Picking a laptop for hacking requires a lot of brainstorming since you need a robust machine that will not lag or run out of resources during work. Hacking involves DDOS a website, coding a backdoor program, intruding on servers, cracking passwords, or performing penetration testing. All these tasks demand hardware that can handle enormous data, multi-tasking capacity, high processing speed, and decent internal memory. Failing to meet these specifications in a laptop can easily derail your ethical hacking objectives.
Having said that, every hacker or IT security personnel needs to run their specific software which might include running virtual machines, password-cracking tools, Kali Linux, or SQL injections. While creating a list of ten laptops for hackers, we have considered all the key features so that you may get the maximum performance out of the hacking laptop.
List of Best Laptops for Hacking with Reviews
1. HP Pavilion Laptop
This is a powerful laptop from HP which boasts high performance. This laptop is equipped with an 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and 12GB DDR4 RAM for faster file accessing and running DDOS scripts without any lag. There are many hacking apps like Hashcat or Hydra which are GPU-intensive apps and this laptop will not disappoint you since it has an NVidia GeForce 1660 Ti dedicated graphics chip with 6 GB DDR5 video memory. It comes with a storage of 512 GB SSD, a backlit keyboard, and a 15.6 Inches FHD anti-glare screen. Without any doubt, this is the best laptop for hacking software.
Technical Details
Processor: AMD Ryzen-7 | CPU Speed: 2.9 GHz | RAM: 12 GB | Storage: 512 GB SSD | GPU: 6GB GTX 1660 Ti | Screen Size: 15.6″ | Resolution: FHD 1920 x 1080 | Weight: 6.74 Pounds | OS: Windows 10 Home
| PROS | CONS |
| + Antiglare IPS display | – Average Battery Life |
| + Sleek & Powerful Performance | |
| + Enhanced Thermal system for cooling | |
| + Micro-edge bezel for better viewing |
2. Lenovo ThinkPad P16
This is a great workstation mobile ThinkPad recommended for running virtual machines. With a RAM of 16 GB, you will not face any lag while running hacking software that needs creating VMs. This ThinkPad from Lenovo is powered by the latest 12th generation Intel i7 processor and a GPU of NVidia RTX A1000 with 4GB graphics memory. It comes with a storage capacity of 512 GB SSD, a full numeric keyboard, a fingerprint reader, and HDMI. With a decent battery and anti-glare IPS screen, you can work longer without interruption.
Technical Details
Processor: Intel i7 | CPU Speed: 4.8 GHz | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 512 GB SSD | GPU: 4GB RTX A1000 | Screen Size: 16″ | Resolution: FHD 1920 x 1080 | Weight: 6.5 Pounds | OS: Windows 11 Pro
| PROS | CONS |
| + Excellent Keyboard and TrackPoint | – Little Expensive |
| + Good Battery Life of 9 hours | |
| + Solid Body |
3. Alienware 17.3” FHD Laptop
This laptop is for those hackers who are looking for both style and performance at the same time. Alienware comes with a robust design and powerful hardware. This high-speed beast comes with a 10th generation Intel i-7 processor, NVidia RTX 2070 GPU with a mammoth 8GB video memory,16 GB DDR4 RAM, and a 17.3″ large FHD screen with a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The chassis slots are easy to open for RAM and hard disk upgradation. For fast booting and keeping your software, documents, and media, you can use its 1TB SSD.
Technical Details
Processor: Intel i7 | CPU Speed: 5.1 GHz | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 1 TB SSD | GPU: 8GB RTX 2070 | Screen Size: 17.3″ | Resolution: FHD 1920 x 1080 | Weight: 10.4 Pounds | OS: Windows 10 Home
| PROS | CONS |
| + Lightning Speed | – Too Heavy |
| + Powerful dedicated graphics | |
| + Solid Build Quality |
4. Dell Inspiron 15
If you are looking to host a solid development environment on hardware, Dell Inspiron is the best laptop to host a web server to test browser exploits. It comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 processor (16MB cache), 32 GB RAM, and storage of 1TB NVMe SSD. The graphics are taken care of by the full HD 15 Inches screen. It is equipped with a fingerprint reader, card reader, HD Webcam, HDMI, and USB 3.1 ports.
