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mardi 23 novembre 2021

These are the best LGA 1700 motherboards for Intel Alder Lake CPUs you can buy in 2021

Intel’s new Alder Lake CPUs are here and they unlock a whole new level of performance and feature set in the silicon space including support for DDR5 memory and PCIe 5.0. As we mentioned in our full review of the Alder Lake processors, these chips require an entirely new motherboard with a Z690 chipset. Not to mention, it also demands a new CPU socket — the LGA 1700, which is exclusive to the Z690 motherboards for now with more options expected to arrive later. We already have an elaborate list of the best motherboards you can buy right now, but we wanted to create a collection that’s exclusive to the best LGA 1700 motherboards with the Z690 chipset. So without wasting any more time, let’s get started with the list –

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The best LGA 1700 motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero

An ASUS ROG motherboard with LGA 1700 socket and customizable display

ASUS is one of the first manufacturers to announce the availability of the new Z690 chipset motherboards as soon as Intel’s new 12th gen processors were officially unveiled. The company announced a handful of new motherboards with an LGA 1700 socket to go along with the new processors, but we think the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero is the best one out of the bunch. As such, it’s our pick for the best LGA 1700 motherboard you can buy on the market right now. This isn’t the most affordable Z690 chipset motherboard you can buy, but it packs all the necessary features that you’d expect a high-end premium Z690 motherboard to have for your new Intel-based PC.

ASUS seems like it’s done with the roman numerals for its motherboard names and it’s simply calling it the Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard. The mainboard itself, as you can see, has a black-colored PCB with a ton of heatsink/shroud covering the VRM, chipset, m.2 slots, and more. You can see the pixelated ROG eye logo on the chipset heatsink and some RGB bling on the I/O shroud. Besides that though, the motherboard has a fairly simple design, without anything that’s too obnoxious.

VRM-wise, the ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard comes with a 20+1 90A phase-delivery system that offers an excess of power no Alder Lake desktop CPU will ever utilize. The sophisticated heatsink ensures the thermal output of the VRM is maintained under acceptable limits at all times. You’ll also see up to four DIMM slots next to the LGA 1700 socket. These slots are capable of accepting DDR5 memory modules with memory speeds of up to DDR5-6300. It’s worth pointing out that you won’t be able to use DDR4 memory modules on this motherboard since it only supports DDR5 kits.

You’ll have to buy a different motherboard that supports DDR4 memory modules, so you need to decide whether you want to stick with the existing DDR4 standard or take the leap to the new generation modules. We think DDR5 memory as a standard is still in its infancy, but you can check out all the available options in our collection of the best DDR5 RAM kits. Moving on, there’s no shortage of m.2 slots on the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard too. In addition to the slots on the board itself, you also get an m.2 expansion card in the box that you can plug into the bottom x16 slots. This particular expansion card bumps the total available m.2 ports to five, which is impressive. PCIe 5.0 also makes an appearance as a highlight feature of this motherboard in the form of two reinforced x16 slots.

It goes without saying that a high-end motherboard like this also comes with plenty of ports, headers for different peripherals, and more. The I/O shield is also pre-installed out of the box, which means that’s one less step to worry about while building a PC. Overall, we think this is one of the best Z690 chipset motherboards you can buy right now. It also supports overclocking, so it’s good to be paired with either of the three new Alder Lake chips.

    ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard
    The ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero is one of the best Z690 chipset based motherboards you can buy right now. It carries the LGA 1700 socket for the new 12th gen Intel CPUs and it has a customizable display on the I/O shield cover that looks fantastic.

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Second-best LGA 1700 motherboard: MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi

A black-colored MSI motherboard with RGB lights on a white background

MSI’s MPG lineup has been particularly desirable for gamers looking to dish out a high-end gaming rig to get the best performance. It offers a good mix of features at a not-so-expensive price tag. We think the MPG lineup offers great alternatives for those who don’t want to burn a huge hole in their pocket trying to get their hands on MSI’s Godlike motherboard. We’ve added the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi motherboard to this collection as our pick for the second-best Z690 chipset based motherboard you can buy right now.

The new MSI MPG Z690 Carbon is very similar to its predecessor, but there are a few noteworthy improvements/changes. MSI has ditched the carbon fibre aesthetics for this board and has decided to keep it rather simple. We’re looking at a black-colored PCB with grey accents and a lot of heatsink. You’ll see MSI’s Dragon logo and the ‘Carbon’ branding on the board with lights, but that’s about it. We like how a lot of these manufacturers are keeping their boards simple with very little RGB bling.

The MPG Z690 Carbon comes with an 18+1+1 phase delivery system for its VRM. You get two 8-pin EPS connectors to minimize the fluctuations. Each VRM stage provides 75A to the CPU. While it’s not as high as the Gigabyte Aorus Master, we think it’s plenty to handle the new Alder Lake CPUs. The VRM also has a sophisticated heatsink to dissipate the heat away from the main component. You also get a decent selection of ports and slots with the MPG Z690 motherboard. There are as many as four PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots covered under the shroud. Notably, there’s also an additional PCIe 3.0 slot for Intel Optane drives if you’re into that.

Even while using all the M.2 slots, you still get five slots for expansion. Additionally, you also get two reinforced x16 PCIe 5.0 slots on the motherboard, which is great. You can’t really take advantage of these PCIe 5.0 slots just yet, but it’s always good to have some sort of futureproofing. The MPG Z690 Carbon also comes with DDR5 support. You get four DIMM slots that are capable of accommodating up to 128GB memory with speeds up to 6666Mhz.

You also get a good selection of ports and headers with this motherboard, making it a solid option for a high-end build. We also like how the I/O shield comes pre-installed out of the box and it comes with plenty of ports. It even includes an HDMI for those who’re using this motherboard with an integrated GPU. At the back, you get four USB 2.0 along with five 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 1 and one 20Gbps USB-C port. You also get WiFi6 or 2.5G Ethernet for the internet and the audio stack comes with an optical S/PDIF out and support from Realtek’s ALC4080 codec.

