The laptop deals keep rolling in this week, with several new and returning offers that are great buys if you need a new device for work, school, college, or for home use.

I've picked out deals for both the US and the UK, including some super-cheap Chromebooks that will just get the job done, mid-range laptops that offer good levels of performance for the price, and high-end powerhouses for more demanding tasks. There should be something below that suits both your budget and needs.

For example, in the US, I think it will be hard to beat this Dell XPS 13 for $599 (was $899.99) when you apply the student discount. Even if you aren't eligible for the extra $100 off, it's still a tempting $699.99, which is a fantastic price for a fast, powerful and stylish machine.

That's just one option, so do have a browse through all of the best laptop deals I've found right now.

US laptop deals

UK laptop deals

TechRadar's Computing team tests dozens of laptops each year, and Dell models consistently impress. I know, because when I came to round up our top-scoring options for this article, I struggled to find any duds. I was spoiled for choice. Below, you'll find a showcase of the Dell laptops that we've reviewed over the past year or so, and which managed to earn four stars or higher when put through our demanding review process.

Most are high-end laptops that rival the best the likes of Apple have to offer, but you'll also find some brilliant affordable options, and some versatile 2-in-1s that would make a top choice for students. I've also included a standout gaming option, as well as a stellar laptop for professionals.

To find out more about each one, click the View details button — this will provide a rundown of our main pros and cons for each model, plus a link to our full review. Alternatively, if you want to see how these laptops compare to one another, check out our best Dell laptop ranking, or for our favorites from a range of brands, head to our comprehensive best laptop guide. Have I missed any models you'd recommend? Let me know in the comments section.

4.5-star Dell laptops

4-star Dell laptops

• Michael Dell marked 42 years since PC's Limited by reposting its 31 July 1984 statement, showing ~$135,000 of net income on roughly a million dollars of sales from $1,000 of starting capital
• The document, which he also showed in March 2018, served as a baseline for him to persuade his parents to let him skip university
• The decision helped make him a billionaire and turned Dell into a company that is currently worth over a quarter of a trillion dollars thanks to an AI-centric surge of late

Michael Dell has posted a photograph of a fairly unique single sheet of paper to X and LinkedIn: the quarterly financial statement for PC's Limited, dated 31 July 1984, produced from a dorm room at the University of Texas at Austin.

The page shows roughly a million dollars in sales, about $198,000 in gross profit, and net income of $134,762.75 for the three-month period.

The then 19-year-old Dell had just finished his freshman year as a pre-med student, and had started the business with $1,000. He used the statement to persuade his parents that he should not go back for his sophomore year.

A multi-billion dollar decision backed by receipts

Nothing on the page suggests or requires a leap of faith. It suggests the opposite: a 19-year-old who had already been running a business through an academic year, who had generated close to a million dollars of turnover, who had kept books well enough to separate gross profit from net income, and who understood that the way to win an argument with two skeptical parents was to hand them a profit and loss statement.

The decision to leave college was not a gamble that happened to pay off. It was the conclusion the numbers already supported, and Dell was sharp enough at 19 to know that presenting them in a document would carry more weight than simply presenting them as enthusiastic conversation starters.

The decision that followed allows Michael Dell to command a $236.7 billion net worth, as reported by Forbes, and to lead a company with a market cap north of $270 billion. What makes Michael Dell's story unique, however, is that it isn't the typical dropout-founder story usually told as one about conviction outrunning evidence. The document he brought to the table is evidence outrunning conviction.

It raises an interesting parallel: The question one needs to ask is not whether to bet on yourself, but at what point do you have enough data to stop calling it a bet and start calling it a data-driven conclusion.

It is also worth noting that this is not the page's first outing. Dell posted the same statement to Twitter in March 2018, describing it then as the document he used to convince his parents "it was OK for me to not go back to college".

What the document shows, when read carefully, is a teenager who has figured out something about persuasion that many people twice his age never do. His parents were not going to be moved by a description of the market for IBM-compatible upgrades.

They were going to be moved by a number they could check, printed on a page, covering a period that had already happened. Dell did not ask them to believe in the future of the personal computer. He showed them what he had already earned and let them draw their own conclusions.

The result was a computer-centric giant that makes many of the desktops, laptops, and servers that power the modern world and is synonymous with reliable tech for many users. One could argue that the singular page did not change his life. The quarter behind it did. The page was just the format he could use to prove it, and the rest is history.

I'm seeing lots of laptop deals at retailers and manufacturers right now, as many have launched back-to-school sales for the upcoming year. That's good news if you're searching for a new device for yourself or a loved one, with a variety of options available to suit several different budgets and needs. Using my deals hunting experience, I've picked out my six top picks in both the US and the UK.

Below, I've included everything from cheap Chromebooks to big discounts on modern and powerful laptops from the likes of Dell and Apple. I've not only considered price in these hand-picked deals, but also the views of TechRadar's expert computing team who have tested and reviewed several of the models below — and rated them highly.

For example, in the US, you can find the fantastic Dell XPS 13 for a shockingly low $599.99 when you apply for the student discount. That's very hard to beat if you want a capable and portable all-around laptop.

Meanwhile, in the UK, there is a handful of great laptop deals at Amazon, such as this modern and efficient Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 for £429.99 (was £649.99). It boasts a Snapdragon X processor and 16GB of RAM to ensure speedy everyday performance and impressive all-day battery life. That's ideal to last you a full day at school or college, and beyond.

All of my top picks are below, with prices starting as low as $199 / £159. No doubt I'll be updating this page with more offers as sales start or expand throughout the rest of the month.

US back-to-school laptop deals

• Amazon: big savings on laptops
• Apple: up to $150 gift card
• Best Buy: up to $600 off laptops
• Dell: up to $900 off
• Lenovo: up to 33% off laptops & tablets
• Walmart: laptops from $199.99

UK back-to-school laptop deals

• Amazon: from £159
• AO: save on HP, Lenovo and Acer
• Currys: up to £300 off laptops
• Dell: new XPS 13 from £699
• EE: save up to £1,000
• John Lewis: best deals on MacBooks
• Very: HP and Lenovo from £248

• Samsung announces new OLED panels for laptops, capable of '1,600 nits' in peak brightness
• The new tandem OLED panels have a 40% higher brightness requirement than older single-layer OLED panels
• The new panels will be used in MSI, Lenovo, Asus, and Dell laptops that have the latest DisplayHDR True Black 1400 certification

OLED panels are continuously improving year after year, as seen in recent tandem OLED displays from Samsung – and fortunately, the tech giant isn't resting on its laurels.

As reported by TweakTown, Samsung has introduced new tandem OLED panels for Lenovo, Asus, MSI, and Dell laptops, with claims of up to 1,600-nit peak brightness in small windows. This will apply to laptops that have the latest DisplayHDR True Black 1400 certification.

Notably, the push up to 1,400 nits certification is a '40% higher' brightness requirement compared to older single-layer OLED panels, which is ideal for bright rooms and environments.

This is thanks to the presence of tandem OLED panels, which work by stacking at least one or more OLED layers together, providing significantly increased brightness levels and efficiency.

Samsung notes it has started a 'full-scale' supply of the new tandem OLED panels for laptops, starting with the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition, and later for laptops from Asus, MSI, and Dell.

The boost to 1,600 nits is a significant enhancement for gaming and movie-watching experiences on these laptops. While the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura is certainly more of a premium laptop for creators, it's also capable of gaming using Nvidia's RTX 5000 series laptop GPUs.

With that in mind, issues with auto brightness limitations (ABL) that would often spoil bright gaming or movie scenarios should now be further diminished, as tandem OLED helps tackle those drawbacks.

Samsung hasn't mentioned any plans for its new panels being used for standalone OLED monitors just yet, but naturally, this should be the next step once these new laptops launch. For now, there are plenty of OLED gaming monitors (i.e., LG UltraGear OLED 27GX700A) capable of higher nits available on the market.

• Windows 11's July update was blocked from certain Dell laptops due to nasty issues with unexpected shutdowns and poor performance
• Microsoft just issued an emergency patch to fix those problems, so the PCs in question can install the latest update
• However, that patch might end up installed on non-Dell PCs if the user has enabled the option to get the latest updates as soon as possible

Windows 11's latest (July) update was blocked from Dell PCs as it was buggy on those systems, but the good news is that it's now fixed — but there's an additional wrinkle to be aware of here for those of you who don't own a Dell machine.

Windows Latest reports that Microsoft just deployed an emergency update (KB5121767) which fixes the problems with certain Dell laptops with Intel CPUs, which include unexpected shutdowns and generally poor performance (including running sluggishly and overheating, as well as increased battery drain).

Those with an affected Dell laptop — and that apparently includes some XPS models, as well as Dell Pro and Precision (business) notebooks, and possibly others — should install the emergency patch. As Microsoft makes clear, you'll find it under optional updates, which is reached via 'Advanced options' in the Windows Update panel.

However, the wrinkle that I mentioned is that Windows Latest observes that it's possible some Windows 11 PCs that aren't Dell laptops may automatically grab and install this update — if they have the 'Get the latest updates as soon as they're available' toggle on.

Analysis: a notable side effect

This feature is one that people turn on in the hope that they'll get Windows 11 updates, and more to the point, new feature rollouts, more quickly (there can be quite a wait for certain features to arrive, such as the Start menu revamp from last year, which some folks still haven't received even now).

So, bear in mind that if you've enabled this option, you may get certain updates automatically — like this emergency patch — when you don't actually need them on your PC. It doesn't help that this particular update is confusingly named, being called '2026-07 Update (KB5121767) (26200.8894)', which could leave you wondering what on earth it is exactly (until you look up the codename KB5121767).

At any rate, if you're not happy with this situation, to turn off 'Get the latest updates as soon as they're available' you need to head to Windows Update (in Settings) and adjust the relevant slider (at the top of the 'More options' panel).

Why is this option configured in this way? It seems especially odd in this case seeing as Microsoft tells us: "This OOB [emergency] update is only recommended for devices affected by this issue." That said, seemingly it doesn't do any harm to a non-affected PC (whether a Dell model, or not) if it does end up with this emergency patch installed.

At any rate, if you do enable the option to get the latest updates, just don't forget that this can have side effects, such as installing optional updates that you don't actually want. It would be a better idea if, in these cases, Microsoft simply flagged these updates as available, rather than having them install automatically.

It's also worth noting that this isn't the first time Dell laptops have run into trouble with Windows 11 recently, as last month an update to the firm's SupportAssist app left some notebooks crashing every half an hour or so.

Alienware AW3426DW: Two-minute review

There's a new 34-inch ultrawide powerhouse in town, with the brand-new Alienware AW3426DW QD-OLED. After testing it with several games and movies, it's clear to me that this monitor stands well above its predecessors in terms of quality.

Unlike its predecessor, the Alienware AW3425DW, this display uses 5th-gen tandem OLED technology, delivering significantly higher brightness, improved efficiency, and better text clarity. The Penta (five-layer) tandem OLED stack also solves one of the biggest issues I've had with previous QD-OLED monitors, where brightness dimming from the automatic brightness limiter (ABL) would result in inconsistent brightness levels.

Frankly, coming from a 45-inch LG 45GS95QE QD-OLED ultrawide display that utilizes an 800R curve, I wasn't expecting to be blown away with greater immersion — but the AW3426DW delivers so much that I don't think I can do without a tandem OLED display going forward.

It also helps that Dolby Vision HDR support is included, which uses dynamic metadata to help shift brightness levels and tone mapping for each scene, and it's best used on games or movies that specifically support it.

For example, Battlefield 6's visual quality is elevated to a new level, specifically in sequences with chaotic explosions and fire particles that spread across the screen. You can see how good Dolby Vision is, when bright highlights are incredibly detailed, and since tandem OLED minimizes the need for ABL, there are no noticeable brightness dimming issues.

In games that don't support Dolby Vision, you can switch this off from the on-screen display (OSD) and enjoy HDR using the HDR Peak 1300 Bright or Display True Black 500 modes, although the former might have slightly more noticeable ABL. Other than a few errors that forced me to restart my PC after switching HDR modes and losing display signal, HDR functionality is great on the AW3426DW.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best gaming monitors money can buy, and certainly one of the best ultrawide monitors in 2026.

Alienware AW3426DW: Price & Availability

• How much does it cost? $799.99 / £709 / around AU$1,150
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US and UK

For everything that the AW3426DW ultrawide has to offer, effectively making it one of the best ultrawide OLED monitors money can buy right now, the $799.99 / £709 price is more than reasonable. It's around the same price as its predecessor, the AW3425DW, but is much better, mostly thanks to its tandem OLED tech, but also thanks to its new anti-reflective coating.

Having used a far more expensive LG 45-inch ultrawide, which still sells at just above $1,000 / £1,000 (original retail price was $1,699.99 / £1,699.99), the AW3426DW is a steal in my book.

The LG display might have a virtual reality-like 800R curvature, but it's heavily limited in comparison due to its older WOLED panel, and utilizes the same 3440x1440 display resolution as the new Alienware 34-inch monitor does at 45 inches, which means pixel density is worse on the 45GS95QE.

If you're not ready to make the jump to the flagship Alienware AW3926QW 5K2K ultrawide launching later this year, especially due to the leap in GPU power requirements (it'll be more demanding than gaming at 4K), then the AW3426DW is the best monitor to opt for.

• Value: 4 / 5

Alienware AW3426DW: Specs

Alienware AW3426DW: Design

Dell has kept the design for the Alienware AW3426DW simple, and it's almost identical to the previous AW3426DW model. The new monitor features the same sturdy stand and base, and I love the shiny and sleek finish it has.

In terms of connectivity, it's effectively the same again with two HDMI 2.1 ports that support variable refresh rate (VRR), along with a single DisplayPort 1.4. Fortunately, you can charge your devices while using the display, thanks to the USB-C 5Gbps downstream port, with a charging output of 15 W.

I'd appreciate it if this display had a slightly deeper curvature (perhaps 1500R) over its 1800R curve; however, that's likely my own bias coming from near-constant use of an 800R curved monitor, which is overkill to say the least.

Most Alienware monitors keep OSD navigation easy via a simple button, and that's also the case here. However, one personal gripe of mine is the lack of a remote control.

Some of LG's UltraGear ultrawide displays come with a remote control, which eliminates the need to physically reach over to the monitor button to change display settings. Fortunately, though, the Alienware Command Center application on Windows acts as an alternative option to access and control some of the OSD options.

The biggest highlight of the AW3426DW's design is its new anti-reflective coating. There's almost little to no glare when using this display in a bright environment, even with sunshine beaming in from open curtains.

Yes, a lot of this is thanks to the 5th-gen tandem OLED panel and the display's high brightness levels, but the anti-reflective coating is just as important in this case, with a 30% glare reduction — and at night, brightness truly blossoms better than I've ever seen before.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Alienware AW3426DW: Features

The AW3426DW has a wide range of features available via its OSD, notably multiple HDR modes: DisplayHDR True Black 500, HDR Peak 1300, HDR Peak 1300 Bright, and Dolby Vision. The latter is what I used for most movies, specifically those that are made for Dolby Vision, especially since it dynamically shifts brightness levels and tone mapping based on each scene — but more on HDR later.

I'm not a massive fan of Picture-in-Picture or Picture-by-Picture (PIP or PBP) modes on monitors, specifically with multiple inputs. However, there are several options available in terms of positioning and sizing, which are more than welcome on any ultrawide display, where productivity is one of the main appeals.

For competitive players, the eSports mode should come in handy, as it transforms the display into a 25-inch monitor, with the option to position the active area at the top, center, or bottom of the screen. It's a reasonable option to include in a monitor with a 280Hz refresh rate, and one that has a 0.03ms GtG response time, and helps simulate a 25-inch monitor gaming experience.

VRR works fine on both DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1 inputs, ensuring frame rates are high, matching the 280Hz refresh rate, and reducing screen tearing. Nvidia's G-Sync is also enabled to improve smoothness and latency, so screen tearing isn't a concern on this display whatsoever.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

Alienware AW3426DW: Performance

I tested this monitor playing several games, such as Destiny 2, Crimson Desert, Dragon's Dogma 2, Resident Evil Requiem, and Battlefield 6, and I was left amazed at how impressive the AW3426DW performs. With Dolby Vision enabled in supported games (i.e., Battlefield 6), visuals are absolutely breathtaking, with highly detailed bright and dark areas on screen amid blood-soaked action.

With Dolby Vision enabled, there are effectively no ABL issues, or at the very least, if there are, it isn't very noticeable. Of course, it's not just Dolby Vision's inclusion alone doing the heavy lifting in this respect, but also the fact that this is a 5th-gen tandem OLED display, directly increasing brightness capabilities.

Not every game or movie has Dolby Vision support, and that's exactly why the other HDR modes are vital — and I'm happy to report that HDR Peak 1300 Bright is fantastic. It doesn't come without its faults, and in particular, gamers should be ready to deal with some level of ABL.

However, again, because of the tandem OLED layers, I could play games like Destiny 2 or Dragon's Dogma 2 and enjoy very bright experiences without losing detail in bright and dark areas on screen. It's also a huge benefit that the AW3426DW is seemingly well calibrated out of the box in terms of color profile and HDR calibration, as I hardly had to configure any settings in that regard.

Essentially, Dolby Vision should only really be used for movies and games where it's supported, and HDR modes such as HDR Peak 1300 and DisplayHDR True Black 500 for most games that don't support Dolby Vision.

There aren't many games that can reach the 280 frames per second mark (at least when playing on higher graphics settings), but if you have a powerful enough rig, it's a joy to experience a game that feels so smooth when in motion.

It's also pleasing to see that text clarity issues have been solved, which stems directly from the RGB stripe subpixel layout, and that makes this a great choice for any PC user looking for a QD-OLED display that caters to both work and play.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Alienware AW3426DW?

Buy the Alienware AW3426DW if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also Consider

MSI MPG 491CQP QD-OLED

While significantly bigger than AW3426DW QD-OLED, the MSI MPG 491CQP arguably provides more immersion via its 32:9 49-inch wide screen. It's not a tandem OLED; however, it's currently around a very similar price to Alienware's new display and still provides great quality in HDR performance.

Read our full MSI MPG 491CQP QD-OLED review

How I tested the Alienware AW3426DW

• Tested for a week
• Played several modern games and watched multiple movies
• Tested mostly using Dolby Vision and HDR Peak 1300 Bright modes

I used the Alienware AW3426DW for a week, mostly for gaming and watching movies. The games I tested include: Destiny 2, Resident Evil Requiem, Dragon's Dogma 2, Dead As Disco, Battlefield 6, and Crimson Desert. Some of the movies include Avengers: Infinity War and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

I also spent the same amount of time using the AW3426DW for work duties and found that it eliminates one of the biggest pain points on OLED monitors, which is text fringing. I had no issues with reading text or simply navigating on web browsers, and also found that both HDR and SDR are visually fine to use outside of gaming (or non-HDR activities).

The monitor was also placed in a brightly lit room for most of the review period, with direct sunlight positioned directly on it, and found that there was little to no glare, thanks to the anti-reflective display.

• First reviewed July 2026

Sometimes you don't need a fancy monitor or anything special. Sometimes you just need a 1080p HD monitor at 27 inches to be able to get real business work done. This is the struggle that a lot of business owners and IT suppliers are having, where their employees want fancy, big monitors and that's what's being promoted.

In reality, all they need for the masses, for co-working spots, for server screens, or other things like that, is a simple 27-inch monitor. That's where this Dell monitor shines. It's a high-quality, simple monitor that you know is going to work for more than the most popular monitors just suppliers around.

I've been in this exact scenario where some data entry people and an admin on my team wanted a screen, and they didn't need anything fancy. I ended up purchasing a monitor very similar to this. If I had known that this was around, I probably would have bought this. All they wanted was a 27-inch standard monitor. They weren't going to scale it up crazy to where they needed 4K, and they were just using it for database management, form entry, emails, and a lot of Excel.

