The Best Laptops For Watching Movies In 2023

Top 5 Best Laptops For Watching Movies 2023:

1. Dell XPS 15 7590
2. HP Pavilion X360
3. Acer Aspire 5 Slim
4. Acer Predator Helios 300
5. Acer Chromebook 11

Don’t have the cash to afford a big screen?

Is your apartment too small to fit a proper big-screen OLED TV?

Are you just looking for something you can use to watch movies while on the plane?

There is a simple solution to all of these problems, a laptop for watching movies.

While this may seem a bit silly, there are quite a few advantages to using a laptop for watching movies. For starters, the screen is much bigger than any tablet, and it’s usually of better image quality.

What’s more, laptops have much better sound output. No matter how good a tablet is, because of how thin it is, it will always have subpar sound quality compared to a laptop.

The story is quite different when it comes to laptops. Because they have a bigger chassis, laptops can fit larger speakers with a broader response range.

Not to mention how useful these computers are. You don’t have to use them for the sole purpose of watching movies. Laptops are the go-to machines for productivity. Even the cheapest laptops can still be used for light photo and video editing.

Unfortunately, picking the best laptop for watching movies can be quite tricky. There are so many configurations and so many manufacturers that, if you’re not familiar with computers, can make your head spin.

Don’t worry, we got you, We’ve done the research for you! In this article, we’ll showcase the five best laptops for watching movies, and we’ll teach you how to choose the best model for your needs.

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5 Best Laptops For Watching Movies In 2023: Detailed Reviews

Here’s our selection of the five best laptops for watching movies you can find. We made sure to include both high-end and low-end models, so you get a clear picture of what’s the market like.

1. Dell XPS 15 7590 – Editor’s Choice

The first place on our list goes to a laptop that won’t just provide you with a superb movie watching experience, but also with ample processing power for productivity. Dell XPS 15 7590 laptop won’t just be your go-to device for media, it’ll quickly become your daily drive.

What makes this laptop perfect for watching movies is its display. The XPS features a 15.6-inch full HD IPS display with incredible color depth. The reason for this astonishing depth of color is that this display is 100% sRGB rated. What’s more, it’s incredibly responsive, so you won’t notice any artifacts or halos when watching an action-packed scene.

The display is driven by Nvidia’s latest GTX 1650 GPU with 4GB of DDR5 RAM. GTX 1060 is quite a beefy GPU capable of running the latest games in high detail without breaking a sweat. Not just that, but this GPU will also make movie streaming much smoother since most web players these days rely on GPU rather than on CPU.

The heart of this computer is Intel’s i7-9750H CPU, and it’s supported by 16GB of DDR4 RAM. Not only will you have an excellent time watching movies on this laptop, but you have enough processing power to render your own flicks.

2. HP Pavilion X360 – Runner Up

HP Pavilion X360 is a perfect laptop for watching movies when on the go. And since it features a touchscreen display, this laptop is also excellent for drawing.

The brain of the machine is Intel’s mid-range i5-8265u quad-core processor. This CPU is supported with 8GB of DDR4 RAM, which is more than enough for watching movies and general productivity.

Even though this laptop features a 13.6-inch full HD display, it has excellent color depth. What’s more, thanks to HP’s proprietary IPS technology, the image is incredibly sharp and crisp. You won’t miss a frame of your favorite flick, whether you’re on the go or sitting at home.

HP is well known for having excellent sounding laptops. The story is the same when it comes to Pavilion X360.  The speakers actually have bass and are also loud to boot. You won’t have any trouble filling the room with sound just from this laptop.

This is not where the good stuff ends! This laptop also comes with ample storage space. X360 features a 128GB m.2 SSD drive and a 1TB hard drive. This means you get the best of both worlds, super-fast boot with more than enough storage space for your favorite movies.

3. Acer Aspire 5 Slim – Best Budget Laptop For Watching Movies

You don’t have to burn a hole in your wallet to be able to afford a decent laptop. A perfect example of this is our third pick, Acer Aspire 5 slim laptop. This computer comes with more than enough processing power for watching movies and is also quite cheap.

