The best workstations of 2021 – laptops and PCs
When deciding on a new laptop or PC to purchase, one might not consider their applications for business use. Workstations are built with different hardware than standard laptops, including multiple core processors and vast amounts of RAM, allowing users to accomplish tasks that would typically take up tons of time in just minutes. In short, not all laptops and PCs are created equal, and a proper workstation can add remarkable productivity gains to your workflow.
If it’s time to step up your productivity game, we’ve got your back with this list compiling some of the best workstations of 2021. Some are designed to handle demanding workflows – from engineering, graphic design, and data science to complex video and photo content creation – while others are rather suitable for office-related tasks. An entry-level mobile or desktop workstation can prove itself extremely useful even if you’re running standard office applications.
First, let’s understand how workstations are different from regular laptops:
Regular laptops are viable if your needs boil down to streaming movies, sending emails, surfing the web, and using social media. However, for more power-intensive tasks, you may notice that your laptop is struggling to handle the workload, ending up lagging and freezing.
Mobile and desktop workstations were created to maximize power and performance for a wide array of work-related needs and requirements. They are equipped with powerful internals to withstand power-consumptive tasks with ease.
Moreover, workstations are able to handle multitasking thanks to their multiple processor cores. Mobile workstations are considerably heavier and larger than regular laptops but provide extended battery life and unparalleled performance in exchange. Professionals across a variety of industries rely on workstations to achieve top-notch performance.
What are the best workstations of 2021
Lenovo ThinkPad P17 Gen 2 – a beast of a workstationLenovo’s ThinkPad line was designed for workflow productivity, durability, and high-performance – and ThinkPad P17 Gen 2 is a total beast tested through 12 military-grade requirements and different climates ranging from the desert to the arctic. Even though it’s deemed a mobile workstation, its size and weight make it more suitable as stationary, successfully replacing a desktop workstation and running complex programs like Creo, Photoshop, 3dsMax, Adobe Premiere, and AutoCAD seamlessly. You can check out its benchmark scores here and purchase it here.
Specs:
- 11thgen Intel Core i7
- 64 GB RAM
- 2TB SSD
- English US Keyboard
- 3” FHD IPS Screen
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX A2000
Dell Mobile Precision is the 2021 upgrade of the company’s 7750 flagship, powered by 11th-gen Intel Core and proving itself to be a solid mobile workstation that delivers first-class performance. The 7760 was designed to provide data scientists, designers, creators, and even geologists with an elevated experience, mission-critical reliability, and increased personalization granted by the AI-powered software. You can find it here. In case you’re after more mobility, you can check out its more lightweight sibling, Dell Mobile Precision 5560.
Specs:
- 11thgen Intel Core i7
- 32 GB RAM
- 512GB SSD
- English US Keyboard
- 6'' UltraSharp FHD+ Display
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX A2000
The Lenovo ThinkCentre M70q Gen 2 Tiny is the size of a hardcover book and is ideal for offices with space constraints. In spite of its modest size, the ThinkCentre M70q Gen 2 desktop PC is powerful enough to handle productivity-related workloads. Moreover, it meets multiple global sustainability standards, and it’s certified for low noise emission and low power consumption. Of course, creative pros should look for larger PCs with dedicated graphics, but the tiny Lenovo ThinkCentre M70q does a great job boosting office job-related productivity and performance. It can be found here.
- 11th gen Intel Core i7-11700T
- 16 GB RAM
- 256GB SSD
- Intel UHD Graphics 750 DDR4 SDRAM
- Wireless LAN IEEE 802.11ax & Bluetooth
- Windows 10 Pro
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 workstation offers anything you could want from a mobile workstation. It’s a powerful device with a bright and large display and solid Dolby Atmos audio, built for extreme performance elevated by Intel’s Deep Learning Boost that speeds up AI-related workloads such as object detection, image recognition and CPU-intensive tasks in general. As it was designed as an enterprise-focused device, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 workstation is on the pricier side, but we reckon it’s a worthwhile investment for creative pros. You can purchase it here.
Specs:
- 11thgen Intel Core i7
- 32GB RAM
- 1TB SSD
- English US Keyboard
- 16” WQUXGA IPS Screen
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX RTX 3070
Dell OptiPlex 5090 is a fast SFF desktop workstation that hardly takes up any space due to its size. It truly offers the best productivity features within a small box. Its standard configuration makes it an excellent option for small businesses and freelancers, overpowering many competitors in its class and offering a fair price-quality ratio. You can find it here.
Specs:
- 11th gen Intel Core i7-11700
- 16 GB RAM
- 512GB SSD
- Intel UHD Graphics 750
- DVD-Writer
The bottom line – Should you invest in a workstation?
Mobile and desktop workstations are worth it, as they may cost more but never fail to deliver top-notch specifications – from powerful processors, large RAM storage capacity, lightning-quick SSD to amazing audio, graphics capabilities, and an overall elevated user experience. Regardless of your scope of work, for improved productivity and performance, workstations are worth the hype.