Overall, the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon is a fantastic motherboard that offers a good mix of features and performance for your new Alder Lake build. The best thing about this motherboard is that it’s not nearly as expensive as some other options mentioned in this list, so be sure to consider this one for your next build.

    MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi motherboard
    The ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero is one of the best Z690 chipset based motherboards you can buy right now. It carries the LGA 1700 socket for the new 12th gen Intel CPUs and it has a customizable display on the I/O shield cover that looks fantastic.

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Best Z690 motherboard for overclocking: Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master

Gigabyte Z690 motherboard with its retail box next to it

Gigabyte’s Aorus Master is considered to be one of the best motherboards for overclocking in the community, and its Z690 chipset variant for the new Intel Alder Lake CPU is no different. It’s arguably the best motherboard you can pair your new 12th gen Intel CPU with for overclocking thanks to its potent VRM. Notably, it also comes with support for DDR5 memory and has PCIe 5.0 slots to make a very desirable option for those looking at something that’s a bit more future proof too. Pair it with the best CPU cooler for LGA 1700 socket and you’ll be set to build a high-end gaming rig or a content creation workstation.

The main USP of the Gigabyte Aorus Master is its over-the-top VRM. It consists of a whopping 22 phases, 19 of which supply the CPU with 105A of power. That’s a lot of power which we think will greatly benefit even the best CPUs out there. Even the new Core i9-12900K will only need a fraction of that power, so it’s safe to say that it’s an excellent option for overclocking. The VRM will also remain cool at all times thanks to the sophisticated heatsink that covers the PD system.

The motherboard itself, as you can see, has a black-colored PCB and is mostly covered by the heatsink/shroud. There’s also very little in the name of RGB bling, as there’s only Aorus branding on the mainboard. We think this particular motherboard will have no issues fitting into most PC builds without any major issues. You can see the reinforced PCIe slots which are new to the Z690 variant of this motherboard. In fact, the DIMM slots are also reinforced here, so that’s too. The Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master supports DDR5 RAM kits with memory speeds of up to 6400Mhz. There’s no DDR4 support with this one, so make sure you’re ready with new DDR5 memory kits.

As a high-end motherboard, the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master comes with plenty of headers for fans/pumps, RGB lights, and more. You also get a very good selection of ports with this motherboard including Thunderbolt 4 and a couple of USB Type-C ports. The I/O shield is also pre-installed, so that’s great. You get as many as 11 USB ports and a 10Gbps Ethernet port which we think goes well with the pair of WiFi 6e antennas next to it for hybrid connectivity. You also get a DisplayPort with this motherboard in case you want to use an integrated GPU, but the chances of that happening are slim because we think most users buying this motherboard will indeed use discrete GPU for the best performance.

Overall, we think the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master is one of the best LGA 1700 motherboards you can buy right now. It’s one of the more expensive boards on this collection, but we think it’s well worth the asking price, especially if you’re looking to pair it with an i9-12900K for extreme overclocking.

    Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master motherboard
      The Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master is a fantastic motherboard for overclocking. It comes with a potent VRM that's capable of delivering enough power to even the most demanding CPUs out there on the market right now.

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    Best Z690 motherboard with DDR4 memory support: ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E

    Black-colored ASUS motherboard with RGB lights

    While DDR5 memory support is one of the highlights of the new Z690 chipset based motherboards, we think most users are better off buying a board that supports the older DDR4 generation over the new one. That’s because the DDR5 memory standard is still relatively new and is yet to become mainstream. The memory timings are also mostly high in these DDR5 memory kits. Not to mention, most DDR5 memory modules are relatively expensive, thereby further increasing the entry cost of the Alder Lake system. If you’re in the market for a Z690 based motherboard with support for DDR4 memory kits, then we think the ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E is the one to go for.

    There’s also a variant of this board that comes with DDR5 support. It’s the same motherboard we used for our review of the new Alder Lake chips and we had absolutely no issues whatsoever, pushing the new chips to their limits. However, we’ve added the DDR4 variant of the motherboard to our list. Being able to carry your existing DDR4 memory kits means you’ll be spending less money on your overall. You’ll appreciate that since you’ll be buying a lot of new components for your Alder Lake-based build. This particular motherboard has four DIMM slots and it’s capable of accepting up to 128GB of RAM. ASUS lists the supported memory speeds of up to 5333Mhz, which is pretty good. 5333MHz speeds are still reserved for more expensive sticks but there are plenty of DDR4 kits. You can choose one from our collection of the best DDR4 memory kits too if you have trouble finding the best ones.

    The ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E, as you can see, is a fairly simple looking motherboard with a black-colored PCB. You can also buy a white variant of this motherboard with white-colored heatsinks and a metal shroud covering the components. There’s a new RGB zone on the I/O shroud and it puts quite the light show for those of you who want a striking design. You also get additional RGB headers to add more bling. One of them is even compatible with ASUS’ Aura Sync software. ASUS doesn’t go into much detail about the VRM, but we do know that it has a 16+1 power delivery system with a good for overclocking. The cooling solution for the VRM also looks adequate, so it should have no heating issues too. We think this motherboard can be paired even with an i9-12900K to get the best performance.

    The motherboard also offers four PCIe 4.0 connections for M.2 drives. It also comes with handy latches that you can twist to hold the disk in place. We hope more motherboards make it easy for users to seat these components without having to hunt for a screwdriver. We also love how ASUS has given a good mix of PCIe slots. You get a PCIe 5.0, a PCIe 4.0 x16 as well as a single x1 slot for PCIe 3.0. You also get space for 6 SATA drives that you can arrange in various RAID configurations. Overall, we think the ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E is a fantastic motherboard for anybody’s who’s looking to carry their existing DDR4 memory kits instead of opting for the new DDR5 standard.

      ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E motherboard
      The ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E is one of the best motherboards out there with an LGA 1700 socket. You can also buy a variant of this motherboard DDR5 memory support if you want to check out the new memory standard.

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    Alternate budget Z690 motherboard with DDR4 support: ASUS TUF Gaming Z690 Plus WiFi

    Black colored ASUS TUF Gaming motherboard with lights

    There aren’t too many affordable/budget Z690 based motherboards on the market right now but that’s mainly because these motherboards are still relatively new. We expect the Z690 chipset based motherboard to go mainstream as and when more 12th gen Intel Alder CPUs arrive on the market. With time, we’ll also be getting a new chipset to support the new chip. That being said, you’re not entirely out of options if you’re shopping for a relatively cheap Z690 based motherboard right now. We think the ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 is a fantastic option for those looking to build a budget PC with new chips.

    In terms of the looks, well, the ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 looks just about the same as its last-gen counterpart. We’re looking at an all-black PCB with a decent amount of RGB lights to add a touch of light to the board. You also get a dash of yellow color on the motherboard but that’s mostly limited to just the heatsink. ASUS has added a solid VRM to this motherboard that’s capable of delivering enough power needed for overclocking scenarios. It’s the same 14+2 DrMOS power stage setup that can deliver 80A to the CPU. You can also use an additional 4-pin connector for more stable power delivery.

    One of the best things about this motherboard is that it lets carry your existing DDR4 memory kit. This means you won’t necessarily be spending a lot of money fetching one of the newer DDR5 memory kits on the market. The ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 supports a maximum of 128GB of DDR4 RAM with memory speeds of up to 5133Mhz. That’s a commendable number considering how most kits top out at around 4000Mhz. On the PCIe front, you get three x16 and two x1 slots, with the first supporting PCIe 5.0 and access to all 16 pins. The latter is ideal for expansion or things like capture cards.

    You can also connect up to four m.2 drives, which we think is plenty for most users. You don’t get any fancy expansion card for more storage in the box or support for Intel Optane memory. We’re also not particularly happy about the ports selection, although that’s given considering this is a budget board with limited options. You only get eight USB ports but luckily two of them are USB-C ports and there’s also a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port. You’ll also see a DisplayPort and an HDMI port, which is good for those who’re leaning towards a budget build without a discrete GPU.

    The ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 is also good for overclocking, but we suggest you keep your expectations in check. Your options will be fairly limited when it comes to overclocking so it’s best if yous tick to, say, a Core i5-12600K for this motherboard. Overall, the ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 is currently the only option if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on your Alder Lake build. That being said, you do get pretty much all the essential features with this motherboard, so there’s nothing to worry about, really.

      ASUS TUF Gaming Z690 Plus WiFi motherboard
      The ASUS TUF Gaming Plus WiFi is one of the few budget Z690 motherboards on the market right now that doesn't skimp any important features.

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    High-end LGA 1700 motherboard: ASRock Z690 Taichi

    A black-colored ASRock motherboard with RGB lights

    ASRock is one of the most popular motherboard manufacturers with a lot of incredibly good boards on the market. The company’s ‘Taichi’ is a popular motherboard in the high-end PC market that offers a ton of great features. Well, the company took almost no time to release a new variant of the board with the new Z690 chipset. The ASRock Z690 Taichi is one of the high-end Z690 based motherboards you’ll find on the market right now. It’s packed with some great features and is capable of supporting even the most demanding PCs on the market.

    The ASRock Z690 Taichi comes with the new LGA 1700 socket for the new 12th gen Intel chips. It also has a 20 Phase SPS Dr.MOS Power Design for a reliable power delivery system. The VRM is covered with a sophisticated cooling solution that’s capable of keeping the VRM cool even under the most extreme overclocking conditions. The I/O shroud extends all the way to the bottom of the board and covers the chipset too.

    One of the highlights of this motherboard is that it supports DDR5 memory kits with memory speeds of up to DDR5-6400MHz. This means it also supports memory overclocking under favorable conditions. DDR5 modules are already quite powerful but they also allow you to push the limits further provided you have a capable cooling solution. The ASRock Z690 Taichi also offers a good mix of PCIe expansion slots. You get two 2 PCIe 5.0 x16, a PCIe 4.0 x16, and a PCIe 3.0 x1 for expansions cards or capture cards. Taichi also comes with an HDMI port at the back for those learning towards a build involving an integrated GPU.

    As a high-end premium motherboard, you’re looking at an exceptional ports selection. The ASRock Taichi comes with two Thunderbolt 4/USB Type-C ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and four USB 3.2 Gen1 at the back. You also get Killer E3100 2.5G LAN along with Killer AX1675 802.11ax WiFi 6E and Bluetooth support. The I/O shield is also pre-installed out of the box, which means you don’t have to deal with it while building your PC. ASRock also adds some thoughtful additions to the box including a graphics cardholder and a WiFi antenna.

    The ASRock Taichi motherboard is known for serving good aesthetics and the new ASRock Z690 Taichi is no exception in that regard. This ATX motherboard has a black-colored PCB that’s mostly covered by the heatsink that extends all the way to the bottom of the board. All the m.2 slots are covered by the shroud with a thermal pad layer for keeping it cool at all times. The motherboard also packs a ton of headers for RGB lights, fans, USB and more, so you can connect all the peripherals you want without running out of space. The motherboard also has subtle RGB lights which we think is pretty good. This board will have no issues blending in with most of the PC builds.

    The ASRock Z690 Taichi is a high-end premium motherboard that’s best paired with a high-performance CPU like the Core i9-12900K. You can, of course, use it with other Alder Lake CPUs too but at that point, you might as well opt for something that’s a little less expensive like the ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E, for instance.

