While computer sales have lagged heavily the past couple of years, some people may still need a computer either because they don’t have one yet or they need to replace one that is just getting old. The holidays are a great time to shop for a new computer thanks to lots of new hardware releases in the fall and the variety of special offers that companies make to try and coax consumers into buying one. So if you are looking for a new computer either for yourself or another this holiday season, check out some of the laptops that I think are worthy of considering.

Budget Options

Laptops can be expensive but the pricing for many systems has come down a good deal thanks to improved technology and competition with tablets for the price conscious. Good laptops can be found for around $500 that can handle the common computer tasks of an individual just fine.

For those that want an inexpensive, compact and touchscreen enabled laptop, the ASUS VivoBook Q200E offers some impressive features for under $500. It weighs just over three pounds and is under an inch thick. Its compact size is thanks to the 11.6-inch display that features a typical 1366×768 resolution at this price range. It is a full touchscreen to take advantage of the new Windows 8 interface. Performance is decent with a Core i3 processor and it features a 500GB hard drive that has more storage than SSD equipped systems but it means that it is slower to boot and load programs. Battery life is also not one of its strong points.

For those that want a larger laptop with a more traditional set of features, the Dell Inspiron 15 can be found as low as $400 with a 3rd generation Core i3 processor rather than a newer 4th generation one. The larger size allows it to fit in things like a dual layer DVD burner and a card reader that many smaller systems lack. It is also a bit thinner and lighter than your standard 15-inch laptop would be. Battery life does suffer a bit though as the older processor is not as efficient and it does feature a smaller battery pack. Touchscreen versions are also available with priced starting around $500.

Ultrathin Laptops

If you are looking for extremely portable, then the ultrathin systems can be nearly as small and light as a tablet but with the traditional laptop experience.

For those with a budget, I still recommend the Apple MacBook Air 11-inch model. The systems that started the ultra-thin craze has been improved over the years and actually become more affordable while much of the competition has gotten more expensive. It still is just as thin as ever with just a 2.4 pounds weight. Now the 11-inch version shares much of the same internals as the 13-inch just in a smaller design. This includes a Core i5 processor and now 128GB SSD. The one downside is the 11-inch display features just a 1366×768 resolution. Battery life is amazing though with over eight hours. Pricing is $999.

If you want to spend more to get a high quality display in an extremely thin and lightweight system, than Samsung’s ATIV Book 9 Plus is something to consider. It is just .54-inches thick and weights just over three pounds but packs in a 13.3-inch display with a mind blowing 3200×1800 display resolution. This gives the laptop incredible detail for graphics and text but it has the problem of certain programs and interface text being incredibly small due to limited support for resizing to such a high resolution display. Beyond the display, it features your typical Core i5 processor and 128GB SSD drive. Priced at $1399.

Convertibles

Convertible laptops are options for those that want a traditional laptop but also the ability to switch their machine over to a tablet style system. Thanks to the unified interface of Windows 8 that was designed for a touch interface, this is something that is quite easy to do and many companies have tried. There are two convertibles that I recommend.

Dell’s XPS 12 convertible ultrabook uses a flipping screen to move from a traditional laptop design to a tablet mode. This gives it a clean design when used in tablet mode and the frame that holds the display does a good job for transitioning between the two modes. It still is on the bulky side when it comes to the tablet mode but it does offer some solid battery life. The biggest problem is that it lacks any flash memory slots tp easily expand the storage without having to use an external drive. Priced start around $999 for a Core i5 processor and 128GB SSD.

Lenovo’s Yoga 13 was one of the best convertible laptops last year and the company has gone and improved it with the new Yoga 2 Pro. The system is a bit lighter with many improved internal components. Probably the most notable feature is the fact that it features a 3200×1800 display that is four times the resolution of the original. The design relies on a screen that can fold all the way back and around to switch to the tablet mode. The one downside is that the keyboard is exposed on the bottom which makes holding it awkward at times but thankfully the keyboard and trackpad is disabled when switched this way. Battery life is also a bit on the lower side because of its more demanding display. Pricing starts around $1050 with a Core i3 processor and 128GB SSD but Lenovo offers many rotating specials that reduce the price.

Mid-Range

Most people don’t necessarily want to spend a lot for a laptop computers these days. What is so great about the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p is the wide range of configurations it is available in. Systems can be found as little as $800 with discounts but can climb as high as $1500 when fully equipped. A typical setup includes a Core i7 quad core processor, 8GB of DDR3 memory and a 15.6-inch display with 1920×1080 display. The differences then come in what the storage and wireless configurations that it comes equipped with. Typically it will have a one terabyte hard drive with a DVD burner but some feature Blu-ray and an additional small SSD cache for added performance. The best part is that the system is so versatile that it makes a great solitary computer. Of course this isn’t a very compact system with weights up to six pounds and over an inch thick at the hinge.

High End

If price isn’t really something that is a big issue when selecting a machine than the Apple MacBook Pro 15 is the ultimate in portability and performance. The system is just .71-inches thick, weighs about four and a half pounds yet offers a serious amount of performance. Regardless of setup, it comes with a quad core Core i7 processor, at least 8GB of memory and the incredible 15.4-inch retina display with 2880×1800 resolution. All models come with a very quick SSD storage with at least 256GB. Even with all this performance, the system still offers battery life as high as eight hours. Of course pricing is the big downside with the base model starting at $1999 and quickly rising depending on graphics and storage.

Gaming

Using a laptop for gaming is much more viable now that component performance keeps increasing and power demands drop. What you once needed a 17-inch behemoth laptop for you can get in much smaller designs that still can play most games up to a 1920×1080 resolution.

For those that want a serious gaming laptop but don’t necessarily want a spend a huge amount of money, the Alienware 14 is a nice option that is relatively compact thanks to its 14-inch display. It can be equipped with a wide array of options but I recommend looking starting at the $1299 version that includes a Core i5 processor, 1920×1080 display, 750GB hard drive and an NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M graphics processor. One nice feature is the Alienware FX lighting that lets you customize the appearance of the system by altering the color of the backlights.

If you want a larger screen but still want a portable laptop for gaming, the Razer Blade Pro is the follow-up to the companies extremely thin Razer laptop. The system is incredibly thin and just .88-inches thin. Many compare the design to that of the old MacBook Pro 17-inch but with a black anodized aluminum. The system offers some high performance thanks to the Core i7 quad core processor, solid state drives, 17-inch 1920×1080 display and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M graphics. One unique feature is that it does not have a numeric keyboard but an LED touchscreen that acts both as trackpad and customizable information display with the Switchblade software and interface. This isn’t a low costs system though as it starts at $2299 for it equipped with a 128GB solid state drive.