It's not the absolute best business monitor I've ever tested. But for those that want a no-nonsense full HD display for work - whether that's at home or in the office - this is a great option.

Dell 27 Plus S2725HSM: Unboxing and First impressions

The unboxing for this monitor is very straightforward: a simple white box with just a few accessories inside. It has: an HDMI cable, a Power cable, a Three-piece stand (which is unique), a Monitor, and documentation that's necessary

Each piece is wrapped individually to help protect it, and the box is fairly small, which is great. Assembly took maybe two minutes and almost no thought whatsoever. It just went together in the only way that made logical sense. I didn't need any instructions or anything else like that.

If you want to use a monitor arm, there are screws on the VESA plate on the back, so you can attach it easily without any extra accessories. Of course, you can use the basic monitor stand. If you're choosing to use a built-in monitor stand, I'm happy to say they adjusted the cable pass-through a bit so it is a hook on the back of the monitor arm, which helps keep things a little cleaner.

There will still be a little bit of cable visibility if you are really worried about that, but if you're using a 27-inch monitor, there's a good chance you don't care.

Dell 27 Plus S2725HSM: Design & Build Quality

As mentioned above, the design and build for this model is super straightforward. There is nothing too fancy about it at all, and that's actually what makes this great. There is nothing that will make it complex, difficult, or hard to set up. It's very easy to get up and running in a matter of minutes, which, if you are doing this en masse, makes it an easier choice for IT pros.

I actually appreciate even though this is a budget monitor, it still looks quality. It's got a sleek, mostly white frame. The base is still solid, and it's still a reliable display. The ports are well placed, easy for really any scenario. It's IEC powered, which is massive. I've seen some cheap monitors that go with a barrel connector that makes it a little bit harder for mass deployment. It actually has an HDMI cable with it, which just means it's one less step for needing to set up.

In case it isn't clear, this one does not have any USB-C or anything like that. It does have two HDMI ports on the back, so if you needed to be able to switch between two devices or have two different inputs for some other reason, this one is capable of doing that. This is super helpful for things like multiple different server displays or something else like that. You perhaps don't need a KVM for it, or if you're just really easily trying to have a display for some camera view or something like that, this display would work.

Dell 27 Plus S2725HSM: In use

So far, this monitor has performed wonderfully for basic tasks. Even for more complex tasks, this works just great. The only thing I wouldn't use this for is anything that needs to have absolute color accuracy, or if you're the kind of person who loves using their laptop on the most spaced or most high-resolution settings.

For anything that's business tasks or just basic tasks, this would work phenomenally. Things like spreadsheets, emails, web browsing, writing, schoolwork, and other things like that, this will work well.

I have used this on both a monitor arm and on a built-in stand. One note for the monitor arm is that this monitor is so light and simple that I had to crank the tension way down on the monitor arm to be able to make this work and not just throw the monitor straight up in the air.

While you could very easily do multi-display with this using both HDMI's, it does not have a KVM. If you are swapping between a laptop and a desktop, for example, I would not plan on utilizing the same mouse and keyboard unless you have an external KVM that perhaps doesn't have an HDMI switcher or something like that. I've also used this with my laptop and my son's switch, which worked really well. You could use it with an Apple TV or something else as well, though note that the internal speakers are not great at all.

The speakers are good enough for basic meeting audio if you are in a meeting and a semi-quiet room, or for maybe playback of a video you're watching. I would not plan on having this be good music quality, video quality, game quality, or anything else like that. In all those scenarios, I would suggest utilizing headphones or an external speaker of some kind, or even your laptop speakers.

Also worth noting, because a lot of monitors are seeming to hinge towards this, or some of the higher-end monitors even have this integrated. This monitor does not have any webcam or USB ports at all; it is simple and just has power and HDMI ports.

Dell 27 Plus S2725HSM: Final verdict

This should be one of the monitors considered for any business office co-working space or an individual who just needs a basic, 1080p monitor.

Now, if you're looking for something that is more color accurate, if you do photo or video editing, or if you obviously need something bigger than 27 inches, then there are better monitors out there, for sure.

However, if you don't need high resolutions and a USB-C Hub, this should be the monitor that you're considering. It's affordable, simple, will get the job done, is reliable, and it's from a reputable brand.

For more productivity machines, we've tested the best business computers.

There are a lot of monitors out there these days, and every one of them is touting how great it is in one way or another. Whether that is visual clarity or resolution, aspect ratio, custom zoning, colors, anything like that.

However, what isn't said is that even though there are iPads that you can buy with tandem OLED displays, most people in a business context or professional context just don't need that and probably don't even understand what they're looking at, even if they had all of the monitors at their disposal. I'm saying this from experience as well. It's not just me saying that as a tech reviewer isolated in a box, but as somebody who procures monitors for a growing business.

I've had several people who, when trying to figure out what they want for a monitor, simply just say they want a 27-inch screen because that's what they're used to and that's all they need and want. I've set up several workstations with much nicer setups, only to see the settings toned down to the point where they are using it as is: a 27-inch HD monitor rather than a fantastic 4K display with color accuracy.

The USB-C feature adds a layer of simplicity to this monitor: instead of needing a dock or an HDMI plug-in, you can simply train your team to plug in their company laptop with a single USB-C cable. One-cable setups are super easy, and this monitor does that very, very well.

For those who need simple and those who don't need anything fancy, this may just be one of the perfect monitors that fits that gap, while every other monitor seems to be trying to push for the best of the best of the best in some other area that may or may not matter to the masses.

Dell 27 Plus QHD USB-C Monitor: Price and Availability

The Dell 27 Plus QHD USB-C S2725DC is widely available from Dell in all regions, as well as retailers such as Amazon. It retails for around $250 / £250.

For what you're getting, that feels like a phenomenal price to me. Especially when buying these out in bulk across multiple locations, offices, or similar setups.

Dell 27 Plus QHD USB-C Monitor: Unboxing and First Impressions

Right out of the gate, the unboxing for this one is very similar to the last Dell 27" HD monitor that I tested. It's a very simple white box. Inside is just as simple. There is a monitor, a three-piece stand, and some included cables. The only difference is that this box includes a USB-C cable as well. That is actually a surprising length, making it long enough for you to route into a desk, pull away, or mount somewhere as well, if needed. I would have expected probably a meter or two, but this one seems to be quite a bit longer in a good way.

Once set up, I was able to plug in a test device via USB-C to confirm it had power. Then I tested it with all sorts of different devices that I had. I tested it on my MacBook, my iPad, another iPad, and my iPhone. I tested it with several other laptops and a couple of desktops, and all of them worked out great. This USB-C is quick and responsive. The screen looks sharp, and the few times that you need to use the OSD, it works well.

One thing worth noting on this is that the pop-out ports on the bottom actually work really well. Of course, they're not Thunderbolt 5 speeds, but they're fast enough to get the work done you may need to do on this: charge quick devices, transfer some smaller files, things like that. Of course, it doesn't need to have crazy high-speed transfer rates, because that's not the design of this monitor. That would be like trying to cram 57 cup holders into a Ferrari. That's just not necessary, because that's not what that vehicle is designed for. Same thing here. Why would Dell spend money and time and resources on crazy high-speed USB-C on a device that isn't designed to work that way?

Dell 27 Plus QHD USB-C Monitor: Design & Build Quality

I've already mentioned it a little bit, but the design is simple. It's clean, and it's very work-friendly. This isn't the kind of monitor that's going to turn heads, and that's exactly what Dell was hoping for. This is the kind of monitor you would see on the desk of a data admin or an executive admin at a coworking space. Perhaps a hot desk scenario, maybe an accountant, account manager, or things of that nature.

The stand has some slight upgrades from past ones that I've griped about. Instead of a cable pass-through through the base, it actually has a little clip on the back. It's still not perfect, but it seems a little clearer and cleaner to use if you opt not to use the built-in stand. One thing to note is that the monitor is extremely light, so you will need to aggressively adjust your monitor arm to compensate for the reduced weight, which is not usually the case. Usually you have to account for heavier monitors.

There is an OSD joystick for selecting inputs, adjusting USB-C settings, or even choosing the original language when first setting up the monitor. Lastly, I do appreciate that this is a USB-C monitor, as that one-cable setup without needing another dock, another power, or another place to put a docking station really helps clean things up.

Dell 27 Plus QHD USB-C Monitor: In use

This monitor has functioned well for everyday work. I’ll be the first to note that it wouldn't be ideal for color-accurate creative work. Nor would it be great for those who try to fit everything on their display at once, expecting a high-resolution screen to help by scaling. It’s not for video editors, photo editors, creatives, gamers, or those.

But for people who work on spreadsheets, project management, emails, web-based content, writing documents, working with AI, perhaps even basic coding, and things in this realm, those who don’t have a specialty niche when it comes to displays, this will work great. I immediately thought of my friends who work in finance and Insurance. These guys would kill for a monitor like this, as it does exactly what they need without any fluff. It’s not going to take their time to set up and understand.

Well, of course, the single USB-C is a huge benefit for this monitor. It's also super great for IT professionals who need a simple setup to run a server or plug into a server room or something like that. Other devices can be plugged into the HDMI ports, and then when they walk in with their laptop, they can plug in with USB-C. You could, of course, also plug in other devices via USB-C, like desktops, but that would also be just as easy to plug in an HDMI cable. That's not necessarily a huge selling point.

One of the many things that USB-C can transfer is audio, and while this monitor does have speakers, do not expect them to be anything fancy. You can potentially get away with some background audio, maybe some lo-fi beats on Spotify or a virtual meeting, but I wouldn't expect these to be anything crazy or clear. They'll get the job done in some scenarios, but not in many.

Dell 27 Plus QHD USB-C Monitor: Final verdict

All in all, I think it's pretty clear that this is a simple monitor for simple needs for those who don't have a niche need. Nor do they want to spend what some people spend on a car on a monitor.

Monitor technology has gotten incredible. I would know. I've tested most monitors out right now, and while I do love a fancy monitor, there is something to be said for a simple one that is just plug-and-play, without any bells and whistles, that still costs a very reasonable $200-$250.

There's still plenty of demand for that kind of display, and Dell putting out this monitor shows exactly that.

For more top-performers, we've tested the best business monitors.

The RAM crisis is gradually ruining PC and console gaming, with higher prices, notably with Microsoft increasing prices for its Xbox consoles. Gamers only have AI to blame, as data centers and their demand worsen memory availability.

Fortunately, OLED monitors are not in the category of hardware seeing price hikes as a result of the RAM crisis, and unsurprisingly so, since they don't require RAM.

Affordability is key, and Prime Day has opened the door to cheaper OLED monitors. A prime example is the Alienware AW3425DW OLED ultrawide available on Amazon for £589.33 (was £693.70), providing an immersive visual experience for any PC gamer, especially one upgrading from a 16:9 display.

This model is very similar to my former Alienware AW3424DWF ultrawide, but this AW3425DW model features a faster 240Hz refresh rate instead of 165Hz, and HDMI 2.1 compatibility.

There's so much to enjoy when upgrading from a regular LED display to an OLED, as it completely revitalizes the visual experience when gaming. Scenery that is supposed to be dark will indeed be entirely dark, making games like Resident Evil Requiem even more immersive with its horror.

I've still got my eye on Alienware's 5K2K display, but if you're out for something more affordable, the AW3425DW is the one to opt for.

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

Dell has knocked a massive $680 off its Dell 16 Plus Laptop now $750 (was $1430) as part of its laptop sale. But you'll need to be quick - this limited time deal ends in a few hours (seriously, Dell even has a countdown clock running).

• See all laptop deals at Dell

The 16 Plus is a true mid-range machine aimed at business and creative professionals who need real performance. It's thin, lightweight, and even boasts a full-sized keyboard for effortlessly ploughing through work.

The US configuration ships with an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor, 16GB LPDDR5X memory, and a 1TB SSD. The 16-inch 2.5K IPS display with ComfortView Plus is a highlight — it's a noticeably more capable screen than you'd typically get at this price. For UK readers, the closest configuration powered by the same chip is the Dell 16 Plus with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD for £599 (was £1199).

Today's top laptop deal

In our Dell 16 Plus review, we said: "The Dell 16 Plus offers a solid mid-tier laptop experience throughout. Between great general computing performance for any college student or executive and long-lasting battery life, the base $799 options make a ton of sense. Add a thin and lightweight design, and there’s much to appreciate here."

However, it's worth noting that the webcam and speakers were disappointing, and I'd definitely recommend upgrading them with external options. We've added a few picks to our guide on Prime Day home office deals, like the Obsbot Meet and Anker Powerconf.

Overall, though, this Dell laptop proved to be a a quality Windows machine that's thin, lightweight, and seriously portable. We badged this one with a TechRadar Recommends award.

Also consider: More Dell laptop deals

• Shop all deals at Dell

Amazon's Prime Day has featured some of the best PC hardware deals for top-quality products. This ranges from SSD deals to Nvidia RTX-powered gaming laptops, and yet again, there's another one of the latter to join the party.

The Alienware 16 Aurora is now available on Amazon for £899 (was £1,319), with a generous 32% discount, dropping its price effectively as low as Valve's new Steam Machine.

Powered by Nvidia's RTX 5060 laptop GPU, Intel's Core 7 240H processor, and 16GB of RAM, there's plenty to love about the 16 Aurora. While the GPU's VRAM is only 8GB, it can handle a large variety of triple-A games, even the most demanding when using DLSS 4.5 upscaling.

On sale, it's currently within the exact ballpark of the Steam Machine's price, and is ultimately a more powerful system, particularly for games, with better capabilities to handle ray tracing, and superior upscaling quality.

The only major advantage the Steam Machine currently has over the 16 Aurora is that AMD hardware works much better on SteamOS. Nvidia GPUs are yet to be fully optimized, so major aspects such as game mode in SteamOS may not function well, and game performance may not be up to par.

However, Valve has already made significant efforts to improve the Linux operating system for a wider range of hardware — and SteamOS update 3.8 has opened the doors for any PC to install the OS without hassle.

We can only expect that this will eventually be the case for Nvidia GPUs, so if that's an obstacle when considering the 16 Aurora, it shouldn't be a permanent one.

The RTX 5060 in the 16 Aurora isn't a high-end GPU, but for consumers who are just joining the PC space, it's perfectly fine for 1080p or 1440p gaming.

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

The gaming monitor market is filled with high-quality displays that offer enough features to provide the most immersive gaming experience. OLED monitors are right at the forefront of monitors in achieving the latter, with exceptional deep black levels thanks to their high contrast ratio.

It's not all just about the panel type, though. The display resolution, refresh rate, response times, and brightness levels all play a significant part in allowing monitors to blossom, and all of those aspects also determine pricing (outside of potential market condition changes).

That's exactly where the LG UltraGear 45GX950A-B comes into play. It's a 5K2K ultrawide OLED monitor, which means its display resolution is 5120x2160, with even sharper image quality than a 4K display. It's easily one of the best gaming monitors in 2026, and is the kind of monitor that would define an 'ultimate endgame' gaming experience in terms of visuals.

Despite the obvious and eventual GPU upgrade I'll have to make when using a 5K monitor, it hasn't stopped me from keeping my eyes peeled for it, particularly whenever it receives a significant price drop.

Fortunately, it's Prime Day, which means you can find it for $1,429.69 (was $1,999.99) on Amazon in the US, and for £1,472.49 (was £1,649) in the UK. However, the competition on the horizon is enough to make you consider waiting a little while before jumping all in on the UltraGear display.

Having used the LG UltraGear 45GS95QE OLED ultrawide — which is very similar to the GX9, with the only difference being its 3440x1440 resolution — I can say that the step up in resolution would make LG's 5K2K display worth every cent, despite its high price.

With the new Alienware AW3926QW 5K2K OLED ultrawide slated for launch by the end of June, LG's top-of-the-line monitor might have its money's worth. Thanks to the AW3926QW's 39-inch display size, there's a higher pixel density at 5K2K, meaning image quality will be much sharper than what the LG GX9 has to offer.

It is an RGB stripe tandem OLED panel, which reduces text fringing and provides significantly higher and more consistent brightness compared to other OLED monitors.

Most importantly, the big takeaway is that the AW3926QW's price is rumored to be at $1,100 (around £824 / AU$1,572). That's a very generous and affordable price tag, since other monitors with the same specifications are far more expensive.

The great thing is that more details on pricing should be coming very soon, so there's a good reason to weigh the options between the two monstrous displays.

• Dell's new XPS RTX Spark Desktop has been glimpsed
• We don't have tech specs yet, but this mini PC could be a threat to the Mac Studio
• Apple is struggling to produce this Mac, and compact PCs like the XPS model could lure buyers away – depending on exact pricing

Nvidia's RTX Spark processor was one of the major highlights of Computex 2026, with Team Green (in conjunction with Microsoft) promising to 'reinvent' the PC no less — and we've just seen Dell's effort at a mini PC packing this CPU.

Wccftech caught a glimpse of the Dell XPS RTX Spark Desktop at Computex (via Notebookcheck.net), and as you can see from the image below, the mini PC takes a fair bit of inspiration from the Mac Studio.

It's a compact box with the power button on the front, accompanied by a selection of ports including four USB Type-C, and an HDMI plus Ethernet port. Around the rear of the XPS mini PC there are two further USB-C ports alongside a microSD card slot.

Whereas Wccftech divulges thermal info on a rival RTX Spark device, the Asus ProArt Mini PC, which targets 140W, we don't know how much power Dell will be supplying to this XPS box.

We're told the XPS mini PC will run with the N1X chip (the more powerful RTX Spark CPU, as you might expect) and up to 128GB of RAM on board. That copious amount of memory makes it clear that this is a device targeted at professional usage, and specifically running AI locally.

Analysis: sparking a small but powerful rebellion?

Reaction to the Dell XPS RTX Spark Desktop has been somewhat mixed, I think it's fair to say. As noted, we don't have the full story on the spec yet, and we're also missing some critical information in terms of the pricing. Dell hasn't indicated what this PC might retail for — we don't yet have an official press release for the device — and the same is true for pricing with other RTX Spark desktops (there are a bunch of these inbound, including one from Microsoft and the mentioned Asus hardware).

Collectively, what these compact PCs do offer is an alternative to Apple's Mac Studio at an opportune time when the latter is notably struggling for stock. If you want a Mac Studio right now, there's a distinct problem with Apple having order lead times of the likes of four months or more. On top of that, the maximum amount of RAM you can equip your Mac Studio with is 96GB currently, whereas some AI use cases demand much more than that (and that spec is only available with the much pricier M3 Ultra variant, otherwise you're looking at a cap of 64GB for the lesser Mac Studio).

So, in a time where that's increasingly a problem for developers and those engaged in heavyweight AI work, RTX Spark machines could be an alternative to Apple's PC — Dell's XPS box will run with up to 128GB.

The question is, can Dell muster stock which has that memory spec? As obviously it faces the same RAM headwinds as Apple does right now. The bigger worry for many, though, is exactly where the price might end up with such a model. The chatter we've heard thus far indicates a price tag for RTX Spark desktops which is north of $4,000 in the US, possibly closer to $5,000 (and regional equivalents to that). Although in fairness, a high-specced Mac Studio is very pricey too.

There may be folks who want to wait for the M5 version of the Mac Studio, granted, but I wouldn't hold your breath on that score. The RAM crisis is rumored to have sidelined that refresh for now, and that would certainly be no surprise given all the stock issues with the current Mac Studio.

As to how all this will play out, we'll just have to wait and see for now, as RTX Spark desktops (and laptops) aren't due to emerge until September at the earliest. If you order a Mac Studio from Apple now, though, you still won't have it by then.

The Lenovo ThinkVision M14t Gen2 is an incredible touch-capable portable display for business travel or as a second screen on your desk. So, when I saw it on sale, I knew our readers would want to take a look at this one.