      ASRock Z690 Taichi motherboard
      The ASRock Z690 Taichi is one of the most powerful Z690 chipset based motherboards you can buy for your Intel Alder Lake build. It supports DDR5 memory, PCIe 5.0, extreme overclocking, and more.

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    Best Z690 motherboard for creative workstation: ASUS ProArt Z690-Creator WiFi

    Black-colored Z690 motherboard from ASUS

    There aren’t too many ProArt motherboards from ASUS on the market yet but the new Z690 ProArt motherboard is something that’s worth taking a look at. This is arguably one of the best looking Z690 motherboards we’ve seen so far. It’s the only motherboard in this list that looks impressive without any RGB lights. If you’ve seen one of the older models of these motherboards, then you’ll notice a lot of design changes. The I/O shroud, which is perhaps the most noticeable part of the board, is translucent. It overlaps the metal portion of the shroud to give a very subtle look.

    This particular translucent shroud is sitting on the VRM heatsink that’s covering a 16-phase power delivery system. There’s an acrylic plate at the bottom covering the chipset. It’s got the ProArt logo on it, which looks elegant. The ProArt Z690 motherboard comes with the I/O shield pre-installed and it’s got a ton of ports to satisfy your need for connectivity. You’re looking at two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two DisplayPort ports, an HDMI port, a 10GbE Marvell LAN as well as 2.5GbE Intel LAN, and more. The motherboard also comes with four M.2 slots and up to 8 SATA ports that allow you to connect all kinds of storage devices.

    ASUS has addressed the lack of any RGB lights on the board by providing ample RGB and ARGB headers. You also get other headers for things like fans/pumps, and USBs. The ProArt Z690 motherboard also supports the new DDR5 memory modules. ASUS says you can install modules with memory speeds of up to DDR5-6000(OC). These modules are obviously going to cost you a lot of money, but it’s nice to have the option. It goes without saying this particular doesn’t support DDR4 memory, so do keep that in mind. Notably, there’s support PCIe 5.0 as well via the two PCIe 5.0 slots. One of the four M.2 slots shares SATA bandwidth but it can run in PCIe mode. ASUS also sells m.2 PCIe cards that can house 2 PCIe m.2 derives, but that will add more to the cost as it’s not included with the motherboard.

    The ASUS ProArt isn’t the only creator centric motherboard on the market, but there are only a handful of these boards from other manufacturers. Even though it’s being targeted towards creators, we think it’s perfectly serviceable for gamers too. It supports all the modern features as well as overclocking for the Alder Lake CPUs, so why not, right? It’s also one of the best-looking motherboards out there with an all-black PCB and gold-colored accents. The ASUS ProArt Z690 is one of those boards that should have no issues blending in to most PC builds without any major issues. There’s a lot to like about the ASUS ProArt motherboard, but it doesn’t come cheap. At around $500, this motherboard is best paired with a high-performance CPU like the Core i9-12900K. You might want to check some other options if you’re leaning towards budget build.

      ASUS ProArt Z690 Creator WiFi
      The ASUS ProArt Z690 Creator WiFi is one of the best motherboards you can buy right now for your new Alder Lake build. It also happens to be the best-looking motherboards on the list with no RGB lights.

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    Most affordable Z690 motherboard: MSI Pro Z690-A

    A black-colored MSI motherboard with grey accents

    One thing that’s common across all the Z690 motherboards is that they’re all relatively expensive. That’s because they’re still fairly new to the market and are yet to go mainstream. A lot of people are still sticking to their existing builds to avoid the high platform entry cost that comes with Alder Lake CPUs. That’s why we wanted to add what we think is the only budget Z690 chipset motherboard out there right now. The MSI Pro Z690-A is priced at just $220, yet it offers almost all the necessary features you’d expect from a high-performance Z690 chipset based motherboard. This one’s our pick for the most affordable Z690 motherboard you can buy right now.

    Despite the affordable price tag, the MSI Pro Z690-A offers full support for DDR5 memory modules. MSI says the motherboard can support memory speeds of up to DDR5-6400(OC), which is quite impressive. Notably, MSI hasn’t skimped on the PCIe 5.0 support either, which means it’s future-proof and you’ll be able to use the new PCIe 5.0-based SSDs or other peripherals whenever they come out. yOU GET FOUR m.2 and three PCIe 5.0 slots for your peripheral.

    Understandably, MSI has cut some corners to keep the pricing low. As such you don’t get a sophisticated VRM cooling system on this motherboard. Most of the black-colored PCB is exposed with very little heatsink for cooling. The I/O shield is also not pre-installed, which means you’ll be doing that manually while building your PC. You can check out our essay on how to build a computer to learn more about the steps that are involved while building a new PC. It’s also worth pointing out that the port selection is a little bleak on this motherboard. You only get a single USB Type-C Gen 2 port, a single USB Type-A Gen 2 port and two USB Type-A Gen 1 ports. And there are only 2.5Gbps LAN ports as opposed to the more powerful 10Gbps ports found on other premium Z690 based motherboards.

    We do like the addition of a DisplayPort as well as an HDMI port though. We see a lot of people buying this motherboard for their budget Alder Lake builds without a discrete GPU down the line, and it’s a fantastic option for that. Overall, the MSI Pro Z690-A is a great motherboard for the price. Contrary to what we thought, MSI decided to deliver a lot of features despite the affordable price, making it one of the best Z690 motherboards you can grab right now.

    We expect more affordable motherboards to come out soon as Intel releases more Alder Lake CPUs. You can always choose to stick to the older 11th gen PC build or even go the AMD route if you don’t necessarily want to spend a lot of money on the motherboard and other supporting components for an Alder Lake build. But the MSI Pro Z690-A is the most affordable one right now if you’re rushing to build using the new Intel chips. This one tends to run of stock pretty quickly due to the pricing, but you can click the buying link below to see fetch price online right now.

