Notebook

A notebook is a portable clamshell device with an attached keyboard. The notebook industry continues to grow with a wide range of options from inexpensive notebooks, mainstream notebooks to gaming notebooks. The advances in technology and manufacturing have brought notebooks closer to desktops. Listed below are a few recommended hardware configurations.

entry notebook

Type

Entry Notebook

Mainstream Notebook

Premium Ultra-slim Notebook

Workstation Notebook

Gaming Notebook

Key Features

Windows Hello

Battery Life 8+ hours

Precision Touchpad

Wired and Wireless Docking and Casting (USB-C; Miracast)

Inking/Pen Support

Precision Touchpad

High-DPI (4K)

Long battery life (12+ hours)

Wired and Wireless Docking and Casting (USB-C; Miracast)

Windows Hello

Precision Touchpad

Wired and Wireless Docking and Casting (USB-C; Miracast)

Inking/Pen Support

Precision Touchpad

Premium A/V experience (DirectX 12; 4K support, display & chipset), premium speakers, chipset support for PlayReady, H/W DRM, H.265 H/W decode/encode)

Xbox content, Xbox Controller, Xbox Live

Windows Hello

Precision Touchpad

Operating System

Windows 10 for desktop editions (Home, Pro, Enterprise, and Education)

Recommended components

CPU

Mid-tier x86

Mid-range x86

Premium high-end x86

Premium high-end x86

Premium high-end x86

RAM/Storage

2 GB+ / 32 GB+ eMMC or SSD + SD Card

4 GB+ / 500 GB+ HDD

8 GB / 256 GB SSD or 1 TB HD w/SSD cache

8+ GB / 256 GB+ SSD or 750 GB–1 TB+ HDD + SSD cache

8 GB+ / 1 TB+ HDD + SSD cache

Display

11.6”+ / HD+ non-touch

14.1”–15.6” / FHD+ Touch

11.6”–12.5” display w/touch; FHD-WQHD, zero-bezel

14” / FHD+

14”–19” / FHD – 4K

Discrete DirectX 12 GPU with 2 GB–4 GB

Dimensions

< 18 mm & < 1.36 kg

< 19 mm & 1.8 kg

< 15 mm & < .51 kgs

< 20 mm & < 1.5 kg

< 20 mm & < 1.5 kg

Battery

8+ hours

6+ hours

12+ hours

-

-

Connectivity

802.11ac

1 USB 3.0

HDMI

BT LE

802.11ac

USB 3.0

HDMI

BT LE

NFC

802.11ac

2+ USB 3.x

HDMI

BT LE

LTE

802.11ac

1 USB 3.0

HDMI

BT LE

802.11ac

1 USB 3.0

HDMI

BT LE

LTE

Audio/Video

Stereo speaker

Full-array mics

HD Webcam

Webcam

Speakers

Headphones

Stereo speaker

Full-array mics

HD Webcam

Premium sound

HD Webcam

Full-array mics

 

Premium sound

HD Webcam

Full-array mics

For more guidance in selecting hardware components, see Hardware component guidelines.