This sleek, premium, all-black display is discounted in both the US and UK, with ThinkVision M14t Gen2 dropping to $269 (was $459) at Lenovo. And in Britain, the 14-inch ThinkVision is down to £240 (was £400).

If you're a creative or business professional, there's a lot to like about this portable monitor. For one thing, it features touchscreen capabilities, making it ideal for creatives. On top of that, it boasts a very high 2.2K resolution But what I really like is the built-in stand with two USB ports - when we tested it out, we found it offered excellent stability. Perfect when working on the go.

Today's best portable monitor deal

When we tested the Lenovo ThinkVision M14t Gen2 (see our review), we were big fans of the enhanced image quality over its frankly disappointing Gen 1 predecessor, calling it "a significant upgrade."

I'm especially a fan of the 16:10 screen ratio, which offers more space to view your apps, and text looked crisp and clean on-screen across all the programs we used, such as Chrome and Slack.

We performed a series of productivity and day-to-day tasks, like signing documents with the bundled stylus - which feels smooth responsive.

Beyond that, where it stands out is as a second monitor for creative professionals running the Adobe suite, where the ThinkVision's 100% sRGB color accuracy made it ideal. That color coverage means it won't replace your main monitor, but we had no trouble editing photos and videos and getting the results we wanted.

One last feature that left us impressed: automatic orientation. Operating like a tablet or smartphone, this works flawlessly for quickly switching between portrait and landscape models.

All in all, it's an excellent business display that goes well beyond the usual cheap portable monitors out there.

For more top picks, my team and I tested the best business monitors and the best portable monitors (and yes, I've featured the ThinkVision M14t Gen2 in both guides).

Also consider

• In the UK? The Dell Pro 14 Plus is £229.20 at Dell

• US: Save on monitors, laptops, desktops in Lenovo's Doorbuster deals
• UK: Save on hardware in the Lenovo sale

• Dell has won a Pentagon contract worth $9.7 billion
• The technology services company will act as a single procurement point
• The Pentagon, intelligence community, and Coast Guard will jointly procure software

The Pentagon is looking to cut costs and stop software license sprawl in its latest contracts with Dell and Microsoft.

A $9.69 billion contract has been awarded to Dell to act as a single procurement point for Microsoft licenses across the US Defense Department, the intelligence community and the Coast Guard. The contract will move the Pentagon and other military departments away from duplicative spending on Microsoft licensing.

Defense Department Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies said the contract would allow the Pentagon to save $422 million annually by consolidating “existing IT budgets from across the services and the agencies into a single efficient vehicle.”

Annual savings of $422 million

The contract awarded to Dell - known as the Microsoft Department of War Enterprise Software Agreement II Core Enterprise Technology Agreement - allows Dell to provide Microsoft 365, advanced cloud subscriptions and on-premises licensing. The contract continues the Pentagon’s existing Enterprise Technology Agreement with Dell and Microsoft.

However, the $9.7 billion is not new funding, but a consolidation of budgets from contracts that have come up for renewal at the same time.

“This second-generation blanket purchase agreement will streamline and consolidate critical Microsoft software and services across the Department of War, the intelligence community and the U.S. Coast Guard,” Davies said.

Acting Navy Chief Information Officer Barry Tanner said, “The vendors were all evaluated based on competition, comparison to GSA schedule pricing and overall chain of value to the department. Going through the process of evaluation, they came out on top.”

Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, has recently courted favor with President Donald Trump by pledging $6.25 billion to fund investment accounts for children, called “Trump accounts” in the President’s honor.

The Department of Defense has been under increasing scrutiny from across the political divide as it seeks approval for a $1.5 trillion budget for 2027. The Pentagon has failed every audit it has undertaken since they were legally required in 2018, with the Pentagon targeting to pass its first audit by 2028.

Via CNBC

• Equal1 and Dell's RacQ is the world’s first rack-mounted quantum computer for enterprise use
• It operates from a standard single-phase 1.6kW wall socket
• The system uses a built-in close-cycle cryocooler, eliminating the need for external cryogenic plumbing

Equal1 and Dell have come together to launch what they are calling, “the world’s first deployable silicon-spin hybrid quantum-classical computer,” built specifically to fit within the existing data center form factor.

Announced at Dell Technologies World 2026, the new prototype will fit inside a standard 19-inch data center rack, which means existing infrastructure wouldn’t have to be upgraded to accommodate future deployments.

Equal1 is framing the news as a major development whereby quantum computers will be suitable for enterprise deployment, beyond current research lab limitations.

A quantum computer which will fit where your classical computers already are

The entire solution is designed to meet enterprises where they are, with the rack units they already have, a standard power delivery and conventional networking architecture. For example, Equal1’s RacQ can be plugged into a standard single-phase 1.6kW wall socket and operate without external cryogenic plumbing.

The company says the 1,600W power consumption roughly resembles that of a high-end classical compute server or GPU-heavy enterprise system.

It also uses an integrated close-cycle cryocooler designed to maintain an internal operating temperature of 0.3 Kelvin (-459 degrees Fahrenheit), so the type of dilution refrigerator required by today’s quantum computers would not be necessary.

Powering RacQ is UnityQ, a quantum system-on-chip that uses standard semiconductor processes, which means scaling manufacturing might not be as much of a challenge.

Dell sees itself as a partner for future quantum deployments

As for where Dell fits into the equation, RacQ fits within a standard Dell VR3300 42U rack and weighs around 400kg.

“We are putting quantum inside the rack so customers can roll it in, plug it in and begin running hybrid quantum–classical workloads in days, using the infrastructure they already own,” CEO Jason Lynch wrote.

On the ground at Dell Technologies World, the experimental prototype combines a silicone quantum computer with a Dell PowerEdge R770 server, a PowerSwitch networking environment and Dell’s Quantum Intelligent Orchestrator.

With this new work in progress, Equal1’s model clearly positions RacQ as a co-processor for specific workloads. Classical systems will remain relevant, but quantum systems can handle targeted computational workloads, essentially mirroring how GPUs have accelerated AI workloads rather than replacing CPUs outright.

“Classical and quantum workloads operate as a single system,” the company wrote in a press release.

The partnership is not so much of a surprise, with Dell defining its role in quantum computing as an infrastructure layer and a systems integration partner for future hybrid computing environments.

“We're actively working to ensure quantum technologies can be seamlessly integrated into existing computing ecosystems,” Dell Quantum Infrastructure Lead Burns Healy shared during CES 2026.

• Dell squeezes nearly 10PB of flash storage into one compact 2U server
• KIOXIA’s massive SSDs eliminated the need for seven additional storage servers
• The complete rack configuration could reportedly cost more than $75 million

Dell Technologies has unveiled a new server configuration which packs an astonishing 9.8PB of flash storage into a standard 2U chassis.

The PowerEdge R7725xd achieves this density by combining 40 of KIOXIA's LC9 Series 245.76 terabyte SSDs with AMD EPYC processors.

A comparable configuration using conventional 30.72TB drives would require seven additional servers and consume roughly eight times more power.

How the server achieves such extreme storage density

The KIOXIA LC9 Series drives are available in a specialized E3.L form factor that allows 40 of them to fit inside a single 2U chassis.

Each drive delivers up to 245.76TB of flash-based storage with PCIe 5.0 performance for demanding AI data pipelines.

"The combination of the Dell PowerEdge R7725xd server and the KIOXIA LC9 Series enterprise SSD isn't just about high density," said Akihiro Kimura, technology executive at KIOXIA Corporation. "It's a shift in how we architect AI infrastructures."

The system supports up to five 400 gigabit per second network interface cards, enabling users to fill and move data through pipelines more efficiently.

This allows organizations to scale AI infrastructure without expanding their physical footprint or increasing their overall energy consumption.

What this means for AI data center economics

Arun Narayanan, senior vice president at Dell Technologies, said the server delivers the storage density and power efficiency that customers need to scale AI infrastructure without sacrificing performance.

The flexible, air-cooled storage configurations are designed to complement GPU-enabled servers, supporting AI data management and model training across the entire AI lifecycle.

A single rack using these servers could theoretically exceed 200PB of flash storage, though the cost would be substantial.

At approximately $15,000 per 245.76TB drive, a 200PB configuration would require roughly 815 drives costing around $12.2 million.

Building a complete rack with servers, networking, and cooling would likely push the total to $75 million or more.

Whether the premium cost of these high-density drives makes sense for every organization remains an open question.

For hyperscale cloud providers and major AI labs with massive data ingestion requirements, the math likely works in favour of density over cost per terabyte.

However, for smaller enterprises, traditional 30.72TB drives may still offer better value.

Dell and KIOXIA have raised the bar for what is possible in a 2U server, and the AI data center of the future will be built on density.

The 9.8PB milestone is not the end of the road, but it is a signpost pointing toward a future where storage capacity is no longer the bottleneck for AI innovation.

The technology is real, the density is unprecedented, and the implications for AI data centers are profound, even if the price tag makes most IT managers wince.

• Jensen Huang says the era of "useful AI" is here
• Nvidia CEO hails the speed and efficiency of new tech
• Huang joins Michael Dell on stage to unveil new AI Factory hardware

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has once again laid out his support for increased AI usage in the workplace, highlighting the huge potential productivity and efficiency gains for organizations everywhere.

"Our company has always gone fast, but it’s really going fast now," Huang said on stage at Dell Technologies World 2026 this week, “We’ve now arrived at the era of useful AI, which is the reason why demand is going parabolic, utterly parabolic."

"What took months now takes weeks. What took weeks now takes days. And what takes days now takes hours. Things that would have taken an hour, you and I expect instantly now. It’s a big deal in productivity, but a gigantic leap in computation requirements."

"The new Jensen"

"What has really changed is that our ambition has changed," Huang continued. "There’s no question my ambition has changed. I wanted to be somebody to do something, make a contribution, but was the old Jensen. The new Jensen: I’ve got big ambitions now!"

“The amount of software work that we do in our company now supported by agents is incredible,” Huang added.

“One engineer, a really good engineer today, is working with an agent, but a really great engineer in the future is going to be orchestrating a whole bunch of agents. We’re going to be orchestrating a whole bunch of sub-agents to do work. We’ve now arrived at the era of useful AI, which is just really exciting for all of us because until now it’s been novel.”

Huang was speaking at his now traditional cameo appearance at Dell Technologies World 2026, where he spoke alongside company CEO and founder Michael Dell, who was also keen to espouse on the benefits of workplace AI.

“Not long ago AI meant assistants that could write faster and summarize better and answer questions, but that was from the age of 20 percent to 30 percent productivity gains,” Dell noted. “It was valuable and kind of amazing but really only the beginning. Now we’re deploying agentic AI autonomous agents that plan, reason, execute and adapt and close a loop.”

Now is the time for businesses to “completely rethink and reimagine” workflows for the agentic AI era, Dell continued, noting that this, "is going to lead us to gains of 20 times and 30 times in terms of productivity improvement...so who gets there first will rapidly distance themselves from all the rest, and the companies that do not become agentic AI-driven businesses I think will struggle to survive.”

Huang and Dell also unveiled a host of new improvements to their AI Factory initiative, which will be boosted by the new Nvidia hardware announced earlier this year at GTC 2026.

This includes a Dell PowerRack with Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 (a version of which was signed on stage by Huang), which the company says can deliver up to 10x lower cost-per-token than Nvidia Blackwell for massive-scale agentic AI inferencing, alongside new PowerEdge XE9880L, XE9885L and XE9882L servers — the first built on Nvidia HGX Rubin NVL8, supporting up to 144 GPUs per rack with 100% direct liquid-cooled compute nodes and up to 5.5x the performance of HGX B200.

Dell signed off by calling Huang a “great partner and friend, a true leader and visionary of the AI age,” noting how the next era of AI infrastructure is going to “built by deep partnerships between companies that are advancing accelerated computing and the companies that know how to deploy it across the real world.”

“I’m here every year selling Dell!” Huang quipped.

• There are multiple reports of a nasty bug affecting Dell laptops
• It's seemingly caused by a recent update to Dell's SupportAssist app
• Affected laptops keep crashing every half an hour or so, but there's a fix in either removing or disabling the offending support services

If you have a Dell laptop running Windows 11 and you've been experiencing it regularly crashing every half an hour or so, you aren't alone by any means — and thankfully there appears to be a solution.

After a tip from a reader, Neowin picked up that there are multiple reports on the Dell community forum complaining that the laptop maker's SupportAssist software is bugged, and causing crashes where the PC completely freezes with a Black Screen of Death (BSOD).

There are a number of reports on Dell's forum, and also on Reddit, noting that the issue is hitting fleets of PCs (in the business world), as well as individual laptops, including Alienware gaming notebooks (there are a couple of cases mentioned, including for example an Alienware M16 R2).

Essentially, any laptop with SupportAssist installed could be prone to this bug, and going by the number of complaints, it's not uncommon — though it isn't clear how widespread the glitch is exactly.

Seemingly this has been caused by a recent update to Dell SupportAssist, and if you've encountered BSOD crashes and reboots happening regularly with your device, there is a solution that seems to have worked for most folks.

How to deal with Dell SupportAssist crashes

There are multiple reports of laptop owners or IT admins who have fixed this issue, and they all come back to the same solution: removing SupportAssist or disabling the service.

If you're reaching the end of your tether due to crashes and want to get rid of SupportAssist, that's as simple as heading into Settings and going to the Apps panel, then into the list of 'Installed apps'. Scroll down to find Dell SupportAssist, click the ellipsis (three-dot icon) on the right, and select 'Uninstall'.

You're not quite done, though, as there's also a Dell SupportAssist Remediation app — at which the finger of blame is actually being pointed by many — so you need to remove that as well. Some folks suggest removing everything pertaining to SupportAssist, which means ditching a third service, Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Plugin, too.

After you're done with those, reboot your PC and hopefully you'll find the crashes are no longer happening. If you only removed the main app, and not all three, and that doesn't cure the issue, it's worth trying ditching them all. Remember that without SupportAssist, you will have to manually search for and apply any laptop firmware updates (from Dell's support website).

You can always reinstall these apps at a later date, once we hear from Dell that SupportAssist is fixed. Of course, remember that we haven't heard anything official from Dell yet, so this problem isn't confirmed — and ditto for the solution. But, going by most reports, removing SupportAssist works (although do note that I've seen the odd comment complaining that a laptop is still crashing even after ditching the app).

Another route suggested by some is to try merely disabling Dell SupportAssist Remediation (rather than engaging in any uninstallation). Do this by typing the following into the search box in the Windows 11 taskbar:

services.msc

Press Enter and this will pop up the services panel showing all local running services, so you'll need to scroll down and find Dell SupportAssist Remediation. Right-click on it, then select 'Properties', and in the panel that appears, in the dropdown menu called 'Startup type', select 'Disabled' (you can reenable it later by changing it back to 'Automatic').

Neowin also observes that this bug has seemingly cropped up before — last year in fact, where a different cure was found to work. This involved opening SupportAssist and running the 'scan hardware' option, and after that process had finished it seemingly did the trick (though it may take a while).

In the meantime, we'll just have to wait to hear from Dell about what might be going on here, but there's an obvious irony about an app that facilitates technical support causing a show-stopping problem on some laptops.

As one Redditor put it: "The irony of SupportAssist being the cause. I'm so glad I'm no longer in IT."

I remember it like it was yesterday. I got an email in my inbox with a link to preview an unreleased Dell display. The very moment that I saw the specs, I thought I was dreaming: 52 inches, 6K display, Thunderbolt dock, fast response time. And, from one of, if not the largest, display makers in the world.

I've said for years now that Dell monitors are a staple in the workspace; however, this is nowhere near the norm or regular in the average workspace. Most people who have seen this monitor on my desk, in the background of photos, or in virtual meetings assume it's a TV mounted on my wall. Some have even thought it's a window, depending on the content I have on it.

That's how good this monitor is.

At its core, it performs just like some of the other incredible monitors that I've tested from BenQ, Dell, LG, and beyond. However, there's one massive caveat. This monitor is absolutely massive. 52 inches sounds large when you read it on paper or see it in photos, but once you experience it in real life and realize that, as a 6-foot-2 individual, I could fit in the box it came in, it makes it all the more real.

The moment you plug in, you feel like you are entering a workspace, not just adding a panel to your machine. There's no need to switch around between what you have open or remember what was on the other screen. There's no need for multiple desktops, or even for your laptop to be open, to get just a little bit more screen real estate.

For me, this is possibly the best business monitor I've ever tested - so long as you have the space (and the need for higher resolutions). There's so much on here that I have had everything open I could possibly need for large research projects, and I have had plenty of space, especially if you have this thing scaled all the way up to 6K resolution. The amount of material you can fit on the screen is absolutely ludicrous.

Dell UltraSharp 52 U5226KW: Unboxing and First Impressions

Keep in mind I also review an insane amount of desks, and I regularly will come home or check my cameras and see massive boxes on my front porch when this monitor got delivered, I saw it while pulling up to my house, and I immediately assumed it was a desk that I was waiting for. In fact, as I write this, I realize that one of my regularly used desks that I'm currently testing is actually smaller than this panel is — madness.

Dell sends all the goodies that it normally sends with its monitors in the box, including cables, power supply, and a base that I love to hate on a little bit. Just to try it out, I put this model on the base at first, and then realized that the base is also significantly larger than others to hold this gargantuan of a panel.

So, I quickly took it off and put it on the monitor arm and realized that my nice monitor arm could not support the insane weight of this panel on its own. I resorted to resting the weight on my Grove made desk shelf and using the monitor arm to route cables and hold the monitor from falling forward and backward.

Once I plugged in my first machine to test this panel with it, it took me about two minutes to set my display preferences correctly on my machine and make sure that all my devices were plugged into all the different ports; then I got to work.

Dell UltraSharp 52 U5226KW: Design & Build Quality

I've mentioned it a little bit, but this monitor, outside of being massive in size, actually retains a pretty standard aspect ratio. It really does truly feel like just a properly scaled up version of a standard monitor, unlike ultra-wide, where you very clearly get extra width on the side, or a 16:10, where you clearly get some extra height. This one feels pretty standard when it comes to aspect ratio.

That's not to say that you will probably ever actually use anything in full screen on this display, unless it's for a movie, potentially a large virtual main, or presenting content. If you are truly using this as a productivity machine, odds are you'll have a myriad of windows open spread across this entire thing, with some shoved up in corners that are just reference materials, others that are dead center, and the like.

The panel itself continues to hold the quality of a standard Dell monitor, which I've spoken about many, many times. It feels like it will last a lifetime and like I will never have any issues with it as long as I treat it with basic decency.

One thing that becomes glaringly obvious when you have a giant display like this is desk depth. Because it's so large and it only has a slight curve to it, you'll need to make sure that you are sat far enough away from the desk to actually be able to utilize the full amount of screen without straining your neck to be able to see the edges.

The ports stay in the center back of the monitor, which are phenomenal once you have everything plugged in and pushed back to where you may want it. For changing things out, if you do have this monitor tucked back on the edge of a desk, potentially against a wall, it will be slightly difficult to get around, as your arm can't just reach in from the edges like a standard monitor. If you are able to get up and under the monitor from the front, you could do that and find your port if needed.

Originally, I was planning on putting this on a very hefty monitor arm like what I have for my main display, which is a very large (large is now a relative term, since Dell's display dwarfs my BenQ MA320U).

However, after setting my monitor on top of my shelf, supported by a monitor bent for mid to normally large I fell in love with the sleek, floating look and decided to keep and now I am thrilled with it. It keeps my cables clean. It makes it to where I can swivel out the monitor to plug in test machines and swap out docking stations I'm testing, all while looking fantastic and having very high functionality.

Dell UltraSharp 52 U5226KW: In use

I've tried to use this monitor every single day since getting it set up around a hundred days ago. If this was a YouTube review, I'm sure I would have a hundred-day test somewhere in the title or metadata, like all the YouTubers do. In that time, it really does feel like I have found a cheat code that gives me the ability to have multiple monitors, all while not having the annoyance of bezels or managing multiple monitors in whatever OS I'm working with.