      MSI Pro Z690-A motherboard
      The MSI Pro Z690-A is the most affordable Z690 motherboard you can buy for your Alder Lake build. This MSI motherboard doesn't skimp on any necessary features despite the affordable price tag.

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    Best LGA 1700 motherboards to buy: Final Thoughts

    The Z690 chipset based motherboards with an LGA 1700 socket are still relatively new to the market. And that’s one of the main reasons why a lot of these boards are as expensive as they are. That being said, you’re also looking at some premium features including DDR5 memory, PCIe 5.0 support and more. We think the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero is one of the best LGA 1700 motherboards you can buy right now. We’ve also added some high-end options like the Asrock Z690 Taichi and the ASUS ProArt Z690 Creator-A motherboard to the list for those of you who want something more sophisticated. Those leaning towards a budget-based Alder Lake build, however, can check out the affordable options like the MSI Pro Z690-A motherboard.

    As always, this is an ever-evolving list that will be updated over time with newer and better motherboards as they are released, so keep an eye on this collection. Also, don’t forget to buy a new CPU cooler for LGA 1700 socket as you won’t be able to carry your older ones for this build. Alternatively, you can also join our XDA Computing Forums to discuss your new PC build and get better recommendations from other experts in the community.

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    These are the Best 5G Laptops that you can buy in 2021

    Nowadays, most of us expect to be connected to the internet wherever we go. Our phones are the easiest way to access just about anything online wherever we are, but they don’t quite allow us to be as productive as we are on a laptop. Thankfully, laptops have caught on with the addition of cellular network support. We already have a list of the best laptops with LTE, but for this one, we’re focusing on 5G.

    If you’re wondering whether 5G or LTE is better for you, it’s mostly about future-proofing. 5G networks aren’t quite as good as we’d like them to be right now, and you should get a good experience either way. 5G is simply more modern, and if you plan to use your laptop for many years, it’ll likely become better over time compared to LTE. On the other hand, adding 5G to a laptop is significantly more expensive than LTE, so that’s something to keep in mind.

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    Best overall: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga

    Front view of ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga on bench

    One category of laptops that you can almost always expect to have cellular support are business laptops. Lenovo’s ThinkPad brand is one of the most renowned when it comes to business laptops, and these days, most of them support 5G. The ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga is especially great, though, thanks to being thin, light, and using unique materials for its chassis.

    Performance-wise, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga is about as powerful as you can et for a device as thin and light as this. It comes with Intel’s 11th-generation Core processors, up to an Intel Core i7-1180G7 with vPro. The use of a 0 instead of a 5 in the designation means these are low-power processors compared to more traditional laptops, but that’s what allows this laptop to be as thin as it is. Performance is still very good in these CPUs since Intel has made a lot of progress with its low-power processors in recent years. In addition to this, the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga can be configured with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage, making this a great device for all kinds of productivity work and giving you plenty of space for files.

    The display is also great on this laptop, especially because it’s the same no matter what configuration you choose. It’s a 13.5-inch IPS panel, and Lenovo calls it QHD, which s actually 2256 x 1504 resolution. For a display of this size, this resolution is fantastic, and since it’s standard across the board, you’re always going to get a great experience no matter what configuration you choose. This is a convertible, so the screen also supports touch and pen input (and a pen is included in the box, too). It’s also got 450 nits of brightness and Dolby Vision support, so there isn’t a lot more you can ask for here.

    One area that might not be as good as we’d like it to be is the webcam, which is still 720p. Resolution alone doesn’t make for a terrible camera, so that doesn’t mean this isn’t usable, but it could be better. Thankfully, the camera does include Windows Hello facial recognition and optional human presence detection, and there’s a privacy shutter too. If you don’t like facial recognition for Windows Hello, you get a fingerprint reader as well.

    Part of what makes the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga so interesting is its design. For starters, it’s incredibly thin, measuring just 11.5mm, and it’s also fairly light with the weight starting at 2.54lbs. That makes this a great laptop for portability, but there’s more to it too. Despite being as thin as it is, the X1 Titanium Yoga carries the legacy of the ThinkPad brand, featuring the iconic red accents and the pointing stick for the mouse. However, it’s not black this time, and it uses a combination of four different materials for its chassis. The keyboard deck uses a magnesium-aluminum alloy, which is part of what allows the laptop to be so light, and the lid is made of titanium and carbon fiber. Because of that, even though most of the laptop is the same color, the lid actually looks quite different from the bottom half.

    Finally, there’s the matter of ports, and all you get is two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a headphone jack. We can’t ask for a lot more considering how thin this laptop is, and you can get a USB-C hub or Thunderbolt dock to add more ports if you need them. Still, this is somewhat limiting out of the box. Of course, we can’t talk connectivity without talking 5G, and you can equip the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G modem if you want to stay connected on the go. There’s also an option for an LTE modem if you want to save some money and don’t need 5G.

      Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga
      Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga is a thin and light business convertible made with unique materials and including both LTE and 5G options.

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    Best lightweight laptop: Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 5G

    Galaxy Book Pro 360 with pen

    Samsung has made some fantastic laptops in 2021, and the Galaxy Book Pro 360 is arguably the best of them. It’s a combination of thin and light design, high-end performance, and now, 5G support.

    Starting with performance, the Galaxy Book Pro 360 is powered by the Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, with four cores, eight threads, and clock speeds up to 4.7GHz. Unlike the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga above, this is using a typical 15W mobile processor, so it’s going to be faster, especially in terms of long-term use compared to the Lenovo laptop. This is also the standard configuration across the board, so you’re always going to get that level of performance, even at the base level. In addition to that, you can configure the Galaxy Book Pro 360 5G with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. There’s a 15-inch model of this laptop with more storage, but it doesn’t come with cellular support.