Technical Details
Processor: Intel AMD Ryzen7 | CPU Speed: 2.0 GHz | RAM: 32 GB | Storage: 1 TB SSD | GPU: 8GB GeForce MX550 | Screen Size: 15.6″ | Resolution: FHD 1920 x 1080 | Weight: 3.6 Pounds | OS: Windows 11 Home
| PROS | CONS |
| + Touchscreen Display | – Limited Upgradability |
| + Sleek Design | |
| + Budget Price |
5. Apple MacBook Pro 2023
The Apple MacBook Pro truly deserves a place in the list of best laptops for hackers. The specs of this laptop speak for themselves. This MacBook comes with the latest M2 Pro Chip, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, and a battery backup of up to 18 hours hours. Powered by the latest liquid retina XDR graphics, the 14.2 Inches screen offers a resolution of 3024×1964 pixels. Buy this advanced laptop for flawless performance.
Technical Details
Processor: M2 Pro | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 512 GB SSD | GPU: 19-cores M2 Pro | Screen Size: 14.2″ | Resolution: FHD 3024 x 1964 | Weight: 3.5 Pounds | OS: Mac OS
| PROS | CONS |
| + Long Battery Backup | – Expensive |
| + Powerful M2 Pro Chip | |
| +Thunderbolt 4 Ports | |
| + 1080 pixels Camera |
6. Lenovo ThinkPad P1
Designed as a mobile workstation, this is a reliable laptop to run resource-hungry hacking programs, Kali Linux or Backbox. With a full HD screen of 16”, you get an immersive display while enjoying a high performance from powerful hardware specifications. The ThinkPad features an 11th generation Intel Core i7 processor,1TB SSD, 32 GB RAM, and discrete graphics from NVidia RTX A2000 with a video memory of 4GB.
Technical Details
Processor: Intel i7 | CPU Speed: 2.3 GHz | RAM: 32 GB | Storage: 1 TB SSD | GPU: 4GB RTX A2000 | Screen Size: 16″ | Resolution: FHD 3840 x 2400 | Weight: 3.9 Pounds | OS: Windows 10 Pro
| PROS | CONS |
| + Powerful Performance | – Limited upgradability |
| + Portable Design | |
| + Durable body construction |
7. New Dell XPS 9520
This one is a 15 inches laptop from the popular Dell XPS series. It comes pre-loaded with Windows 11 Professional OS and provides a battery backup of 10 hours. In addition to that, it has a fast SSD sizing 512 GB, 12th generation Intel core i7 Processor(Tetradeca core 14 Core), 16 GB RAM, and NVidia graphics(4GB). The specifications of this laptop meet the recommended standards and thus qualify as the best laptop for hacking.
Technical Details
Processor: Intel i7 | CPU Speed: 4.7 GHz | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 512 GB SSD | GPU: 4GB RTX 3050 | Screen Size: 15.6″ | Resolution: FHD 1920 x 1200 | Weight: 8.39 Pounds | OS: Windows 11 Pro
| PROS | CONS |
| + Solid Build quality | – Little heavy |
| + Latest Windows 11 Pro | |
| + Powerful processor |
8. Acer Aspire 5
This is a budget laptop from Acer that promises to offer speed and durability at a pocket-friendly price. Whether you are a newbie or a seasoned IT cybersecurity professional, Acer Aspire 5 is receiving positive feedback from its satisfied customers across the globe. Talking about its configuration, it comes with an 11th-generation Intel i7 processor, 32 GB RAM, Intel Iris Xe graphics, and a full HD 15.6 Inches widescreen. The laptop is bundled with Windows 11 Home Edition and provides a whopping backup of 8.5 hours.
Technical Details
Processor: Intel i7 | CPU Speed: 2.8 GHz | RAM: 32 GB | Storage: 1 TB SSD | GPU: Integrated | Screen Size: 15.6″ | Resolution: FHD 1920 x 1200 | Weight: 3.6 Pounds | OS: Windows 11 Home
| PROS | CONS |
| + Affordability | – Average Graphics |
| + Hardware is Upgradable | |
| + Decent Battery Life |
9. Asus Vivobook K571
You will find both power and compactness in this lightweight Vivobook. Although it has an eye-catching design with a thin profile (0.9”), it is a real powerhouse from the inside. Recommended for both black hat and ethical hacking, it is equipped with a 9th generation Core i7 processor, 16 GB RAM, and a combo of 256 GB M.2 SSD and a 1 TB HDD as a storage device. The full HD 15.6 Inches screen gives you wide viewing angles of up to 178 degrees. The battery consists of Lithium-Polymer cells that allow faster charging. This is a true winner and has got high star ratings from its satisfied users.