There are times that I don't even use more than two-thirds of the available real estate. I've learned to understand that that's 100% okay and doesn't mean that I'm not fully utilizing what is in front of me.

There are other times that I have been working on large research projects, grinding on an insanely busy day and having a thousand things that I'm doing at once and having to triple task on things. Or other days where I'm in large meetings while also presenting, and I'm able to fit it all on a screen without even needing to have my laptop open.

On my other desk setups, I'm used to swapping between desktops on my Mac or context switching a lot with multiple windows open and hidden, and having to remember what's on the other screens when I can't fit it all. On this one, I can keep it all open, and then all I have to do is remember which zip code it is in (ok it’s not THAT big).

I will say that if you have the cash for it, this is an easy choice over an ultra-wide, as you still have that vertical space that you don't have on an ultra-wide.

While using this monitor, I have tested every single computer that has come through my studio on it. I have run gaming systems just for kicks and giggles. I have worked on it as many days as possible, and I have had it in the background of almost every virtual meeting I've had, simply just as an incredibly cool background that people either think is fake or a window.

At all times, I have an Apple TV, two docking stations, a display port running to whatever desktop I am testing at the time and HDMI running to whatever extra device I may want to plug-in on the fly. For the two docking stations, I rotate the different laptops I have, testing between those, and I'm able to pop them up on the panel or run picture-in-picture or picture-by-picture.

There were a few laptops and a few desktops that I was testing that were more budget-friendly and not as high-performance as the others. I was able to quickly spot which had the cheaper or lower-performance graphics cards, as they were not able to scale to the high resolution and sheer size of this panel. This made it glaringly obvious which ones had a higher graphical output.

If there's such a thing as an endgame monitor, this would probably be it. While it may not be the best thing for gamers, and I'm sure that there aren't going to be any businesses that buy this for the cubicles. When it comes to overall productivity and business performance, I'd be willing to bet that this monitor can outperform just about all of them.

Dell UltraSharp 52 U5226KW: Final verdict

This monitor has officially entered a class of its own. I know many people who don't even have TVs that are this large, and for sure there are most people who don't have monitors that have these kinds of specs.

To have both the size of a TV and the specs that outperform even some of the best monitors on the market, this monitor is in a class of its own. Like I said before, it truly transcends the idea of what a monitor can be and turns an expansion of your laptop into a true environment of productive mastery at whatever you are working on.

While I can't say this scientifically, I'd also be willing to bet that this monitor makes you smarter, more productive, better at your job, and whatever else it takes to be able to try and convince your boss to let you buy one for the office.

I've just spotted my top-choice business PC in Amazon's surprise Tech Week sale. If you've been on the hunt for a professional-grade desktop, this computer deal is the one to go for, with the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 crashing to £1799 (was £2179) at Amazon.

• Shop the whole Tech Week sale at Amazon

This machine is boasting some impressive specs, running Windows 11 Pro on an Intel Core Ultra 7 265 processor, with 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, and an Nvidia Geforce RTX 5070 graphics card.

So, this Dell desktop PC is as versatile as it is powerful, well-specced for general office tasks, running more complex workloads and datasets, and content creation projects.

Amazon's Dell deal may be for a high-spec configuration, but if you just need a basic office machine, you can pick up a more subtle model for £849 (was £999) at Dell.

Today's top Dell desktop deal

There are several reasons why I rate the EBT2250 as the top computer in my guide to the best business PCs.

It's a highly versatile machine that comes in a range of configurations, and can be easily upgraded and future-proofed as your business grows.

It was one of the first things we highlighted in our review - where the Dell Tower Plus earned 4.5 stars - noting "you can customize it to be a barebones office computer or a gaming powerhouse and it will excel at both."

Performance is strong here - during testing, we pushed this one to the limits, tackling a variety of productivity tasks, as well as video editing, 3D design, and gaming. And the Dell EBT2250 powered through all of them without breaking sweat.

In fact, our reviewer found "it did very well even running beautifully with a 120Hz 4K monitor. I never had any performance issues; there was no stuttering or screen tearing when gaming, and no noticeable slowdown during any other kind of use."

Better still, even under heavier loads, the fans remained relatively quiet - not something all business computers can boast, but to my mind that's essential for anyone deploying this machine in an office or shared workspace.

For those reasons, the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 is an easy recommendation for business professionals who need a true business computer for light and demanding workloads, especially considering the components you're getting here at a big discount.

I've added a gallery below of images we took during our review process.

• See all desktop computers at Amazon

• Dell Pro 5 Micro delivers desktop-class computing in an ultra-compact form
• Single USB-C input allows powering directly from compatible Dell Pro monitors
• Integrated NPU provides 50 TOPS performance for on-device AI acceleration

Dell is shrinking the office desktop computer down to a block which can sit entirely behind a monitor while still doing the work of a full-sized business PC.

The new Dell Pro 5 Micro Desktop ditches the traditional tower for an ultra-compact form, which suits offices where desk space is limited and cable clutter is a visible problem.

This device draws up to 100W of power through a single USB-C input and can therefore run directly off a compatible USB-C hub monitor, such as a Dell Pro P screen.

USB-C powered design

The Dell Pro 5 Micro runs on Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors with an integrated NPU rated at up to 50 TOPS.

This is the maximum capacity Dell cites for its Copilot+ PC experience in the mainstream desktop line.

That level of AI throughput supports on-device acceleration for Copilot-driven workflows, background optimization, and low-power inferencing tasks.

The system supports up to 64GB DDR5 memory at speeds up to 7200MT/s, which should help keep multitasking and database-style workloads responsive - but the downside is that the thermal envelope of such a small chassis will likely cap how long it can sustain peak loads.

This device does not support Windows Studio Effects within Microsoft’s AI-oriented stack, which is notable given its Copilot+ classification - as a result, access to advanced camera and background processing features found on higher-end Copilot+ systems is limited.

The Pro 5 Micro is compatible with the Dell Pro 5 Wired Fingerprint FSS Mouse (model MS526C), which supports Windows Hello Enhanced Security Sign-in.

That pairing positions the desktop as a low-form-factor endpoint for organizations that want to roll out Recall-compatible PCs without committing to larger desktops or notebooks.

Despite its small form, the Pro 5 is a Copilot+-capable desktop with Intel vPro-style manageability, so organizations can treat it like other Dell Pro endpoints for imaging, patching, and remote provisioning.

Its standardized BIOS and cloud-based Intel vPro tools allow configurations to remain consistent across different CPU options without requiring separate system images.

This means IT teams can deploy and manage different hardware configurations without changing their workflow.

The Dell Pro 5 Micro is available now.

• Supercapacitors turn charging time from hours into mere seconds
• Fast charging exposes the real limits of lithium-ion battery chemistry
• Supercapacitor technology lacks sufficient energy capacity for practical electric vehicles

Dell has introduced a keyboard and mouse combo that charges in five seconds and delivers a full day of use.

The new Dell Pro 7 Rechargeable Compact Keyboard and Mouse relies on supercapacitor technology rather than traditional lithium-ion batteries.

This system delivers unprecedented charging speeds, with a full recharge in under 5 minutes, powering the keyboard for up to 3 months and the mouse for 1.5 months.

How supercapacitors change the charging equation

Supercapacitors differ fundamentally from conventional batteries in how they store and release energy.

Unlike lithium-ion cells that rely on chemical reactions to store power, a process that inherently limits charging speed, supercapacitors store energy electrostatically.

By combining high-speed charging with moderate energy storage, Dell enables a system where devices are ready to use almost immediately.

Dell’s implementation of this technology in the Pro 7 peripherals eliminates the need to leave devices plugged in overnight or carry spare batteries for critical moments.

The company also claims the mouse is the world’s lightest rechargeable pointing device that does not use a lithium-ion battery.

The compact design makes the devices ideal for mobile professionals, consultants, or anyone moving between hot desks, conference rooms, or home offices.

The keyboard offers quiet keys for minimal disruption, while the mouse delivers precise tracking without requiring heavy batteries.

This technology could reshape the electric vehicle (EV) industry within the next few years.

EVs rely almost entirely on lithium-ion battery packs that store energy through chemical reactions, and in a typical EV, full charging takes about 30 minutes on fast chargers or several hours using home setups.

That process typically delivers a driving range between 300 and 500 km, depending on the vehicle, but the limitation involves not only charger speed but also the underlying battery chemistry that governs energy storage.

Pushing energy too quickly into lithium-ion cells generates heat, accelerates degradation, and reduces long-term performance reliability.

In theory, an EV powered by supercapacitors could recharge in a few minutes rather than hours under current systems.

Such systems can also handle rapid bursts of energy more efficiently, improving acceleration and regenerative braking performance.

However, there is a trade-off because supercapacitors currently store far less energy than lithium-ion batteries.

This limitation means vehicles would experience reduced driving range if supercapacitors were used on their own.

Supercapacitors also tend to discharge stored energy more quickly over time, especially when the vehicle remains idle.

A more practical solution involves combining lithium-ion batteries with supercapacitors in a hybrid energy storage system.

This approach could improve charging speed, extend battery lifespan, and enhance performance without sacrificing overall driving range.

The same principle seen in Dell’s accessories suggests future EV systems may better balance charging speed and endurance.

• Dell Pro Premium prioritizes mobility while supporting serious business workloads
• Magnesium alloy chassis reduces weight without sacrificing durability or structural integrity
• More newly designed Dell machines also set for launch in May

Dell is pushing its executive-oriented notebook business laptop line toward a genuinely workstation-grade experience without adding bulk or weight.

The new 14-inch Dell Pro Premium sits at the top of the refreshed Dell Pro line-up, built for senior executives and customer-facing managers who move between offices, airports, and conference rooms throughout the day.

Dell says it is the lightest notebook in the Dell Pro family, and calculations suggest its chassis could shrink to roughly 15mm — 7% thinner than its predecessor — while still housing a full-sized 14-inch display.

What's new with the Dell Pro Premium?

The chassis relies on a magnesium alloy body finished in magnetite, which keeps mass down while giving the device a more solid, premium feel than a typical all-plastic business offering. That lighter frame makes it easier to carry alongside a power brick and briefcase over long periods.

The performance of this device focuses on modern business workflows, handling multiple apps, video calls, whiteboards, and large datasets rather than gaming or heavy rendering.

Inside, users will find an Intel Core Ultra Series 3, which integrates on-device AI and support Copilot+ PC experiences.

The 14-inch screen offers a Tandem OLED panel with richer contrast and deeper blacks, although higher power use may limit all-day battery life.

An 8MP HDR camera provides high-resolution video calls, supporting executives who rely on a polished virtual presence.

However, for those who need a true workstation, Dell’s Pro Precision 5S and 9 Series hardware complement the Pro Premium by offering much heavier compute and graphics muscle.

The Precision 5S marks the thinnest and lightest mobile workstation Dell has ever shipped - and relies on integrated Intel Arc Pro or AMD Radeon Pro graphics instead of a discrete GPU to keep weight and thickness in check.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Dell Pro Precision 9 T2 / T4 / T6 desktops are built for extreme workloads. They feature up to 15 PCIe slots and add support for five 300W Nvidia RTX PRO Blackwell-generation GPUs.

Dell also revealed more details about the newly designed Dell Pro 3, Dell Pro 5, and Dell Pro 7, set for a May launch. These machines boast a modular motherboard layout that frees up space for larger cooling fans and more efficient thermal management, helping keep CPU and graphics performance stable during extended meetings or AI-assisted workloads rather than throttling under heat.

These professional-grade laptops also come with the option of either the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 or and AMD Ryzen AI 400 chips.

“IT leaders can deploy sleek and modern devices users are excited to use at every level of the organization, along with improved performance, without sacrificing the manageability, security, or value they demand,” said Rob Bruckner, president, CSG Commercial, Dell Technologies.

The MacBook Neo, along with the Mac mini, is Apple's most affordable computing option at just $599. And yet it is a formidably capable device, possibly, a once-in-a-generation product. Why? One unknown I wanted to clear up was how well it ran Windows 11 in a virtual machine.

So I asked the team at Parallels to benchmark a Windows-equipped Neo, and what they delivered shocked me.

I didn't have high expectations given the Mac Neo's limited specifications. It uses similar hardware to the iPhone 16 Pro Max: an Apple A18 Pro with six cores, 256GB storage and 8GB of unified memory.

Against a $1,119 Dell Pro 14 laptop (Intel Core Ultra 5 235U @ 2.00 GHz, 10-core, 16GB RAM, running Windows 11 build 26200 natively), a MacBook Neo with a virtualised Windows 11 (build 26200) with six vCPU and 6GB vRAM (via Parallels Desktop 26) delivered approximately 20% higher single-core CPU performance than natively on the Dell computer.

That's across five industry-leading benchmark packages: Geekbench, PassMark, 3DMark, PCMark, Blender, and Unigine. I reached out to Parallels to obtain the raw data from these tests and will update the article once it is received.

For typical office productivity workloads, overall performance is approximately 20% slower than native Windows 11 on the Dell laptop.

Parallels said this “remains responsive and practical,” meaning it should be fast enough for everyday use. They also added that "this setup works well for standard office productivity (Microsoft Office, email, calendar), web applications and browser-based tools, business productivity software, and light development and testing".

There are obvious caveats - you still need to buy a copy of Parallels and a Windows 11 license - and this certainly warrants more extensive tests, something that I hope my peers will carry out.

Apple is only warming up

I cannot stress enough how important this finding is.

Here we have an Apple laptop that was never destined to run Windows 11, capable of running Microsoft’s flagship OS in a virtual machine, better than a Dell laptop designed to run Windows 11 natively.

Not only is the Dell laptop far more expensive, but its CPU is also expected to be more powerful. What we have seen is the fruit of vertically integrated platform, something that Apple mastered by kicking out Intel and Samsung from its Mac and iPhone range.

Own the hardware and the software and you can perform miracles.

This is mind-blowing and both Apple and Parallels deserve a big pat on the back for achieving this. It's too early to say the writing is on the wall for Windows laptops, but expect Apple to sell millions of these in the current financial year. Could it become Apple's best-selling computer ever? I wouldn’t bet against this.

Matt Hanson, who reviewed the MacBook Neo for TechRadar, quipped that “While I wouldn't recommend using Windows 11 on the MacBook Neo full-time, as native macOS performance is always going to be better, Apple's affordable laptop has put budget laptop and Chromebook makers on notice. It's not perfect, but the performance, build quality and design mean there's really no choice if you're looking for a laptop under $600: buy the MacBook Neo”.

Matt gave it a 4.5 out of 5, noting the presence of USB 2.0 ports, the lack of a keyboard backlight, and limited RAM as the only significant drawbacks of an otherwise stellar laptop.

I will not buy Apple’s cheapest laptop just yet but I - and I am sure millions of others - would find it hard to resist a $99.99 refurbished MacBook Neo in a few years.

Today's best MacBook Neo & Mac mini deals

• Dell CEO Michael Dell answered a question about Anthropic at a forum
• The CEO said companies shouldn't dictate how governments use their tech
• Dell added that its not a "workable model"

The CEO of Dell has said in a Bloomberg Television interview that companies in business with the government cannot dictate how their technology is used.

Michael Dell added, “I just don’t think that’s workable model,” when asked a question regarding Anthropic’s ongoing battle against the Pentagon’s designation of the company as a “supply chain risk.”

Speaking at a forum in Washington, the CEO didn’t mention Anthropic by name, and Dell added his company has systems and controls in place to ensure sales go only to authorized users, but did not elaborate.

The Anthropic battle

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently labelled Anthropic a “supply chain risk” after the AI company refused to budge on allowing the US government to use its Claude model for mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons systems.

The designation, along with President Donald Trump issuing an executive order for all government agencies to stop using Anthropic technology, has resulted in Anthropic filing two lawsuits against the US government in an attempt to get the designation overturned.

The supply chain risk designation is typically reserved for foreign companies at risk of being abused by adversaries, with the most notable example being US sanctions and designations against Huawei.

What happens next?

By labelling Anthropic as a supply chain risk, the Trump administration is setting a dangerous precedent. Either companies are forced to comply with the US government’s desired use of a company’s product, as has happened with OpenAI’s latest contract, or companies do not renew their contracts and the government procures technology from a different company.

Those in the know will remember how Google ended its partnership with the US military after an internal petition reached over 4,000 signatures over the company’s involvement in Project Maven. The project involved AI image recognition software developed by Google being used for drone strikes in the Middle East.

Google chose to let its contract lapse without renewal, and the US government turned to other companies including Palantir, Anduril, Amazon Web Services, and Anthropic to fill the gap.

Now, in the fallout of the Anthropic situation, almost 1,000 Google and OpenAI employees have signed letters calling for clear limits on military uses of AI. Should these companies bow to their employees' demands, they could face the wrath of the US government. On the other hand, they may face a mass exodus of employees if their demands are not addressed.

One outcome that the US government may have failed to acknowledge in its dealings with Anthropic is that companies now may be less willing to work alongside the US Department of Defense due to fears their technology may be used for purposes their terms of service explicitly forbid.

• Dell Pro Essential laptops combine portability, performance, and collaboration
• Copilot key provides quick AI assistance for faster everyday workflow tasks
• MIL STD 810H durability ensures laptops withstand frequent travel and rough handling

Dell’s new Pro Essential 15 business laptop looks to help teams navigate hybrid work environments by combining portability, performance, and collaboration features in a single device.

To boost productivity, the 15-inch model includes a dedicated Copilot key for quick AI assistance, and also includes a built-in numeric keypad for faster data entry, and security features such as hardware TPM 2.0 with an optional fingerprint reader.

According to the company, it also uses recycled, low-impact materials, reflecting Dell’s broader approach to sustainability and responsible device design.

Laptops for small businesses

While mobility is important, many SMB operations still rely on stationary workstations to run offices, reception areas, or shared workspaces where stability is critical.

To support these environments, Dell offers Pro Slim and Tower Essential desktops as part of the Pro Essential portfolio, providing reliable performance with Intel processors, upgradeable memory and storage, and expansion slots for PCIe cards.

Tool-less chassis designs simplify maintenance, and built-in TPM 2.0 safeguards sensitive data.

By combining laptops, desktops, and mobile workstations, Dell ensures teams can operate seamlessly across all work environments without compromising performance or security.

These Dell systems also come with cloud-based monitoring through the Dell Management Portal integrated with Microsoft Intune.

With this, businesses can get remote oversight of devices with minimal manual effort, which is a plus, especially for IT teams with limited resources.

Microsoft Autopilot provides zero-touch deployment, maintaining consistent configurations across employees and locations.

For lifecycle predictability, Dell APEX PC as a Service (PCaaS) offers subscription-based access covering procurement, deployment, maintenance, and retirement of devices.

Sustainability is integrated throughout the portfolio, from recycled materials to circular design principles, supporting long-term device use and responsible operations.

SMBs have expressed the need for more than entry-level PCs that offer consistent reliability, protect data by design, and remain easy to manage as teams grow.

The expansion of the Pro Essential portfolio reflects Dell’s response to those needs, providing devices that offer flexibility, durability, and long-term value.

The Dell Pro Essential portfolio will be available globally through Dell.com and authorized channel partners, with regional availability and configurations varying by market.

It's the last day of Amazon's Spring Sale, and it's your last chance to save on some great business laptops from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus, and MSI.

I review business laptops for a living, so I've searched through everything in the Amazon Spring Deal Days Sale to find the laptop deals you won't want to miss if you're a professional who needs reliable machine.

For smooth performance in day-to-day business tasks, I've ensured each laptop here is equipped with a minimum Intel Core 5 / AMD Ryzen 5 processor, 16GB of memory, and 512GB SSD.