    The display on the Galaxy Book Pro 360 is another one of its highlights, particularly because it’s one of the few laptops that comes with an AMOLED display. This is a 13.3-inch panel and it comes in Full HD resolution, which is the only configuration available for it. At this size, Full HD should be sharp enough for most people, and in some ways, it’s actually an advantage. Most laptops with OLED displays have very high resolutions, which look great, but they also add a lot to the cost and take a hit on battery life. The Galaxy Book Pro 360 is still decently affordable and has solid battery life. Since it’s a convertible, touch and pen support is also here, and you get an S Pen in the box.

    Similar to the laptop above, the Galaxy Book Pro 360 has a bit of a downside with its camera, which is only 720p. It’s worth pointing out that this will be a common thread across most laptops, but we’ll continue bringing it up as a negative point. The camera also doesn’t support Windows Hello facial recognition, but the laptop does have a fingerprint reader for easier unlocking.

    Moving on to the design, this is one of the most impressive aspects of the Galaxy Book Pro 360. It measures 11.43mm in thickness and the starting weight is just 2.29lbs, which is insanely thin and light for a laptop like this. It’s both thinner and lighter than the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga above, despite featuring a more powerful Intel processor. The standard Galaxy Book Pro 360 also has the benefit of coming in a few different colors, but unfortunately, the 5G models only come in Mystic Silver. It’s still going to look and feel premium, albeit a bit boring in a sea of silver laptops.

    Finally, for ports, the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 5G comes with one Thunderbolt 4 port, two standard USB Type-C ports, and a microSD card reader, which is a decently robust selection of ports. The addition of a microSD card reader can be useful for moving files from another device to your laptop. It’s still lacking bigger ports like USB Type-A and HDMI, but it’s important to remember how thin this laptop is. Unlike some other laptops, the Galaxy Book Pro 360 doesn’t give you an option for LTE-only support – you either get 5G or no cellular support at all.

      Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360
      An extremely thin and light design with high-end performance make the Galaxy Book Pro 360 one of the best 5G laptops around.

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    Best business laptop: Dell Latitude 9520

    Dell Latitude 9520

    As we’ve mentioned, business laptops are often the ones to incorporate cellular network support. Dell’s Latitude family is another one that’s well known for great business laptops, and the latest Latitude 9520 is one of the first to feature 5G support.

    As usual, we’ll start with performance, and the 5G version of the Dell Latitude 9520 comes with the latest Intel Core processor up to a Core i7-1185G7 with vPro technology. Compared to the laptops above, that makes it the most powerful laptop so far thanks to slightly higher clock speeds, but it shouldn’t be a huge difference. It’s still a quad-core, eight-thread CPU, but it can boost up to 4.8GHz. It also comes with up to 32GB of RAM – which is soldered onto the motherboard – and up to a 1TB SSD. That amount of RAM means you can run plenty of apps at the same time without much issue, and memory-intensive apps will also run just fine.

    The display on the Dell Latitude 9520 doesn’t exactly stand out, however. There are a few versions of this laptop, but 5G support is only available in the 2-in-1 version, which comes with a 15-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) display. That’s still decently sharp, though some might prefer slightly higher resolution at this size. On the bright side, being a convertible means it supports touch and pen input, though the pen isn’t included in this case.

    Above the display is the webcam, and once again, it’s a 720p camera, and it could be better. It does come with Windows Hello support for facial recognition by default, which is great to see. You also have the option to add a fingerprint reader if you want an additional way to unlock your PC.

    Design-wise, the Dell Latitude 9520 is about as standard as it gets for a business laptop. It’s a silver laptop with a brushed metal finish, and it looks exactly how you’d expect it to. It’s decently portable, but not especially impressive in that regard, It measures 18mm in thickness and the weight starts at 3,3lbs, which isn’t bad for a 15-inch convertible.

    Coming around to the ports, this is one area where the Latitude 9520 really flexes its muscle compared to the laptops we’ve looked at so far. There are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB Type-A port, HDMI, a microSD card reader, and a headphone jack, all of which are standard across the board. That covers all basic needs you may have, but you can go further by adding a smart card reader and NFC support, making this a great option fur businesses with use cases for these ports.

    As for the cellular network support, the Dell Latitude 9520 offers options for both 5G and LTE versions. As we’ve mentioned, 5G is only available if you choose the 2-in-1 version, but you can LTE with the standard laptop form factor. 5G is powered by the Snapdragon X55 modem, while the LTE version uses a Snapdragon X20 modem.

    The Dell Latitude 9520 is the most business-oriented laptop so far, which is evident from its design to the connectivity options, including optional 5G. It’s a fantastic option if you need a laptop for work.

      Dell Latitude 9520
      The Dell Latitude 9520 is a business laptop with premium performance and lots of connectivity options.

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    Best 5G laptop for creators: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4

    Angled view of Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme

    Cellular network support is all about mobility, and usually, that means you’d want a light laptop too. But if you want 5G support and a ton of power, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 is the laptop for you, though there are some caveats.

    The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme is by far the most powerful laptop on this list, just as the name suggests. It comes with Intel’s latest Core processors, but instead of the 15W processors (or lower) we’ve seen so far, these are 45W processors. If you want 5G, you have to limit yourself to the Intel Core i7-11850H with vPro, which is still an eight-core, 16-thread CPU capable of boosting up to 4.8GHz. You can also get dedicated graphics in the form of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, making this especially powerful for tasks such as gaming, video rendering, and more. Unfortunately, you have to stop there if you want 5G support, as bigger graphics cards remove space for the 5G modem.

    In addition to the powerful CPU and GPU the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 can be configured with up to 64GB of RAM and a massive 4TB of storage. That’s frankly more than most people might need, but this is evidently a laptop aimed at specific power needs. If you work with large projects that require a ton of RAM to run and space to store files, this is ideal.

