The 12 best Windows laptops to buy amid RAMageddon

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Why are Windows laptops so expensive right now?

The ongoing memory crisis, aka "RAMageddon," is the main reason why Windows laptop prices have skyrocketed this year. But it also doesn't help that Microsoft reportedly raised its Windows 11 licensing fees by abnormally high rates. In other words, PC makers are spending more on both hardware and software right now, so they're making consumers eat the extra costs.

Some of our current picks have faced price hikes in recent months, including the Asus Zenbook A16, the Dell XPS 14, XPS 13, and 14S, and the Framework Laptop 13. We've re-evaluated them and decided that they're still worth recommending at their higher prices, but will remove them from this guide if we find better-value alternatives or if their prices keep climbing to exorbitant levels.

What's new this month

I made several updates to this guide in late September 2026:

  • I added the Asus ProArt PZ14 as a new pick following our latest round of testing. It's now our favorite Windows laptop for creators.
  • I added the Dell XPS 13's results from our battery life test. It lasted 18 hours and 56 minutes — more than four hours longer than its Apple counterpart, the MacBook Neo.
  • I added some information about a new Surface Laptop that Microsoft just announced (see below under "What to look forward to").

I'm currently monitoring the availability of two of our existing picks: the Acer Swift Edge 14 AI and the Intel-powered Acer Swift X 14. Both were out of stock at the time of writing but could return, so I'm keeping them on this guide for now. If it turns out they've been fully discontinued, I'll replace them with other models. (As things stand, the Dell 14S would become my top choice for college students, and the AMD-powered Acer Swift X 14 AI would be my new pick for photo and video editing.)

SEE ALSO: Acer CEO says PC prices could drop in 2027

As a quick note before we get into the picks, Mashable tests laptops on the basis of performance, battery life, design/build quality, and value. We do so using a combination of synthetic benchmarking and real-world usage. You can read more about our testing process in the "How We Tested" section.

A note about ARM-based Windows laptops

Asus' Zenbook A-series laptops are two of the best ARM-based laptops I've tried. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X series chips use ARM-based architecture, not traditional x86 architecture like Intel and AMD chips. As such, their compatibility differs. ARM-based laptops don't work natively with certain specialty software (like AutoCAD), nor can they run as many PC games.

ARM compatibility issues are a non-concern for the majority of general-purpose Windows users, but they'll be dealbreakers for some demographics — PC gamers being an obvious one.

College students should also steer clear of ARM laptops. When I examined the 10 top public universities' hardware recommendations for the 2026 fall semester, I found that a couple schools explicitly advised their students against getting ARM-based laptops to make sure they can run all of their necessary coursework without emulation. (This is one big reason why I recommend the Acer Swift Edge 14 AI and Dell 14S for college students, in particular: They have x86-based Intel chips.)

The good news is that ARM compatibility has gotten better over the past couple years, and it will definitely continue to do so now that Nvidia is coming out with its own RTX Spark "superchips," which run on ARM.

What we're testing right now

The Mashable team has a bunch of other Windows laptops in hand for testing right now, including the Alienware 16 Area-51, Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i, Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1, Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition, Lenovo LOQ Essential 15, Lenovo Legion 5i, Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, MSI Prestige 16 AI+, Framework Laptop 13 Pro, Asus Zenbook Duo, and Acer Swift Air 14. Stay tuned to see if any of them make the cut for a future update to this guide.

What to look forward to

On Sept. 23, Microsoft announced a second-generation Surface Laptop 13-inch with the Snapdragon X2 Plus chip and a brighter display. It's a slightly cheaper and more portable version of the company's flagship Surface Laptop 8, which comes in two sizes and with Snapdragon X2 Plus or Elite chips.

Now available for preorder, the Surface Laptop 13-inch starts at $1,199.99 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS storage. It launches Oct. 13 alongside the Surface Pro 12-inch (2nd edition), a detachable tablet that starts at $1,149.99 with the same specs.

Earlier in September, several other PC makers announced new laptops at IFA, a tech trade show in Berlin. The models confirmed for an eventual U.S. release are:

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