All of the options below are suitable for productivity tasks, running Office software, browsing the web, and holding video calls. And at under £500 for known-brand machines, they're the business laptop deals you won't want to miss.

For more savings, I've also found 50home office upgrades under £50.

The top business laptops under £500 in Amazon's Spring Sale

More of today's Amazon Spring Sale highlights

• Amazon Devices: Fire TV & Blink from £13.99
• Apple: AirPods & Apple Watch from £139
• Appliances: up to 30% off Ninja & De'Longhi
• Clothing: up to 50% off Sketchers & Crocs
• Essentials: from £5
• Gaming: up to 50% off PS5 & Switch games
• Headphones: Sony & Shokz from £59
• Health & Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Smart home: up to 50% off cameras & doorbells
• Smartwatches: Apple & Huawei from £99
• Tablets: Fire & Galaxy Tabs from £59.99
• Toys: up to 30% off Lego
• TVs: from £139.99
• Vacuums: up to 30% off Shark & Vax

Who will be the lucky customer to grab this collector’s item from eBay? This Dell Poweredge R820 server sells for a mere $1,200 (less than 1,700 Australian Dollars), about one hundredth its original selling price, talk about depreciation!

Yes, it’s located in Canberra, yes, it is a refurbished, 13-year old antiquated dinosaur in tech terms. But where else can you get a relatively cheap and affordable computer with 1TB of RAM, yes RAM- albeit the DDR3L type.

There’s 32 memory modules, each with a 32GB capacity so that’s less than $40 per stick (and just over $1 per GB), manufactured by SK Hynix. The same registered ECC (HMT84GR7AMR4A-H9) memory costs almost $60 in the US.

1TB DDR5 memory would set you back more than 10 times this price! So you’re essentially getting the rest of the server for free.

Dell PowerEdge R820 deal

And what a system it is! This is a rare quad-CPU server; each processor has eight cores/16 threads. Granted, these are Intel Xeon E5-4640 types, a 95W CPU launched almost 14 years ago, with a single-thread performance that’s vastly inferior to the Intel N100.

However, there are four of them, making it a fantastic, dirt-cheap way of running virtual machines via Proxmox or ESXi.

There’s plenty of connectivity options as well: two Fibre Channel cards (16GbE?), two SPF+ ports (10GbE), two Ethernet ports (Gigabit), a standard serial port, VGA ports, an iDRAC management port, a SAS connector to connect to external storage, USB and even a SD card slot.

Storage-wise, you get a pair of 10K SAS HDD and a single 800GB Intel DC S3700 SSD, just a SATA drive, but still very capable. Oh, and don’t forget the DVD drive and the pair of 1100W redundant power supply units.

Just as a caveat, shipping that monster to anywhere in the world will cost a lot of money, it has no rack rail (you won’t be able to mount), and there’s obviously no warranty.

And do not underestimate the power consumption on this server; it will likely consume almost 1Kwh costing you more annually, at least in the UK, than the price of the server itself. Think of it as an electric heater that’s also a server. Madness!

Gemini also tells me that it was never designed to be quiet (after all, it lived all its life in a data center in Australia). When it boots up, expect to experience something akin to a Boeing 747 taking off from your workbench, probably complete with the vibrations.

Also consider

If you missed out on that deal, then consider this Cisco UCS B440 blade server with four Intel Xeon E7-4870, four 300GB Intel SATA SSDs and 1TB of DDR3 RAM for a mere AU$3,799 (about $2,700). Yes, it is also based in Australia for some odd reason.

For a bit more, and a US shipper, this Sun Oracle ZS-4 ZFS storage server has 64 (yes 64) 16GB DDR3 memory modules with a pair of 600GB HGST 10K SAS HDDs and a bunch of other components as well. It costs significantly more with a sticker price just over $3,000 but you can make an offer.

Our last candidate is UK-based. Eight HP Proliant s6500 4U racks are on sale with eight nodes in each. Each node has two CPUs and 128GB RAM, totalling 1TB of system memory (128 8GB modules). At around $3230, it’s quite a bargain if you know what you’re doing and the seller will take offers as well.

• Dell patched critical flaw in RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines caused by hardcoded credentials
• Exploited as a zero-day since mid-2024 by Chinese state-sponsored group UNC6201
• Attackers deployed new Grimbolt backdoor and used novel “Ghost NICs” technique for stealth and lateral movement

Chinese state-sponsored threat actors have been abusing a rather embarrassing vulnerability in a Dell product for nearly two years, experts have claimed.

In a security advisory, Dell said its RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines contained a hardcoded credential flaw.

RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines (RP4VM) is a data protection and disaster recovery solution designed for virtualized environments, primarily VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V. As it was being built, a developer left login credentials in the code, most likely to be able to quickly log in and test the product.

Limited active exploitation

Usually, developers would sift through the code before shipping the product and remove all traces of hardcoded credentials. However, sometimes they are forgotten, or left unchecked, leaving a gaping hole for cybercriminals to exploit.

Now, Dell says that all versions prior to 6.0.3.1 HF1 contained hardcoded credentials - a critical vulnerability because “an unauthenticated remote attacker with knowledge of the hardcoded credential could potentially exploit this vulnerability leading to unauthorized access to the underlying operating system and root-level persistence.”

To make matters worse, security researchers from Google and Mandiant have warned Dell of “limited active exploitation” of the flaw. The two companies are saying that the bug was being exploited, as a zero-day, since mid-2024, meaning they were using it for more than a year and a half.

The group apparently exploiting this bug is tracked as UNC6201. This is not a widely recognized group, such as APT41 or Silk Typhoon, but they are equally as dangerous. In fact, the researchers said the group deployed multiple malware payloads, including a brand-new backdoor called Grimbolt, built in C# using a new compilation technique that made it faster and harder to reverse-engineer than its previous tools.

The researchers also said UNC6201 used new techniques for lateral movement and stealth:

"UNC6201 uses temporary virtual network ports (AKA "Ghost NICs") to pivot from compromised VMs into internal or SaaS environments, a new technique that Mandiant has not observed before in their investigations," Mandiant told BleepingComputer. "Consistent with the earlier BRICKSTORM campaign, UNC6201 continues to target appliances that typically lack traditional endpoint detection and response (EDR) agents to remain undetected for long periods."

Via BleepingComputer

The Dell Pro Max Tower T2 is not your usual business PC. It's not going to be the pick for casual users, or gamers, or admin work. And it's worth specifying that to begin with: this is a beast of a machine for professionals who need uncompromising power in engineering, AI, and all-around business performance, and who want a machine that is capable today and upgradable for the future,

Yes, it’s niche, and that’s okay. Dell doesn’t shy away from creating machines for a specific subset of users.

If you’re looking into this machine, there is a wide range in specs and pricing. The entry-level buildout is right around $1,000. But the high specs on my review unit are pushing $13,000. So, it may rank as one of the best workstations I've tested, but it certainly comes at a (hefty) price.

Dell Pro Max Tower T2: Price and Availability

The Dell Pro Max Tower T2 is available from both Dell US and Dell UK in a range of configurations.

The entry configurations are priced at around $1,000 and still include a Core Ultra 7, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and an AMD Radeon Pro GPU.

As I mentioned, my buildout is pretty high-tier. My exact buildout is priced at $12,787 and features an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K vPro with 128 GB of RAM, an NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell with 96GB, 4 TB of storage, and a massive 1500W PSU… oh, and a DVDRW drive.

Dell Pro Max Tower T2: Unboxing and First Impressions

The Dell Pro Max Tower T2 brings me down memory lane; it makes me remember the PCs I grew up on, the one I learned my fascination with computers on, and then I turned it on.

The machine that once reminded me of dial-up and waiting for a simple PDF or low•res photo to fully render is no longer reminiscent of my past at all, and simply reminds me that this is 2026 and this machine means business for today, and tomorrow. That’s exactly how this machine feels. Granted, it‘s no small casing, but for the amount of power packed into this chassis, the power-to-size ratio is wild.

Another thing that quickly surprised me is the port offering. There are great DisplayPorts, USB-A and USB-C ports, a disk drive for crying out loud, and other great ports that make this a spectacular machine all around. What‘s awesome too is that the build quality is spectacular, yes, it is a big machine, but it's a big machine that is built to last, and built to be re-built as new components are released, keeping the desktop workstation around for quite some time to come.

Dell Pro Max Tower T2: Design & Build Quality

This desktop has a classic tower design with a. 32L Chassis that offers great cooling, space to expand and change out parts in the future, and it fits the mold of what pro-level users are used to, which is a bigger deal than some may think.

For those who are not necessarily enthusiasts but are just pro-users, they may not care about the fancy new doohickeys, gadgets, and gizmos. They want a machine that will work the way they need it to, every time, without fail or downtime, and they want it to work right away. They don‘t want to have to learn a new system or rebuild their setup.

The form factor helps with that, but so does the port location, the simple DisplayPort out, the IEC power connection, not some proprietary cable, and the all-around business-first focus. It’s simple things like this that help business users.

Beyond the design, the build quality is great. It’s rugged enough that you can get work done without worrying about your machine breaking, and it looks and feels professional enough that it never passes as a gaming machine, keeping this strictly business.

The internals of this blast-from-the-past-looking tower are nothing close to those with which I grew up. It’s rocking an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with 24 cores, up to 5.7GHz boost, and built-in NPU AI Acceleration. It has an NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell with 96GB, plus a total of 4TB of blazing-fast SSD storage, 128GB of RAM, and a power supply with plenty of headroom to add other components in the future.

This computer is fine-tuned down to the component selection for AI models, training, 8K video editing, large-scale rendering, massive database manipulation, CAD, simulations, and more. This machine is a powerhouse. Plain and simple.

Dell Pro Max Tower T2: In use

I work alongside engineers, those who work with large data warehouses, those who work with AI, those who work in 3D modeling, 4K and 6K video editors, professional photographers, those who run massive visual events, those who run full custom applications, and so on. I was able to work alongside all of those individuals with this computer to see just how powerful the Dell Pro Max T2 Tower truly is.

It is important to note that this is not a gaming PC; those are also highly spec’d, but in different ways. You could upgrade the GPU to a more gaming-focused one to get closer, but right now this machine is built for work, not play.

I'd happily use this machine as my workhorse for serious work. In high-performance roles like data engineering and architecture, tower PCs are common. This machine is spectacular for that. If you already have a monitor and keyboard setup you love, you're just looking for a more powerful engine for your ecosystem. That's exactly what this delivers.

It’s snappy, has great ports, doesn’t slow down, and stays quiet even during benchmarking tests.

Dell Pro Max Tower T2: Final verdict

The Dell Pro Max Tower T2 is a powerhouse workstation designed for real productivity. It’s not your everyday gaming PC; it’s more than that. Yes, it’s not the most advanced gaming GPU, but it is among the most powerful for raw performance and processing.

For AI, data models, data-intensive work, massive productivity, and beyond, this will handle it. And thanks to the old-school tower form factor, this machine can be upgraded with other components as you desire, without breaking solder joints or cramming parts in.

In short, this isn’t the PC for most, but for those who know they need incredible power in a Windows machine to handle these kinds of tasks, then this may just be the enterprise-grade machine you’ve been dreaming of.

For more powerful options, we've tested the best business computers and the best mobile workstations.

As someone who reviews laptops for a living, the Dell 15 Laptop has long been one of my favourites. It's the deal I always keep an eye out for, because for the price, it's perfect for students and business professionals. And finally, it's here with a £100 saving - the Dell 15 Laptop is now £379 (was £479) at Amazon.co.uk.

Despite the low price, it's packing some impressive specs for productivity tasks like running office software, browsing, and streaming. It's equipped with Intel Core i5-1334U processor, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD.

So, you can enjoy seamless performance without frustrating lags and everything else that makes you want to hurl your old laptop out the window before you can even contact IT.

There's even better news if you're looking for more power. Dell's running its Dell Deal Days on Amazon, discounting some of my top-rated business laptops, including a model that out-performed the MacBook Pro in our benchmark tests.

You'll need to act fast to nab these bargains though. The deals end on 4 February.

• Shop all Dell laptop deals at Amazon

After spotting this deal yesterday, I've re-checked cost and stock today, and they're all still available at the prices below.

Top Dell 15 laptop deal

The Dell 15 Laptop is one of those laptops I always recommend for those who want a good deal for a general-use machine.

The i5-1334U processor boasts 10 cores, 12 threads, and up to 4.6GHz for fast, efficient performance, coupled with 16GB of memory. That makes it ideally specced for tackling everyday tasks like running the Microsoft Office suite, browsing the internet, and even light photo editing.

Storage space is a fair 512GB SSD. And the 15.6in screen is worth a shout-out here too. Yes, it's FHD (1920 x 1080), but it has a 120Hz refresh rate, which you don't often see even on some of the entries in my best business laptops guide, and certainly not at this price.

Usually, at this price, it's the far weaker i3 / 8GB models that get a discount - so this really is a deal worth checking out.

Rounding out the offering is a good port selection and connectivity. The Dell 15 Laptop comes equipped with USB 3.2 Type-A and Type-C ports, a USB 2.0 port, HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack, and microSD reader. It also features both Bluetooth and the faster Wi-Fi 6 connections.

More Dell laptop deals at Amazon

• See all laptops at Amazon

• Reused enterprise SSDs amplify failure risks under sustained AI workload pressure
• Flash wear remains a physical limit that software optimization cannot erase
• Drive reclamation trades short-term capacity gains for long-term reliability concerns

The ongoing shortage of enterprise SSDs has forced data center operators to rethink how they manage storage resources as AI workloads increase pressure.

A senior Dell executive has warned reusing enterprise SSDs creates serious reliability risks at a time when storage systems remain in short supply.

Flash media degrades with repeated write cycles, and older drives can fail more quickly once operators place them back into demanding environments.

Flash wear and the risk of data loss

“Flash drives wear out with use. Reintroducing aging media increases the likelihood of accelerated component failure, data unavailability, and, in the worst case, catastrophic data loss,” said David Noy, the company's Vice President of Product Management for Unstructured Data Solutions.

Such outcomes conflict directly with the stability that AI tools require, as these systems depend on uninterrupted and predictable data access.

This warning comes as analysts expect SSD supply constraints to continue for at least another year.

Some storage vendors have responded by promoting drive reclamation strategies, in which operators remove existing SSDs from one system and reuse them in another.

VAST Data has described this approach as a way to extend limited flash capacity by relying on software-based data reduction.

However, Dell’s leadership argues this response reflects market pressure rather than technical improvement.

“Flash recycling’ as a strategy is a great marketing sound bite, but also a sign of pressure, not progress,"Noy said, "that may sound pragmatic, but it carries real risk. For software-only storage vendors, it is a sign that desperate times call for desperate measures.”

The company maintains reused flash carries the same physical wear regardless of software efficiency, and has reiterated its long-standing support for tiered storage architectures that combine flash and spinning media.

By allowing less critical data to move away from flash, organizations can reduce their dependence on scarce and costly SSD capacity.

Dell argues that this flexibility offers resilience when pricing shifts or delivery timelines extend, without forcing customers into an all-flash environment.

Other suppliers have taken similar positions. DDN, for example, supports multi-layered storage systems that span NVMe, conventional SSDs, disk drives, and cloud resources.

Automated data movement policies allow information to shift between tiers while maintaining acceptable access speeds.

Like Dell, DDN suggests that reducing reliance on premium flash hardware offers a more sustainable response to shortages than attempting to reuse aging components.

Dell’s critique also frames flash recycling as a trust issue, suggesting that software-only vendors may lack accountability when reused hardware fails.

Via Block & Files

With all of the major end of year sales now far behind us, it may not feel like the best time to buy a new laptop. But, if needs must, or you're keen to secure an upgrade before RAM and storage prices spike even higher, I've found a handful of strong laptop deals in the US and UK to suit a variety of budgets and needs.

My top picks from the latest sales include everything from cheap Chromebooks starting at as little as $119/£299.99, up to high-end models from the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung that are packed with high-performance components and designed with premium users in mind.

Whichever side of the scale you sit, you should be able to find a suitable laptop here. I've highlighted only the offers that I believe are worth buying, using my years of experience hunting down the best laptop deals for TechRadar, as well as the expertise of the wider computing team, who have tested and recommend most, if not all, of these devices.

The standout for me in the US is this HP OmniBook X Flip at Best Buy for $549.99 (was $849.99), as it offers a powerful and flexible device for the price that's ideal for all-around use.

Meanwhile, in the UK, my favorite deal is this HP Laptop 15 at Amazon for £449.99 (was £629.99). It's another well-built and capable mid-range option with a specification best-suited to comfortably handle general everyday use and office work.

There are several other picks for each region below, so do have a look through to see all of my top picks. And if nothing grabs you right now, be sure to check back again soon, as I regularly update my guide to the best laptop deals throughout the weeks and months ahead.

This week's best laptop deals in the US

This week's best laptop deals in the UK

The Dell Pro Max 16 Plus is a little brother to the Dell Pro Max 18 Plus I previously reviewed. It trades a bit of screen real estate for a higher-quality display and the ability to be tucked away in a backpack for on-the-go use. While it may not fit in the tighter laptop bags, it will fit in larger, more robust backpacks.

The Pro Max 16 Plus delivers powerful performance, featuring an Intel Core Ultra 9 chip, an NVIDIA RTX Pro 5000 Blackwell GPU, and up to 128GB of RAM. Simply put, this is one of the best mobile workstations of its class.

The two Thunderbolt 5 ports showcase the drive for speed, power, and forward thinking for the Dell Pro Max 16 Plus. Dell knows that at this price point and with this power, not everyone can swap them out as quickly as cheaper laptops. So, they have made sure to future-proof this one as much as possible.

The Dell team also found a way to pack in an SD Card, a Smart Card reader, an RJ45 port, and a 280W power adapter to power up this beast of a machine. It's a compelling option for developers, engineers, data professionals, and generalists who need a single machine that serves as their all-in-one tool to handle all their workloads without breaking a sweat.

Dell Pro Max 16 Plus: Price and availability

The Dell Pro Max 16 Plus has a base price of around $4000, available from both the Dell US and Dell UK websites. I'm also seeing it available from some online retailers.

As ever with Dell laptops, there are a huge number of configurations available, so prices will vary. In this review, I'm testing a model with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (16 Cores, 24 Threads, 5.5 GHz Turbo, 55W), 128GB RAM, an NVIDIA RTX Pro 5000 Blackwell GPU, and 2TB SSD. All alongside the 16-inch OLED 3860x2400 with 500 nits max.

Dell Pro Max 16 Plus: Unboxing and First Impressions

After just reviewing the Dell | Pro Max 18 Plus, I knew this 16-inch model was going to be very similar. It's essentially 98% as good as the Dell Pro Max 18 Plus in a smaller shell, with an upgraded Tandem OLED 120Hz Display.

Unboxing, I realized that while the 2-inch difference, of course, makes a difference for screen size, the heft of this machine is still very prevalent. This is not an Ultrabook, it’s not a thin machine you toss in your bag and forget about.

And Dell isn’t ashamed of that at all. It proudly packs an insane amount of power into this unit, all while making it look pretty good and having superb usability in day-to-day operations.

Plus, with the ability to take in 280W, I want to be able to take that charger with me everywhere, but the sheer size of this brick is wild.

Dell Pro Max 16 Plus: Design & Build Quality

This is a hefty computer. There’s no denying that. But at the same time, it is light enough and portable enough to take around. Unlike the larger 18-inch brother, which pretty much means yes, you can carry it. Still, only to and from a workspace, the 16-inch laptop is more portable and easier to toss in a backpack, take with you out of your workspace, and experience the power of portability.

While the Dell Pro 14 Premium is hyper portable and designed to be lightweight, and the Dell Pro Max 18 Plus is designed to be an entire barrage of horsepower crammed into one machine that can technically be called portable, the Dell Pro Max 16 Plus fits between the two, while still favoring the hefty side. I wouldn’t want to walk around holding this with one hand while typing with the other, but I wouldn’t mind closing this, heading to where I am going, and then popping this back open again on a table, desk, or even my lap.