Just like our first pick, the Aspire 5 features a 15.6-inch full HD IPS display. Although it isn’t rated at 100% sRGB, the color depth and contrast are incredible for a laptop display. No matter where you are, you can rest assured you won’t have any trouble enjoying your favorite movie.

The speakers are a different story. They sound too flat. This is a reasonable drawback since this laptop is incredibly thin, which means there’s not a lot of space for speakers.

Thanks to AMD’s Ryzen 7 3700u CPU, you won’t have any troubles browsing streaming movies, browsing the web, and even playing the most popular games. The CPU is supported by Vega 10 mobile GPU that’s more than capable of handling light 3D loads.

4. Acer Predator Helios 300 – Best High-End Laptop For Watching Movies

Looking for a laptop that will offer you more than just an excellent movie watching experience? Are you a gamer? Need a computer that can also handle photo/video editing?

Well, do we have a solution for you! Enter, Acer Predator Helios 300, a laptop that can handle just about anything you throw at it.

 Acer Predator Helios 300 will provide you with a movie-watching experience like no other laptop out there. This machine features a 15.6-inch IPS display that’s 100% sRGB rated. The coolest thing about this screen is that it has a 144Hz refresh rate, ensuring super-crisp image quality.

The sound is just as good as the display. This laptop features a Waves MAXXAudio technology that ensures you’ll be able to hear every word of dialog and feel every explosion.

Predator Helios 300 is powered by Intel’s  Core i7 9750H CPU, working in conjunction with Nvidia’s GTX 1060Ti GPU. It also comes with 16 GB of DDR4 ram and 512 of internal storage. No matter what you throw at it, this machine will handle it with ease.

5. Acer Chromebook 11 – Cheapest Laptop For Watching Movies

Looking for a cheap but decent laptop movie-watching experience? We got you covered. Acer Chromebook 11 laptop costs as much as a mid-range tablet, but comes with more than enough processing power to leave any tablet in the dust.

Unlike other laptops we featured on this list, this Chromebook 11 is a bit different. For starters, it runs ChromeOS, Google’s operating system that’s not that different from Android.

The main advantage of ChromeOS is that it’s very well optimized. This means it won’t hog CPU time and RAM memory. This allows OEM manufacturers to make decent running machines for cheap.

Chromebook 11 features an 11.6-inch full HD display with excellent color depth considering the price. Unfortunately, the panel is of TK type, which means your viewing angle is quite limited.

The sound quality is quite decent. The speakers lack bass, but they are loud. You can always pair this laptop with a soundbar or plug in your headphones.

This laptop comes with only 16GB of internal storage, but you can use Google Drive to store your data. Still, we wish it came with more memory.

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Why Buy A Laptop For Watching Movies?

While it may seem a bit silly to buy a laptop just to watch movies on it. This idea is actually brilliant when you think about it.

Hardware aside, laptops are much more convenient than tablets because you don’t have to hold them in your hand. You can put it on the coffee table and enjoy a move that way.

As we mentioned before, laptops have better sound quality than tablets. This is because they can fit larger speakers and can use their chassis to reverberate the sound making it more colorful.

What many people don’t realize is that there are other manufacturers than Apple. You don’t have to shell out two and a half thousand dollars for a laptop. The market is so diverse, and there are a plethora of decent machines at incredibly affordable prices.

What’s more, if you’re planning to use the laptop just for watching movies, you don’t need a decked-out spec. For a decent movie experience, you need a model that has a decent screen and speakers.

You don’t need a machine with an overly-powerful CPU. These days even an entry-level CPU is more than capable of running 4k video. Not that mid-range CPUs are very expensive. Thanks to AMD’s Ryzen series CPUs, you can find incredibly cheap laptops that have ample processing power for productivity.