    The display on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme is also great. It’s a 16-inch panel, and it comes in the 16:10 aspect ratio. This taller aspect ratio means you get more surface area for the display, and thus you can see more text in a document or webpage, more rows in Excel,  more space for UI elements in complex apps like video and image editors, and so on. On top of all that, the default configuration of the ThinkPad X1 Extreme already includes Quad HD+ (2560 x 1600) resolution, which is fantastic for a display of this size. If you want even more, you can upgrade to an Ultra HD+ (3840 x 2400) panel, which also includes HDR and Dolby Vision support as well as optional touch support.

    The good news continues in the webcam, as this is the first laptop on this list to feature a Full HD (1080p) camera. That means you should get better image quality for online meetings, streaming, and so on. Additionally, you can optionally add facial recognition for Windows Hello. Otherwise, a fingerprint reader is also included by default for extra security.

    For how powerful the ThinkPad X1 Extreme is, it’s surprisingly thin. Models without touch support measure just 17.7mm in thickness, while adding touch takes that up to 18.2mm. The weight isn’t too bad, either, starting at 3.99lbs without touch, or 4.1lbs with touch support. To be clear, that’s not light, but considering everything packed in this laptop, it could be far worse. In terms of looks, the iconic ThinkPad design is here and accounted for with an all-black body featuring red accents and the classic pointing stick. If you choose an Ultra HD+ display, the lid of the laptop comes with a carbon fiber weave pattern, which helps the laptop that much more unique.

    As for ports, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 is jam-packed with them. You get two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB Type-A ports, an SD card reader, a headphone jack, HDMI, and a nano-SIM card slot. That covers just about every need you might have, except maybe a wired Ethernet connection. In addition to the plethora of ports, you also get the optional 5G connectivity, which is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 modem. There’s no LTE option for this one.

      Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4
      The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 is an incredibly powerful business laptop with dedicated graphics and 5G support.

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    Best 5G ARM laptop: HP Elite Folio

    HP Elite Folio in folio orientation angled view

    ARM-based Windows devices have taken some time to catch on, but there are some standout examples out there already. If you want one with 5G support, the HP Elite Folio is probably one of your best options, thanks to its premium and stylish design and other high-end specs.

    In terms of the internal specs, the HP Elite Folio is naturally very different from other laptops on this list. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 processor, unlike the Intel-powered laptops we’ve looked at so far. This is an octa-core processor, with four performance cores and four efficient cores, promising similar performance to an Intel Core i5. It’s worth keeping in mind that many apps are still designed for x86 processors, so ARM devices like this one will run some apps in emulation, and thus performance may not be as good. However, things are improving on that front with Windows 11 and new APIs fr developers. The laptop also comes with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which is a solid combination.

    The display on the HP Elie Folio is also somewhat unique compared to other devices on this list. It’s a 13.5-inch panel, and it’s the only one so far to feature a 3:2 aspect ratio. This is even taller than 16:10, and that means a but more surface area for content like web pages and documents. It only comes in Full HD+ (1920 x 1280) resolution, but considering the size of this display, that’s not much of a downside. This is a folio-style laptop, so the screen also supports touch and pen input. In fact, a pen is not only included, it can be stored and charged easily in the pen garage on the base of the laptop.

    Above the display, there’s a typical 720p camera, and we’ve found in our review that it’s not particularly good even for that resolution. It’s a shame, but it’s not uncommon. The camera does come with Windows Hello facial recognition, making it easy to unlock the PC whenever you need to use it.

    One area where the HP Elite Folio truly stands out is its design. First off, the entire outer shell of the chassis is covered in vegan leather, which gives the laptop a classy look when it’s closed. It’s more comfortable to grab because of this, too. On top of that, as we mentioned, this is a folio-style laptop. What that means is that you can grab the screen and pull it closer to you, covering the keyboard, or fold it down over the entire base to use it as a tablet. As for portability, the HP Elite Folio is fairly thin, measuring around 16mm, and it’s also relatively light at 2.92lbs. It’s not the lightest laptop ever, but it’s certainly easy to carry anywhere.

    A big downfall of the HP Elite Folio is its ports. Because of its thin design and leather cover, it can only fit USB Type-C ports, and because it’s not an Intel laptop, those ports don’t support Thunderbolt. That means you get two standard USB Type-C ports (and not awfully fast ones at that) plus a headphone jack. That’s it, and it means you’re very limited in what you can connect to this laptop. You should be able to connect external displays and peripherals with a USB-C hub, but you’ll need to keep the bandwidth limitations in mind, too.

    As for cellular connectivity, you can get the HP Elite Folio with either LTE or 5G support, but both come at an additional cost. That’s not entirely surprising for most laptops, but considering this one is already powered by an ARM chipset, it would have been nice to see that feature ship standard.

      HP Ellte Folio
      The HP Elite Folio is a premium business laptop powered by an ARM processor and featuring a unique design.

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    Best budget 5G laptop: Samsung Galaxy Book Go

    Front view of Samsung Galaxy Book Go

    Want a 5G laptop but don’t have a lot of money to spend? Samsung’s Galaxy Book Go 5G is probably your best option, featuring a high-end Qualcomm processor and other solid specs for a budget experience that feels almost premium. When we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Book Go, we found that it offers a pretty great experience for its price, making it question how it’s so cheap to begin with. But the 5G version has some notable differences that make it even better.

    For starters, the 5G version of the Samsung Galaxy Book Go comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2, the same processor that powers the HP Elite Folio above. That’s a big upgrade from the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 in the base model, so you’re already off to a great start in terms of performance, at least among ARM processors. Additionally, this model of the laptop comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage, both of which are double the base model. The low amount of RAM was one of the most notable performance issues in the base model, so this upgrade makes a huge difference. Performance-wise, this is giving you a nearly identical experience to the Elite Folio at a much lower price.