In fact, comparing laptops, this one feels more like a more powerful Precision 5690. Naturally, the Precision runs on older architecture, but it’s the same size screen, a similar keyboard, and fills a similar amount of space dimension-wise on everything except thickness.

The Pro Max 16 Plus can fit in my beloved Nomatic Backpack, but is too large for sleeker backpacks like the Bellroy Transit, primarily due to the thickness on top of the 16-inch display. But then again, there are some mid-sized bags, like a few from Troubadour, that this fits in, so it really comes down to the design of the laptop pouch.

Dell has done a fantastic job at keeping ports where users want them. I’ve seen some laptops, specifically workstation-class ones, that place ports on the back of the computer, with the idea of having this machine pretty much just docked.

Thankfully, Dell takes portability seriously, even with this tier of powerhouse. Because of this, the ports are on the left and right of the machine: the RJ45, HDMI, 2x TB5, SD card, and smart card ports on the left, and the 2x USB-A, TB, and headphone jack on the right. For my testing and my use case, this layout is fantastic and has had no issues so far.

While Thunderbolt 5 is still pretty new, putting it in this kind of machine is a wise, future-forward move by Dell, putting the faster, newer, and more powerful ports in their top-of-the-line machines, knowing that people grabbing these are not swapping them out every few months or even years. Still, they have been running them hard for a while.

The last thing I’ll mention regarding design is the display. I understood the Dell Pro Max 18 Plus, as people aren’t really going to use that machine for display-first tasks. They’re not buying that kind of machine to have a great display. This one, though, has a beautiful 3860x2400 Tandem OLED with 120Hz refresh rates, though it’s limited to 500 nits.

While this is still not a machine that the average video editor would grab as their first choice, nor a pro-gamer or photographer, this can be a machine used by someone who either cares about having a high resolution display for the real estate on their screen, fitting more content, crisper, or it could be someone who is a bit of a generalist-specialist. I see this being perfect for engineers who also work in graphic design or UI design, or heavy CAD users, who want to make sure they see everything clearly.

Dell Pro Max 16 Plus: In use

I’ve had this laptop in my rotation of machines for a whopping 113 days at the time of writing this paragraph. I’ve run some heavy workloads on it, I’ve used it for a few days in my real day-to-day world, I’ve used it for odds and ends, and I’ve run benchmarks all to see if this machine is what it says it is. So far, it has held up wonderfully to everything I have thrown at it.

Proving its might as one of the best laptops for programming, it’s blasted through local dev environments I have run on it, it doesn’t sweat at DBeaver repos, or pulling up large codebases in VS Code, it doesn’t even flinch. I dabbled in some local LLMs to try it, and I haven’t even been able to make the Intel Core i9 even sweat.

I pulled up large building schematics as CAD Files, I opened every productivity app I could think of and ran an absurd number of draining Chrome tabs, I was processing files, converting videos, transferring on and off of drives, and still, it’s great.

Don’t get me wrong, this won't be the best business laptop for every professional, due to its heft and power consumption, but for those who cannot or will not compromise on power and still want the option to bring their primary machine with them everywhere they may go, this might be the way to do it.

Compared to the Dell Pro 14 Premium, the Dell Pro 14 Premium focuses much more on battery life and portability than the Dell Pro Max 16 Plus. Still, you’re also getting true desktop-class power, now with a spectacular display too.

My model has an Intel Core i9-285HX with 16 cores, 24 threads, and 5.5 GHz turbo. It’s an absolute animal of a chip. Paired with the NVIDIA RTX 5000 Blackwell with 24GB, 128GB of RAM, and 2TB of SSD Storage, with the option of going up to 16TB on the device, which is truly absurd. I know of desktops drooling at these specs for productivity and performance. To get some numbers, I ran some 3DMark benchmark tests. For the CPU Profile Benchmark Tests, my max-threads test scored 11,717 points.

In everyday use, this machine has handled everything I have thrown at it, with room to spare. It’s got insane power for even the professional user, and gives power into the hands of the nomads without sacrifices.

The 16-inch size is great, offering excellent screen real estate without being too cumbersome, unlike the 18-inch counterpart.

Dell Pro Max 16 Plus: Final verdict

Few laptops offer this level of power while still fitting within a portable form factor. The Dell Pro Max 16 Plus is designed for the everything-fractional-developer who has to be able to do anything and everything at a moment's notice. It's designed for the generalist who dabbles in multiple high-demand areas of computing power.

The mobile workstation is designed to handle your day-to-day tasks without requiring you to hand off processing power to another companion device or even a dongle. It's self-sufficient for most tasks.

For those who need this class of workhorse, few are rating better than this one right now. Yes, it's not perfect, but it's a phenomenal option for those looking.

• Dell UltraSharp 52 supports dividing the screen into up to four desktops
• Each virtual desktop measures 1536 x 2560 when split into four sections
• The panel uses IPS Black technology and supports variable 120Hz refresh rates

At CES 2026, Dell unveiled the 52-inch UltraSharp Thunderbolt Hub Monitor (U5226KW), measuring 48.16 inches wide with a panel marketed at 6144 x 2560 resolution.

According to the company, the screen can be divided into up to four distinct virtual desktops, allowing separate content spaces on the same display.

The sheer size of the monitor means users may need to move their head and neck frequently to view the entire screen comfortably.

Pixel density below the standard 6K

Despite its advertised 6K resolution, the horizontal and vertical pixel counts do not fully meet a standard 6K format, meaning it does not deliver the exact pixel density of a true 6K display.

Its listed pixel density is 129 pixels per inch, roughly comparable to that of a 32-inch 4K monitor.

When divided into four virtual desktops, each section measures 1536 x 2560, and when divided into three, each measures 2048 x 2560.

The monitor uses an IPS Black panel with support for variable refresh rates and a 120Hz refresh specification.

It supports wide viewing angles of 178 degrees both horizontally and vertically, and has a curvature of 4200R.

Native contrast is rated at 2000:1, and peak brightness is specified at 400cd/m².

For color coverage, it supports 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and 100% of both the sRGB and BT.709 gamuts, with calibration accuracy rated at E < 1.5.

Anti-glare and low-reflection treatments are applied to the screen surface, and low blue light and flicker-free technologies are included.

The business monitor also carries certifications, including TCO Certified 10.0, EPEAT Gold, and Energy Star compliance.

Connectivity options include two HDMI 2.1 ports capable of 6144 x 2560 resolution at 120Hz, two DisplayPort 1.4 ports, and a Thunderbolt 4 upstream connection with 40Gbps throughput.

In addition, there are three USB-C upstream ports and four USB-A downstream ports, along with two USB-C downstream ports offering up to 27W power.

An RJ45 2.5GbE Ethernet port and an integrated USB hub and KVM switch are also included.

Its stand allows adjustments in height, tilt, slant, and swivel, and the panel is VESA mount compatible.

The operating power consumption of this large monitor is 63.6W, with a peak draw of 430W.

It is compatible with Windows, Linux, Mac, and ThinOS and includes a three-year limited service with advanced exchange and premium panel replacement.

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from wireless TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI. You can also ask us a question about the show in our CES 2026 live Q&A and we’ll do our best to answer it.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

• Dell hosted a Q&A as part of its pre-briefing for CES 2026
• An exec said of the firm's laptops that "from a consumer perspective … they're not buying based on AI"
• This admission comes just as another Windows 11 AI fail is going viral, which is unfortunate timing for Microsoft

Dell is telling it straight as far as the contemporary world of PCs goes, with the computer maker bluntly explaining that consumers aren't buying laptops based on AI abilities.

PC Gamer reports (as flagged by The Verge) that Dell's execs were refreshingly frank on the topic of AI and the PC in a Q&A session that was part of the company's pre-briefing for CES 2026 this week.

First up, Dell's COO, Jeff Clarke, observed that there was an "expectation of AI driving end user demand" but also an "un-met promise of AI", hinting at some of the disappointment – or confusion – around AI PCs for the average consumer.

Then Dell's head of product, Kevin Terwilliger, went further and noted of the company's fresh product launches (which included the new XPS 14 and 16 laptops): "One thing you'll notice is the message we delivered around our products was not AI-first. So, a bit of a shift from a year ago where we were all about the AI PC."

Terwilliger continued: "We're very focused on delivering upon the AI capabilities of a device – in fact everything that we're announcing has an NPU in it – but what we've learned over the course of this year, especially from a consumer perspective, is they're not buying based on AI. In fact I think AI probably confuses them more than it helps them understand a specific outcome."

Analysis: it might be 'make or break' for AI in Windows 11 this year

In short, Dell is taking its foot off the pedal when it comes to pushing AI in its marketing, simply because it doesn't believe that consumers are that interested – and that it might even be a point of confusion for some.

While you could argue that the latter viewpoint is somewhat patronizing, I think it's a fair enough observation overall. I believe some consumers really don't care about AI, and do not see the benefit of the various abilities for Copilot+ PCs – those exclusive Windows 11 AI features – or how they might use them.

And in truth, there isn't that much to get excited about with these AI features to date, anyway – not beyond image-editing tricks (and let's face it, many folks don't do anything much with their photos) and additional search powers (some of which people may be very suspicious of on the privacy front, particularly the key AI piece of the puzzle here, which is Recall).

Many people probably don't use AI beyond queries posed to ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini or whatever their favorite flavor of AI portal happens to be, using them as a kind of beefed-up Google search (other engines are available, etcetera).

Furthermore, with all the heat that Microsoft is taking over trying to crowbar more AI into Windows 11 – despite consistent cries from detractors who'd rather the software giant fixes what's wrong with its desktop OS, rather than putting in new features that 'no one asked for' at a rate of knots – the reputation of AI features is being tarnished considerably in terms of questioning Microsoft's motives here.

Is all this for show, riding the AI hype train and pushing as hard as possible with such features in Windows 11 in a bid to further impress shareholders and drive market capitalization?

Onlookers to the kinds of online bunfights that have been going on between anti-AI rebels and Microsoft's execs are no doubt absorbing messaging which, let's say, isn't leaving these AI features in the best light.

Especially not when you get videos like the one below on X, recently posted by Ryan Fleury (hat tip to Futurism for spotting this), which highlights an embarrassing fail by the AI agent in Windows 11's Settings app.

That clip has currently amassed well over four million views (at the time of writing), and as you can see, it shows the AI freezing up and failing to offer any reply to a basic query. Not just any basic query, mind, but the very one that Windows 11 suggested the user should try in order to show off the capabilities of the agent – so, you'd expect that it'd work well given that fact.

Okay, so this is a one-off example, but we've seen others. I can't help but recall (pun fully intended) the video from Microsoft's marketing department where the Copilot AI assistant makes rather a mess of trying to help a user change the text size in Windows 11. (That clip was eventually pulled, and I'm not sure how it was published in the first place). These are eye-opening cases of AD – artificial dumbness – a term I coined two minutes ago (one that, unsurprisingly, already exists, so Google – or should I say Gemini which provides the 'AI overview' – tells me).

With sentiment souring around AI in Windows 11 to a greater extent of late, is it any wonder that Dell wants to distance itself from the concept of AI PCs? At least for now, especially as we're moving into a tough sales environment for laptops and desktops (with the spiking costs of RAM, storage, and also GPUs in some cases).

And yes, Dell may remind us that despite its comments here, it's still pushing with AI in a way, as "everything that we're announcing has an NPU in it" – but it's not like there's a choice in that regard, is there? Away from budget laptops, all cutting-edge PC chips that are going to power modern laptops now have beefy NPUs, whether they are AMD, Intel or Qualcomm.

In fairness, the agentic AI functionality that Microsoft is now implementing with Windows 11 may be the piece of the puzzle that finally moves the needle with AI and grabs the attention of consumers more widely – but that remains to be seen. As do the potential security pitfalls or other nastiness that AI agents might bring in tow.

And with one of the major problems with AI being a lack of trust in these features, whether from a security or privacy perspective – or just 'hallucinations' (AI getting stuff plain wrong) – AI agents could possibly be the 'breaking', rather than the 'making', of Copilot and all its associated trappings in Windows 11.

2026 will be a very telling year for AI, I think, but for now, Dell gets credit for being frank about the current state of play with the AI features in Windows 11 PCs. Although arguably, this is the only sensible route to take with marketing PCs right now, given the circumstances as discussed above.

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 live news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything we've seen.

You can also ask us a question about the show in our CES 2026 live Q&A and we’ll do our best to answer it.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok for the latest from the CES show floor!

Dell has been in the game for quite some time for the business professional, so when I got word of their newest 18-inch flagship, I knew I’d have to get my hands on it. Most of the high-powered laptops that get the flashy marketing are focused on video and photos.

But there is an entirely different type of power needed for coders, developers, engineers, QA teams, and those who have to be able to bounce in and out of all of this as a hands-on PM to make sure everything that needs to get done gets done. Not everyone lives in a wonderful world where they can have dedicated machines for everything they need to manage; some only get a single machine.

Still, there are others who prefer the single machine that can do it all method, myself included, as then anything I need to do at any given time is accessible with a few keystrokes.

That’s where the best mobile workstations like the Dell Pro Max 18 Plus come into play. One machine with remarkable power that can dive into whatever, whenever, wherever. It’s designed very clearly for business professionals working in the engineering and development space, but could be used by people with similar needs. Just know that this is not the laptop for everyone, but it is the perfect laptop for those that need sort of desktop performance in a portable frame.

Dell Pro Max 18 Plus: Price and availability

As with most computers, the pricing varies drastically between base or entry model laptops and higher configurations. The base model of the Dell Pro Max 18 Plus starts at around $3500, and jumps up to over triple that. It's available from Dell US and Dell UK.

My model specifically is priced at $9,245, boasting an Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor, 128GB of RAM, a NVIDIA RTX Pro 5000 Blackwell with 24GB, 2TB of Storage, the 18-inch QHD+ 2560x1600 Display, and Wi-Fi 7, all with 96Whr battery life. It’s a tank.

If desired, you can upgrade even beyond what I have, with options to expand storage up to 16TB and 5G. I have pretty much every other feature in this setup, though.

Dell Pro Max 18 Plus: Unboxing and First Impressions

No matter how you slice it, 18 inches in a laptop is not a small machine. With most portable laptops measuring around 13 inches and the standard “large laptop” at 16 inches, this machine feels massive even next to my fleet of other workstations I have in for review.

The laptop, aside from its monstrous proportions, has a comfortable keyboard, a full-size numpad, a fingerprint reader, a robust port selection, and a full and helpful function row. The touchpad is responsive and easy to use, and the screen is sharp enough for all of the work I do.

The port layout is great as well. The Thunderbolt 5 ports are on the left, along with the RJ45, the HDMI, the Smart Card, and the SD Card slot. On the right, there is a Kensington Lock (not shocking with how valuable this laptop can be, not only in retail price but value of content being created and managed on the device), both USB-A’s, the other Thunderbolt Port and the Headphone Jack.

Personally, I really like how Dell doesn’t put any of their ports on the back of their machines, even their workstations. Making it easy to grab and go whenever needed.

The last thing I’ll mention is that it’s nice to see a physical camera shutter, which is always a mark of the best business laptops. In a world where I am getting increasingly paranoid, it’s nice to have a physical way to block that eye staring at me at all times.

All in all, the aesthetic is clean, professional, and business first. It’s a powerhouse but it looks like any other laptop at a quick glance. No RGB, no flashy or gaudy badging, no loud branding. Just a sleek machine that means business, and one you won’t be ashamed to bring to the board meeting.

Dell Pro Max 18 Plus: Design & Build Quality

The 18-inch display is the first thing that needs to be discussed with the Pro Max 18 Plus. It’s 18 inches for crying out loud. That’s not just a version number, that’s how big this thing is. It’s so big that it barely fits in my Nomatic Backpack. Meaning, that you’ll have to keep things like that in mind, most bags are designed to fit 16-inch laptops, not 18-inches.

However, with that added screen real estate, the odds of needing a portable monitor to bring with you probably drops, depending on what you do of course. Granted, you may still have a docking station at your main workstation with a monitor, but working on the go gets a lot easier with a screen like this always with you.

While this screen is good, even really good, it’s not great for photo editing or video editing. But, it’s not supposed to be. So, instead of Dell wasting engineering dollars and materials on making a nice screen for something this machine will most likely not be used for, they used those funds for making a more powerful, efficient, and power-hungry machine.

Perhaps that’s where they got the audacity to add not just one but two Thunderbolt 5 ports. And for that, I thank Dell. This display is more than enough for coding, project management, writing, database management, development, and related tasks. It’s spectacular for multitasking, and it’s snappy, really snappy.

Dell Pro Max 18 Plus: In use

The Dell Pro Max 18 Plus is not a laptop you casually use. It’s not one you “toss” in your bag or gingerly bring with you around the house. You can, but just as people are complaining that the 12.9-inch iPad, one of the thinnest technological advances in our computing history, is too large, cumbersome, and not portable enough, there is no way this computer will be considered ultra-portable. Portable, yes. But ultra portable or pleasant to carry around all day? Absolutely not. This is the kind of machine you bring to a place, and park it.

In real-world use, running large repos on GitHub, pulling up records in DBeaver, running projects in VS Code, working in Notion, responding to Slack, having an embarrassing amount of Chrome Tabs, PM’ing in Jira, Asana, Basecamp, and Trello, and taking virtual meetings all in sequence have not even made the fans spin up.

This machine is a beast. An absolute powerhouse. It’s got enough headroom that I don’t even think or wait for things to load anymore.

In my day-to-day, I wear many hats at the same time. In a given hour, I am working alongside four companies at a high level. I could be in a virtual meeting for one company, managing their data, responding to messages from a second, and physically talking to a third. All while loading data or a project for a fourth.

The Dell Pro 18 Plus is the kind of machine that can not only take on a massive project but also several at a time if needed. Again, I wouldn’t pick this as my laptop to carry around one-handed while walking between in-person meetings, but having a machine this powerful that could be brought out if needed is still mind-boggling to me sometimes.

Dell Pro Max 18 Plus: Final verdict

If you are the kind of person who needs a machine that can handle whatever codebase you’re working in, and you want it to be semi-portable, this is your machine. If you want a laptop that can tackle whatever project you throw at it, no matter how many projects at a time, this is your laptop.

If you are a graphics person, a video editor, a photo editor, or a 3D modeler, this machine could do it, but there are probably better options. If you are a commuter, I can say right now this machine is perhaps not one you want to tote around more than necessary, for many reasons.

But if you want high-powered desktop-level power in a laptop, then step right up and swipe that card.

For more models, we've tested the best Dell laptops.

• Dell commercial laptops and desktops will see prices jump significantly
• Memory and storage upgrades are the most affected across all enterprise models
• AI-enabled laptops with Nvidia RTX Pro GPUs face substantial price increases

Dell is set to increase prices on its commercial products starting December 17, affecting laptops, desktops, mobile workstations, and AI-enabled workstations.

Internal documents reviewed by Business Insider revealed models with higher RAM or SSD storage will see the largest increases.

Laptops and desktops with 32GB of memory will rise between $130 and $230, while top-tier 128GB configurations could cost an additional $520 to $765.

Memory and storage upgrades see the steepest price hikes

Notebooks with 1TB SSD storage will see price increases ranging from $55 to $135.

AI laptops equipped with Nvidia RTX Pro 500 GPUs are also affected, with a 6GB variant increasing by $66 and a 24GB model by $530.

Dell attributes the increases to global shortages of DRAM and NAND chips - AI demand from hyperscalers has accelerated purchases, leaving fewer components available for enterprise devices.

Analysts project DRAM prices to rise 30% in the final quarter of 2025, adding to earlier gains of 50% throughout the year.

Dell’s internal memo described the rate of change in memory costs as “unprecedented,” emphasizing that it cannot fully absorb the increases.