Besides the CPU, you also don’t need a lot of RAM. Even getting a model that comes with 4 GB of DDR3 RAM memory will be more than enough for watching movies. Of course, you can always expand the memory by purchasing another stick of RAM.

Not to mention how more versatile laptops are compared to tablets. Yeah, you can use both for the same thing. However, laptops are much more convenient for typing emails, surfing the web, and general productivity. After all, even the cheapest laptop can be used for light photo editing.

See Also: The Best Laptop For Medical School

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5 Factors To Consider When Buying A Laptop For Watching Movies

Now that you’ve found out why using a laptop for watching movies isn’t such a bad idea, it’s time to learn what factors you should consider when buying the best model for your needs.

1. Display

For the best movie experience, you need the best possible display. 

We recommend going for a model that comes with a 1080p display. If you’re on a tight budget, you can consider going for a model with a 720p display. However, you will be sacrificing on the picture fidelity. 

If you have money to spare you can go even higher. There are many laptops out there that feature a QHD or 4k displays. However, these models are seldom cheap, and most movies go up to 1080p anyway.

When it comes to the type of panel used for the display, we recommend going for an IPS panel. IPS panels are much better than TN panels because they don’t have any color deformation when viewed from an angle. Most laptops these days come with an IPS panel, but you should always check the specs to make sure.

2. Sound

The second most important thing for an optimal movie experience is sound. 

While laptops can’t have the same sound quality as a pair of standalone speakers, they are still quite decent. We recommend you go for a model that has Dolby speakers since they won’t sound so tinny, and they also have bass.

And if you’re planning on using headphones or earphones, you don’t have to worry about speakers. Most laptops come with 3.5-mm audio inputs and integrated Bluetooth. So, whether you’re using wired headphones or Bluetooth earphones, you won’t have any trouble connecting them to the computer.

You can also connect the laptop to a soundbar and get a decent sound quality in a matter of minutes.

3. Processor

Like we mentioned before, you don’t need an overly-powerful CPU to be able to watch movies. Even an entry-level CPU will be more than capable of handling that task.

And if you’re looking for a capable machine that’s also cheap, we recommend going for any laptop that has an AMD Ryzen CPU. These CPUs leave Intel in the dirt and are also dirt cheap.

On the other hand, laptops with Intel CPUs come with decent integrated graphics. While Intel Integrated Graphics won’t be able to run the latest games on high settings, they’re more than capable of running lighter games and productivity applications.

4. Memory

Just like with the CPU, you don’t need a lot of memory to watch movies.

A model with 4GB of RAM and 512 GB of hard disk space is more than enough for watching movies. However, you won’t be able to run anything else. This is why we recommend going for a model that comes with at least 8GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage space.

Of course, if storage is not that important for you. You can go for a model that comes with a 128GB SSD drive. A laptop with an SSD will boot up much faster and will load stuff up much quicker than a model with a hard disk.

You can go for a model that comes with both a hard disk and an SSD. These machines will boot up in a second, and they offer ample storage space. However, they are often quite expensive.

5. Battery

Lastly, you have to consider the battery.

Not all laptops have the same battery life. Models with beefier specs will often have very short battery life because they draw more power. On the other hand, entry-level laptops draw very little power, which means they have a longer battery life.

If you’re always somewhere on the go, we recommend going for a model that comes with a powerful battery. If you’re planning on using it mostly when you’re home, getting a laptop with shorter battery life isn’t a bad idea.

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Final Word

Let’s do a quick recap before we leave you be.

For those looking for the best movie experience on a laptop, we recommend checking out Dell XPS 15 7590. With an excellent display and sound output, this laptop will scratch your movie itch.

The runner up is the HP Pavilion X360. This laptop doesn’t just provide you with an excellent movie-watching experience, it is also more than capable of handling light productivity.

And if you’re on a tight budget but still want a decent movie experience, we recommend getting an Acer Aspire 5 Slim. Not only does this laptop come with an excellent display, but thanks to the Ryzen 5 CPU, you won’t have any issues gaming with it.