    The display is one area you might potentially find that the Galaxy Book Go falls short. It’s a 14-inch panel and it comes in the typical 16:9 aspect ratio, which is pretty much par for the course for this relatively low price. It’s also Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, which is impressive for the base model’s price of $349, though not as much for the 5G model’s $799.99. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, but what makes this a subpar experience is the visible color distortion on the display if you look at it from an angle, and the fact that color reproduction in general isn’t great. Again, this is a budget device, and the biggest increase in price here comes from 5G support, so these sacrifices aren’t entirely surprising. Still, they’re worth keeping in mind.

    Similar to most other laptops on this list, the Galaxy Book Go 5G also makes do with a 720p webcam. When many premium laptops do it, it’s not at all surprising that a more affordable one also uses a lower-resolution camera. That camera also doesn’t include facial recognition for Windows Hello, and there’s no fingerprint reader, either.

    Moving on to design, the Galaxy Book Go is fairly standard. It’s a basic silver laptop, and it’s fairly portable thanks to its power-efficient components. It measures 15.49mm in thickness, which is great for a laptop this cheap, and it weighs 3.17lbs, which isn’t overly light, but not too heavy, either. Again, putting it in perspective of its price point, it’s much more impressive. It’s also made of plastic, but as we noted in our review, you wouldn’t know it right away because it feels premium when you’re using it.

    What isn’t impressive is the port selection, although it covers some basics. You get two USB Type-C ports and one USB Type-A port, plus a microSD card reader for storage expansion or moving data around. That still leaves out some potentially important ports like HDMI, but having both USB Type-C and Type-A means you can connect some modern and legacy peripherals at the same time. There’s no Thunderbolt support because this isn’t an Intel laptop, but you can still use a USB-C hub for some expansion options.

      Samsung Galaxy Book Go 5G
      The Samsung Galaxy Book Go 5G is an affordable laptop with 5G support and solid performance all around.

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    Best tablet: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold

    Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold front and back on white background

    We’ll admit we’re somewhat reluctant to put this device on our list because of some of its aging internals. However, there aren’t a ton of 5G-capable Windows tablets out there, and this is still a great device in many ways. Not to mention, it’s a unique form factor for laptops that will at least give you the chance to show off to your friends.

    First off, let’s talk performance. While the ThinkPad X1 Fold is powered by an Intel processor, it’s very different from any Intel-based PC we’ve looked at so far. The processor in here is the Intel Core i5-L16G7, which was Intel’s first attempt at a hybrid CPU. it has five cores – one for high performance and four more efficient ones. Unfortunately, the overall performance of this processor isn’t great, so you shouldn’t be expecting to do a ton of heavy work on this machine. In addition to the processor, you get 8GB of RAM, which is good enough for basic multitasking, and you can get up to 1TB of storage for your files.

    Moving on to the display, we start to see what truly makes the ThinkPad X1 Fold special. In its basic mode, this is a 13.3-inch OLED display, which is already great. It also has a fairly sharp resolution of 2048 x 1536, which results in a rarely seen 4:3 aspect ratio. The reason it’s this way, though, is that the display can actually fold in half. This means you can use the tablet like a book, with each half of the screen housing completely different apps (or pages of an actual book, if an app supports it). It also means that you can either use the full screen with a wireless Bluetooth keyboard, or fold the screen to use the top half as a screen and the bottom half as a keyboard. In fact, Lenovo sells a keyboard that perfectly fits in half of the screen, so you can have a more traditional laptop experience in a much smaller size.

    That folding display plays into other parts of the design, too. The table this designed to fold completely in half, so it’s much more compact and easier to carry anywhere. And as we’ve mentioned, the optional keyboard perfectly fits on half of the screen, so when you fold the tablet, the keyboard is stored inside, and it can actually protect the screen from any dust potentially getting in between the two halves. In addition to this, the outer shell of the tablet is covered in leather, giving it a classy and premium feel. This shell comes with the benefit of being flexible, but it also serves as a kickstand when you want to use the full 13.3-inch screen, so the tablet stands up on its own. Weighing 2.2lbs, the ThinkPad X1 Fold is also one of the lightest devices around (without the keyboard), and it’s 11.5mm thin when unfolded (27.8mm when folded).

    The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold also has potentially the best webcam of any device on this list. It’s the only one to use a 5MP camera, offering 1080p video. That’s the highest resolution for any camera on this list, and it should give you the best experience in a video call or meeting. It also comes with an IR camera for facial recognition.

    Finally, we come around to the ports, which are probably what you’d expect. There are two USB Type-C ports and an optional nano-SIM slot for 5G supports. While it uses Intel processors, the USB ports don’t include Thunderbolt, so this is a limiting setup, but that’s not unexpected at this point considering the thinness of this device. And, of course, you have optional 5G support, and there’s no middle ground option if you just want LTE.

    The biggest downside to all this is, of course, the price. The base price of $2,499 is already very high even if performance and everything was great, but considering some of its downfalls, it’s hard t say you should buy this tablet. However, it’s still an incredibly cool piece of technology in many ways, and potentially the only detachable laptop you can find with 5G support.

      Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
      The ThinkPad X1 Fold is an incredibly unique folding tablet with a premium design and 5G support.

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    Those are what we’d consider the best 5G laptops you can buy in 2021 (although, as we’ve mentioned, that last one is more questionable). We picked the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga as our best overall pick because it offers the best balance of a premium and lightweight design, customization options, a great display, and solid performance. However, the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 5G also has many of the same benefits, so it’s definitely worth considering.

    If 5G connectivity isn’t your priority, then you may want to check out our list of the best laptops for 2021. There are some fantastic laptops there that couldn’t make this list.

    The post These are the Best 5G Laptops that you can buy in 2021 appeared first on xda-developers.



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