The best laptops you can buy in South Africa — and how much they cost
South Africans in the market for a laptop that offers the fastest processors and best graphics cards available in a portable form factor have some excellent options to choose from. While these machines are more expensive than most laptops on the market, you’ll be guaranteed a high-performance device that can tackle any task you throw
The best laptops you can buy in South Africa — and how much they cost
South Africans in the market for a laptop that offers the fastest processors and best graphics cards available in a portable form factor have some excellent options to choose from.
While these machines are more expensive than most laptops on the market, you’ll be guaranteed a high-performance device that can tackle any task you throw at it with ease.
The MacBook M1 Pro and Max chipsets sold in South Africa feature 16-core and 32-core graphics processors.
Both offer up to 14 hours of battery life and a 10-core CPU which provides fast and reliable performance.
Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio has a maximum processing speed of up to 4.8 GHz and features a 14-inch touchscreen display.
The convertible display provides tablet functionality which can be useful for graphic editors and designers.
For those looking to buy an ideal allrounder, the MSI Creator M16 or Dell XPS 17 are notable options.
Both devices feature an 11th-Gen Core i7 processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU (with the MSI sporting the Ti variant), and each will run any task comfortably.
Either laptop is suited to programming, multimedia, business, and even gaming.
Gaming enthusiasts in the market for a high-performance laptop should consider the specifications of the graphics card, the central processing unit (CPU), and the amount of RAM.
The display’s refresh rate is also important, particularly when the device contains a high-end GPU.
The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 offers a 12th-Gen Core i7 CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, 24GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, and a 165Hz display refresh rate.
This makes it capable of running any modern game at a consistent 60 frames per second and above.
The prices and specifications of these laptops are listed below.
Acer Predator Helios 500 — R73,999
| Acer Predator Helios 500 specifications | |
|---|---|
| Display | 17.3-inch UHD (3840 x 2160) ComfyView IPS 120Hz HDR1000 |
| CPU | Intel 11th-Gen Core i7-11980HK 2.60GHz |
| RAM | 32GB DDR4 RAM |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 16GB GDDR6 |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| Ports | HDMI | Mini-DP | Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C | 2 x USB Type-C | 3x USB Type-A | RJ45 LAN Port | Headphone and mic jacks |
| Dimensions | 40 x 31.9 x 3.53 cm (3.9 kg) |
| Battery life | Up to 4 hours |
MacBook Pro Max 16-inch — R67,899
| MacBook Pro Max 16-inch specifications | |
|---|---|
| Display | 16-inch (3456 x 2234) @ 60 Hz |
| CPU | 10-core Apple M1 Max chip |
| RAM | 32GB unified memory |
| GPU | 32-core Apple M1 Max Integrated Graphics |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| Ports | 3 x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) | 1 x HDMI | 1 x 3.5 mm headphone jack | MagSafe 3 port | SDXC card slot |
| Dimensions | 35.57 x 24.81 x 1.68 cm (2.1 kg) |
| Battery life | Up to 14 hours |
MacBook Pro 16-inch — R52,299
| MacBook Pro 16-inch specifications | |
|---|---|
| Display | 16-inch (3456 x 2234) @ 60 Hz |
| CPU | 10-core Apple M1 Pro chip |
| RAM | 16GB unified memory |
| GPU | 16-core Apple M1 Pro Integrated Graphics |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| Ports | 3 x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) | 1 x HDMI | 1 x 3.5 mm headphone jack | MagSafe 3 port | SDXC card slot |
| Dimensions | 35.57 x 24.81 x 1.68 cm (2.1 kg) |
| Battery life | Up to 14 hours |
Dell XPS 17 — R43,999
| Dell XPS 17 specifications | |
|---|---|
| Display | 17.3-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1600) IPS InfinityEdge |
| CPU | Intel 11th-Gen Core i7-11800H 2.30GHz |
| RAM | 16GB DDR4 RAM |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 4GB GDDR6 |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| Ports | External USB Type-C to HDMI | Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C | 4 x USB Type-C | RJ45 LAN Port | 1 x headphone Combo Jack |
| Dimensions | 37.45 x 24.81 x 1.9 cm (2.1 kg) |
| Battery life | Up to 11 hours |
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio — R41,999
| Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio specifications | |
|---|---|
| Display | 14-inch (1920 x 1200) @ 120Hz |
| CPU | Intel 11th-Gen Core i7-11370H 4.8GHz |
| RAM | 16GB DDR4 |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4GB GDDR6 |
| Storage | 512 GB SSD |
| Ports | 2 x Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C | 1 x headphone Jack | 1 x Surface Connect port |
| Dimensions | 32.22 x 22.83 x 1.91 cm (1.8 kg) |
| Battery life | Up to 18 hours |
Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 — R39,999
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 specifications | |
|---|---|
| Display | 16-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) @165Hz |
| CPU | 12th-Gen Intel Core i7-12700H up to 4.70GHz |
| RAM | 24GB DDR5 |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| Ports | 2 x USB 3.2 Type-A | 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C | 1x USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 | 1 x HDMI | 1 x headphone Combo Jack | 1 x RJ45 LAN Port |
| Dimensions | 35.5 x 24.3 x 1.99 cm (2.0 kg) |
| Battery life | Up to 6.5 hours |
MSI Creator M16 — R31,999
| MSI Creator M16 specifications | |
|---|---|
| Display | 16-inch QHD+ (2560 x 1600) @ 120Hz |
| CPU | Intel Core i7 11th Gen 11800H up to 4.6GHz |
| RAM | 16GB DDR4 |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 4GB GDDR6 |
| Storage | 512GB SSD |
| Ports | 1 x Type-C USB3.2 Gen1 | 2 x Type-A USB3.2 Gen1 | 1 x Type-A USB2.0 | 1 x RJ45 | 1 x HDMI | 1 x headphone Combo Jack |
| Dimensions | 35.9 x 25.9 x 2.75 (2.26 kg) |
| Battery life | Up to 6 hours |
Main Image: Business Insider