Analysts expect supply-chain pressures to persist through 2026, impacting pricing across all major workstation manufacturers, including Lenovo and HP.

Dell’s commercial division, responsible for 85% of its client sales, has been instructed to act quickly to secure deals.

The company stated, “ordering today for future delivery does not lock in current prices,” but acting now will help mitigate anticipated memory cost increases.

“It’s impacting everyone, and there’s no way around it currently, so customers will just have to pay more if they want the products,” a Dell sales employee said.

Sales teams are asked to prioritize large accounts, close multi-quarter deals, and minimize discounts to maintain profitability.

Even standard business laptops will see cost adjustments, and the company is absorbing some price pressure internally through reduced margins.

Smaller contracts or incremental purchases may be disproportionately affected, as bulk discounts are limited.

Monitors and GPU upgrades, although less directly tied to memory shortages, are also part of the price increases, showing a broad impact on corporate IT procurement.

This increase means that organizations must weigh hardware needs carefully, balancing immediate procurement against potential future availability.

Reliance on business laptops, mini workstations, and high-performance workstations exposes companies to market volatility and uncertain enterprise technology costs.

• Dell and Lenovo are expected to increase pricing for PC hardware
• The purported price hikes are a result of increased demand for memory
• These changes are slated for mid-December and early 2026

With the AI boom sparking a trend of significant price hikes on memory (specifically RAM kits) and, eventually, SSDs, there are plenty of reasons for PC users and gamers to be concerned – and two major brands are the latest to be impacted.

As reported by TrendForce, Dell and Lenovo will reportedly deliver price hikes on PC hardware; it's stated to be a 15 to 20% increase from mid-December for Dell, and unknown increase from early 2026 for Lenovo. This is a result of increased demand for memory for AI servers and issues with supply chains globally, which has ultimately led to increased DRAM (and VRAM) pricing.

We're already seeing similar signs on both Nvidia's and AMD's end; both are reportedly considering discontinuing budget graphics cards due to rising VRAM costs, and other rumors suggest Team Red is gearing up to increase its Radeon GPU prices.

Dell and Lenovo are responsible for a wide variety of pre-built desktop gaming PCs and laptops, while the latter has multiple handheld gaming PCs on the market. While the purported 15 to 20% price hike estimate is specific to Dell, it wouldn't be a surprise to see a very similar increase for Lenovo's products.

Considering how expensive RAM kits are, with some costing almost $1,000, it's not looking very good for PC (and even console) hardware at this stage, leading into 2026.

Analysis: If you thought handhelds were too expensive, it's only going to get worse

I have been very critical of manufacturers and brands setting obscene prices for handheld gaming PCs, notably Microsoft and Lenovo for the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and Legion Go 2, respectively. If you share the same sentiment, I'm afraid that matters are only going to get worse.

While SSD price hikes haven't been ushered in just yet, they're expected to eventually rise at a similar rate to RAM price increases, which have already spiralled out of control.

Fortunately, I haven't yet spotted a major impact for RAM on pre-built PCs or handhelds' prices yet, but I worry that the recommendation to push for 32GB of RAM for gaming is where consumers may find issues.

When you combine both SSD and RAM price hikes, it's a duo that could lead to dark times for PC consumers. This goes for upcoming and current handhelds, as well as Valve's Steam Machine, which many gamers are already disregarding due to suggestions of an entry-level gaming PC price, and this will only worsen with RAM complications.

At this point, the only hope to reverse these price hikes will be a pop to the current AI bubble, which is seemingly impacting every region of technology. Will that happen though? At this stage, I don't think so.

This Cyber Monday deal from Dell is so good, I had to double check the specs and the price. The Dell 16 Laptop is $450 (was $700) right now.

And you're getting a lot of laptop for under $500 here. Running Windows 11 Home on the AMD Ryzen 7 250 8-core CPU, it boasts a high-speed 16GB DDR5 RAM, and 512GB SSD. It's especially well-specced for productivity tasks if you're looking for smooth and seamless performance.

Couple that with a 16in 2K display, and you can see why I had to refresh the page to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Even lower-specced Dell 16 Laptops are priced a $100 more on the website, so you'll want to be quick. I don't expect this one to last.

In the UK, a similar variant with an aluminium chassis and 1TB SSD is currently £449 at Dell (was £679) - a £229 saving.

• Shop all Cyber Monday deals at Dell
• Save with Dell's Cyber Monday deals in the UK

Today's best Dell 16 Laptop deal

• In the UK? Save £229. The Dell 16 Laptop with AMD Ryzen 7 250 processor, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD is £449 at Dell (was £678)

More Dell laptop deals

• Windows 11 migration remains slow as companies continue relying on aging hardware fleets
• Dell sees flat PC sales ahead while server demand shows clear growth
• Memory prices rise sharply as manufacturers shift resources toward AI-focused components

Dell is warning the shift from Windows 10 to Windows 11 remains far behind expectations.

As part of its most recent financial results, the company revealed the current transition rate is ten to twelve points lower than the pace seen during the previous operating system phase-out.

For this reason, Dell expects flat PC sales next year, even though about 500 million PCs cannot run Windows 11 due to hardware limitations.

Slow upgrade cycle across the PC market

Many of these systems remain functional enough that organizations have delayed replacement, Dell says, a mood which seems to affect every segment, from desktops to smaller systems such as a mini PC.

Dell reported stronger results from its server and networking units as orders for AI-focused systems reached more than twelve billion dollars in the last quarter.

Revenue from servers and networking climbed thirty-seven percent year over year, with demand driven by buyers seeking denser hardware to consolidate aging fleets.

The company said increased memory and storage requirements are pushing up system costs at a time when RAM and NAND prices are high due to manufacturers prioritizing AI components.

Dell plans to rely on supply chain practices developed during the pandemic and during recent tariff changes to limit the impact of these shortages.

It told investors that its operational model allows it to adjust pricing, modify configurations, or direct buyers toward alternative products depending on supply conditions.

The company recorded $27 billion in quarterly revenue, an 11% annual increase, and said it expects revenue of $31.5 billion in the next quarter and over $111 billion in fiscal year 2026.

Dell said a large share of this growth will likely come from server replacements because many customers still operate fourteenth-generation systems.

Its current seventeenth-generation models will replace multiple aging devices, each carrying a higher selling price due to expanded memory and storage requirements.

Nutanix, one of Dell’s partners, reported year-over-year revenue growth and continued customer movement away from VMware.

Its leadership said many clients need flexibility in aligning licensing timelines with migration plans.

They also noted ongoing memory shortages could limit expansion efforts, although upcoming integrations with external storage are expected to support broader adoption.

Dell maintains it can withstand flat business laptop demand because of its strength in enterprise hardware.

Orders for AI servers reached more than $12 billion for the recent quarter, while revenue from servers and networking climbed 37%, suggesting demand for compute infrastructure remains strong even as some buyers hold onto older systems.

The situation shows businesses may be prioritizing infrastructure upgrades over operating system transitions.

Companies seem to be cautious about broad PC replacements until hardware shortages and cost pressures ease.

Via The Register

How to stay safe

• Limit personal information shared online.
• Monitor financial accounts for unusual activity.
• Use unique, complex passwords for all accounts.
• Verify URLs before logging into websites.
• Be cautious of unsolicited messages or calls claiming to be from financial institutions.
• Deploy antivirus software to protect devices from malware.
• Enable firewalls to block unauthorized access.
• Use identity theft protection to monitor personal information.
• Recognize that sophisticated phishing campaigns and AI-driven attacks still pose risks.
• Effectiveness depends on consistent implementation across devices and networks.

While we've already highlighted some great gaming laptop deals this Black Friday, it's time to turn our attentions toward laptops built for productivity, and on that note, the Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 Intel Core 288V laptop is on Best Buy for $999.99 (was $1,599), with a major 38% discount saving you $600.

A similar model, the Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 Intel Core 258V laptop, is on Dell's store for £779(was £1,199), available for UK buyers thanks to a 35% discount, which will save you £420.

Shop Best Buy's full Black Friday sale

With two Intel Core Ultra 7 and Ultra 9 processors as the driving force of these laptops, expect great performance when multitasking and diving into productivity. If your priorities are a fairly reasonable battery life, a lightweight design, and high speeds at an affordable price, these deals will suit you just fine.

(Not in the US or UK? See today's best deals in your region below)

Today's best Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 laptop Black Friday deals in the US

Today's best Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1 laptop Black Friday deals in the UK

Both models are fully capable of meeting expectations regarding productivity and multitasking, as you'll discover when reading our Dell 16 Plus review. These are lightweight laptops that are now made even more affordable thanks to Black Friday, and while they aren't exactly great in some areas, they're more than enough to cater to your needs.

While gaming isn't a highlight here, if it's within your interest (like it is for me), then both models can be used for some light gaming at a lower resolution than the 2.5k (2560x1600) resolution, but don't expect great performance, since this isn't a gaming laptop after all.

If you're not looking to overspend on a new laptop, I'd suggest making a move for either of these right away!

Shop more of today's best Black Friday sales

• Amazon: up to 66% off tech & essentials
• AO: up to £500 off Dyson, Bosch & Hisense
• Argos: up to 50% off appliances, tech & toys
• Boots: save on 1,000s of beauty products
• Currys: deals on Ninja, Shark & Lenovo
• Dell: laptops from £279
• Dyson: up to £550 off vacuums
• EE: Switch 2 bundles from £20/month
• John Lewis: up to 50% off tech & fashion
• Lego: sets & accessories from £2.99
• Samsung: deals on appliances & phones
• Very: up to 40% off tech, toys & fashion

My go-to laptop for everyday work is the 14-inch MacBook Pro. Aside from its incredible hardware, one of the things I love most about it is its compact form factor. It fits neatly into my rucksack and can be used in any public space with no trouble at all.

Of course, not everyone wants to shell out that amount of money for a laptop. So, if you'd like a more affordable Windows alternative, then I'd recommend the Dell 14 Plus from Dell for £599 (was £849). That's an impressive £250 discount for the 4.5-star-rated laptop.

• Browse the full Dell Black Friday sale

The Dell 14 Plus delivers solid performance, great style, and a rather impressive display. It's pretty much the complete package for anyone needing a portable laptop - and a great offer from this year's Black Friday sales.

Today's best Dell laptop deal

In our Dell 14 Plus review, we not only rated the laptop 4.5 out of five stars but also praised its great performance, fantastic price, portability, and solid battery life. This is a laptop that performs well across the board.

No wonder we said it "offers possibly the best value for its price range of any Windows laptop on the market right now." That was true at its full price. Just imagine how much more true that statement is with the £250 discount.

We'd recommend the Dell 14 Plus to anyone who works on low-demand workflows rather than high-end creatives and serious gamers. If you use office applications and the web for a lot of your work, then this Dell laptop will be perfect for you.

There are plenty more of the best cheap laptops around, or if you'd like to broaden your search, then our best laptops guide is a fantastic place to start.

• Dell's COO dropped some interesting info in an earnings call
• Jeffrey Clarke noted that Windows 11 is lagging considerably behind Windows 10 for migration after the end of support deadline
• Windows 11 is off the pace by some 10% to 12%, but that isn't surprising for a couple of reasons

Dell has made it clear that Windows 11 isn't faring nearly as well as Windows 10 did when it comes to people migrating away from these respective Microsoft operating systems after their end of support deadlines.

The Register reports that Dell's Chief Operating Officer (COO), Jeffrey Clarke, commented on the lackluster progress of Windows 11 in this respect during an earnings call earlier this week.

Clarke said: "We have not completed the Windows 11 transition. In fact, if you were to look at it relative to the previous OS end of support, we are 10-12 points behind at that point with Windows 11 than we were the previous generation."

That's a fancy way of saying that compared to Windows 10 when Windows 7 went out of support – we can presumably discount Windows 8 as part of the transition to Windows 10, seeing as it never gathered much of a userbase in the first place – Windows 11 is a good distance behind following the cessation of support for Windows 10 itself (last month). In fact, Windows 11 is about 10% to 12% behind the migration levels seen to Windows 10.

Obviously there could be a number of reasons for that lack of progress relative to Windows 10, but the main stumbling block is that Windows 11 rules out a lot of older PCs with its more demanding system requirements (a topic that's been a source of frustration and controversy for some time now).

As Clarke pointed out, some 500 million PCs can’t run Windows 11, and while some of them might be upgraded to do so (with a new CPU, or a TPM module), the majority very likely won't (and in the case of laptops, it's likely impossible to upgrade anyway).

Dell's had a robust year for PC sales thus far in 2025 – as of Q3, sales were up 'mid-to-high single digits' we're told, so around 7-8% presumably – but Clarke notes that next year is going to be different.

The PC maker is forecasting that sales will be flat in 2026, while couching that as 'flourishing' – and while that may not make a lot of sense as a choice of word, the COO is viewing this through the lens of memory price hikes and related difficulties with the cost of components. (RAM and SSDs mainly, and also to some extent standalone GPUs which have video RAM).

As we've seen clearly over the past month, these supply woes and price increases are pushing up costs for PC makers currently – the rise in RAM pricing is extreme to say the least – and so it's inevitable that computers are becoming more expensive. Therefore, simply maintaining sales levels in 2026 is seen as a win, with extra incentives like the long-anticipated rise of AI PCs (Copilot+ laptops) not being enough to fight off the various component headwinds.

Obviously a slower migration to Windows 11 PCs doesn't help sales either, as folks stick with their Windows 10 machines, or perhaps choose another path entirely (like Linux, or indeed macOS).

Analysis: Some alarms but no surprises

In short, while Dell's sales figures are currently good, Windows 11 adoption isn't, and it's lagging considerably behind Windows 10 at the same stage of its post-support timeline going by Dell's stats.

That really isn't good news for Windows 11 – but it also isn't surprising. Why not? Firstly, because Windows 11's general lack of popularity – whether that's about people being prevented from upgrading because of the leap in the required hardware spec, or just that folks don't like it much – is nothing new. Windows 11 has been well off the pace of Windows 10 for relative adoption levels through its entire lifespan.

And secondly, Microsoft did something very different with Windows 10 when its End of Life rolled around last month, at least in the consumer sphere. Namely for the first time ever, extended support was offered to consumers for (more or less) free (there's a catch attached, but it's not a big deal in my opinion, and it isn't financial). With a free year of extra support available, this means Windows 10 users can get security updates through to October 2026.

And in turn that means any worries they might have about what to do with their Windows 10 computer that isn't compatible with Windows 11 can be put off to next year. In short, they've got another year to think about either buying a new Windows 11 PC to replace their existing system, or upgrading their current computer, perhaps, to support Windows 11 (or abandoning Microsoft's ecosystem entirely).

This surely must be a factor in Dell's observed migratory lag here, and given that, it may be the case that the pace of the transition to Windows 11 remains slow until October 2026 – which maybe factors into Dell's PC sales predictions for next year, too.

In theory, then, a bigger spike in migration might be witnessed this time next year. In practice, well, we shall see, and some of how this pans out may be wrapped up in how well Microsoft can push forward with its big drive with AI in Windows 11 – a direction which has proven to be quite controversial with the existing userbase of the OS.

Setting out for high school, college, or university, and looking for the best student laptop? It's not as simple as picking from the best laptops out there; you're going to need to consider what you need, rather than simply what makes a great laptop.

You'll want a laptop with good battery life, for starters. Unlike office or remote workers, students will often have to spend a full day in packed classrooms, potentially without easy access to a power outlet. So a device that can make it through the school day is a must – but preferably without sacrificing the necessary performance for the tasks you need it for, and without costing an outrageous sum.

Whatever level of education you're at, a new laptop is often one of the single biggest one-off expenses for students. To ensure you can buy with confidence, I've drawn on TechRadar's collective experience reviewing more than 1,300 laptops since our inception 17 years ago to help you find the perfect student laptop to suit your needs and budget.

The good news is that Apple has finally done the impossible and released a budget laptop, the new MacBook Neo, which is arguably the single best laptop on the market right from a pure price-to-performance perspective. It immediately rocketed to the top spot in the list below, as well as our ranking of the best budget laptops, so if you're an Apple fan, this is the definitive pick. Apple also has a student discount program, though if you're looking for a Windows laptop or Chromebook, many other retailers offer student discounts and back-to-school sales.

Every laptop featured in the list below has gone through our rigorous product testing and review process to ensure it deserves a place on our top laptop lists. This includes battery life testing, synthetic benchmarking, and real-world user experience – as well as gaming, since many students may want a laptop that can double up as a gaming device. When I decide to include a laptop in this list, it's because I'm 100% confident that it's a strong choice for any student looking for a new laptop.

If you don't need anything that flashy and would rather save some cash instead, look to the Acer Chromebook Plus 514, which is perfect for lighter coursework. Whichever laptop you choose, know that you're buying with confidence with TechRadar's expertise at your back.

The best student laptop overall

The MacBook Neo stands out as our top overall pick for students, delivering a tested 13.5 hours of battery life in our video rundown and launching at a student-friendly $599 / £599 / AU$899 – and you can save an extra $100 (or equivalent for your region) by utilizing Apple's own student discount function, making it even better value for money.

In daily use, the Neo’s A18 Pro chip handled note-taking, research, and multitasking without a hitch. We found it equally responsive for everyday tasks; the fact that you get the complete macOS experience, not a stripped-down OS, means you’re free to run all the software your courses demand. TechRadar's own Matt Hanson noted in his review that swapping between a half-dozen browser tabs, Zoom, and Word never slowed the Neo down, which was a big reassurance during finals week.

Compared to mainstream alternatives like Chromebooks or the Surface Laptop Go, the MacBook Neo offers a more polished build and smoother performance. While some Chromebooks are lighter, they can feel flimsy and are limited by ChromeOS. The Neo’s full macOS compatibility and reliable hardware make it a smarter long-term choice, especially if you want something that won’t hold you back as your workload ramps up.

There are trade-offs. The Neo isn’t aimed at gamers or those needing a premium display and advanced creative features, so serious gaming and heavy creative workloads are better served elsewhere. For most students, though, the balance of price, performance, and OS flexibility makes it a strong pick for campus life.

Read our full Apple MacBook Neo review.

The best laptop for students on a budget

Chromebooks can be an excellent choice for students working with a tight budget, as they're designed with affordable efficiency in mind. ChromeOS is a less resource-intensive operating system than Windows or macOS, meaning that a Chromebook can run smoothly even with a less powerful (and therefore cheaper) processor.

Still, the Intel Core 100U CPU at the core of the latest Acer Chromebook Plus 514 is leaps and bounds ahead of the feeble chips we've seen powering budget Chromebooks of yore. No, it's not going to run the latest triple-A games or handle complex scientific modeling software, but for straightforward tasks like writing assignments or researching online, our reviewer found it ran smoothly and efficiently, with enough battery life to see you through a full day of classes.

Read our full Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review

The best overall Chromebook for students

If you're already a ChromeOS lover or are looking to make the leap to Google's cloud-focused operating system, the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch is a solid choice. With strong productivity performance and a battery that gave us more than 11 hours of continuous use in our tests, this feels like a laptop for serious students.

Reviewing this laptop, our Reviews Writer Lewis Maddison praised its premium-feeling build quality - something of a rarity for a Chromebook, which can often feel a little cheap in the hands - along with its surprisingly good display and quiet cooling fans. He described using the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch to navigate ChromeOS as "a largely seamless experience" - although he did note that the keyboard can feel a little cramped at times, due to the inclusion of a numpad.

Of course, since it's a Chromebook, it's not going to be the right choice for students studying creative disciplines like graphic design or videography. If you're taking a course that doesn't require the use of intensive software, however - like Business Studies or Creative Writing - this laptop can definitely go the distance.

Read our full HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch review

The best lightweight student laptop

In his review, my American counterpart John Loeffler described the new Surface Laptop 13-inch as "the Purple MacBook I've been begging for" - and trust me, he's been begging for that for quite a while now.

