You asked for a Laptop costing under £1200.

You told me that you needed an all round laptop for all round performance. You also added the following additional information: Would like a good battery life if possible but not essential

I chose three laptops for you that all offer something a bit different.

I searched a range of different shops for something that would suit your needs. I have chosen the three options below as the best ones to suit your requirements. However, we all have our own tastes (and of course, prices can change), so I have also included search links for each shop at the bottom of this page in case you’d like to browse further.

I always choose three options. These are usually (1) the best performing option within your budget (i.e. best suited to meet your needs for the longest possible time), (2) the cheapest option that still meets your needs effectively and (3) usually a wildcard option or a compromise between the two. If you are able to, I would usually recommend the first option as it is likely to be powerful enough to meet your needs for the longest before it needs replacing. However, I specify three choices so that you can pick the one that best suits your circumstances.

I do not work for or on behalf of any of the retailers listed below.

Prices correct as of 14th Feb 2022


1. Best overall performance: MSI Stealth 15M 15.6″ RTX 3060 Core i7 Laptop
£1099.00

Key features:
CPU: Intel Core i7 11370H Processor
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1024GB
Graphics: GeForce RTX 3060 Graphics
This choice represents the best overall performance I could get from your budget. 16GB RAM, i7 CPU, 1TB storage, discrete graphics processor and reported 10 hour battery life make this the most powerful laptop I could find for you at this price point. It might be a bit big if you’re going for portability though.


2. Cheapest option: HP Pavilion 14 14″ Core i3 Laptop
£517.00

Key features:
CPU: Intel Core i3 1005G1 Processor
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 256GB
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics
This choice represents the cheapest device I could find that still meets your needs. I chose it primarily based on its all round value – it’s small and has excellent battery life but it is at the lower end for processing power.


3. Third option: Apple MacBook Air 13.3″ Laptop
£1184.00

Key features:
CPU: Apple M1 Processor
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 512GB
Graphics: On-Board Graphics
This choice represents the third option – a wildcard. You may or may not be interested in an Apple laptop but they do have excellent build quality and outstanding efficiency (meaning performance is good and so is batery life).


Why did I choose these for you?

It is important that you understand what the components of a laptop do so that you can make an informed choice. Here is my very basic explanation for each:

  • CPU: The brain of your laptop. A better one makes your laptop faster.
  • RAM: Your laptop’s short term memory – more of this means it can cope well with doing more things at once.
  • Storage: How much space your laptop has to store files, photos, apps etc. More storage means you can store more stuff.
  • Graphics: Your laptop has a graphics processor (GPU) responsible for how things appear on the screen. A better GPU will mean your device will cope better with more complicated graphics, such as in 3D games.

If you would like to browse the shops I searched for yourself, here are some links that will take you directly to the search results you require:

Some of the links on this page are affiliate links – that means if you go on to buy after clicking one of them, I may receive a small payment. This is how I am able to provide this service for free. It does not affect the price you pay, nor does it affect the recommendations I make – I will always recommend the best I can find to fit your usage, regardless of what shop it is from or any affiliation.

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