What’s the difference between a good notebook and the best ones money can buy? They deliver a great combination of design, comfort and performance for your money, but also satisfy your specific needs. For example, the best Ultrabooks should boost fast and be easy to carry, while a superior business laptop offers extra durability and security. Then there are budget notebooks, which should deliver snappy performance for everyday tasks while costing less than $500.

At LAPTOP, we review dozens and dozens of laptops each year, putting each and every model through a series of rigorous tests. From screen brightness and heat to speed and battery life, our writers and editors evaluate every aspect of a given system to arrive at a rating. This list of 4-star notebooks represents the best of the best in every category.

Apple makes the quintessential ultraportable notebook even better by giving the MacBook Air faster performance and longer battery life. The 4th Generation Intel Core i5-powered notebook now lasts for over 9 hours on a charge.
Basic Configuration: $1,199

With its lightweight, durable design, fantastic display and long battery life, Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon sets a new standard for business ultraportables. A few sacrifices--namely Ethernet and VGA--had to be made in the name of thinness, but we think it's worth the tradeoff. If you want the best business Ultrabook around, the ThinkPad X1 is worth the premium.
Basic Configuration: $1,249

 

Mobile professionals looking for a notebook with a comfortable keyboard, accurate touchpad at an affordable price have found their match in the Dell Latitude 3330. Priced at $539, the Windows 7 notebook has a lightweight, 4-pound chassis, decent performance and over 6 hours of battery life.
Basic Configuration: $560

 

Ultra-light and super-affordable, the $249 Samsung Chromebook Series 3 is a great choice for people searching for a secondary device or a dedicated web experience. The 2.4-pound notebook is outfitted with a speedy 1.7-GHz Exynos 5 Dual processor with 2GB of RAM which delivers good performance and gets over 7 hours of battery life.
Basic Configuration: $249
 

Lenovo’s given the outstanding IdeaPad Y500 series notebook an Intel Haswell spec boost. The result is the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510, which doubles down on the Y500’s impressive performance and specs including a 1080p display, 1TB of storage and dual Nvidia GT 750M GPUs with 2GB of VRAM. Whether it’s work or play, the Y510p can rise to the occasion.
Basic Configuration: $849

 

The MacBook Pro with Retina Display is more than just a pretty face. In addition to its stunning 2880 x 1800 display, the MacBook provides incredible Core i7 performance and lasts over 8 hours on a charge. When you put all that power in a 4.46 pound chassis, you have the ultimate mobile workstation.
Basic Configuration: $2,199
 

When you’ve absolutely, positively have to frag everything in the room, except no substitutes for the Alienware 17. The laptop might be sporting a new futuristic design, but it stays true to its roots offering a gorgeous 1080p display, excellent audio and a customizable keyboard. But the Alienware 17 isn’t all pretty lights, it’s also big on power thanks to a fourth-gen Core i7 processor and a Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M GPU.
Basic Configuration: $1,499

 

The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 will bend over backwards for you -- literally. Thanks to its sturdy 360 degree hinges, the Yoga can transform into four different modes (Tablet, Laptop, Stand and Tent), making it one of the most versatile Windows 8 hybrids on the market. The $999 starting configuration features an Intel Core i3 CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and Integrated Graphics.
Basic Configuration: $999
 

Outfitted with a fourth-generation Intel Core i5 processor and integrated graphics, the $699 M5-583P offers solid performance with a whopping 10 hours of battery life. That’s more than enough time for a mini-”Dr. Who” marathon.
Basic Configuration: $699

The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E431 is all about business. The Windows 7-powered notebook offers solid performance coupled with a fantastic keyboard and accurate pointing stick -- all in an attractive chassis. Coupled with the optional extended battery, the Edge E431 is a solid investment that’s functional and economical.
Basic Configuration: $599

Laptops with the Longest Battery Life
What good is a notebook that dies two hours after it’s unplugged from the wall? Not much. We’ve created a list of the clamshells that ran the distance on the LAPTOP Battery Test (continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi).  Each machine lasts (at least) to the 8-hour marker, but some systems use larger, sold-separately batteries to stay active up to 20 hours. See for your yourself below.

 

Consider the Lenovo ThinkPad X230 the poster-laptop for systems with optional batteries. The 12-inch ultraportable ships with a 6-cell battery that lasts a decent 7 hours, but the sold-separately 9-cell option pushes the juice supply beyond the 12-hour mark. If that's not enough productivity time for you, the X230 also works with a sheet-battery that, when paired with the 9-cell, helped the system run an epic 20 hours!
 

 

We were already impressed by the fact that the Sony VAIO Pro 13 offers above-average endurance, thanks in no small part to its more power-efficient Haswell CPU. Alone, the notebook lasted a strong 7 hours and 20 minutes. However, attaching the $150 sheet battery doubled its lasting power to an awesome 14:38.
 

The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch is an all-star ultraportable that combines an incredibly thin design with swift boot times and yes, truly stellar battery life (11:40). It's Intel Haswell ULT Core i5 processor (the Core i7 version lasted a stellar 12:29), 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD are the engines that drive this iconic workhorse, and those who put down for one will be able to work and play while keeping the charger at bay for nearly half a day.
 

With its default 6-cell battery, the HP EliteBook 2570p lasted 6 hours and 40 minutes on the LAPTOP Battery Test, which is certainly respectable. But with its extended, 9-cell battery on board, the notebook lasted a strong 10:38. However, that extra battery will set you back another $100.

For a 14-inch notebook with more than one type of staying power, the durable Dell Latitude E6430 is a solid choice. We say that not only because of its Tri-Metal frame (made of magnesium alloy, steel hinges, and chrome bumpers), its spill-resistant keyboard, and its MIL-STD 810G-level resistance to degrees, dust, and drops, but also for the 10 hour and 37 minutes the E6430’s 9-cell battery provided during our tests. That battery option costs an additional $79 bucks, but durability and long battery life like this is worth the extra cash.
 

Sure, the Sony VAIO SE’s sheet battery adds $150 to the media-friendly notebook’s $929 starting price, not to mention 1.3 pounds to its lightweight 4.4-pound frame, but with 10 hours and 35 minutes of portable power, the added cash and heft are worth it. The battery sheet will go a long way toward helping you watch beautiful movies and video on that 1920 x 1080, matte display, all without the need to plug into a power outlet.
 

With just a 4-cell, 3560 mAh battery, the Acer Aspire M5-583P-6428 lasted 8:55 on our battery test, putting its shiny new Haswell processor to good use. It's affordable $699 price tag and 15.6-inch frame help this notebook stand out as well.