5 business PC laptops that could rock your world

Introduction

In association with PC World Business

Business laptops tend to be different from their consumer counterparts; they usually run the business version of Windows (either Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 Professional), sport a more conservative design and carry more business-focused features.

Laptop vendors also tend to offer extended service agreements as well as cashback promotions to entice customers to swap their old devices for newer ones.

We've rounded up some of the latest and most popular models on the market from the biggest PC vendors around, for most scenarios and in a number of form factors.

Asus Zenbook UX305

Paradoxically, our first choice isn't an obvious business laptop but it's difficult not to fall in love with this machine. The UX305, which sells for a mere £499, is one of the best looking laptops we've ever encountered on techradar and one that earned an "Editor's Choice" award when it was reviewed.

This Ultrabook features an Intel Core M processor, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and a 13.3-inch full HD display. All crammed into an enclosure that is entirely made of aluminium which means that it doesn't need to have a fan to dissipate the heat produced by its components.

At only 12.3mm thick and weighing a mere 1.2Kg, this is the perfect example of how far Ultrabooks have evolved over the past few years. Powered by Windows 10, Asus expects it to run for up to seven hours, enough for most of the day.

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550

Lenovo's award winning ThinkPad range has for a long time been considered as one of the best business laptop portfolios in the market. The Chinese manufacturer has kept the brand alive by sticking to the fundamentals inherited from IBM. The E550 features the much-loved spill-resistant keyboard with the signature red TrackPoint pointing device as well as a larger TrackPad with buttons.

The rest of the specification bears all the hallmarks of a high-end model, and yet it costs less than £660. There's an Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 15.6-inch full HD display, a 1TB hard disk drive, a dedicated GPU from AMD and a battery that can power the laptop for up to nine hours.

Since this is a business model, there's a fingerprint reader and the ability to downgrade or upgrade from Windows 8.1 to either Windows 7 or Windows 10.

HP ZBook 14 G2

Mobile workstations are rarely known for being svelte and easy to carry around. There are a few exceptions, though, and the ZBook 14 G2 is one of them. HP describes it as "redefining mobile computing", showing how far we've moved on in the Ultrabook segment.

Yes, this mobile workstation, which has undergone more than 115,000 hours of HP total test process, is actually an Ultrabook, a term usually reserved for the thinnest premium laptops around. Its specifications are what you would expect from a high performance laptop: Intel Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB hard disk drive, a 14-inch full HD display, a myriad of ports (including a DisplayPort), 802.11ac Wi-Fi, NFC, Windows 7/Windows 8.1 (with upgrade to Windows 10) and a three-year standard warranty.

At just over £870, it is pricey but in line with the rest of the market.

HP ProBook 450 G3

Business laptops need not be expensive and the ProBook 450 G3 is a particularly good example of a well-executed design at a very affordable price point. To make the deal even sweeter, you can claim £50 off the price (which currently stands at £382) which is a very decent amount to pay for a well-balanced model.

At its heart is a sixth generation Intel Skylake Core i3-6100U processor which is roughly equivalent to a third or fourth generation Core i5. This is paired with 4GB of RAM, along with a 128GB SSD and a 15.6-inch HD display.

As for most business laptops, you can either upgrade to Windows 10 or downgrade to Windows 7. HP also included a number of its security-focused features like the Root of trust BIOS (which inspects the firmware's integrity to ensure that only code approved by HP can be run) and TPM 1.2.

Lenovo B50-80

The Chinese manufacturer has aggressively targeted the entry-level segment of the laptop market with its B-series family. The B50-80 is one of the best value-for-money laptops with a particular focus on small and medium businesses.

It costs a mere £260 but comes with a Core i3 processor, making it far more powerful than the Pentium or Celeron models usually available in this price range. There's also 4GB of RAM (as a single memory module) and a 128GB SSD, a rarity for such an affordable laptop.

The other key features include a dedicated numeric keypad, a 15.6-inch HD display, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, a DVD writer and Windows 8.1. Reassuringly solid and hefty with a conservative design is how the B50-80 can best be described.