With 17+ hours of continuous battery life, strong performance across productivity workloads, and a wonderfully portable design (weighing just 1.22kg), Microsoft seems to have finally hit its stride with the Surface product line. This is a made-for-Windows Ultrabook with a premium-feeling chassis, offering a very comfortable keyboard along with a high-quality touch display.

John did note that in terms of performance-per-dollar it loses out to the latest M4 MacBook Air, but for users who prefer Windows to macOS, it's practically perfect. It's also one of the best ways to use Microsoft's fancy new Copilot+ AI PC features in Windows 11.

Read our full Surface Laptop 13-inch (2025) review

The best laptop for creative students

As I've already noted further up in this guide, some laptops that are great for the average student won't hold up against the workload of a student studying creative disciplines. Graphic design, photo and video editing, 3D art – all of these need a bit more power than even the best student Chromebooks can provide.

Enter the MacBook Air 15-inch with Apple M4 chip. A powerful system that packs an improved CPU (10 cores vs 8 cores) over the M3 model, plus a larger battery thanks to the 15-inch chassis, this is a solid choice for anyone who wants plenty of bang for their buck when it comes to running creative software. With the M5 MacBook Air now on the market, it's swiftly becoming easier to find the M4 model below retail price, especially if you shop sales and seek out student discounts.

Sure, you could opt for a MacBook Pro if you really want a ton of power at your fingertips, but frankly, the standard M4 chip in the MacBook Air is perfectly capable - and you won't have to worry about fan noise here, either.

Read our full MacBook Air 15-inch (M4, 2025) review

The best 2 in 1 Chromebook for students

While its lower-end internal specs might hold it back from achieving true greatness, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 nonetheless does an admirable job of what it sets out to be: a lightweight, compact, and flexible laptop.

With the smallest display size of any laptop on this list, it's easy to take with you on the go or hold in your hands when flipped into tablet mode - and despite its small size, the touchscreen is a rather impressive QHD+ panel that places it above many of its Chromebook siblings.

Granted, some sacrifices have been made here to allow that excellent display at the very reasonable $429 / £419 / AU$707 starting price (though you can often find it cheaper than that). In terms of its CPU and RAM, this Chromebook is admittedly one of the weaker devices on this list - but as long as you're just planning to do basic tasks like word processing and watching YouTube, you should be fine.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 360 review

The best 2 in 1 Windows laptop

When John Loeffler, our US computing editor, reviewed the new Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 earlier this year, he was happy with its performance, design, and price point (models start at $649 / £849 / AU$1,498), though he did note that some of the things he was willing to accept in the regular Dell 14 Plus clamshell model to keep the price low are more problematic in a 2-in-1 form factor. Specifically, John notes in his review that the display on the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 can only be described as "decent enough".

On a 2-in-1 device, however, where notetaking and collaborating across a table with your classmates are common use cases, the quality of the display matters a lot more than it does on other laptops. That's not to say the 14-inch IPS panel on the 14 Plus 2-in-1 is bad, it's just not great, and it's a compromise that more than a few 2-in-1 fans might not be willing to make.

The other big issue John had with the laptop was its lack of high-end performance, but given the focus on a lower price point with the 14 Plus lineup, you really shouldn't be expecting more than a productivity and general computing laptop. In that regard, John found the performance more than up for the task, but he definitely recommends against trying to do any serious PC gaming or video editing work on this one.

Read our full Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 review

The best premium laptop for students

Looking for a laptop that just screams 'premium'? Look no further: students with some cash to splash who want a high-end device with some real staying power should absolutely spring for the 2025 Dell XPS 13 - perhaps the last XPS 13 we'll ever see, sadly.

See, Dell is switching up its naming conventions, ditching the XPS brand (a totally insane move, in my humble opinion) in favor of new Plus, Premium, and Pro tiers for its laptops. Despite this, the latest XPS 13 is still available from both Dell and third-party retailers, and it's still an absolutely gorgeous laptop.

When I reviewed it, I had nothing but praise for its excellent touch display, absolutely phenomenal 24-hour battery life, and strong productivity performance with its Intel Core Ultra processor. My only real criticism is the lack of ports; with just two USB-C ports and nothing else, you'll want to go fully wireless or invest in a USB hub.

Read our full Dell XPS 13 (2025) review

The best student gaming laptop

The Asus V16 stands out for students who want real gaming muscle in their backpack. Our lab tests saw it average 120 fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at medium settings, a number that leaves most student laptops in the dust for smooth play.

Performance comes from an RTX 4050 graphics card, giving it the horsepower to tackle demanding schoolwork and AAA games alike. The V16 isn't a maxed-out desktop replacement, but it keeps up impressively with recent titles. Our reviewer described a session of Cyberpunk 2077 as "surprisingly smooth" for a laptop of this price, with only modest settings tweaks needed. That balance of classroom productivity and after-hours gaming makes it a compelling pick for students who want more than just basic performance.

Compared to our prime pick, the MacBook Neo, the Asus V16 is the obvious choice for anyone prioritizing gaming, thanks to its dedicated GPU. Chromebooks and the Surface Laptop 13 are lighter, quieter, and last longer unplugged, but can't come close to matching the V16's graphics power or real-world frame rates. If your school life includes projects, multitasking, and esports or AAA titles, the V16's value stands out, even if it isn't the cheapest option in the student lineup.

Like most gaming laptops, the V16 gets warm, and the fans spin up under load. This is noticeable during lengthy sessions, though not unusually loud. The keyboard is excellent for both gaming and essay-writing, but at nearly 2kg, it's heavier than typical all-day campus machines. For students who want the best gaming experience and can live with a bit more weight and a shorter unplugged runtime, the Asus V16 is easy to recommend. If portability, silence, or all-day battery life are your top priorities, you may want to look elsewhere.

Read our full Asus V16 review.

Other laptops we've tested

New laptops arrive on the market every single month, so anyone shopping for a laptop is usually spoiled for choice. Here, I've highlighted a few laptops we've recently reviewed that didn't quite make it into this ranking; consider them my honorable mentions.

• Dell Inspiron 14 Plus: A Windows laptop ideal for anyone who just needs a straightforward system to get through the day, the Inspiron 14 Plus from Dell is a no-frills system that can act as a solid MacBook Air alternative for those who prefer Windows to macOS.
  Read our full Dell Inspiron 14 Plus review
• Dell 14 Plus: The non-hybrid version of the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 found in the list above, this is essentially the same laptop but without the 360-degree hinge and touchscreen functionality. Still a great laptop, mind you!
  Read our full Dell 14 Plus review
• Acer Nitro 14: Fundamentally a bit overpriced (which is its main downfall), but still a solid choice of 1080p gaming laptop, offering good gaming performance and a well-designed chassis.
  Read our full Acer Nitro 14 review

FAQs: How to choose the best student laptop for you

The best student laptop is going to give you the right balance between sufficient performance for productivity tasks, affordability for a student's budget, and durability to handle the kind of wear-and-tear that a student can put their laptops through – and having it look good never hurts.

But that can be a hard thing for students and families to balance, especially if they aren't as familiar with computer hardware as they'd like to be. Fortunately, there are some general guidelines that you can follow to get the right student laptop for your needs and budget: check out these frequently asked questions to get an idea of what you might need to look out for (and ways to save money!)

How we tested these student laptops

We know that buying a new laptop can be a huge investment. Even more so with laptops for college students. That’s why we take our jobs seriously, and test every laptop recommended on this list extensively.

That process involves using them in our day-to-day lives to see how long their battery lasts, how robust they are – college kids have hectic lives, after all, and how cool they stay under pressure. We also look at their design, including how stylish they are, if they are thin and light enough to carry around with, and how comfortable they are to work on. Because the webcam and microphone in a laptop are also incredibly important, especially these days, we take time to test those out as well.

When it comes to performance, we use a mix of real-world tests and synthetic benchmarks to see how powerful (or not) these laptops are. This means using Windows 10 (or ChromeOS on Chromebooks and macOS on MacBooks) and running various apps and seeing how fast they load, noting down any problems.

Battery lives are also important, so we’ll keep track of how long we can use the laptop without needing to charge it. To get specific numbers, we also run our own battery life benchmark that plays a looped 1080p movie until the battery dies and the PC Mark 10 battery life benchmark, which replicates real-world usage, such as web browsing and document creation. These tests give us an excellent idea of how long the batteries in these laptops last.

When all is said and done, we then take everything we’ve learned about the laptop and compare it to its price, to see if it offers the best value to students.

Tested by

Today's best student laptop deals

OK, I'm going to call it: even with just under three days to go, you won't find a better Windows Snapdragon-based Black Friday laptop deal than this: the Dell XPS 13 (Snapdragon X Elite, 32GB RAM, 512GB): now £999 (was £1,299).

For just under £1,000, you're not going to get a better Snapdragon laptop at this price - the design, build quality, screen, and overall performance are incredible and while it's not the very latest or most powerful XPS 13, it's a brilliant laptop that more expensive devices would struggle to match.

We called it the best XPS 13 ever made when we reviewed it last year thanks to its excellent performance and battery life, with our reviewer also highlighting the much-improved ventilation, the phenomenal display and the build quality.

• Check out other Dell Black Friday offers
• Save up to 40% on selected Dell Accessories
• Save up to 19% on Desktops
• Save up to 30% on Monitors

Today's best Dell XPS 13 deal

The equivalent model from Microsoft costs way more than £1,500 with a heavier chassis (albeit with a bigger screen) and a shorter battery life. Even people holding out for a MacBook should consider this.

Sure, it uses Windows 11, but it has a stunning screen and overall design, and there's no MacBook with this configuration close to this price, except perhaps the much older MacBook Air M1 model from 2020 - but even then, I'd recommend this over that aging device.

Also consider

Shop more of today's best Black Friday sales

• Amazon: 45% off TVs, AirPods, air fryers & vacuums
• Apple: iPads, AirPods & MacBooks from $119
• Best Buy: $1,000 off TVs, laptops & headphones
• Dell: laptop deals from $249.99
• Home Depot: 40% off appliances, furniture, grills & tools
• Lenovo: 45% off laptops & tablets
• Lowe's: up to 30% off appliances, holiday decor & tools
• Samsung: up to $2,000 off appliances, TVs & phones
• Target: 40% off Christmas decor, clothing & furniture
• T-Mobile: up to $1,100 off latest iPhone 17
• Walmart: furniture, cheap TVs & vacs from $69
• Wayfair: 54% off Christmas, furniture & decor

Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250): Two-minute review

The Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) is a hard computer to pin down just because its configurations vary so wildly. It’s almost like the Tower Plus is more of a concept than an actual model with the only thing really remaining the same are its most barebones aspects, such as its chassis and ports. There’s such variation in availability of CPUs, RAM, GPUs, and storage that you can configure this tower to be an efficient budget option or a robust gaming or creative content machine.

Despite the fact that you can end up on opposite sides of the desktop spectrum depending on the configuration you choose or customize, it has an argument for consideration among the best desktops. The flexibility in customization it offers is a point in its favor if you’re okay spending a little time picking out what exactly you need. But even if you get a lower-end build, it’s made to be expanded upon at a later date; so if you want to save up and get a discrete graphics card at a later date, you can.

I also appreciate the amount of ports on offer, particularly accessible on the front. Really, there’s not much to dislike with the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250). Sure, the wired keyboard and mouse Dell included are not much more than functional. But they work well enough and I expect most people to probably want to upgrade to one of the best keyboards or mice anyway.

Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250): Price and availability

• How much does it cost? Starting at $949.99 / £849.01 (about AU$1,460)
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

Since Dell is one of the biggest brands in the world, the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) is available just about everywhere. The only real issue to keep in mind is that, while those in the US and UK have access to the full gamut of customizations, potential users in Australia only have a list of about eight more premium (in price and components) configurations. That means no budget machines for Oceania, at least for this model.

As far as the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250)’s price, it’s all over the place since the customizations vary so wildly. The only consistent factor is that whatever configuration you get will be well-priced, if not quite a steal, for what you end up with. The cheapest configuration with an Intel Core Ultra 5 and integrated graphics has an MSRP of $949.99 / £849.01 (about AU$1,460), though it is discounted by $200 on Dell’s direct site at the time of writing (all the configurations are on the US site).

The maxed out configuration goes for $3,679.99 / £3,399.00 (about AU$5,630), but that gives you an Intel Core Ultra 9, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080, 64GB of RAM, and 4TB of SSD storage. Backing off on the RAM from 64 to 32GB and the SSD from 4TB to 1TB, both still more than enough for the vast majority of people, gets you a lot closer to $2,500.

The review configuration with its slightly weaker CPU and GPU (both the Intel Core Ultra 7 and RTX 5070 are still quite robust) gets you a surprisingly decent price tag of $1,899.99 / £1,899.00 / AU$3,399.00 for what’s still a fairly powerful gaming machine.

For comparison’s sake, let’s take a look at the NZXT Player PC (5070 Intel Edition) I reviewed not too long ago. It comes with an Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF, RTX 5070, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB SSD. This lineup targets more dedicated gamers and is on offer for $1,999.99.

So, the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) is priced right, though it’s not quite a knockout in terms of value. That is, unless you get it at one of Dell’s regular discounts - in which case it becomes a very tempting deal.

• Value: 4 / 5

Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250): Specs

There are a lot of options to choose from with the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250). The CPU ranges from the Intel Core Ultra 5 255 10-core CPU to an Intel Core Ultra 285K 24-core option. The GPU offering is even wider as you can either stick with Intel integrated graphics or get a wide variety of Nvidia GeForce Now GPUs, starting with the RTX 3050 and 4060 Ti to just about every offering of the 5000 series except for the 5090 (the 5080 is the most premium option).

RAM ranges from 16 to 64GB, while the SSD goes from 512GB to 4TB in various configurations, such as getting two 1TB drives instead of one 2TB drive.

You can also upgrade the power supply (and you might be limited in choice depending on the other components selected), which is strangely paired with colorway, though the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) only comes in platinum or graphite. You can also upgrade, for a fairly nominal fee ($29), to the wireless Dell Pro Keyboard and Mouse combo.

Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250): Design

• Discreet office-style look
• Plenty of ports
• Future upgradeability is a big boon

Despite the fact that you can soup the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) into a gaming machine, it fits the aesthetic of an upscale office the same way that a Dell 14 Premium laptop does. It’s clean and minimalist looking with fairly neutral colors, either platinum or graphite (aka gray or black), and some well-placed venting to not only help with cooling efficiency but also keep it from looking too boring. It’s also just a bit on the smaller size for a regular ATX-style desktop tower.

As far as ports go, the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) is fully stocked. There’s a plethora of USB ports as well as Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI (on top of the inputs on the graphics card), but more importantly, there are some easily accessible ones on the front including three USB, a USB-C, headphone hack, and a microSD card reader.

But none of that is unexpected. The one thing that the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) does that I only really see in gaming machines for enthusiasts is an eye toward expansion in its setup. Not only can you upgrade the RAM to hold up to two 32GB sticks of RAM, but there are two M.2 SSD slots along with two regular hard drive slots, as well as three PCIe slots for later additions or upgrades in the graphics card department.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250): Performance

• It can be as powerful as you want it to be
• Review configuration is a powerhouse
• Can handle demanding gaming and editing tasks

It’s hard to really pin down the performance of the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) just because computers are rarely more than the sum of their parts. A computer with an Intel Core Ultra 7 265K CPU, 32GB or RAM, and a Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 GPU is going to perform similarly to any other computer with similar hardware.

Now, sometimes manufacturers do cut corners or have issues with cooling efficiency that can make a difference. The difference between the configuration I reviewed with those components I just mentioned and the most basic configuration is going to be night and day to the point of feeling like different computers (because they are).

That basic build is great for anyone who wants a working desktop that they want to upgrade at a later time or just want something cost effective to get them online and doing regular productivity work. Keep in mind that the most affordable model runs on Ubuntu Linux, not Windows (but all other Dell Tower Plus configurations run Windows).

The model I reviewed ran like a gaming computer, however. In fact, it did very well even running beautifully with a 120Hz 4K monitor. I never had any performance issues; there was no stuttering or screen tearing when gaming, and no noticeable slowdown during any other kind of use.

The difference between my review model and a regular gaming computer is simply aesthetics. It was able to get over 80 FPS in 1080p and almost 40 FPS in 4K when running Monster Hunter Wilds, for instance.

And its results in Cyberpunk 2077, specifically its almost 70 FPS in 1080p and 20 FPS in 4K (not including DLSS upscaling) give a good idea of the RTX 5070’s limitations more than anything else. For powerful gaming performance, you’ll probably want the 5080.

If you’re looking for a desktop that can handle other demanding tasks, the Dell Tower Plus is capable of doing that as well. Its benchmark of 2:06 in Handbrake represents how quickly it can convert video, for instance. And any horsepower that can be used for gaming does well for 3D design and video editing as well.

Lastly, I want to mention that when I tried to push this computer, mostly by running demanding games, it still operated fairly quietly. That’s not always the case with powerful computers.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250)?

Buy the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

If our Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) review has you considering other options, here are two desktops to consider...

How I tested the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250)

• Tested for a couple weeks
• Used it for productivity, streaming, gaming
• Played with the included accessories

I used the Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) for a couple weeks to get a feel for it. I did some productivity work including researching and typing up most of this article. I also did a bit of streaming and played some demanding games, all while using the included keyboard and mouse for the majority of the testing.

The Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) is interesting because it can be so many different things, like a budget productivity machine or a powerful gaming workhorse, that just happen to share the same basic building blocks and look. This computer seems to be ideal for someone who wants a discreet desktop, possibly for an office, that can be upgraded at a later date.

I’ve spent the last few years reviewing tech gear for gaming and otherwise, where I’ve gotten a feel for what to look for and how to put a piece of kit through its paces to see whether it’s worth the recommendation.

• First reviewed October 2025

• Dell’s official deals page hides deep discounts visible through a secret page
• Dell’s hidden clearance portal functions more like a live inventory dump than a showcase
• Older but still relevant systems appear on the page long after vanishing from the main deals

Dell’s clearance deals have always been a draw for those seeking affordable business laptops, desktops, and accessories, but a closer look reveals that not all of its sales channels are created equal.

Beneath the surface of the company’s official deals section lies a less-prominent hidden clearance page which appears to offer a broader and often more rewarding shopping experience.

While not exactly hidden, it seems to operate outside Dell’s usual promotional ecosystem, giving users access to items that the main clearance portal does not show.

A deeper layer of clearance listings

The official Dell deals site, which hosts the well-advertised clearance section, presents a limited and heavily curated set of products.

It is designed to be clean, simple, and accessible, but that same structure seems to restrict the number of listings visible at any one time.

Although the “secret” clearance page functions more like a direct search feed from Dell’s inventory, users can find it easily. Simply type "clearance" on the main page, and it leads to this section.

Rather than relying on marketing selections, it appears to pull every item tagged as “clearance,” regardless of its promotional value or sales appeal.

The result is a longer and more varied list of discounted systems, many of which are not present on the official page.

One of the most practical differences lies in how both pages are built. The official laptop deals site runs on a fixed display logic that emphasizes a handful of pre-approved discounts.

The “secret” page, by comparison, uses query parameters that sort listings by “pricing.saleprice, asc,” automatically bringing the cheapest items to the top.

It also allows users to move through deeper layers of stock.

This technical distinction is small but meaningful, especially for buyers who want to scan Dell’s full range of discounted inventory rather than what its marketing team decides to highlight.

Despite its advantages, the “secret” clearance page does not always represent better value.

Some Dell laptops listed there may be older, less desirable, or close to end-of-life, and the company’s choice to exclude them from the official site may reflect that.

The larger catalog can also create a sense of clutter, making it harder to separate genuine bargains from outdated hardware.

Even so, its existence raises questions about why Dell would maintain a limited official clearance page when a more complete and transparent version exists within its domain.