elite Dragonfly Max is a lightweight business notebook made out of magnesium and features a convertible design allowing you to use it in tent mode, media mode, and tablet mode. It also features one of the best webcams on a laptop offering support for 1440p video with a physical camera shutter.
It also comes with Thunderbolt 4 ports which means you can pop in a Thunderbolt dock to expand your connectivity options in a jiffy. Other notable features include a fingerprint scanner and facial recognition, optional 5G connectivity, up to a 4K resolution panel, and the option of the latest 11th-gen Intel Tiger Lake processors.
- The HP Elite Dragonfly Max is a highly recommended laptop if you're looking for a powerful, secure machine for working from home.
Best AiO desktop: HP ENVY AiO 32
This AiO (all in one) PC has it all and can be the perfect desktop for your work-from-home setup. It comes with a 31.5″ 4K (3840 x 2160) IPS display that supports HDR 600 and up to 600 nits brightness. Basically, it has an excellent display that’s bright and offers an excellent dynamic range with great color reproduction. The ENVY AiO 32 can be configured with up to a 10th-gen Intel Core i9 processor, 32GB of RAM, and dual storage (SSD + HDD) options.
For graphics, users can choose the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, or go all the up to an RTX 2080. It also features a 1080p pop-up webcam and a good selection of I/O ports, including Thunderbolt 3 for super-fast data transfers and connecting all sorts of docks and adapters.
- The HP Envy AiO 32 is a premium all-in-one desktop featuring high-end hardware for all sorts of workloads.
Best tablet: Microsoft Surface Pro 7
The Surface Pro 7 is an excellent Windows tablet for work. It’s compact and lightweight, making it easy to carry around when you’re on the move, and when you get home, it can quickly adapt to your work setup. It doesn’t have a Thunderbolt port, but the USB-C port supports external monitors, USB docks, and dongles. On top of that, the front 5MP camera supports 1080p video, which means you are going to look great for your Zoom meetings.
The Surface Pro 7 also comes with a 12.3-inch full-HD display, the option of up to a 10th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and up to 1TB storage that can be expanded using a microSD card.
- The Surface Pro 7 is a recommended Windows tablet for working from home offering all the features one would need for a desk setup at the same time allowing you to carry it around with ease.
Best Mac PC: Apple iMac M1
The new 24-inch iMac is clearly meant for people looking for a reliable PC that they can use to work from home. It comes with the new M1 Silicon chipset that’s powerful for all sorts of workloads. It also comes with a new 1080p camera that’s paired with an ISP on the M1 chipset to offer great image quality for video calls, even in low light conditions, and a six-speaker system for an immersive audio experience.
The new iMac also features a brand new design available in seven attractive colors. It’s limited when it comes to I/O, but it does come with a Thunderbolt port allowing you to expand your connectivity options in a jiffy.
- The new 24-inch iMac is a great work from home PC offering a slim, minimalistic design, excellent performance thanks to the M1 Silicon chipset and a great 1080p camera with Thunderbolt connectivity.
Best high-performance laptop: MSI GE76 Raider
The MSI GE76 Raider is a very powerful laptop for all your needs. It can handle all sorts of workloads, including high-end graphics-intensive tasks, and when you’re done with work, you can sit back and enjoy some of the latest gaming titles. The notebook can be configured with the latest Intel 11th-gen Tiger Lake-H processors, up to an NVIDIA RTX 3080 GPU, and options of 1080p, 1440p, and 2160p IPS displays with high refresh-rate options going up to 300Hz. The laptop also comes with a 1080p camera for sharp and clear video calls and a wide range of connectivity options, including Thunderbolt 4.
- The MSI GE76 Raider is a powerful 17-inch laptop that can handle heavy workloads and be the perfect desktop replacement, especially if you need a solid work from home PC.
Best detachable: Microsoft Surface Book 3
Microsoft’s Surface Book 3 is a unique hybrid laptop that’s also a great work-from-home PC. The tablet section can be taken out for taking quick notes, and when you pair it with the keyboard base, you get extended battery life and dedicated graphics performance. The Surface Book 3 comes in 13.5-inch and 15-inch models powered by the 10th-gen Intel processors, up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. It also comes with a 1080p video camera and support for external docks using the USB-C or the Surface Connect port.
- The Microsoft Surface Book 3 is a great work from home PC offering a modular design giving the option of taking off the display to use it as a tablet.
- The 13.5-inch version of the Microsoft Surface Book 3 offers the same modular design and the same set of specifications, although you do have to compromise a bit on the dedicated graphics.
Honorable mention: ASUS ROG Flow X13
If you’re looking for a slim, 2-in-1 laptop, you can carry around and then transform into a powerful workhorse at home, check out the ASUS ROG Flow X13. It’s a 13-inch premium convertible notebook powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS octa-core processor with 32GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU. Once paired with the ROG XG Mobile, you not only get the power of an RTX 3070 or even a 3080 GPU, you also get a bunch of I/O ports for all sorts of connectivity, including four USB Type-A ports, HDMI, Display Port, Ethernet, and even an SD card reader.
It’s a costly affair though, as the laptop and GPU dock together cost around $3,000, and getting your hands on this laptop isn’t that easy.
- The ROG Flow X13 is a unique convertible laptop that can pair with a portable GPU dock to deliver performance that can match powerful desktops.
These are some of the best PCs for working from home, and we’ll be adding more to the list soon. Our aim with this particular roundup is to select PCs that can cater to several use cases. For instance, our top pick is the HP Elite Dragonfly Max, which is primarily a premium business notebook, but it features an excellent webcam. With support for 1440p 30fps video, it ensures you’ll have the best video conferencing experience. It also comes with HDMI 2.0, so you can quickly hook up an external monitor and Thunderbolt 4 ports to expand your I/O options with the help of a dock.
Speaking of docks, one of the most interesting product launches in the computing space this year was the ASUS ROG Flow X13. A slim 2-in-1 laptop with a stealthy finish and powerful 8-core processor options from AMD, including the Ryzen 5800HS and the 5900HS, the Flow X13 can be paired with the ROG Mobile XG dock. It has its own NVIDIA RTX 3070 or 3080 mobile GPU to deliver graphics performance that can match high-end gaming laptops. At the same time, the dock comes with several ports allowing you to transform the thin and light notebook into the ultimate workstation. The only problem with the entire setup is the dock connects using a proprietary port, limiting the scope of longevity.
Additionally, check out our recommendations for the best laptops of 2021, as well as the best Thunderbolt 4 laptops.
The post Best PCs for working from home: Surface Pro 7, HP Elite Dragonfly, and more appeared first on xda-developers.
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