Technical Details
Processor: Intel i7 | CPU Speed: 4.5 GHz | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 256 GB SSD | GPU: 4Gb GTX 1650 | Screen Size: 15.6″ | Resolution: FHD 1920 x 1200 | Weight: 3.97 Pounds | OS: Windows 10 Home
| PROS | CONS |
| + Budget Friendly | – May heat up on prolonged use |
| + Portable | |
| + Decent Display Quality |
Check Price & User Reviews on Amazon
10. Acer Predator Triton
This laptop with killer looks is a powerful beast from the inside. This powerful laptop has a metal chassis with an elegant black finish. Professional hackers are more than happy coding on this machine. The hardware consists of an Intel Core i7 (12th gen) processor and a powerful NVidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU. The FHD 15.6 Inches screen is powered by highly dependable IPS technology which ensures wider viewing angles. The password-cracking tools work flawlessly with 16 GB RAM and faster OS booting is ensured by 1TB SSD. It has a full numeric keyboard with a backlit feature.
Technical Details
Processor: Intel i7 | CPU Speed: 4.7 GHz | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 1 TB SSD | GPU: 8Gb GTX 3070 | Screen Size: 16″ | Resolution: FHD 2560 x 1600 | Weight: 5.29 Pounds | OS: Windows 11 Home
| PROS | CONS |
| + Powerful GPU with 8 Gb VRAM | + RAM can’t be upgraded |
| + Excellent Build Quality | |
| + Flawless Performance |
The Best Hacking Laptops you can Buy
With the help of a powerful GPU, multicore CPU, and high memory, you can get the best performance while running kali Linux or use it to run multiple VMs. We have thoughtfully included some gaming laptops after considering all the specifications necessary for hacking. Pick the best one from this list and let us know which one you feel will fit best for you as a hacker or an IT security professional.
I would like to know which loptop would be best for me as I like gaming and currently learning IT…so it has to help me run most operations and systems programs…
You can buy Thinkpad P51 or Dell Inspiron 15. Both are good for coding and gaming.
Jio phone
I want to ask the writer of the article what he thinks of Dell Precision 7730 with the maximum parameters… Intel Xeon 12 thread 4.8 GHz 128GB of ECC DDR4 2400MHz RAM …. 4x2TB NVMe M.2 drives on RAID0 class 40, Nvidia Quadro P5200 16GB GDDR5 Vram, Bluetooth 5, Qualcom WiFi chip with Quad antennas, 12 to 24 hours battery on basic tasks with or without the dedicated videocard
This is a high end laptop and yes, if you can afford it, this can be a good choice for running latest hacking tools.
What is your opinion about the Razer Blade 15 as a Laptop for Hacking, Programming and casual Gaming? I was thinking about the configuration with gtx1060, but not sure if the lack of numeric pad would be an issue, or if the machine would overheat.
Thank you for your help.
hi everyone…guys please help me to have 1 of those laptops.I started a cyber security course and I lost mine.from Gambia
I want laptop with this features:
Laptop should be HP ….then
Intel core i7 8th generation 8gb ram 1tb HDD 2GB NVDIA graphics DOS
Dos is very nessesary… Don’t purchase windows 10 installed laptop go for DOS and Clock speed 3 or more then 3 ghz
What about the acer predator 21 x that is the most powerful laptop
The configuration of Acer Predator 21x is awesome but it comes pre-loaded with windows OS that will make you restrictive since most hacking tools are Linux-based.
Hey i want to quest what laptop for hacking battrai life should long time like 8 hours or 4 hours enough i not understand for batrai life for hacking what should long time or for a moment .laptop i7 8565u 4 core 8 threads or i7 9750h 6 core 12 threads but battrai i7 9750h only survive 4 hours and i7 8565u 8 hours I’m confused which one to use
Go for i7 8565u only if you work on the go (travel a lot) otherwise you must buy a laptop with powerful processor like i7 9750h
Hey would you recommend the new xps 15 i9-9980hk or i7-9750h?
Both are good to run any hacking software. Preferably go with latest i9 9980HK
the fact is i got the 9750H under linux with raising the TDP it throlles a lot 3 ghz for long session of hashcat cracking …
and Acer is putting effort to give us the driver needed (intel also) under linux to undervolt it and max out the tdp, under windows no prob at all the processor rocks very solid ….
What about Asus rog strike g g 531
Yes, Asus Strix G531 comes with i9 processor/16 GB RAM/4GB VRAM graphics is good for hacking purpose.
What about the zephyrus g14 or triton 500 or eluktronics max 15, I kinda want something portable and low key as well.
Hi, for hacking tools which one is better? Alienware M17 r3 with Linux or Macbook pro which is using unix?
What abou acer aspire 5 core i5 1135g7 8gb ram and 1tb hd + 256gb ssd
Is it perfect for run vm ware and kali linux and another hacking machine
Yes, it’s OK